This book is dedicated to all the amazing supporters of this series who have been with me since chapter one on Patreon, Royal Road, and Scribble hub. If not for all of you, the first installment of Kadia’s story would have never reached this amazing milestone of being published.

Contents

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

Chapter 23

Chapter 24

Chapter 25

Chapter 26

Chapter 27

Chapter 28

Chapter 29

Chapter 30

Chapter 31

Chapter 32

Chapter 33

Chapter 34

Chapter 35

Chapter 36

Chapter 37

Chapter 38

Chapter 39

Chapter 40

Chapter 41

Note from the author

After reviewing your application, we regret to inform you that we can not offer you admission to Geraldine University of Science.

* * *

Dear Miss Greene,

We regret to inform you that your application to Madden University has been unsuccessful.

* * *

Your application has been unsuccessful.

We at NCS University wish you the best of luck for your future.

* * *

With trembling hands, I clicked onto the next message. Only to find yet another letter informing me of my failure. Bile rose in my throat as I closed the most recent rejection letter.

Unable to bear the sight of those words any longer, I shut the message application.

As I pushed my chair back from the desk, the computer dinged with another message notification. My heart clenched painfully as I stared at the subject line that appeared on the screen.

No, please no. Eyes burning with unshed tears I opened the message already knowing what it would say.

CONFIDENTIAL FOR RECIPIENT ONLY

The Department of Digital Life.

Kadia Greene,

The Department of Digital Life has completed its review of your current citizenship status. As per section 22(b) of the Digital Life Act 2308, you have been selected for mandatory digitization.

You have three days to report to the nearest government capsule facility. Should you wish to make private arrangements for your digital citizenship, please contact the department within the three-day period with the details of the facility you will be using for your capsule storage.

Should you wish to dispute this decision, an appeal must be submitted by no later than forty-eight hours after receipt of this notice.

Secretary of Digital Citizenship, Department of Digital Life.

* * *

I leapt out of my chair, rushing towards the ensuite bathroom as my stomach rebelled.

Amid my sobs and retching, I could hear the distinct sound of my bedroom door opening, but was unable to rise from my position in front of the toilet to see who’d entered my room.

“Katie?” A feminine voice called from the other room, the sound of it adding to my misery.

Why is it that after ten years of marriage to my father and twelve of being his mistress before that, you still act as though you don’t know my name is KADIA! I silently raged.

Wiping my mouth on the sleeve of my shirt I pushed myself into a standing position.

“What do you want, Danica?” I croaked out, glaring at the woman who’d let herself into my room.

“Oh sweetie, you look positively horrid.” Danica cooed, pressing a hand to her mouth with a look of feigned concern. “You’d best clean yourself up. Your father will be home shortly to discuss some important matters with you and won’t be pleased if you come down looking like that.”

He’s coming home? But it’s not even noon yet. I eyed the blond woman in silence, uncertain if she was lying, but her expression only held disgust as she stared at my vomit-splattered clothing.

Did he already find out about the rejection letter from Geraldine University? No, he wouldn’t come home for that. He must know about the digitization order. Relief filled me, and I slumped against the ensuite’s door frame. He’ll know what to do, we’ll contact the family lawyers and have them submit an appeal. Then, I’ll start applying to more universities. Not getting into any of the tier one universities isn’t the end of the world, there are lots of other universities that have good pharmaceutical science programs.

“I’ll be down soon,” I informed the blond bane of my life before retreating into the bathroom and closing the door loud enough that I hoped she took the hint to fuck off.

To say I hated my stepmother would be a severe understatement.

That woman had made my life hell from the moment my father brought her home. It hadn’t even been a full week after my mother’s death that he brought his second family home.

Coming downstairs on the morning of my mother's funeral to see my father with Danica and their son was the second worst moment of my life. The first being only days earlier when my father informed me of my mother’s death.

At eight years old, my entire world was flipped upside down, and years later, I still hadn’t managed to get it the right way up.

* * *

I took my time in the shower, using a few extra moments to regain some composure before I faced my father.

Donavon Greene was not a man for tears and he would not respond well to my lack of control over my emotions, regardless of the situation.

“Oh, honey, can you believe it? Our little boy, attending your alma mater, Madden University.”

The sound of Danica's voice had me freezing in place on the stairs, as her words penetrated my mind. Marcus got accepted into Madden University? How?

There was no way he met the academic requirements and he certainly didn’t get in through a sports program. He hadn’t played a single sport in his life, the only thing he ever played was make believe in his virtual reality capsule. Marcus didn’t even finish his final exam, leaving early so he could rush home to his capsule to meet up with his friends to raid a dungeon or some rubbish like that.

Marcus is the one who should be getting a digitalization order, he actually wants to enter a long-term capsule even if he doesn’t receive a mandatory order. But, if that was true, why would he even apply for Madden? He never mentioned wanting to attend when I told him I’d submitted my own application. Taking a deep breath, I continued down the last few steps.

Pain shot up my leg as I put weight on my right foot, but I clenched my teeth and ignored it, knowing I’d be scolded if I showed signs of limping in front of my father. No matter how much the old injury hurt, I would not, could not let it show.

Entering the main parlor, I found my father, Donavon Greene, seated on one of the settees with Danica practically glued to his side as she sung my half-brother’s praises.

Not that there was much for her to praise, Marcus almost never left his capsule in an attempt to avoid his mother. He despised her almost as much as I did.

“Sit.” My father ordered when he saw me enter, his expression unfathomable as he stared at me through familiar dark brown eyes.

Those eyes were the only thing I’d inherited from the man who’d sired me, in every other way I was my mother’s daughter. A fact that I took great pride in, as it meant Danica’s attempts to erase my mother’s presence from our home would never succeed, not when I was a living embodiment of her.

“Father, I-” I began, my voice trailing off when he held up a hand for silence.

“I’ve been informed that you were granted a digitalization order. As such, I have requested my secretary to make suitable arrangements for your digital citizenship. Our company has several contracts with the Everlife corporation, who specialize in this area.” He droned on in an emotionless voice, speaking about the preparations for my transition into a long-term virtual reality capsule.

Staring at the man who I’d called father for eighteen years, I struggled to comprehend the fact that he’d not even once mentioned appealing the Department of Digital life's decision.

I knew for a fact that over sixty percent of appeals were won, and if not, the person submitting the appeal was given up to a year to show themselves to be a contributing member of society before undergoing a second review of their citizenship status.

“Appeal,” I mumbled, struggling to get the words out.

“What did you say, Katie?” Danica asked sweetly, tilting her head to the side with a coy smile curling across her lips.

“I want to submit an appeal.”

“A pointless endeavor,” my father drawled, bringing my attention back to him. “On what grounds do you think you would win an appeal Kadia?”

“I,” swallowing back the lump in my throat, I tried to articulate my thoughts before continuing. “My academic record, my future position at Greene Pharmaceutical.”

“You think you would have a position at Greene Pharmaceutical when you did not even score high enough to graduate high school?” My father demanded.

“That’s- that’s not possible.” I cried out, shaking my head. “I’m the highest scoring student in my year.”

“Katie, sweetie, maybe you misread the report?” Danica crooned, letting out a high-pitched giggle. “It’s an easy mistake to make, Marcus’s and your identity numbers are only a single digit different after all.”

“My name is Kadia,” I snarled, jumping to my feet. “And it’s not a fucking mistake anyone would make. Marcus hardly ever shows up for class and didn’t even bother finishing the exam. If anyone should be getting shoved in a long term capsule it’s your dumbass son.”

“Enough!”

A loud shout from my normally stoic father caused me to flinch, and I gaped at him as he stood, his expression cold as he spoke. “The Everlife corporation will be sending a car to collect you in an hour. You can spend that time in your room sorting through your belongings for donation.”

“Sorting through my belongings for donation? Have you taken leave of your senses, you senile old bastard!” I shrieked, my voice taking on an even higher pitch than his bitch of a wife. “I am the heiress to Greene Pharmaceutical, even without graduating I have grounds to appeal!”

Moving faster than I could register, my father closed the distance between us and a sharp pain burst across my left cheek.

Hand pressed to my face, I stared at my father’s back as he strode from the room without another word.

Danica’s mocking laughter filtered through my turbulent thoughts as she moved to stand in front of me.

“Katie, Katie, Katie,” she said with an exaggerated sigh. “Such a silly, little girl you are.”

Well, if I’m going to end up in a capsule, anyway. I may as well make use of my last moments in this house. I didn’t allow myself a chance to consider any consequences of my actions, and instead lunged towards the woman who’d made the last ten years of my life a living hell.

By the time my father came rushing back into the room with one of the house maids to pull me away, Danica’s face was a bloodied, unrecognizable mess.

As the Everlife staff wheeled me out of my former home in a restraint chair an hour later, I couldn’t hold in the hysterical laughter that bubbled up from within.

Guess daddy is going to be paying for a new nose for the bitch. I watched with glee as I saw my father climb into his car with a bloody and battered Danica. Just you wait, I will appeal this bullshit mandatory digitalization order, and then I will-

A sharp prick of pain in my shoulder had my laughter faltering, and I craned my head to the side to see a gloved hand holding a needle tipped syringe pulling away.

As dark spots danced before my eyes, I tried in vain to keep my mind focused, but the foggy pull of the syringe's contents dragged me into a dark abyss.

The sound of anguished screams echoed through the darkness that surrounded me. I did not know how much time had passed, but after what felt like an eternity, I was past the point of screaming, and simply floated in the dark void of space, my mind rehashing the events that had brought me to this virtual prison.

“Our little boy, attending your alma mater, Madden University. Maybe you misread the report? It’s an easy mistake to make; Marcus’s and your identity numbers are only a single digit different after all.” Danica’s words reverberated through my head like someone had recorded the bitch and put her on repeat.

“Only one number different, an easy mistake to make.” Bitter laughter bubbled out of me as tears pressed at the corners of my eyes.

“What’s the bet that mistake was made with a well placed bribe?” I scoffed, looking around for something to hit or scream at, but finding nothing beyond the distant stars.

“Is this what my new virtual life is? What happened to the so-called, grand and fantastical worlds that await me?” I shouted into the void of space, glaring at one of the bright stars.

As I watched, the star grew brighter, as did several near it as they swirled in an intricate dance of light. The stars danced around in a fast-moving pattern until I was no longer able to make out each individual light.

They coalesced into one single bright, golden glow that raced across the expanse of space towards me, and as the light drew closer, it shifted and dimmed until the form of a woman appeared, her slender body clad in a shimmering, one-shouldered gown.

“Welcome, child. May I inquire as to the name by which you wish to be known?” The woman asked, her expression serene.

I was silent for a long moment, mesmerized by the appearance of the woman whose beauty couldn’t even be put into words.

Only when the woman repeated her question did I manage to pull my gaze away from the hypnotizing lights dancing across her dress.

“Kadia,” I informed her, while struggling to keep my attention on her luminous face.

“Are you ready to proceed?”

“I’d rather get out of here,” I informed her.

She nodded with a soft smile. “I see you have a Gaia Corp platinum life plan; this allows you to choose from any of these worlds.”

The golden woman waved a slender hand through the air. Dozens of planets appeared from the void to encircle us, each one no larger than a basketball.

Platinum life plan; ah, yes, my father's gift. I laughed bitterly at the memory of my father’s words about how he’d purchased me a platinum life plan. Did he expect me to be grateful? Perhaps I should consider myself lucky, as most who underwent mandatory digitization did so with a government-issued basic life plan.

Those on basic plans only had access to half a dozen worlds, as opposed to the hundreds of worlds available for private digital citizens to live on.

The platinum life plan my father had purchased was sold by the Gaia Corporation which, according to what I knew, was the most popular virtual life company currently operating. Their worlds were created with the newest technology and were the most accessed of any worlds available. With my platinum plan, I could access all of Gaia Corporations' worlds, including any new worlds created during my lifetime. Lucky me.

Turning my attention to the nearest planet, I watched it floated closer the moment I began examining it.

Videos played on screens around the floating planet, showing different scenes and providing information about the world.

As I tried to gather my thoughts into some semblance of order, I watched with moderate interest as a scene showing a large-scale space battle played out above the planet closest to me.

I didn’t have much knowledge about the different virtual worlds on offer. In the past, I had only casually spent time in a world called Avalon, at the insistence of Marcus who was an avid gamer.

Despite my hatred of Danica, and even my initial resentment of Marcus, we’d slowly managed to form an amicable relationship over the years.

Have they told him yet? I wondered, as I located Avalon among the many planets. For the last six months, Marcus had spent almost every waking moment, and even every sleeping moment, inside his capsule. He’d skipped most of our classes in the last half of the school year and would sulk anytime he was forced to leave his capsule for more than a few hours.

The last time I’d seen my brother was three days ago, when he’d briefly left his capsule to wish me a happy birthday, before rushing back to his room when his mother caught a glimpse of him in the hall.

In six weeks, Marcus would have his own eighteenth birthday and I knew he was expecting to receive a mandatory digitization notice due to his low academic scores.

I could already picture the look on his face when he saw the much higher scores on his exam, thanks to his mother “arranging” for our exams to be switched.

That exam score had been my way to avoid this life, and now it would also be the thing keeping my brother away from it.

“Is this the world you wish to choose?”

Ignoring the ethereal woman, I stared down at Avalon. The world was a fantasy-based world, and I had a decent avatar there with all kinds of gear Marcus donated.

But, did I want to live my life as a Faerie? I’d only chosen that race because Marcus told me they got the best perks as alchemists, being able to imbue increased magical effects into different herbs and plants.

Is this the world I want to live in? No, don’t think like that. I need to find Marcus, so he can get in contact with the right people and get me out. Ah, wait. He isn’t in Avalon anymore, is he? Marcus mentioned something a while back about the guild moving to another world six months ago. What was it called again? Kaledon? He kept trying to get me to create an account there and hang out, but I’d been so busy with preparing for the exams. I sighed, looking over at the dozens of planets.

After asking the woman if there was a world called Kaledon. I watched as she waved a slender hand and a new planet came floating towards me.

It was larger than the others, but only one continent on the rotating orb appeared to have any cities on it, despite there being dozens of landmasses visible on the planet.

“Is this the world you wish to transition into, citizen? Please be aware that some features of your platinum life plan will be altered if you choose Kaledon.”

“Altered? What do you mean?”

“In most worlds, a platinum class citizen has access to various bonuses and the ability to choose among several special races. However, Kaledon is not like those worlds that have come before it.” The gold-skinned woman said, her tone prideful as she gazed down at the planet with a loving expression on her face. “Just as in the physical world, one's life in Kaledon is left to fate. As a platinum class citizen, we will grant you the choice of six races. Of those six, you will be reborn into one at random.”

“I see,” I mused, looking back at the world with interest. A world where you didn’t pick your race? That sounds interesting. “What happens to any accounts I hold on other worlds?”

“I see you currently retain a life within the world of Avalon. If you wish to join that world you may, however, please be aware that you can only reside in the virtual realm as one being. Should you choose to reside in another world, your life in Avalon will be brought to an end.”

So, I’m free to reside in any world, but can only have one character? That means if I change worlds, the character I leave will be deleted. I concluded, gazing down at the world. I need to find Marcus, so for now I have no choice but to choose Kaledon- and pray I can find him.

“I want to enter Kaledon,” I told the golden woman, whose face lit up with a beautiful smile in response.

“An excellent choice, citizen.” The woman said, and with a wave of her hand the various worlds disappeared. With the disappearance of the planets, the surrounding stars glowed even brighter.

In a blur of golden light, dozens of stars flew towards where we stood, and when the light shining from the stars dimmed, I saw the forms of several women standing motionless in a circle around where I stood.

Each of the women appeared featureless, with no hair, and only simple clothing covering their form.

“These are the different races you may choose from.”

How do I even choose? How does anyone choose? Why so many? Pursing my lips, I examined the tallest form at the front.

Eyeing the figure, I guessed it was an elf, and the information window that appeared confirmed my suspicions.

“Why doesn’t it have a face?” I asked, peering up at the elf as I read through the information which spoke of the four elven subspecies consisting of high, wood, dark, and light elves.

“You have not yet chosen an appearance.” The woman stated, and I furrowed my brow as I turned away from the elf to look at her.

“Don’t I look like I did before?” I asked,

As I finished speaking, the faceless elf’s features changed.

Eyes wide, I watched as a wave of hair grew from the elf’s head, the color a mixture of red shades starting with a deep crimson and lightning to lighter, coppery tones. The hair kept growing until it fell about the figure's shoulders and was pulled back by invisible hands into a braided hairstyle.

Looking over at the other figures, I saw that each of them now looked the same, with slight differences depending on their race.

Moving away from the elf, I stopped in front of the form which looked the most like me.

Race- Human.

The most prolific race in Kaledon, their mighty empires span across the lands. Able to learn a variety of skills and master grand magics, this race is known for its skilled craftsmen, warriors and mages.

Waving away the information box without bothering to read further, I stared at the girl who looked so much like myself and tried to find something about my appearance I wanted to change.

The only thing I could think of was my eyes, those dark, emotionless brown eyes I’d inherited from my father. I didn’t want to be someone other than myself, but I also didn’t want to keep any part of myself that acted as a reminder of the man who brought that vile woman into my life.

“You said I can choose how I look?” I asked, reaching out to touch the red hair of the girl.

“Yes, please note that any changes you make will be permanent once you enter Kaledon.”

“That's fine, tell me how to change my appearance.”

“You may change your appearance through the customization menus.” The shining woman said as several windows appeared around the form of the human mannequin.

Flicking through the customization options, I found myself overwhelmed by the choices, but soon located the option to change eye color.

As I looked over the selection of colors, I pondered changing my eyes to the same leafy green as my mothers, but found my attention drawn to the more exotic colors and ended up choosing a deep purple.

After examining the customization menu further, I slimmed my nose down a little, before smoothing out the few pimple scars left behind from my pubescent years.

Happy with the changes, I exited the menu, and took a step back to admire my new purple eyes.

Next, I spent an arduous amount of time walking through the forms of all the different races, and in the end gave up trying to work out what races were good.

I had gone over many of the race descriptions, yet nothing jumped out at me and said “hey pick me”. I didn’t really know what was considered a good race in this world, so choosing six was no simple task.

Huffing out a sigh, I turned the woman who’d stood silently observing me as I examined the figures.

“I don’t know enough about any of these races to make a choice. Is there a way you can help me choose, or provide more information?” I asked.

“There is a test you may take which will pair you with those races most suited to yourself. Do you want to select this option?”

I nodded, and in response she handed me three pages of paper along with a metal fountain pen.

Is this some kind of personality test? I pondered as I read over the questions.

What is your favorite hobby?

Who do you admire most?

If attacked, how would you respond, fight or flight?

What is your style? Might, Magic or Guile?

What is the best way to become stronger?

What element do you feel most attuned with?

What animal is your favorite?

When are you most active, day or night?

After what felt like an eternity, I reached the last question and handed the woman back the pages.

The paper disappeared from the woman’s hands, and I waited impatiently, curious to see what races would be chosen based on my answers.

“Very well, citizen, your answers have been reviewed and the six most suitable races were selected. Let me be the first to welcome you to Kaledon.”

As the woman’s voice faded, the world around me glowed and I squeezed my eyes closed against the blinding brightness.

When I opened my eyes, I found myself standing in a brightly lit building made of white marble. Scattered through the room were dozens of people who filled the room with the low buzzing hum of conversation.

Looking at the people surrounding me, I saw several wearing white robes trimmed in gold milling about and talking to different people who wore clothing in varying styles.

The one that stood out the most was a short, green-skinned man, wearing a loincloth who was shouting angrily at an elven woman in white robes.

“Greetings, citizen. May I inquire as to your chosen name?”

Turning around, I saw a tall, slender man whose pale skin made him appear like he’d been carved from the same white marble as the building in which we stood.

High, angular cheekbones set in a regal-looking face, paired with pointy ears that poked through a curtain of silver-toned hair, made guessing his race easy.

“Kadia, my name is Kadia.” I mumbled, only half paying attention as I watched the screaming green man get carried out of the temple by a man in gold armor.

“I am Farlin, and this is the temple of beginnings. The birthplace of all digital beings who call Kaledon home. Do you require help, or are you already familiar with this world?” The elf asked with a bright smile as he indicated the large hall with a slender hand.

“I would like help, oh, and can you tell me what race I am?” I asked, feeling my cheeks grow warm in response to the smile.

Get it together, Kadia! He's just a good-looking guy. You’ve seen dozens of good-looking guys. Don’t forget, a pretty face often hides an ugly personality. Just look at Danica as an example. That vile woman’s beauty is barely even skin deep.

“From your clothing, tail, and ears, I would presume you to be a member of a Yōkai clan. You will need to view your life token in order to confirm this,” Farlin said, and wide-eyed, I craned my neck back, trying to find the tail he’d mentioned.

I have a tail. Oh no! Please don’t tell me I'm one of those weird cat girls from one of Marcus’s anime shows!

Horrified, I stared at the fluffy tail attached to my rear. It was red, same as my hair, and it faded to white at the tip, reminding me of a red fox. The tail, which seemed to have a mind all of its own, swished back and forth behind me in a slow, rhythmic motion.

I patted the sides of my head, searching for my ears, and found a pair of furry, triangular ears sitting just above where my round human ears used to be.

Looking down at the clothing I wore, I saw a red knee-length dress in a style reminiscent of a traditional kimono. A wide sash tied around my waist, knotted into a bow at the back, and my feet were clad in a pair of delicate red slippers.

As I admired the slippers, I raised my right foot, wriggling it around in fascination. It didn’t hurt; for the first time in years, my foot lacked the dull, aching pain I'd always felt when placing weight on it.

Ever since I’d injured my right ankle, I’d suffered from long-term instability and recurrent sprains. Even in Avalon, there had been pain, as the capsule registered my mind's expectation of pain and thus manifested it.

Placing my foot back down, I ran my hands over the silky material of the outfit. I felt, rather than saw, a lump beneath the sash on my right side, and found a small silk pouch tucked into the sash at my waist.

Pulling out the pouch, I turned it over in my hands, and feeling its lightness, I went to tuck it back into my sash, presuming it to be empty.

“If you open the pouch, you will find your life token and any starting items your life plan includes,” Farlin said, as I looked at the pouch in my hands. “Life tokens are Kaledon’s version of an identification card and are bound to you. If you leave it somewhere, it will appear back in your pouch or any inventory device you are carrying.”

Opening the pouch, I stared at a faint blue screen, and smiled. This was an inventory screen. What a strange way of accessing it.

Looking at the box, I saw six floating tokens, and as I focused on each, a line of script appeared above them.

—

Weapon token, platinum grade. Use this token to gain a random weapon. 60% chance of gaining a Rare-quality item. 35% chance of gaining an Epic-quality item. 5% chance of gaining a Legendary-quality item.

Basic sustenance pack, contains x 2 apples, x 1 bread, x 1 small water flask.

(Bound) Land token. Use this token to claim a 5-acre plot of land to call your own.

(Bound) Housing token. Use this token to create a place to call home, only usable on land you own.

(Bound) Money pouch. This pouch contains 5,000 gold coins. (This item is bound until opened. Once opened, coins can be stolen unless stored in a bank.)

(Bound) Life token, identification item [Name: Kadia. Race: Kitsune-Yōkai. Guild: None.]

—

Kitsune Yōkai? Ah, a Fox demon. Well, that’s better than a cat girl, I guess. Leaving the tokens for now, I closed the pouch and tucked it back into the sash, smoothing down the material as I did so.

Once the pouch was tucked away, I turned to the elf, who watched me with his smile still fixed in place. Aren't his cheeks sore from smiling so much?

“Did you find your life token?” he asked.

I nodded, feeling a light breeze against the backs of my legs as my tail swished back and forth.

“A Kitsune,” I said with a grin, happy I wasn’t some anime cat girl.

“Ah, I thought you might be, either that or a Ōkami Yōkai, a wolf demon. Did you have any other tokens?” Farlin enquired.

I almost answered him, but stopped myself as I remembered something Marcus had told me when I’d started playing Avalon.

“Tell no one what you’ve got in your inventory, Kads. Always underplay how much gold or valuables you have. These worlds are just like the real world and are filled with scum who take advantage of unsuspecting people.”

“Oh, uh, just a sustenance pack,” I lied.

The elf’s eyes narrowed before he nodded, his smile brightening. “As a new digital being, I suggest you spend some time exploring the city of Caruan before heading to the eastern gates and taking some basic jobs from the guards there. You will need to earn some gold, and the guards will give you a basic weapon if you accept an extermination contract from them.”

I nodded, when I first started playing on Avalon, it had involved a lot of “kill this amount of creatures” or “deliver this letter to this random person” quests. Unsurprisingly, this world followed that trend.

“Do you know if there is a guild called Eternia here?” I asked, wondering if the guild had used the same name when they moved to Kaledon.

“Eternia? Yes, I believe so. From memory, their guild hall is in the eastern quarter of the city. Most guilds have a hall in Caruan, as it is the second largest city on the continent. Unlike players, who often start in smaller towns, digital citizens will all start in one of the four main cities. This allows them to transition more easily to their new life here,” he explained.

After getting directions to the eastern quarter where the elf said I might find the guild hall, I headed out of the temple, intent on finding the Eternia guild hall.

I was pretty sure Marcus didn’t know what his mother and our father had done. He’d made it clear over the years that being a digital citizen was something he wanted, just as joining the family company was what I wanted.

If I can find Marcus, then he can try to fix this. If he reports what happened to the authorities, they will see a mistake has been made.

* * *

Wandering through the city streets, I gazed around at the crowds of people.

Standing beside a stall selling glowing stones, an elf giggled and simpered, batting her lashes as she clutched at the arm of a muscular green skinned man. Three short bearded men squabbled outside a shop selling weapons, arguing over who would buy a rare sword for sale. A group of elves twirled around, dancing and playing instruments on a wooden stage as passersby tossed copper coins into a crate.

I took all of this in as I made my way down the street, stopping every few feet to admire the colorful stalls and stores. Everything could be found within the market, weapons, food, clothing, toys, even medicinal tinctures.

Stopping at the stall selling tinctures I spent almost an hour talking with the man running the stall.

In Avalon, when I played as an alchemist it had been a rather simple matter of tossing your ingredients into an alchemist pot and waiting the allotted amount of time for the potion to be ready. However, according to the potioneer selling tinctures, the alchemy profession in Kaledon was split into two groups.

The first were the potioneers who could create low-level tinctures by infusing herbs into alcohol. The second were true alchemists, who could create higher grade potions.

Just as earth's alchemists did so long ago, an alchemist here brewed the potion from start to finish. It appeared that unlike so many others, this world had added a lot more realism to the alchemic craft.

I strolled through the market, my new vulpine ears twitching in every direction as they picked up the different sounds of city life.

The atmosphere was lively, and everyone looked happy, unlike the cities in the physical world where everyone walked around with scowls on their faces.

Twenty minutes of walking later, I was staring up at a maroon flag adorned with a howling black wolf sitting before a pair of crossed blades.

Seeing the flag a wave of relief washed over me. I’d never forget the Eternia insignia, not after Marcus, the moron that he is, got it tattooed on his shoulder.

Our father and Danica had been furious, with Danica demanding he go through a removal procedure, but Marcus had been steadfast in his refusal, showing off his tattoo with pride.

The guild’s headquarters was large and rectangular, set back from the street with four stairs leading up to a set of large wooden doors.

Standing guard at the front of the entry was a human-looking man in heavy metal armor and another man who appeared to have the lower body of a goat.

Pulling my gaze away from the half-goat man, I focused my attention on the human who gave me a silent nod of greeting.

“Hi is, uh, Markion here?” I asked, not sure if Marcus was still using his old name from Avalon or not.

“Markion?” The man eyed me up and down, before letting out a little snicker, as did his goatish companion.

The pair dissolved into laughter over a joke known only to them, and I scowled, pinning my ears back in annoyance as the urge to bite them rose from somewhere deep within me.

That thought caused me to pause, and I furrowed my brow, contemplating the meaning behind my sudden animalistic desire to see if the half-goat man actually tasted like a goat.

After regaining some of his composure, the human guard turned to the open doorway and yelled in a loud voice.

“Oi, Markion! One of your girlfriends is here to ride tha bull.”

Shocked, and disgusted, I was about to dissuade the man's incorrect assumption, when a loud booming voice called out from just beyond the door.

“Fuck off, you know I don’t have a- Kadia?”

As I stared up at the man—beast—standing just inside the door, I could only gape in shock at the sight of the massive humanoid bull staring down at me.

Clad in only a loincloth, the Minotaur was a literal mountain of muscle who towered over everyone with long curving horns that were longer than my arms.

Heck, I would probably only reach his hip standing next to him.

“Marcus?” I spluttered, searching the light brown bovine face for any of my half-brother’s familiar features.

“Yeah,” he nodded. “You finally get sick of studying?” The bull asked, his face stretching into a warped looking grin.

“I’m apparently a digital citizen now,” I said off handedly, still trying to take in the massive form in front of me.

“Digital? What?”

“I was given a digitalization order,” I muttered.

“How? That’s not possible,” He exclaimed, shaking his head in denial.

“Our father and your mother bribed the exam officials to swap our high school exam scores, so I got sent to a virtual life facility where I’m going to spend the rest of my life trapped in a giant, metal box.” I seethed, moving closer to the Minotaur and glaring up at the beast. “Do you have any idea how hard I’ve studied, how much I’ve sacrificed in order to get into the Geraldine University of Science? Do you? And now, I’m stuck HERE!”

I screamed the last part, slamming my fist into the Minotaur’s stomach.

Lost in rage, I kept hitting him, slamming my fists into his stomach and kicking his leg whilst screaming incoherent insults until I felt the ground disappear from beneath my feet as enormous arms closed around me.

My screaming was cut off as the air escaped my lungs in a rush, and I wheezed struggling to draw breath while being crushed in an iron embrace.

“Kads, Kadi, Kadia, fuck, I’m—shit I don’t even know what to say,” Marcus mumbled, releasing his hold on me enough that I could breathe, but not putting me down as he walked further into the hall.

“Put me down,” I gasped, while kicking with my legs and trying to push away from the hulking beast restraining me.

“Yo, Markion, ya really gonna bring that crazy bitch inside?” The goat, faun, whatever he was, asked as he trotted up behind us.

In one fast motion, Marcus shifted his hold on me, using his left arm to cradle my smaller form in a one-armed princess hold as he spun around and snatched the goat man up by his throat.

Hefting the man up into the air with one dinner plate sized hand, he held him up at eye level and I watched in fascination as the half goat’s eyes bulged, while his face took on a reddish hue.

“The developers put a lot of work into the details,” I mused, ears twitching as they caught the low, raspy sound of a growl from the bovine muzzle just above my head.

“Insult my sister again, and I’ll demote you back to squire.” He roared.

With a flick of his wrist, Marcus flung the man across the room where he landed with a thud. Chest heaving, Marcus turned his attention to the people who stood watching.

Seeing we had the attention of what had to be almost fifty people, my cheeks became flushed as I recalled the fit I’d thrown only moments ago.

“That goes for all of you,” he snarled, his arm tightening around me as I wriggled in his hold, trying to escape.

What a great way to make a first impression, I grumbled silently as Marcus carried me past the staring guild members and into a long hallway.

Finally putting me down, Marcus opened a door at the end of the hall, gesturing for me to proceed him into the room.

“This is my room, uh, it’s kind of messy.” His voice was a low rumble as he spoke, the sound reverberating over me, and causing my tail to poof out. The urge to puff myself up to appear bigger, and more aggressive niggled at me, but I shoved it aside as I looked around the room.

“As soon as he gets back, I’ll talk to Darius and get you a room of your own. You can take the bed tonight, I need to log out so I can talk to mom and dad about this… fuck, I don’t even know what to say.” Marcus rubbed a hand over his face as he kicked a dented shield under the thick, wooden bed frame of the massive bed that took up most of the space in the room.

“Umm, are the sheets clean?” I asked, avoiding the subject of our father and his mother. Scrunching up my nose, I looked at the bed with its rumbled sheets and fur blanket skeptically.

“Ah, I’ll go clean them,” Marcus spluttered, yanking the linens off the bed and bundling them up in a pile. “This is a guest pass to the guildhall, just show it to the door guards if you go to town. I don’t know how long I’ll be gone.” He said with a sigh as he handed me what looked like a copper coin with the guild's emblem on it.

The coin had a maroon-colored tassel at the bottom and a loop at the top which I used to attach it to the outside of my inventory pouch by knotting the drawstring through the loop.

“What’s the point in talking to them?” I muttered, picking up a discarded shirt that looked like it had burst at the seams and tossed it onto the pile of bed linens. “Nothing you say can change what happened. I’m already here.”

“You’re taking this better than I thought you would, not that I ever thought you would be digitalized. You’ve always been the smart one. You should be at home packing for that fancy-ass university you keep talking about.”

“I’m not planning to stay here,” I told him, curling my lip up in disgust as I found yet another piece of dirty clothing. This virtual world is a little too realistic. Who wants to spend their days doing laundry?

“I’ll do everything I can, Kadia, I promise. We can appeal the digitalization order again. I don’t know why you would have lost the first appeal but—” Marcus began, raising a hand I cut him off.

“I didn’t get a first appeal. I didn’t even get three days! I got bundled up in a car and driven straight to the Everlife facility right after I got the notice.” I spat, kicking a scrap of leather that looked a lot like a loin cloth.

“Fuck, that’s not right. Everyone has a right to appeal a digitalization order. If dad won’t do anything, I’ll hire a damned lawyer myself.” Marcus promised, picking up the dirty loin cloth I kicked towards him.

“If you can contact Mr. Davis he should be able to arrange my appeal,” I informed him.

He nodded, rubbing a hand over the back of his neck, looking awkwardly around the room.

“So, Minotaur, huh?” I asked, deciding to change the subject to something other than my digitalization.

“Yeah, I ended up resetting five times, and this was what I ended up with after testing the others out. Are you a Ōkami or Kitsune? I'm guessing Kitsune from the coloring.” Marcus said, lips pulled back from his muzzle in a grin.

“I'm Kitsune. Is it a good race? I didn’t know what to pick for my six choices, so I took the test.”

“Well, it’s not bad, but also not great. Not many people stick with the Kitsune race for long. Yuki, who you might remember from Avalon, is also a Kitsune and has three tails.” Marcus’s eyes brightened as he spoke.

I listened with interest as he continued talking about the Kitsune race.

“While it has a few useful abilities, there are other races who can do everything a Kitsune can do but much better. A Kitsune normally plays either a tamer or stealth damage dealer route. There were a few following the magic route as fire mages, but last I heard, they’d all reset due to the slow progression of the Kitsune race.”

“Yuki? Wasn’t she the tree lady?” I asked, a vague memory of a green-skinned woman with vines for hair entering my mind at the mention of the name.

“Druid,” Marcus corrected with a chuckle.

“Right, druid.” I repeated, maybe she would help me with some advice about the Kitsune race. “So Kitsune’s are slow to level?”

Marcus grinned, rubbing a hand over his large horns with a prideful gleam in his eyes. “Yes, and no. Leveling in Kaledon is a bit different. A Kitsune levels up by manifesting additional tails. The more tails you have, the stronger your abilities grow. The strongest Kitsune in Kaledon, who isn’t an artificial being, has four tails and is a stealth-based attacker with the Silver Arrow guild.” He explained, then jabbed a thumb into his chest. “A Minotaur’s horns get larger as they grow in strength. Humans have an ‘aura’ that can be felt when you are near that gives off a sense of danger if they are stronger than you.”

“Makes sense I guess,” I murmured.

“Ōkami and the other Yōkai races, aside from Kitsune, gain a mark on their body like a tattoo. Honestly, there are too many races to list them all. Plus, with Kaledon being so new, there isn’t any in-depth knowledge about any of the races. There are no guides, or forums, and any that pop up are deleted. Kaledon is a world with limited “game" aspects unlike those worlds before it, and the only information about it is what has been discovered by those living in the world. Gaia corp wants this world to be as realistic as possible. It’s not just a game world for entertaining players and digital citizens, but a place we can call home.”

“You said there are no screens, but I have an inventory screen, so how can you say it's realistic?” I scoffed, crossing my arms over my chest as I recalled I’d been able to see a screen when opening my bag. Fantasy, and realism don't mix. It’s like oil and water.

“It's called a bag of holding," My brother said, rolling his eyes. "The inventory is an enchantment, not a “screen”. That pouch will only hold about twenty kilos and only things that can fit in the mouth of the pouch. I’m guessing from the quality clothing and pouch, you have either a gold or platinum life plan, right?”

“Platinum, so I’m guessing that’s where the five thousand gold came from.”

“That’s standard for platinum plans. You’ll also have a house and land package, and a weapon token. Though, seeing you're not carrying a weapon, I guess you haven’t used the token.”

“I haven’t,” I agreed and pulled the token out of the pouch.

It was nothing special, just a small piece of paper with a drawing of crossed swords on one side and a repeat of the description I’d seen on the inventory screen on the back.

As Marcus instructed, I tore the paper in two and was momentarily blinded by a flash of light.

Blinking away the spots in my vision, I heard a soft thud and glanced down to see what looked like an umbrella laying at my feet.

“Let’s see. Elegant Wagasa, epic quality with a hypnotic enchantment.” Marcus muttered, reaching down to pick up the umbrella.

“A Wagasa? A Japanese umbrella?”

“Yeah, it’s a decent lightweight weapon for those who prefer a support role, but not much else. Opening the canopy will allow it to be used as a shield, and the spiral pattern on the canopy has a hypnosis enchantment. It will put your attackers into a stupor, allowing you to escape or attack. The tip here is a small blade, so it can do some slash and stab damage, but like I said, the blade is small, so you won’t have a lot of attack power. While it offers both the ability to attack and defend, you would get better results by using a shield and short sword.”

“Oh.” I mumbled, my ears and shoulders drooping in disappointment that I didn’t get some ultra-rare weapon.

“Don’t look so disappointed. It’s still a good quality weapon. We can sell this and get you something better, though I reckon you should hold on to it for now. Caruan is a big city, so rare and epic grade items aren’t hard to find. Wait and sell it in a smaller town where items of higher quality are harder to come by, you will get more for it then.”

I nodded. “I’ll hold onto it then.”

Markion grinned, handing me the umbrella. “I’ll make you a sword when I get back. It won’t be epic quality like this, as I am still working on improving my smithing, but it will be good enough until I can make you a better one.”

“Smithing? Oh, you were a blacksmith in Avalon as well, weren’t you?” I asked, twirling the wagasa around and admiring the swirling patterns before snapping it shut when I felt dizzy.

“Yup, it’s not as easy here, though. Like I said, Kaledon prides itself on realism. I spent weeks reading books about forging before the smithing trainer would allow me in the forge.”

“Wow, you read a book?” I gasped, pressing my hand to my chest.

“I know, it shocked me, too. I leave all that smart people stuff to you, unlike me, you care about things like university.” Marcus said with a laugh, which cut off abruptly as he stared down at me.

“Ah fuck, Kadi, I’m so sorry, I—” with a groan, Marcus spun on his heel and after scooping up the bundle of dirty linens he left the room.

Staring at the closed door, I let out a sigh before turning to face the dirty room.

“Well, if I’m going to be staying in this room, I guess I better make it a little more livable.” I grumbled, pushing up the sleeves of my kimono. Why do boys have to be so messy?

After tidying up the room as best I could, I plopped down onto the unmade bed with a book I’d discovered in a case under the bed.

The case was filled with glass instruments, such as beakers, stirring rods and a glass retort. Along with the case were two books. The first was called Felix’s guide to common plants and herbs which contained information on how to identify and harvest several plants.

The second book, A Potioneer’s guide to basic Salves and Tinctures was much more interesting, though I was disappointed over the lack of more in-depth information.

So, the red Amanita Mushrooms can be infused into alcohol to create a tincture that can heal minor aches and pains. Morning dew combined with cat's tongue will create a tincture with a revitalizing effect, Lungwort for a curative tincture used for minor poisons and disease. But wouldn’t the healing effect from the Red Amanita Mushrooms also heal disease? Then again, this salve is for healing burns, and this one is for minor cuts, so that must mean that in this world a single healing potion won’t heal you fully. Brow furrowed, I flipped through the book searching for any further mention of the mushrooms to see if they were used in any of the other recipes.

Thudding footsteps alerted me to Marcus’s return, and I looked up from the book of recipes as he re-entered the room carrying a bundle of now-clean linens.

“I see you found the alchemy kit and books,” he said in greeting, tossing the linens onto the gigantic bed.

“I didn’t know you were interested in alchemy,” I remarked, it had been a surprise to find him with books, let alone ones on a subject he’d never shown interest in.

“I’m not,” he scoffed, rolling his eyes as he moved to sit beside me on the unmade bed. “Alchemy is really underdeveloped in Kaledon, so it’s one of the hardest professions to learn. This chick in our guild thought she could make some quick gold, but ended up without a coin to her name, so I offered to buy them. I figured you’d use them if I ever convinced you to visit Kaledon.”

“How much did it cost? I have some gold, so I can pay you back,” I told him, yanking the case closer to where I sat.

With a chuckle, Marcus waved a hand dismissively in the air. “Don’t worry about it, sis. Besides, you won’t have enough. Call it a late birthday gift.”

Gaping, I stared at him, and then down at the case in shock. I don’t have enough? Marcus knew I’d gotten five thousand gold from the platinum plan and said that wasn’t enough?

“How much was it?” I asked.

“Books and shit are expensive. Demand is high, but supply is low, so the world's economy is a bit crazy right now.” Marcus said with a shrug, picking up the common plant's book. “You could afford this book, but that’s about it. This one is roughly three thousand gold, as there are lots of copies floating around. The recipe book goes for around seven to eight thousand, depending on your location. The basic alchemy kit is ten thousand gold, but seeing as this one is missing some vials and the fire stone, she sold it to me for eight thousand. Don’t worry about the stone though, I can hunt some fire drakes to replace it.”

“You spent so much,” I whispered.

In the previous world I spent time in, you could buy a cottage in one of the farming towns for the gold he’d spent on these few items.

“Nah, it’s not that much for me. I get a decent bit of gold from selling weapons, and my guild commission. I also had a special encounter, which got me a rare smithing technique only usable by Minotaurs. I am the only blacksmith who can forge rare quality items, even if the chance of an item being rare is only thirty percent.” Marcus bragged, talking about how he’d met an old Minotaur who was a retired smith living in seclusion.

As Marcus continued droning on about the various aspects of smithing, I found my eyes drifting back to the book I’d been reading.

I wasn’t interested in knowing how hot a forge needed to be to melt Kalitherium ore. I’d rather learn more about the different ways Kaledon incorporated traditional alchemy techniques into this virtual world.

“Kads, it’s almost dusk so I need to head out if I’m going to confront dad before he leaves for work,” Marcus said as we remade the bed with clean linens. Kaledon ran on an opposite day, night cycle to the real world. So, the players could enjoy the world without it affecting their daily lives.

According to several studies, spending a night in the capsule was better than sleeping in a bed, but I’d always found myself mentally fatigued after spending a night in virtual reality, which made it hard to focus on my studies.

I nodded, not wanting to discuss it further. I’d already told Marcus in detail about the letters from the universities and the confrontation with our father.

Sitting on the bed, I watched as Marcus walked to the far side of the room where he sat on the floor. Once he’d settled into a comfortable position, his body flopped forward like a puppet whose strings had been cut and turned to stone.

Walking over, I examined the large Minotaur statue. Then, once I was finished with my inspection, I grabbed a sheet from the bed and tossed it over the motionless form.

I didn’t want to sleep in a room with that ugly thing in the corner. Not that I was planning to sleep, I had books to read after all.

Settling back onto the bed, I sat with my chin resting on my knees as I stared at the sheet covered mass on the far side of the room.

Marcus and I hadn’t been close when we were younger, though it wasn’t for lack of trying on his part.

For the longest time I resented him for being the product of my father's betrayal and hated him for coming into my home with that woman who made my life a misery.

It wasn’t until we were fifteen that I realized Marcus was also miserable and suffered as much as I did. While I found solace in my books and research, Marcus found it in virtual worlds.

When I’d fallen down the stairs on Marcus’s fifteenth birthday, thanks to Danica pushing past me to hurry upstairs to touch up her makeup, Marcus had carried me to the nearby public transport hub and to the hospital when his mother refused to take me, claiming it would ruin the party she’d planned.

Danica had been furious when she arrived at the hospital two hours later, blaming me for Marcus leaving his party, and berating Marcus for embarrassing her with his absence.

I’d been horrified when she’d slapped him, but he didn't even flinch as she continued on with her tirade until our father arrived and she became the demure, gentle woman most people thought her to be.

That day had been a turning point in my relationship with Marcus, and we’d slowly built an amicable relationship over the past three years.

I wonder if he will keep his cool long enough to follow through with his plan to see how they intend to explain what happened. I closed my eyes against the tears threatening to fall, attempting to push thoughts of what happened out of my mind.

I didn’t want to cry anymore; I didn’t want to trap myself in a cycle of what ifs.

Marcus would contact the lawyer in charge of my trust, and who I hoped would be able to help. Davis wasn’t connected to my father, having been my mothers personal lawyer, and the executor of her will. It was Davis who’d secured my mother’s estate and ensured Danica’s attempts to get her claws into my trust failed.

The lawyer was someone I trusted, purely based on the fact he was someone my mother trusted.

Soft footsteps in the hall caught my attention, and I listened as the person stopped outside the door, then left without knocking.

Frowning, I stared at the door as the footsteps drew further away and was shocked as I realized I could hear the person not only through the door, but also down the hall.

Straining my ears, I found that if I focused, I could also hear the soft murmur of voices from the main hall, though I wasn’t able to make out what was being said.

The next several minutes were spent trying to see how much I could hear and investigating the function of my new vulpine ears. From what I could tell, my hearing required me to be focused on the sounds I wished to hear.

An hour later, as I lay reading the books I’d been given, I once more heard the sound of someone approaching the door.

This time the person outside knocked, and I briefly considered ignoring them, before putting down the book of recipes with a sigh.

As I stood, I glanced at the still-covered Minotaur statue before walking to the door. I didn’t know when he’d be back, but the least I could do was pass on a message for whoever was looking for him.

“Marcus, er, sorry, I mean, Markion isn’t here right now. But I can let him know you want to see him when he gets back.” I called out, hand hovering over the door's handle.

“Kadia, it’s Darius. I got Markion’s note saying you are here. Can I come in?” A gruff male voice responded from the other side.

Darius?

Pulling the door open, I frowned in confusion as I saw a tall, dark-haired man outside the door.

Peering around him, I searched for the muscular green-skinned guild leader, but didn’t see him anywhere.

“Where is Darius?” I asked, frowning at the dark-haired man.

“I am Darius,” he said, smiling wide to show off a set of sharp upper and lower canines.

“You’re not green,” I said, grimacing at how dumb that sounded, but in my defense, he’d been an Orc the last time I saw him.

“And you’re not tiny, still small, though.” Darius quipped, eyeing me up and down.

I scowled at him in response and considered slamming the door.

I’d only been four feet tall when I was playing as a Faerie, and I hadn’t bothered changing my natural five foot four height during the character selection. Though, in hindsight, maybe I should have added an extra few inches. Everyone I had seen so far had been on the tall side, except for the goat man.

“Ōkami as well?” He asked. As he spoke I noticed the pair of black furry ears almost hidden against his tousled black hair.

It was strange. On close inspection, he still looked like the rugged and fierce Orc I’d known in Avalon. The only notable changes were that his light green skin was now a tanned brown, while his orcish tusks had been replaced by a tail and wolfish ears. He kept the same neatly trimmed beard, and faint scar splitting his left brow in two.

“Kitsune,” I corrected, stepping back from the doorway to allow the Ōkami guild leader inside.

Entering the room, Darius closed the door and moved to the side table, which he used as a makeshift chair.

“Markion needs some damned chairs in here,” he grumbled, glancing around the room. “I see he finally cleaned up, so that’s something I guess.”

“I cleaned up. Marcus just hid somewhere under the guise of doing laundry until I was done,” I said, while trying to reach behind myself to catch my tail, which was swooshing about behind me in fast motions.

Nodding, Darius glanced around the room, eyes finding the sheet covered lump in the corner and staying there for several moments.

“I’m guessing from the size that’s Markion. Don’t blame you for covering him up, I wouldn’t want to look at that ugly mug while I’m trying to sleep either.”

“I figured covering him up would save me from some pretty scary dreams,” I laughed, shifting to the bed, and pinning my tail beneath me to keep it still by means of entrapment. “It’ll be a while before he gets back. Somehow, I don’t think the talk with his mom and our father will be a short, or pleasant.”

“He said in his note they forced you into being digitized,” Darius said, losing his previous light tone as he gave me a concerned look.

I nodded. “Pretty sure they paid someone to switch our exam scores. As expected, Marcus scored horribly, which meant in the eyes of the government I scored horribly.”

“I’m sorry, Kadia, I know you never wanted to spend your life like this.”

“And yet here I am,” I muttered, fighting to keep my expression composed.

“There isn’t anything I can say that will make what happened to you any less horrible than it is, but what I can say is you will always have a place with the Eternia guild.” Darius said as he ran a hand through his hair. “As an existing member from Avalon, you can skip the entry level ranking of squire and novice.”

“I want to work on alchemy again, I think I’ll enjoy it more than fighting,” I told him, holding up the book of recipes for him to see.

“You will still need to fight to grow stronger, but you won’t be required to contribute through raids if you prefer to follow a profession. I think with your personal background, you won't have much difficulty with the alchemy profession.” Jumping off the side table, Darius reached into a pouch tied to his belt and pulled out a token which looked almost exactly like the one Marcus gave me.

Handing Darius the copper guest token my brother had given me, I inspected the new bronze token, noting it had my name and rank on it.

“Welcome back to Eternia,” Darius said with a smile. I returned it with a smile of my own, despite not feeling any real sense of joy.

Silence filled the room, as I tried to find something to say. I didn’t know Darius very well on a personal level, but he’d always been friendly, and willing to help me with quests when Marcus had been busy, usually acting as a bodyguard while I collected different plants.

“Now that’s settled, how about I get you a room? We have some spare rooms on the third floor,” Darius said, gesturing to the door. “I’m sure you’d rather not stay with Markion, he snores loud enough to wake the dead, and I do mean that literally.”

“Has he?” I prodded with interest, sure there would be an interesting story behind that statement.

As Darius began telling a clearly embellished tale of their group camping near a graveyard, only to be attacked by skeletons that he claimed were woken by Marcus’s snores, I grabbed the books and alchemy kit off the bed, trying to put them in my pouch, but discovered they wouldn’t fit.

Laughing in response to my failed attempts to stuff the items into my pouch, Darius reminded me that only things which could fit inside the pouch's opening could be stored within.

Annoyingly, the pouch only had an opening that was three inches wide.

So, neither the books nor the alchemy kit could fit, and even with the canopy closed, the wagasa was wider than three inches.

After handing the alchemy kit’s case to Darius, I held the wagasa over my shoulder, and gathered the books into my free hand, sparing a quick glance at the sheet-covered Minotaur before leaving the room.

Following Darius to the third floor of the guildhall, I fought back the foreign and animalistic need to sniff not only the guild leader, but every new thing I saw.

The strongest was the playful urge to yank on his fluffy, black tail—but I restrained myself. I was pretty sure he’d return the favor if I did and knew from yanking on my own tail it wasn’t a pleasant feeling.

I’m a person, not a fox. I’m a person, not a fox.

“We normally pair apprentices together in shared rooms, but we’ve some single rooms free, so I’ll assign this one to you,” Darius said, gesturing for me to enter the room.

It was smaller than my brother’s, but that was to be expected with how massive the Minotaur was.

Even the doorway to his room was thrice the size of a normal door.

Glancing around at the room with its sparse furnishings, I decided I would need to see about getting a desk or workbench. The room was big enough that I could fit a small table along the far wall next to the wardrobe.

Leaning my wagasa against the wall, I stacked the books I carried on the bedside table.

“Have you eaten since you got here?” Darius asked as I finished putting away my few possessions.

“No, but I was pretty tempted by all the smells floating around the market I walked through.”

“I was about to head out to attend some business. You’re welcome to join me and do some shopping at the same time. As you may have guessed from Markion needing to do laundry, clothing here gets dirty, and while more durable than clothing on Earth, it can also be damaged. So, you will need to buy some extra clothing, and some basic armor. That kimono is only a standard clothing item, and will provide little in the way of protection.” Darius said, inclining his head towards the door.

“That would be great. I was thinking about going out to explore, but was worried I’d get lost so I planned to wait for Marcu- er, Markion,” I said.

“Bring your wagasa. It is important to never leave the guild hall without a weapon. While fighting is prohibited in cities and towns, unlike other worlds, there is no ‘safe zone’ that prevents attacks. The only thing stopping fights, theft or other crimes is the guards who patrol the city. While we’re on that subject, how much gold do you have on hand? Have you already banked it?” Darius said, gesturing to my wagasa as we headed for the door.

“I have a platinum plan. Markion said he'd take me to a banker when he got back.”

“We’ll do that first, then. As part of a guild with a good reputation, you can open an account at a lowered cost. If we head into the market with all that gold, you’ll be pickpocketed for sure. There are some who have a sight ability that lets them find targets carrying high value items.”

“Thieves can tell how much gold I have just by looking at me?” I asked curiously, wondering how that would work considering Marcus claimed the world was one designed to be more realistic than other fantasy game-styled worlds.

“Not exactly. They can only see that a person has an item of high value. Unfortunately, this is based on the owner's perception of value. If you think a pebble is your most valued possession, it will appear to them as an item of value. It’s certainly resulted in a few interesting stories.” Darius informed me with a broad smile that showed off his sharp teeth.

“Interesting,” I murmured, wondering why anyone would think a pebble was their most valued possession.

“There are a few different abilities related to sight, some can see magical residue left by spells or enchantments, others can see footsteps left by a person long after they’re gone. Your brother can tell the quality of a weapon or armor, while also having some ability to determine what enchantments may be on it.”

I nodded, remembering how Marcus had been able to tell the quality of my wagasa, and that it had an enchantment on it.

As we walked down the hall towards the stairs, Darius pointed towards one of the doors.

“This door leads to the showers and the baths are in the bath house at the far end of the rear courtyard. The bath house is split into sections, giving you a choice of using the larger communal bath or a smaller, more private bathing room.”

“Got it,” I said, nodding and making a mental note to buy some soaps and hair products. “Wait, if we need to shower. Do we go to the toilet?”

“No.” Laughing, Darius shook his head. “We were spared that little bit of realism. Any food or drink you consume is converted into energy by your body. No waste means no need for a toilet. Plus, can you imagine the trauma a Markion-sized shit would do to the plumbing?”

“I’d rather not,” I said between giggles as a part of my mind wondered if a Minotaur defecated like a person or a cow.

Arriving in the main hall, Darius reintroduced me to various guild members who’d all transferred with the guild from Avalon. I didn’t remember most of them, but they all seemed to know who I was, which I found a little unsettling.

I doubted they truly remembered me from my time in Avalon, as I didn’t socialize much outside of Marcus’s close friends.

“Kadia, open the canopy of your wagasa and hold it over your shoulder so it covers your back. That will make it more difficult for a thief trying to approach from behind to pickpocket you.” Darius said as we exited the guild building and made our way onto the street.

“You think someone is going to pickpocket me?” I questioned anxiously, doing as he instructed.

The canopy was large enough that it covered most of my back, and I could feel my tail brushing against the bottom edge as it swished around behind me.

“Not with me here, but it’s good to always be aware of your surroundings, and to protect your coin.” The dark-haired man lectured.

“How are you keeping your tail from moving? I keep hitting things with mine. It won’t stop wagging!” I whined, glancing down at the Ōkami’s tail that wasn't moving aside from a gentle sway with each step he took.

“It will come with time. You aren’t used to controlling a tail, so your brain needs time to adjust. I think it took me about three days to stop hitting myself in the leg with my tail, and a week before I could control its movements. That was around the time I was first able to use the Yōkai’s transformation ability. Being in my full Ōkami form helped me get a better grasp on the more animalistic urges as well.”

“Yōkai transformation ability?” I queried, distracted by the sight of four shirtless male Centaurs moving down the street carrying a palanquin.

I couldn’t see much of the person who was riding on the palanquin, as they were concealed by blue curtains. But, as the curtains swayed with the motion of the palanquin, I saw a glimpse of golden blond hair before the Centaurs trotted away into the crowd.

“All the Yōkai, whose nature is associated with a particular animal, possess the ability to transform into their bestial form. This includes the Kitsune who can take on the form of a fox.”

“How many types of Yōkai are there?”

“Many, but not all are deemed intelligent races.” Darius said as we moved around a group of people arguing in the middle of the street.

Glancing back at the group, I saw a familiar looking short, green-skinned man being held up by his throat, as a much larger green man snarled at him with a fierce expression on his face.

“Only a handful of the Yōkai from mythology have been used by the creators of this world as an attainable race. Ōkami, Kitsune, Oni, Tengu, Bakeneko, and Onikuma are the attainable Yōkai races that I am aware of. Gaia corp has replaced some of the beast men races with the Yōkai races, as there are no canine, bear or feline beast men present in the world.”

“Are there other Yōkai in the guild? Markion mentioned Yuki was a Kitsune.” I asked, furrowing my brow as I tried to recall what I’d read in the past about the mythological Japanese demons.

Darius didn’t answer right away, instead pushing open the door to one of the buildings on the corner of the street.

Inside the building were ten counters, with a set of old-fashioned scales placed on each counter. Several armored guards walked around the room, and I tightened my hold on the handle of my wagasa when one of them walked past, staring down at me with eyes that glowed an eery blue color within the confines of its helmet.

“Our guild has two Tengu, called Dravern and Helvern, who joined Kaledon from Galxia, a space exploration world. Calidus, who you might remember from Avalon, is now an Onikuma, and his wife Isabella is a Bakeneko as is Corvus. There are about six other Ōkami in the guild, all new recruits who are in different cities for training.” Darius explained as he guided me to a counter that, unlike the others, had no line.

Seated behind the counter we stood in front of was a short man whose golden colored hair and beard were styled in an intricate weave of braids. Silver clasps and chains were woven into the braids, giving the man an almost kingly appearance with his display of wealth.

The man didn’t glance up from the book he was writing in when we approached, and I took a moment to look at the items laid out on the counter.

Aside from the large scales I’d noticed before, there was also a pile of papers and a strange looking silver box with dozens of glowing shapes engraved into the metal.

“Greedy dwarf,” Darius muttered in a teasing manner, tossing a single gold coin onto the counter which disappeared with a quick swipe of the golden-haired man’s hand.

“Welcome customers to the Hand of Midas bank. How may I assist you today?” The dwarf said, putting down his quill and giving us a wide smile.

“Henric, old friend, this is Kadia. She’ll be opening an account, guild rates.” Darius said, gesturing to me as he spoke.

“Of course, may I see Miss Kadia’s life token?” Henric asked.

I hesitated, glancing at Darius who nodded. Pulling out my pouch to retrieve my life token, I handed it to the dwarf.

“Ah, a Kitsune, one doesn't see many of those around.” The dwarven banker muttered, pressing my life token down onto a fresh page of the opened book on the counter before handing it back to me.

“Will you be making a deposit today?”

“Uh, yes please.” I said before turning to Darius, who spoke before I could voice my question.

“Keep two hundred gold on hand, you need clothing, armor and other basic items, it shouldn’t end up over a hundred and fifty gold, but it's better to have extra in case you find something you want. Saves us having to make a return trip for more gold. I also recommend changing about five gold into silver and 1 gold into copper.”

Nodding, I turned back to the banker, who pushed the glowing box towards me with a wide smile.

“Place the gold you wish to deposit in here and place the gold you wish changed on the scale.” The dwarf directed.

I frowned, looking down at my pouch. Do I just pull the coins out one by one?

“Think about how much you want to remove, and just tip the pouch upside down over the box,” Darius said.

Ducking my head to hide my flushed cheeks, I tipped the pouch upside down over the box with its glowing symbols and watched as coins fell from it in a shower of glimmering gold.

Once the flow of coins stopped, I pulled another six coins from the pouch and placed five of them on the scales.

The scales glowed as they tipped to one side with the added weight, then it rose again as silver coins appeared on the opposite end.

Reaching out, the golden-haired dwarf spun the scales around so the silver coins were closest to me and I collected the pile of coins into my pouch before putting a sixth gold coin onto the scales to be changed to copper coins.

“Now then, is there any else I can assist you with today?” Henric the dwarf asked, rubbing his hands together as he eyed Darius, or rather Darius’s pouch.

“I’ll be making a withdrawal,” Darius said.

“How much do you wish to withdraw?” Henric asked, flipping the lid of the box containing my gold closed with a huff.

“A hundred thousand gold.”

“Coins or bars,” the dwarf said impatiently, tapping his fingers on the box he held. “I’m not a mind reader.”

In response, I flattened my ears against my head, fighting the urge to growl at the dwarf who was scowling at Darius.

“Bars,” Darius said, not looking at all fazed by the dwarf's attitude.

“Why did he get upset about you taking out gold?” I asked, watching the unhappy dwarf stomp away.

“Guild bankers like Henric get a portion of the monthly fees for the accounts they manage. He isn’t annoyed that I'm withdrawing, he was expecting me to make a large deposit as it is nearing the end of the month.”

That still didn’t explain why someone working at a bank would behave in such an unprofessional manner. The few personal bankers I’d met were always courteous and respectful.

“What are the fees? He didn’t give me any paperwork or explain the accounting fees.” I complained, growing even more annoyed at the dwarf’s lack of professionalism.

“Your account fees as a guild member are two percent of the total amount of gold stored, non-guild members are charged four percent. Considering any money carried can be stolen, it’s a small fee to pay to ensure the safety of our money.” Darius said as Henric reappeared, still carrying the box which he slammed down on the counter with a loud thump.

I waited to ask my next question as the guild leader took the gold bars from the glowing box while Henric watched on.

When Darius finished putting his gold away, he said a polite farewell to the still-unhappy dwarf.

As we walked away from the counter, I made a mental note to not do any business with the dwarf in the future. While Darius might not have an issue with his behavior, I didn’t want to deal with someone who didn’t even bother informing his new clients the fees associated with the accounts they were opening.

“You said money can be stolen, can all items be taken? How do I protect my things if I die? How long does it take to re-spawn? Do our bodies disappear when we die?” I asked in rush once we’d exited the bank.

“Any items not bound can be stolen or looted, with clothing being the exception. If you are wearing armor with clothes beneath, then your armor can be looted. If removing your armor would leave you unclothed, then it cannot be removed unless you are awake, and willingly remove it.” As Darius said this, he gave a slight shake of his head, a wry smile curling over his lips. “I don’t recommend wearing plate armor without clothing beneath, it’s rather uncomfortable.”

“And our bodies?” I prompted, plate armor wasn’t something I needed to be concerned about. I wasn’t planning on wearing any, with or without clothing.

“Your body will remain in the world until you respawn. The stronger you are, the slower you take to respawn. When you respawn, you will be at the temple of new beginnings nearest to your place of death, or a location you’ve chosen by binding your soul to an altar or token.”

Walking alongside Darius through the bustling crowds, I couldn’t help but feel nervous as I scanned the surrounding faces.

Isn’t he making himself a target by carrying so much gold? As I expressed this concern to Darius, he assured me he wouldn’t be carrying the gold for long and pointed to a large, white dome roofed building further down the street.

“Next stop, the auction house.”

The auction house sat apart from the surrounding buildings, with lush gardens, and paved pathways that circled around the building to three separate entrances.

Crowds of people flowed into the building in thick crowds, and I was relieved when we walked past the main entrance with its dense population of people.

As Darius led me down the garden path, where a group of people stood outside a set of closed doors, he explained the main entrance led to the public auction rooms where people could place their items up for sale. Those items would be sold through an auction which was held every day at noon.

“Aside from the daily auctions, there is an auction held at the end of each week. Those wishing a faster sale will use the daily auction, but it comes at the risk of a lower sale price.” Darius explained, leaning down so his mouth was close to my ear, which twitched in his direction as he spoke, hitting him in the cheek.

“Sorry,” I mumbled, feeling my cheeks grow warm with embarrassment at the lack of control I had over my new body parts.

“Darius, come to join the fun I see.” A sultry voice purred from behind us, interrupting our conversation.

“Noctus,” Darius said, with a brief incline of his head.

The man who’d approached us was pale in a way that gave him an almost sickly appearance. His skin looked like it had never seen the light of day, and his hair was such a light shade of blond that I’d be inclined to say it was white.

Yet, despite his pallid appearance, the man was handsome, no- not handsome, pretty, yes, this man was more pretty than handsome.

“Who’s this little morsel you have accompanying you?” The man asked as he stalked closer with a sashaying walk that even professional models would be jealous of.

“Markion’s sister, so unless you want to find yourself split in two by his ax- again, I suggest you keep your fangs off.” Darius warned, crossing his arms over his chest.

Keep his fangs off? What did he- ah, those fangs. Smirking at Darius, the man he’d called Noctus ran his tongue over a set of sharp looking incisors.

Paired with his complexion, and the guild leader’s comment, I was guessing this man was a vampire.

“Markion’s sister? The little Faerie? I thought she up and left us for dull reality.” Noctus purred, eyeing me a predatory smile. “My, my, the little Faerie has given up her wings for ears and a tail.”

“Who are you?” I asked, staring at the man who seemed to know me. Had he been a part of the guild in Avalon? Only someone I knew there would know I used to play as a Faerie.

“Kadia, this is Noctus, previously known as Striker.” Darius said, waving his hand towards the other man.

Narrowing my eyes, I stared at the vampire, memories of a hooded man flooding to the forefront of my mind at the mention of his former name.

“Striker? The same Striker who kept stealing my potions?” I asked, scowling at the vampire, who grinned unashamedly at me in response.

“Are you planning on taking up your previous profession?” he queried, ignoring my question as he asked one of his own.

“Are you planning to pay for my potions if I do?” I snapped back at him in annoyance.

The rogue had once stolen almost a hundred health potions which had been brewed with the intent to sell at auction for gold. He’d cleared out my entire supply.

Sure, he’d left behind all the raw ingredients I needed to brew the potions again as “payment”, but I’d wanted gold not plants.

I spent three nights remaking those potions, only for the rogue to break in once more, and take the completed potions in exchange for the unprocessed ingredients.

This had gone on for another two times, until I’d poisoned an entire batch of potions, which resulted in several deaths within the guild.

“Yes, he will.” Darius interjected, giving Noctus a stern glare. “Theft between guild members is unacceptable, even if the thief is leaving compensation. Later, we can discuss pricing for the different potions you brew.”

“I figured it would be the same as before. Any potions brewed for the guild are sold at material cost or free if brewed with ingredients the guild supplies,” I said, and Darius shook his head while Noctus leapt forwards with his hand outstretched.

“Deal,” the vampire exclaimed, only for Darius to knock his hand away with a glare.

“No,” he snapped at Noctus before turning to me. “Things are different here, potions are harder to brew, and materials more expensive. We will assess cost, and payment, at a later time. When you’re ready to start selling, we will have a meeting to discuss a contract and reimbursement for your services.”

“Contract? Darius, she’s a player. Just give her a standard guild agreement like before.” Noctus said, frowning at Darius as he shook his head.

“Noctus, Kadia is a digital citizen now, and a member of our guild. I’m also certain she will produce results that are well worth having an individual employment contract. According to Markion, she was top of her class in science and chemistry. Besides that, she was preparing to study pharmaceutical science. With her knowledge of chemistry, I’m certain she will handle learning alchemy better than anyone else in the guild who’s attempted it.” Darius explained.

I fought the urge to pull my wagasa forward over my shoulder so it covered my face as Noctus turned to look at me in surprise.

“You decided to became a lifer? I thought Markion said you were going to some fancy university.”

“I decided nothing,” I hissed, my previous embarrassment from Darius’s compliments turning to anger.

“Kadia was given a digitalization order, but intends to appeal it.” Darius said, glowering at the pale vampire. “As a guild commander, and Markion’s friend, I would expect you to show some consideration to her feelings as a digitized citizen who is still adjusting.”

“Ah, my mistake. I should not have made assumptions and just as Darius said, I am a guild commander, it is my duty to look after our guild members, so if you need help with anything please ask.” The vampire said, his expression appearing contrite, but I didn’t believe it for a second. “Anything.”

I sighed. Yup, not in the slightest bit contrite.

“Noctus can appear like an annoying prick, but he cares about the guild, and it’s members.” Darius added, shaking his head with sigh.

I stared at the vampire in silence, contemplating what I should do, before relaxing my tight hold on the handle of my wagasa and offering the vampire a small nod.

“Steal any of my stuff, and I’ll sic Marcus on you,” I told Noctus.

The increasing volume of voices around us and the crowd pushing past our group of three pulled my attention away from the vampire, and looking around, I saw that the large doors at the far end of the atrium, which had been closed now stood wide open, allowing the waiting crowd to enter the room beyond.

“Kadia, you will need to close the canopy of your wagasa before we enter. They will not allow you in with it opened because of the enchantments.” Darius explained, as we flowed with the crowd towards the doors where two guards stood staring out at the crowd with fierce expressions.

Nodding, I did as directed, giving a twist of the handle just like Markion had shown me, and the delicate paper thin canopy of the wagasa folded down to sit flush against the handle.

With the canopy folded down, the wagasa looked more like a short version of the jousting poles I’d seen depicted in the historical texts that spoke of knights from the medieval age.

If I’m going to carry around a jousting pole, then I should buy a horse. I’m sure there must be mounts here, though, I didn’t see anyone riding any. Lips twitching in amusement, I conjured up the image of myself cantering a horse towards Markion and running him through with my wagasa.

Ever since I was little, I’d loved horses and spent months begging my parents for riding lessons before they started sending me to a local riding club an hour away from our house.

Those lessons ended when my mother died, with Danica claiming the riding club was too far away. Being able to ride in Avalon was one of the few reasons I continued to spend time in the virtual world.

“Are there horses here? Or other kinds of mounts?” I asked as we walked past the guards, who glanced at the wagasa I held before allowing us to pass through the doors.

“Yes, it's the most common way to travel, that or by carriage.” Darius answered, glancing over at Noctus. “Toss up a sound barrier.”

“As you command, oh, grand leader,” he mocked, circling the air with his right index finger.

I watched confused as nothing appeared to happen, but after a moment Darius nodded, seemingly pleased by whatever it was the vampire had done.

“What’s a sound barrier? And what about magical transport?” I asked, as we moved through the crescent room with its rows of chairs that resembled a large amphitheater.

“The sound barrier is an intent-based enchantment. When it’s cast, only those you are directly speaking to can hear you. As for magical transport, there is a type of portal for instantaneous travel. However, the cost of building and opening the portal is so high that only the four major cities have one. Once a week a portal will open to one of the four major cities, with the destination alternating each week.” Darius said, as we searched for a row with three vacant chairs.

“The portals use Mana crystals as a power source.” Noctus added as we found three seats in a row at the far side of the large circular room. “It’s estimated they run through a high-grade stone for every two minutes the portal is open. That’s why the portal only stays open for a half an hour every week.”

“A mana crystal?”

“A mana crystal is a type of crystal called Arcanium which can store mana. This happens by the crystal absorbing mana slowly over time and forming a natural Mana crystal. The process can be sped up by placing Arcanium crystals in a mana-dense area or within a mana-gathering formation. This is a low-grade mana crystal, which can be used for low tier enchantments.” Noctus said, pulling a glowing blue crystal from a pouch and handing it to me.

The crystal was an inch long, and half that wide, with rough edges forming a misshapen rectangle. A faint sense of power radiated from the crystal, resonating with something deep inside me.

It felt similar to the power the crystal gave off, but also different. It was like comparing a sip of fresh water to hot sauce. Both were a form of sustenance, yet so very different.

“This mana crystal is formed from natural mana, and thus lacks any alignment or “flavor,” while your own mana is aligned with fire. For those whose race doesn’t have an inborn attainment to an element, their mana will become flavored by the spells they use. All Kitsune have a fire-aligned mana source and can manipulate fire, with the strength of their flames increasing as they grow stronger.”

Listening to Noctus speak in low tones, I paid little attention to the auction starting, as the vampire told me about his own race’s natural ability to manipulate shadows. Noctus also explained that as vampires were a variant of humans, their strength was determined through an aura similar to the races he called human variants.

As the bidding began for the first item, which was a dagger with a gem-encrusted handle, I kept my eyes trained on a tiny flicker of flame hovering over my palm.

The flame was no larger than what a candle or match would produce. But, Noctus claimed that with time, and practice, I could conjure larger flames.

“Think of the flame as an extension of yourself. Just as your mind wills your limbs to move, you can move the flame. Start by having it move up and down in your palm, like this.” Noctus instructed, a black marble of condensed shadow hovering over his palm.

Following his intrusions, I made the flame rise, stopping two inches above my palm before lowering it. It was a strange feeling. I knew the flame was hot, I could feel the heat radiating from it; yet, I knew that this fire would never burn me.

Focused on my hand, I raised, and lowered the flame three more times, before it flickered out of existence.

“You should practice as much as possible, like with any skill it won’t improve unless you practice.” The vampire explained.

I nodded, watching as he demonstrated a series of exercises, floating the black marble around in increasingly complex motions.

As the vampire continued his demonstration by conjuring two more of the shadow marbles, moving each in a different direction, he spoke at length about different methods I could use with my fire to protect myself.

At this level, Noctus advised using the fire to coat my fingers to form fiery claws if I found myself in close combat without a weapon, as I wouldn’t be able to conjure a flame large enough for a fireball capable of damage until I grew stronger. That was a little disappointing, as I’d been imagining all the fun I could have by flinging fireballs at a certain Minotaur.

“Our second item for the evening is a book from goblinoid origins. This book was discovered in the possession of a goblin chieftain, who was defeated in the Almer mountains. The book is written in a runic script which has been identified as Latinus. We will start the bidding at ten gold.”

Turning my attention to the stage as the auctioneer announced the second item, I saw three large images appear in the air above the man.

Each image showed the front and rear covers along with an image of the first page.

“They always auction off the crappy stuff first,” Noctus commented, having noticed I was no longer hanging onto his words with rapt attention.

“She said the language was Latinus, but that's an archaic form of Latin script on the cover.” I said, furrowing my brows as I stared up at the images. “I think it says "The great,” er, the last word is tricky. The last and first letter could be c, g or k, because in archaic Latin the sound of each is similar.”

Noctus looked at me in surprise along with Darius who’d been listening to our conversation.

“It says Grog the great.” Noctus said. "Grog is the name of a dark, aligned god who the goblinoid races worship. It’s a common enough book, normally found with Hobgoblin shamans or chiefs, as they are smarter than common Goblins. As for Latinus, it is derived from genuine Latin with some added letters and words, thus creating Latinus. I’m surprised you can read it, it has taken me months to even memorize the basic letters.”

I nodded, mulling over the newfound information for a moment before responding.

“My mother taught me Latin.” I murmured, chewing on my lip as I eyed the book. I wanted to buy it purely based on the desire to see what difference’s Latinus had to Latin. “She studied paleo pharmacology, as she felt that modern pharmacology was stilted. Mom was very passionate about the pharmaceutical industry and believed that knowledge of the past would lead to greater knowledge in the future.”

“What is palo pharmacology?” Darius asked, exchanging a look with Noctus who just shrugged in response.

“Paleo pharmacology is the study of historical documents and data relating to the pharmaceutical industry, such as how ancient societies used medicinal herbs, and plants, and how they treated certain illnesses that were present in those times. Paleo pharmacological studies have shown that even prehistoric man used pharmaceutical techniques using water, leaves, dirt, or mud on wounds and then progressing to mixing plants together to create medicines.” I was about to tell them about how Mesopotamians were the first recorded people to begin the practice of running a medicinal apothecary, when I noticed their eyes glazing much in the same way Marcus’s did when I talked about paleo pharmacology.

“Sorry, I got a little carried away.” I mumbled, looking back towards the stage as the auctioneer tried to rally interest in the goblin book, which had a handful of bidders who’d unenthusiastically raised the book's price up to ten gold and eight silver.

“No need to be sorry, I’m sure knowing about paleo pharma, uh, historical medicines will help you with learning alchemy.” Darius said, drawing my attention back to him as the auctioneer closed the bidding for the goblin book.

“Forget alchemy, Darius. She knows Latin, almost every damn book we have about magic is in Latinus. It took me an entire month to translate ten pages of just the normal Latin parts. If we train her as a scribe, it would be much more beneficial.” Noctus said, staring at me with a glint in his eyes that had me shuffling away from him, and closer to Darius.

“She can do both, but only if she agrees to it.” Darius interjected, glancing down at me.

Faced with the feverish gaze of the vampire I reluctantly nodded.

“Brilliant, start with these,” the vampire exclaimed, dropping five thick books onto my lap with a thump.

“Uh, err,” I stared down at the topmost book, which was thicker than my wrist, and opened it to the first page.

“Have you got any reference books or notes?” I asked, as I saw the unfamiliar runes that appeared to be jumbled into the Latin script.

Noctus nodded, reaching for his pouch, but stopped as Darius cleared his throat.

“Don’t forget where we are,” he warned.

Looking around I noticed several people staring greedily at the pile of books in my lap.

“Noctus, put the books away for now. Kadia’s pouch is too small, and she will need supplies if she is going to help with translating. Supplies which you will provide, you will also work out a fair compensation for her help.” Darius continued, reaching over to flip the book I held closed.

“Of course, of course! Kadia, if you have time after the auction I’ll take you to the scriveners store, we can get writing supplies there.” Noctus said as he shoved the books into a pouch that was only just wide enough for the books to be placed inside.

“I was taking Kadia to the market after the auction, she needs clothing, armor and other basic supplies, you can come with or go on ahead to purchase what you need from the scrivener store.” Darius said.

“I will accompany you both, I didn’t have any plans for tonight aside from the auction. You’ll get better pricing with me around,” Noctus said, his demeanor shifting back into that of an alluring predator, and I had to smother a laugh at his exaggerated attempts to be seductive.

“Then I’ll leave the bartering to you,” I told him, then turned my attention towards the stage where the next item was being introduced.

Ignoring the choked laughter sounding from the Ōkami beside me, and the now-pouting vampire, I stared at the images of a red mushroom with white spots.

Red amanita mushrooms are the plant used to create the pain relief tincture. Chewing on my bottom lip, I thought back to the book I’d been reading before Darius showed up. I wonder if the healing effect of the mushroom is present because of a reaction with the alcohol it is infused with, or if eating the mushroom has the same effect. The book said it was used to treat minor aches and pains, does it numb the area locally or block the pain on a neurological level? The book did not say whether the tincture was consumed or applied to the skin, but then again, tincture implied it would be consumed.

“Do I have twenty gold? Yes, over there twenty gold one silver,” the auctioneer called out, shaking me from my thoughts.

Twenty gold for mushrooms? If people spend so much money on the Amanita mushrooms then they mustn’t be easily found.

“Twenty and five silver,” I yelled, rising my hand in the air, and jumping to my feet, hoping the auctioneer would hear me.

The choked wheezing noise of the men, caused me to lower my hand as I realized too late that I might have made a mistake with my bidding.

“Twenty gold and five silver. I have twenty gold and five silver for the two thousand Red amanita mushrooms, going once, going twice, sold to the red-haired lady on the left.”

“Ahem, ah, Kadia. I’m not sure if you are aware, but those mushrooms only have a short life span before they rot, and well, they grow pretty much everywhere.” Darius said over the murmuring of the crowd who was looking in my direction, no doubt wanting to get a look at the fool who’d just wasted their gold.

“Oh, I know that,” I lied, trying to fight back the rising surge of embarrassment I felt. “I wanted to experiment a little with the mushrooms and didn’t feel like going out to pick any myself.”

Feigning confidence I retook my seat as people returned their attention to the stage.

Holy shit! What am I going to do with two thousand mushrooms? Should I make a big batch of the pain relief tincture, and sell it to recoup some lost gold? That could work, but I need the pure alcohol to infuse it with, and vials.

“You got a decent deal at least. A single cap from an Amanita mushroom is three copper, if you are planning to brew tinctures you can make about four thousand doses, which can be sold for one silver each.” Noctus said.

I nodded, trying to calculate how much alcohol I would need.

One mushroom cap infused with two hundred milliliters would brew two doses of tincture, so that would mean I’d need four hundred liters of alcohol and four thousand vials.

Hmm, there was a retort in the alchemy kit Markion gave me, what if I distilled the mushrooms? Darius said they would soon rot, but if I distilled the mushrooms, then I could store the concentrated essence to be used later. Could I use the concentrated essence to create the tincture or would the effect of using a distilled essence be different to infusing the mushroom in the alcohol. Does it have to be alcohol? What if I didn’t distill them? Can I dry them? The book didn’t specify that the mushrooms had to be fresh.

“I’m guessing I won’t find a dehydrator around here, so maybe an oven or even a kiln would work if the temperature is right.” I mumbled, as I mulled over the different ways I could try to use the mushrooms.

“What do you need an oven or kiln for?” Darius asked, looking away from the stage where a set of gleaming silver armor was being shown.

“Drying mushrooms,” I said with a sigh, thinking of the things I needed to buy to process the mushrooms.

I didn’t have any tools for harvesting plants or herbs, or anything to store them in, as the alchemy kit only contained tools used for distillation.

“Drying the mushrooms won’t work, it will lose its effectiveness. Sara tried it when she was attempting to learn alchemy, though she increased the potency of the mushrooms by mashing them up with a mortar and pestle. After that she squeezed the mushrooms through a cloth to sieve the liquid.” Noctus informed me.

I frowned as I took in this newfound information. “Did she try distilling them?”

“Yes, but the alcohol evaporated, leaving the mushrooms to burn. The smell from the burnt mushrooms took days to dissipate.” the vampire said with an amused grin.

“The flame must've been too hot,” I muttered, wishing I had a pen and paper to make notes on.

“We should find you somewhere to work, I don’t think your room is going to be big enough or have the needed ventilation.” Darius commented.

Noctus gave a low hum of agreement. “There aren’t any workspaces open in the workshop, the space set aside for alchemy got taken over by the smiths who were whining they needed more room because of Markion taking over the main forge. Though, in saying that, there is a workroom in the forge that isn’t being used because the roof is too low for the bull to get inside. Markion doesn’t like people in his forge, but if it’s Kadia, I’m sure it won’t be a problem.” The vampire said.

Darius nodded, looking thoughtful.

“That should work, the reason the smiths took over the alchemy lab was because it was the easiest place to convert to suit their needs, the same should be said for the workroom in the forge.” Darius said. “Plus, even if Kadia doesn’t stay long term we should have an Alchemy lab set up.”

“I will need to look at the space, but any large room with decent ventilation should be fine,” I told them, mentally creating a list of all the items I would need.

Being near the forge would also benefit me, as it would mean I could get Marcus to make most of the things I needed for my alchemy lab.

As the auction carried on with a variety of different items being auctioned off, Noctus ended up buying two books written in Latinus which were claimed to be about enchantments and another which I was sure had alchemic symbols embossed on the front cover but was sold as a book about druidic magic.

The total cost of all three books had been just over thirty thousand gold coins, and I’d been shocked to see they were among the cheapest books to be sold at the auction.

The most expensive book was about elemental wind magic, which sold for a jaw-dropping hundred and eighty thousand gold.

Though the reason for the high price became clearer as Noctus informed me the book was newly discovered and had not been sold on the open market before.

Darius had entered the bidding for a pair of swords, which shined with an almost ethereal light, but ended up withdrawing as the price soared past one hundred thousand and beyond two hundred thousand.

I watched wide eyed, as a beautiful dark-haired woman whose lower body narrowed into the red scaled form of a serpent entered a bidding war against a hooded man. Once the bidding ended, Noctus leaned back in his chair, smugly informing me the swords were crafted by my brother which meant the guild just earned a decent amount of gold thanks to Darius pushing up the bids.

The next item Darius bid on was a pair of enchanted bracers; which had Noctus hissing and growling at him as the two bid against each other, with Darius triumphing at fifty-six thousand gold as the vampire reluctantly conceded after having already spent a good deal of his coin on the books.

Once the auction drew to a close, it was time to pay and collect my two thousand mushrooms.

Standing before four large wooden crates piled high with white spotted red mushrooms, I found myself facing the dilemma of working out how to transport my purchased goods back to the guild hall.

“These won't fit in my pouch, will they?” I asked, looking at the pair of men who were watching me with barely concealed amusement.

“Nope,” Darius agreed, lips twitching into a smile, while Noctus gave me one of his predatory grins.

“As an enchanter, I could assist you with acquiring a larger bag of holding,” Noctus crooned, causing me to narrow my eyes at him.

“At what cost,” I asked, not believing for a second the former rogue would simply give me a bag.

“I want you to try making something for me, a salve. As a vampire, I am restricted by the sun and can only walk around during the day when wearing a salve which is applied to my skin to prevent me from burning. This salve is horribly expensive and made by the Dreadmere guild's pet alchemist who is, well, not a friend, shall we say.”

“Do you have a sample of the salve, or any information about what is used in it? Can you get the recipe?” I queried, watching with interest as the vampire pulled out a round bronze container from a pouch attached to his belt.

Catching the palm-sized container that Noctus tossed towards me, I twisted the lid off and inspected the thick, waxy-looking substance inside.

Interesting, does the wax form a protective coating to protect the skin or does it absorb into the skin? There is a faint smoky scent to it, and the color is an ashy white, almost gray. The texture is reminiscent of tallow, but it doesn’t smell like animal fat, and there isn’t a masking agent to cover up the unique smell of the animal fat used to create the tallow, so perhaps a plant-based tallow mixed with ash?

“Alchemists are very possessive of their recipes, you won’t find many willing to share or sell them. They get more gold selling the products they create,” Noctus explained.

I rolled my eyes in annoyance at his expectation of me creating something with no knowledge of the ingredients. “I can’t make the salve without more information, I have some ideas on how it was made, but I lack the knowledge of what plants may have been used.”

“I have some idea of what plants were used, as the ash from Muroosa wood can be infused into oil and rubbed onto the skin to provide limited protection, allowing for my kind to move about in shaded areas. With the salve we can stand up to an hour of direct sunlight before our skin blisters and burns. The infused oil is used by all vampires, it’s common knowledge. The salve is similar enough in scent that I know the Muroosa wood has been used, but I don’t know if any other plants were used or how the salve itself was made.”

“Do you have the Muroosa wood already? What kind of plant is it? A bush? Tree? Does it produce fruit? Is only the wood burnt or do you burn the leaves as well? What ratio of ash to oil do you use? What type of oil is it? Plant or animal based and what animal or plant is used?” I asked, tail swishing wildly as I shot question after question at the vampire.

“No set ratio, just a handful of ash into a jug of oil. I have some wood I haven’t burnt yet, and I think it’s a bush? I don’t know about fruit, the wood is purchased without leaves. The oil… I’m not sure, it’s just sold as oil.” Noctus replied.

I scowled at him in annoyance at the lack of information his answers provided.

“Give me the wood, and the oil you use. I’ll also need any information you can find about the Muroosa plant and, if possible, an entire Muroosa plant or if it’s a tree, see if you can get me a sample of the wood, leaves and any fruits.” I told the vampire, wriggling my fingers toward his pouch as I waited for him to produce the Muroosa wood.

“I don’t have the wood on me, but I will get it for you once we return to the guild hall. I’ll also look into getting more information on the Muroosa plant,” Noctus said, placing a hand over his pouch.

“Fine, but I’m keeping this,” I said, waving the container in the air and shoving it into my pouch before the vampire could protest.

“I have another tin, so that’s fine,” he said, shaking his head with a small grin.

“So, about that bag?” I inquired, gesturing to the crates of mushrooms.

“Right, I will give you a satchel which will hold up to a hundred kilos as payment for you working on the salve. I will also provide the Muroosa for the initial attempts at recreating it. Once you have a workable recipe, we can discuss the viability of mass production and the costs.”

“Mmm, no, not enough. I want the bag, and the book on druid magic you bought tonight. In exchange, I will work on the salve,” I countered, remembering the book the vampire purchased earlier.

“The druid book? Why?” Noctus asked, his eyes narrowed with suspicion.

I shrugged, seeing no reason to lie. “The symbol on the cover is called the alchemic key, comprising twenty-two symbols representing different elements. I wasn’t sure when I first saw it displayed on the stage, but when you collected it, I got a closer look. I don’t know why they thought it was a book on druidic magic, maybe because the cover is engraved to look like a tree?”

“Give her the book, Noctus,” Darius said. “If it is related to alchemy then it is of better use with her. I will compensate you for the cost from the guild funds. Kadia, I will allow you to borrow the book from the guild. But, if another member of the guild also chooses to follow this profession they will also be allowed to learn from the book.”

“That is fine, but only after I’m finished with it,” I said, fighting the urge to snatch the book from Noctus as he withdrew it from his pouch.

The thick book was similar to the vampire’s other tomes but was bound with polished wood rather than leather. The front cover was carved with the image of a tree, with the twenty-two symbols of the alchemy key encircling it.

There was no title, but the words on the first page confirmed my belief that alchemy was the book’s subject.

Come forth my student of this Discipline,

'Tis natural Philosophy you shall learn within.

To ease your hardships in study, I am prepared,

But remember well, not all secrets should be shared.

Tracing my fingers over the scripture, I read the words out loud, and as I finished speaking the page began to give off a soft golden glow.

“A grimoire!” Noctus cried out. “Darius, you prick! Do you know how much money I could have gotten for that thing?”

I paid him little heed as I stared down at the book with its glowing letters.

“You didn’t even know it was a grimoire until she activated it, and even if you knew it was a grimoire, we both know you wouldn’t have sold it. Chances are we would have given it to Kadia anyway as our guild's only alchemist.” Darius countered.

Turning the pages of the book, I discovered that only the first five pages contained any writing, the remaining pages all appearing blank.

I shook my head, looking up at the pale skinned man. “I doubt you would have gotten much money for this book Noctus, it’s just talking about the instruments used in alchemy. I already know what a retort is, though, the part about different materials used to create the retort affecting the properties of the prima mater being distilled is interesting. Beyond that, it’s useless- ouch!”

Yelping in pain, I stared in shock at the book which had just leapt out of my hands and smacked me over the head before falling to the floor with a thump.

What the heck just happened? Did I just get smacked by a book?

“Yeah, don’t insult the grimoire, Kadia.” Noctus said with a chuckle as I poked the book with my wagasa. “I did that to mine once, the damned thing set itself on fire.”

“Isn’t grimoire just another name for a book on magic?” I asked, staring down at the motionless book with trepidation.

“A grimoire is a semi-sentient book which has absorbed a portion of its creator's life force, these books are passed down from master to student. Noctus and I both have one which we gained through a special encounter, and Markion has one as well. Whoever sold this book must not have known what they had; it happens occasionally.” Darius informed me and gestured to the book on the floor. “You’d better pick it up, it won’t hit you again so long as you don’t insult it.”

I stared at him in silence for several seconds, searching his face for any signs he was joking before reaching down to pick up the book.

“If it is a grimoire, then why are there only five pages filled out? Something that’s been passed down through the ages should be full of information.” I muttered, and almost dropped the book when it gave a little jolt in my hand.

“A grimoire will only show what it feels you are worthy of knowing.” Noctus explained. “When you progress through your craft it will reveal more. Grimoires can also choose to leave if they feel that you are not worthy of their knowledge. Many people have found, or bought one, only for it to disappear from their possession soon after. It’s a good way to make a nice bit of gold, there is even a guild dedicated to finding and selling grimoires.”

Tucking my wagasa under my right arm, I used both hands to hold the grimoire as I flipped it open once more to the page about retorts. I then proceeded to lecture the book about everything I knew about the tool.

For almost ten minutes I talked to the pages about the use of a retort and its failings when it came to distillation, such as the lack of proper heat distribution, and subpar condensing method.

As I started talking about the more modern methods of distillation, the pages of the book turned until they reached the sixth page where lines of text appeared.

“There now, that’s much better.” I told the book as I looked at the newly displayed information, only to scowl in annoyance as I saw the book had only added the information I’d told it about modernized distillation processes.

Slamming the book closed, I took a deep, steadying breath before tucking it under my arm and shifting my wagasa to rest over my shoulder.

A soft scraping noise reminded me of others' presence, and I turned to see them emptying the crates of mushrooms into a leather satchel.

“Sorry, I got a little carried away,” I said, walking over to where the men were emptying the last crate.

“It’s fine, Noctus argues with his grimoire all the time,” Darius said, inclining his chin in the vampire's direction who was holding open the satchel.

“You’re just jealous that yours doesn’t talk back,” Noctus teased, then glanced at me with a smirk as he added. “Darius’s grimoire only lets him see three pages, even after four months in his possession it refuses to show him more no matter what he does.”

“What kind of grimoire is it? I thought you were a fighter class again,” I said, glancing at the two swords sheathed at the guild leaders back.

“It’s a grimoire for Conjuration, my race is gifted in that school of magic. But, I’ve never been the sort to rely on magic in battle. I’m more of a hack and slash guy. Surprised it’s still hanging around, I thought for sure it would have disappeared by now.” Darius admitted, rubbing a hand over the back of his neck.

I wasn’t sure how to respond to that. Luckily I didn’t need to as Noctus approached, holding out the satchel containing the mushrooms.

“Here, this is yours,” he said, offering the bag to me.

The satchel was a light brown color, with a single strap and two smaller straps with copper buckles used to close the flap. It was a plain leather satchel, not a single thing about it looked magical, but the vampire assured me it was enchanted to hold a hundred kilos.

“How do I know if I’ve added more than a hundred kilos?” I asked, sliding the satchel over one shoulder before putting the grimoire and my wagasa inside.

“It will get heavier as you get close to its weight limit. Once you reach the limit, the weightless enchantment will fail, and you will be left trying to carry a hundred kilo bag. Ah, don’t put that in there.” Noctus said, stopping me just before I put my silk pouch into the bag.

“You can’t carry a bag of holding inside a bag of holding,” he explained.

I frowned, looking at the larger pouch he had strapped to his belt. “But, didn’t you take this bag out of your pouch?”

“It was inactive. I always carry a few bags around just in case I need an extra, never know when you’re going to stumble on some good loot and need more bags. First time I’ve used one for mushrooms though,” Noctus said.

I nodded, tucking my pouch back into my sash.

“Market next?” I prompted, looking over at Darius who nodded with a smile.

“Market,” he agreed, then pointed at my satchel. “Shift that to the same side your pouch is on, so it sits over the hidden pouch. You can leave your wagasa in the bag now that Noctus is with us, he will notice any thieves well before any of us do.”

“Makes sense, like recognizes like,” I muttered, moving the satchel to my other shoulder and ignoring the pained whimper the vampire gave as he dramatically clutched at his chest.

“Exactly.” The guild leader agreed as we left the storage room, leaving a sulking vampire to trail behind us as we headed out of the auction house.

A variety of stalls lined the three streets dedicated to the night market.

The scent of meat mixed with a seasoning I couldn’t identify filled my nose as we lined up at a stall Darius insisted we visit, claiming it to sell the best meat skewers in the market.

Noctus stood at a nearby stall, bartering with a merchant over the price of a ten-inch slab of pink stone that the vampire had beelined towards the moment we passed the stall.

Skewers in hand, we made our way back over to Noctus, who was putting away the slab with a triumphant smile.

The merchant displayed several unique gem stones. Several I was familiar with, and dozens more I’d never heard of.

A yellow-tinged crystalline stone stacked in a crate towards the back of the stall caught my eye, as did the placard affixed to the front of the crate.

“How much is the brimstone?” I enquired after catching the attention of the stall-holder.

“Five silver’s a kilo,” the dwarf grunted, glancing at the crate.

“Two silver,” Noctus chimed in, causing the dwarf to glare at him in annoyance.

“Four silver, three copper.”

“Two silver, five copper.”

This carried on several times before the dwarf agreed on a price of three silver and two copper.

Using a pair of gloves which the dwarf let me borrow, I picked out three pieces of brimstone, and was about to pay when Darius placed a hand on my shoulder.

“What do you need the brimstone for?”

“Brimstone, otherwise known as sulfur, is one of the twenty-two key elements used in alchemy.” I told him, and he nodded, removing his hand from my shoulder to pull out his own pouch.

“The guild will cover purchases for alchemic research.” The guild leader said. “However, you will need to keep records of what you purchase, and notes on the purpose of the purchase. During the next council meeting, we will discuss a budget and provide a book for you to record your purchases, but for now I’ll cover the items you require within reason.”

“I can pay for it myself. I have gold.” I argued, reaching for my own pouch.

“I told you we would allocate resources towards helping you train. This is part of it. However, I would ask that you source items you need from within the guild, as it will lower costs and help our guild members further their own crafts.”

I sighed, watching as Darius paid for the brimstone, which the dwarf put into a linen sack before handing it over. “If you’re buying my supplies then I also need protective equipment and some tools. Do we have a leather worker who can make gloves and an apron? I also need eye protection and a mask, as breathing in fumes can be dangerous.”

Darius nodded. “We have crafters who work with leather, so they can make those items. As for the eye protection, would goggle's suffice? The saddle maker sells goggles for those who have flying mounts. They also sell masks so we can get both there, and the seamstress can make you more later.”

“I need a mask with filtration,” I told him as we walked further down the street.

“Would an air purification enchantment work?” Noctus asked, and I shrugged.

“I don’t know, as I’m not familiar with the magical side of alchemy, just the scientific.”

“Well, it worked well on strips of cloth to keep out the stench of that bog Darius got our team lost last month.” The vampire jested, looking over at the guild leader, who was feigning interest in a stall that was selling fruits and vegetables.

Next to the fresh food stall was one selling spices and, seeing the bundle of cinnamon sticks in a jar, I dashed over the two stalls waving over the seller who’d just finished serving another customer.

“Good eve to you lass, what can I be getting ya?”

“All the cinnamon, please.” I said, glancing at the price which was scrawled on the jar's label.

“All of it, lass? Do ya mean just what’s in the jar or what’s in stock? I can do ye a good price for bulk purchases,” the woman said, giving me a bright smile.

“How much do you have in stock?” I asked, glancing at the other spices she sold.

“Thrice this amount on hand, more if I send the boy over to the warehouse” She gestured to a young boy stacking crates behind the stall.

“I’ll take all you have here, and a kilo of salt, sugar, mint leaves, and,” I trailed off eyes scanning the mixture of dried herbs and spices, many were ones I knew such as fennel, ginger and even garlic.

Things like elven root, blood grass and fey blossom were mentioned in the common plants book, but the properties of each were not, so I wasn’t sure how to use them.

If they are sold at a stall that sells spices, then those must be safe for consumption.

“A kilo of everything you have here, and an extra two gold if you can deliver it to the Eternia guild hall in the morning.” Darius cut in, and I glanced at him, then back to the spices before nodding.

“Yes, a kilo of each please, uh, how much cinnamon is in your warehouse? You said you had more?” I asked the delighted looking woman who was writing on a piece of paper with a stick of charcoal.

“Ay, lass, we have more. Got a full crate this week, I’ll take twenty gold for the lot, and let's see, I’ll do you fine folks a deal with the other spices as well, leaving your total at an even hundred gold.”

“Here, please deliver the spices to the guild hall in the morning, let the guards at the doors know it is for Kadia.” Darius instructed, placing the payment for the spices into a wooden box that looked similar to the one used in the bank.

“We’ll be doing that, sir, thank ye for your patronage,” the woman said, waving at us as we left the stall.

“What are the spices for? I thought you were studying alchemy, not cooking.” Noctus questioned as soon as we were away from the stall.

“Some spices have medicinal properties. Many common herbs, and plants are still used on Earth to create herbal remedies.” I lectured as we continued through the market heading, the food stalls decreasing in number to be replaced by those selling fabrics, pottery, and other crafted goods.

“Why so much cinnamon? You bought more of it than the other spices,” Darius asked.

Looking away from a stall selling wooden figurines, I turned to face him with a grin. “Do you know about Hennig Brandt? He was one of the many alchemists who sought to create the fabled philosopher's stone.”

“Ah, no sorry, I wasn’t much for history when I was in school,” Darius admitted.

I turned to look at Noctus, who shook his head with a light shrug.

“Hennig Brandt is the alchemist who invented Phosphorus by boiling thousands of liters of urine. He believed that by distilling the urine to remove any impurities, he would discover the philosopher's stone. Instead, he found Phosphorus. These days there are much better methods to create Phosphorus, but those are not likely to be viable here, so the method I want to try is an adaptation of the original method Hennig discovered. Using ground charcoal, I can lessen the boiling time needed, as charcoal binds with the impure elements. Adding cinnamon while boiling the urine also helps to—oh, sorry.” Seeing the look of concealed disgust on Noctus’s face, I broke off my explanation.

“You want to make potions with pee?” Darius asked, looking equal parts horrified and intrigued.

“No, not consumable potions. Alchemy isn’t just about creating medicine.” I assured him. “I’ve always wanted to try more experiments with Phosphorus. Pure Phosphorus is flammable when exposed to air, it was historically used to create alchemical fire. Later it was used to make matches, explosives, fertilizer and cleaning products. Marcus and I once burned down part of the pool house trying to make our own homemade Phosphorus.”

The memory of Danica’s enraged face when she saw the damage brought a smile to my lips.

Marcus may not have been interested in pharmacology, but he was always keen to help me with some of the more interesting chemistry experiments I’d attempted.

“Explosives? Wait, can you make gunpowder?” Noctus asked, looking excited.

“That depends, gunpowder in its modern form might not be possible. But blackpowder, which was first created in,” I began, only to be cut off by a hand clamping itself over my mouth.

“Noctus, save your questions for later. No more talking about any of this in public,” Darius cautioned, pulling his hand away from my mouth.

“Right, you’re right, we shouldn’t be talking here,” Noctus said.

I nodded in agreement, staying silent while my cheeks felt like they would burst into flame, just like the Phosphorus I wanted to make.

Wait, where am I going to find urine? We don’t pee!

“We don’t pee,” I mumbled, staring ahead as my mind raced with the different methods I could use to create Phosphorus.

I can make Calcium Phosphorus from animal bone, and, if there is brimstone in Kaledon, then is it possible there are phosphorite and apatite rocks?

“No, we don’t pee.” Darius agreed, rubbing a hand over his chin. “The farm animals do, I think. I know they create manure, as Calidus uses it to fertilize the fields.”

“Farm animals? Fields?”

“Yes, Calidus and Bell didn’t want to live in the guild hall, so they ended up using Bell’s land token to build a farm near the city. They live there along with some other guild members who’ve taken up farming and animal husbandry. The farm supplies meat and fresh vegetables to the cooks at the guild hall, which saves on food costs. It is also where most of the guild keeps their mounts to save on stabling costs.”

“What happens to the bones of the animals used for meat? Is it already being rendered down for use? Can I have some? Is it possible to collect urine from the animals there? Oh, and manure too.” I asked, my previous enthusiasm returning in a rush.

“We can talk to Calidus about getting what you need from the farm, but for now let's focus on getting what we came here for,” Darius said, pointing to a row of stalls selling clothing. “We have seamstresses and tailors at the guild, so just get a few basic outfits for now until you can have some made.”

As he spoke, someone called out to us in a loud voice and I looked up to see a woman with animal appendages waving us over. “Here, here! I sell clothing for those with tails, wings and more!”

Smiling as we approached, the girl introduced herself as Delainy, a tabby cat Bakeneko with long hair that was a mixture of gray and black, just like her striped ears and tail.

Twenty minutes later, I made my purchase and used the small tent at the back of Delainy’s stall to change from my knee length kimono into a pair of soft, black cotton trousers, a maroon blouse and a tan leather vest.

We skipped over the stalls selling weapons and armor, knowing that Marcus would have a stroke if I used a weapon he didn’t make himself, plus it would be better to have a set of leather armor custom made in order to ensure it was comfortable.

As we reached the end of the second street of the night market, Noctus pointed to another street to our right where pressed in-between two larger stores, was a narrow shop with a metal sign shaped like a feather quill and the words, Inked and Bound written in gold lettering

“That is the scrivener supply store,” the vampire said as he led the way out of the market. The soft ding of a bell sounded as Noctus pushed open the door, holding it for Darius and myself to precede him.

As we walked further into the store, I breathed in the familiar scents of paper and ink. It was a scent that could only be found in a bookstore, library, or historical archive.

Bottles of ink filled the shelves along the left-hand wall and below them was a glass-covered display case containing rows of writing implements.

Quills of all shapes and sizes filled the first case, displayed in small boxes. The second case held glass dip pens, while the third contained metal dip pens which looked like the one used by the dwarf in the bank.

Though the pen that stood out the most was placed on a velvet cushion in the center of the third case.

Steel fountain pen, two hundred gold.

“So much for a fountain pen?” I said, glancing at the vampire, who was admiring the basic dip pens.

“They are made by an Artificer, so that’s why they are more expensive than the dip pens which are made from a casting mold.” He responded, tapping his finger on the case containing the metal dip pens. “These are easier to use than feather quills and cheaper than glass. I will buy you a set of three metal dip pens, and ink, if you want a fountain pen that’s coming out of your own coin.”

“Dip pens are fine,” I told Noctus.

He nodded, pointing to a leather case containing a set of silver dip pens along with a matching inkwell and a pen holder.

“This pen set, two bottles of standard black ink, drying powder, a cleaning kit, ten leather bound journals and three vellum bound journals,” Noctus said to the shopkeeper, then glanced over at me as he continued speaking. “Each vellum journal contains two hundred and fifty pages, which can be for your research and translation notes. For the final translations, I would like them done in the leather journals. Is there anything else here you think you might need?”

“I would like a set of drawing charcoal, and can I get more vellum journals? It will make it easier if I split my notes on different subjects into separate books,” I said, pointing to a case containing a metal pen with a dozen slender charcoal sticks that could be inserted into the hollowed center of the pen.

Then again, did I need so many things if I was leaving soon? I guess it won’t hurt, I’ll likely be coming back to visit Marcus here when he ends up going digital.

“Add the charcoal set, and make it thirty vellum journals,” Noctus said to the shopkeeper after a moment's consideration.

As we left the store, Darius indicated a cobbler further down the street and suggested we see if they had any pre-made shoes which would fit me, as I was still wearing the slippers that were a part of my starting outfit.

Ten minutes later, I had on a pair of ankle length leather boots, which were a little tight, but the cobbler assured me the leather would stretch in time.

“Where to next?” I asked, looking back towards the far end of the street where I could still see a glimpse of the colorful market stalls.

“We can head back to check out the last street of the market, or find the saddle maker's store.” Darius said.

“Well,” I hummed thoughtfully as I pondered what I needed to buy. “I need to get started on processing the mushrooms right away, so I’ll need protective equipment. You said before there was a herbalist store near the eastern gate, right? I would like to see what they have in terms of equipment.”

Shoving my hand into my satchel, I pulled out one of the vellum bound books and the charcoal pen kit. After inserting a stick of charcoal into the pen, I shoved the kit back into the satchel and flipped open the book, writing a list of the things I needed for processing the mushrooms as we walked.

Mortar and pestle, knives, bowls for sorting, jars, alcohol, sieve, ladle, funnel, gloves, eye protection, apron, mask.

Once I finished the basic list for items I needed to get started, I began a second list of other tools and equipment I would need; such as different sized caldrons, additional retorts, beakers, storage containers.

“You spelt Cauldron wrong,” Noctus said, peering over my shoulder.

“C-a-l-d-r-o-n,” I said spelling the word out slowly. “Is the original spelling of the word, and my personal preference.”

“You need all this stuff?” Darius asked, leaning over to glance down at my list.

“Yes, and more, this is just the basics.” I said as I sketched out a rough drawing of a pelican distilling flask.

The pelican flask was made of two round sections called chambers, stacked on top of each other, with the bottom one being larger than the top. When I was younger, I’d once likened the pelican flask to the image of a snow man standing with its hands on its hips.

“Most of these Markion can make out of copper, as that has better heat dispersion than bronze, iron or pewter. Though, I would prefer them to be glass,” I told Darius, who sighed, shaking his head.

“Glass is expensive. It is why so few buildings have glass windows and, use wooden shutters instead. Here it is called Arcanium glass, which is made using a mixture of crushed Arcanium crystal and sand,” Darius said, pointing to the surrounding buildings.

I furrowed my brows, glancing at the buildings. “Is that why the alchemy kit with the glass retort was so expensive? Why is it Arcanium glass and not normal glass? Noctus said Arcanium the prefix given to materials that absorb mana, so does that mean glass here also absorbs mana?”

“It can, though to a lesser extent.” Noctus chimed in. “Arcanium glass can withstand moderate amounts of damage. It is used because it won’t shatter if a spell is cast at it and can also withstand some physical damage. Think of it like magical bulletproof glass. It can be destroyed if you try hard enough, but it isn’t easy.”

“We’ve a craftsman who is learning to work with glass, but-” Darius began, only for Noctus to cut him off.

“He is shit at it and refuses to admit it,” the vampire grumbled, looking annoyed. “Ivan is my cousin and an utter pain in the ass. If he wasn’t family, I’d have never let him join the guild. Ivan is a player, so has a sense of superiority with digital’s like us, but he hasn't done anything serious enough to be given the boot aside from being annoying. If I kick him out just for that, it would set a bad precedent.”

“Oh.” Looking down at the book I held, I flipped it shut and put away my charcoal pen, feeling a little lost for words. I forgot they are both digital, but then again, most of the guild is aren’t they?

The scent of horses, and more notably the scent of manure, wafted across my senses, as did the faint sound of horses.

Rounding a corner, I saw a large, elongated building with a yard beside it where dozens of horses and other animals were corralled.

“This is the saddle maker's workshop and over there is the eastern stable.” Darius said, pointing to a smaller building to our right and then towards the larger elongated building with the pens.

“Does the stable sell horses?” I asked, looking at all the horses as we passed.

“No, horses are sold at the stock auctions or bought from breeders.” Darius suggested as we entered the saddler's store. “You might find a wild one, and can tame it, but because of the dense population on the continent most wild horses have already been domesticated. If you are looking to get a horse, then I suggest you ask Yuki to go with you to buy one. She is a tamer and can help you pick out a good one.”

“How much do horses’ cost?”

“You’ll be lucky to find one under a thousand gold. Most are upwards of five thousand.”

“You can get a donkey for three hundred gold, it would be about the right size for you.” Noctus suggested with a sly smile, and I contemplated whacking him over the head with my book.

“Ah, customers, what brings you to my store this evening? Looking to fit your mount for a new saddle?” A burly older man with balding gray hair entered the store from a door at the rear of the room.

“Hello, sir, I am looking for some protective equipment, eye protection and a mask,” I said, approaching the man, who smiled warmly at our group and gestured to a small display past a rack of bridles.

“Got yourself a flying mount, do ya? Well, these goggles are made with the finest leather, and clear quartz with no impurities to disrupt your vision. I’ve these here which are just standard eyewear with no enchanting, and then these over here which come with anti-fogging and a night seeing enchantment. As for masks, these are all I have. If you are looking for something prettier, then Mavis’s Marvelous Masks should be where you’ll find what yer looking for. You can also find a larger variety of eyewear at Elmer’s eyewear, as they both be the ones who own these items here. I sell these few on their behalf.”

“Hmm, well, I’ll just take a pair of standard goggles for now and these two black cloth masks. If I need something more than these, I will certainly visit those stores. Thank you, sir.”

Smiling, I followed the older man back to the counter with the items, where Darius paid a total of two gold and four copper.

“Onward, to the herbalist shop,” I exclaimed as soon as we exited the saddler’s store, much to the amusement of the two men accompanying me.

The herbalist shop was easy to identify. Plants hung in bundles from the roof of the store, leaving not a single inch of the ceiling bare, and glass jars lined floor to ceiling shelves along each wall.

The overwhelming scent of dirt and plant-life filled the store, causing my nose to twitch as I fought the urge to sneeze.

“Kadia.” Placing a hand on my shoulder, Darius leaned down to murmur in my ear. “Many of the plants here can be found locally, and they are rumored to overcharge. You can put up a request for any plants you need in the guild hall so you don’t need to buy them from here.”

Ears drooping, I nodded, pulling away from the guild leader to head towards the corner of the room where various tools were displayed.

The first thing I picked up was a basic stone mortar and pestle, which I handed to Darius to carry towards the counter as the shopkeeper was nowhere to be seen.

Next, I moved to the knives that were laid out on a roll of leather, and I chose a set of three iron knives for three gold.

There was no point in wasting gold on more expensive sets when my brother could make them cheaper. I also found a nice pair of leather gloves and an apron with pockets sewn onto the front, which I carried to the counter.

“My apologies for the delay, good customers. I was detangling some vines downstairs and got a little tangled up myself.” A tall, slender elven man said as he appeared behind the counter. “I am Bo, of Bo’s Botanical. What can I help you with this evening?”

Bo? His name is Bo? That doesn’t sound very elf like. Shaking my head to refocus my thoughts, I greeted the shop owner with a smile.

“I am Kadia of the Eternia guild. I would like to purchase these items,” I said, mimicking the man's introduction and gesturing at the items on the counter.

“Of course. Are you planning to follow the path of an herbalist or potioneer? Might I recommend my Bo’s herbalist kit? It contains a set of shears, a hoe, spade, fork, pruning knife, linen collection bags and five storage jars. The cost is ten gold, but if you fulfill a few gathering requests for me, I shall offer you a discount of three gold,” Bo said, pulling out a canvas satchel.

Feeling a hand on my shoulder, I glanced up to see Darius shake his head.

“No thank you, just these items for now.” I said with a polite smile.

“For the mortar and pestle, knives, gloves and apron it will be eleven gold.” Bo said, his smile losing some of its brightness.

As Darius paid, I put the items away in my satchel and, after giving the rows of herbs a mournful glance, I followed the two men out of the herbalist shop.

“What a fucking rip off!” Noctus hissed the moment we reached the street. “Ten gold for those shoddy tools and bag? That shit isn’t worth even two gold. I know people said he was expensive, but I didn’t know it was that bad.”

Startled by the vampire's sudden outburst, I jerked to the side and almost crashed into Darius, who reached out a hand to steady me.

“From what I’ve heard, all three of the herbalist shops in the city are just as bad.” Darius sighed with a shake of his head. “I think I remember seeing a potter's stall near the end of the second street. We can order the jars you wanted from there.”

“Sounds like a plan,” I agreed, as we continued down the brightly lit street back toward the market.

* * *

After finding a potter at the market who sold the style of jars I wanted, along with vials of varying sizes, I placed an order for three hundred vials, a hundred medium-sized storage jars, and twenty bowls of varying size.

The potter only had the bowls, jars and fifty vials with him at the stall, but he assured me he would deliver the rest of the vials within two days.

The potter also directed me to a stall on the next street over which sold wax candles and pure beeswax that I could use to form an air-tight seal on the clay lids of the jars.

Next to the stall selling wax, I found a weaver who sold baskets and ordered a dozen of them to be delivered to the guild hall the following morning.

“Kadia, over here,” Noctus called, waving me over to a stall farther down the street.

Leaving the weaver’s stall, I moved through the crowd, hissing in annoyance as yet another person accidentally touched my tail.

Reaching the stall Noctus stood at, I saw a variety of items laid out in a disorganized fashion.

Glowing stones, scraps of paper and cloth, chunks of metal, a rusted sword, tattered books, and more. It was the definition of a junk stall.

Flicking my eyes to the vampire, I saw him staring down at the stall with interest and followed his gaze to a basket that was filled with small, blue glowing stones that looked like the one he’d shown me.

“Mana crystals?” I queried, not sure why the vampire wanted me to see them.

“Next to them,” he hissed in my ear, glancing at the stall’s owner, who was bartering over the price of a silver dagger with a rather large chip in the blade.

Next to the basket was a pair of dented, round copper pots and a ladle that was also made from copper. It looked like a normal set of cooking pots for me, and I didn’t need some dented pots when I could have new ones made.

“Hello, hello,” The short scruffy looking man in dirty leather armor said, moving to stand behind the basket of mana crystals. “I see you’ve noticed my mana crystals, these were mined from a cluster in the Almer mountains and are fifteen gold each.”

“How much for the copper scrap?” Noctus drawled, looking at all the items sold at the stall.

“The copper cooking utensils are twenty silver.” The stall holder said with a smile.

Twenty silver? Isn’t that just two gold? Why not just say it is two gold?

“Twenty silver for some scrap? Bah, it isn’t worth that. Three silver per kilo is the current price of copper, and that’s already melted into ingots. I’ll give you eight for the lot,” Noctus spat, scowling at the man who smiled wider.

“Ah, my good friend, these items need not be melted down. A smith can bang out these dents for a few copper, and then you will have a usable set of cookery. Eighteen silver.” He countered.

“Ten silver, for the copper scrap.”

“My dear vampire, you seem to be a pleasant fellow, so for you I shall sell these for thirteen silver.”

“Twelve,” Noctus said, tossing a gold and two silver coins onto the counter.

In a flash the coins were swept off the table with a swipe of the scruffy man's hand. Smiling, Noctus picked up the pots, handing them to me.

“Here, let me take those. They won’t fit in your bag,” Darius said, appearing from within the crowd and taking the pots.

“Where’d you disappear too?” I asked, not having seen him leave.

“I was talking to David the potter.” He replied. “I’ve offered him an employment contract and membership in the guild. David and his wife recently retired, so they’re in medi-pods at an age facility. I suspect you will need a steady supply of vials and other ceramics. I felt it would be in our best interest to gain the services of a potter.”

“Not common to see oldies in a fantasy-based world,” Noctus commented, glancing over at Darius. “Normally they prefer the Earth replicas.”

“He said they wanted to see what all their grandkids’ were raving about, apparently they are players here. Being in Kaledon lets them spend time with them I suppose.” Darius replied with a shrug.

“That’s nice,” I murmured. Both sets of my own grandparents died before I was born, so I’d never gotten the chance to meet them.

“David’s wife is an avid gardener who has been growing herbs and other plants, which she sells to a herbalist store in the city.” Darius added. “David said he’ll bring her up to the guild hall when he delivers your order to meet you, and to talk about the plants she grows. They have a little cottage in Hilea, a farming village about twenty minutes west of the city by horse, or an hour by foot. It’s the same village as our guild farm.”

“That sounds great. If she can grow them, I won’t need to buy them from the herbalist stores.” I exclaimed, the tiredness I’d been feeling washing away under a wave of excitement.

I’d been mulling over the idea of using my land token to build a workshop and a garden to grow the plants I would need, but I’d never been good at gardening.

The few plants I attempted to grow in the past would die slow, horrible deaths, as I often forgot to water them.

“I was going to ask Calidus to grow some of the more common plants and herbs, but if we can work out an agreement with Mary, it will be better since her garden is already established.” Darius said, the pots in his arms clanging against each other as he shifted them under one arm.

“It would likely be safer as well. The farm has animals that may damage the plants.” Noctus commented, arms folded behind his head as he strolled along in front of me.

“I thought you were going to ask Markion to make you pots.” Darius said, raising a brow in question.

In response, I shrugged, waving a hand at Noctus. “Ask him, he is the one who bought them.”

“Can’t you see the magic imbued into the metal? They are enchanted,” Noctus retorted, giving us an irritated look.

“We aren’t enchanters, we can’t see enchantments like you can.” Darius defended, as I quickened my steps to match his stride in order to peer more closely at the dented copper pots.

“What enchantments are on them?” I wondered aloud as Darius moved the pots to allow me to see them better.

“I suspect it will be the same heat control enchantment Cook has on his caldron.” Noctus explained. “Those kinds of enchantments require a decent bit of mana to empower, at least a mid-grade mana crystal for each pot. I used three mid-grade stones on Cook’s cauldron, and that was ten times the size of those pots.”

“So, they heat on their own without a fire?” I asked, and Noctus laughed, shaking his head.

“No, you still need a heat source. The enchantment just allows you to control how hot the contents get. You could have it over a raging fire and it wouldn’t get any hotter than what you’ve set it at.” The vampire explained, pointing to the pots Darius carried.

“Banging out those dents will be easy for Markion, so for the mere price of one gold and two silver, I’ve saved myself hours of inscribing.” Noctus concluded, brushing a speck of invisible dirt off his shoulder.

“That will be useful,” I mused, staring at the pots. Very useful. “Keeping an open fire at a steady temperature is quite difficult and time consuming.”

I should get Marcus to create a tight-fitting lid for the pots. If he can make one with a copper tube curving down from the lid at an angle, I can use the pots as a modified still to distill larger amounts. Using the retort in the kit would take weeks to distill all the mushrooms. Thankfully, the guild has a contract with a brewery for alcohol, and Darius can order me some barrels of Vodka.

“That's why a fire stone is used.” Darius said. “From what I recall, the alchemy case Sara bought came with one, as it is a high-grade set. A fire stone burns without needing wood and is sought after by most professions that use fire.”

Fire stone? Didn’t Marcus say something about that? Right, he said the alchemy kit was missing the fire stone. Just as those thoughts crossed my mind, Noctus spoke, his voice sounding weary.

“Unless Markion got a new one, there won’t be a fire stone in the kit he gave her. The smiths who moved into the alchemy workspace were whining about Markion not allowing them to take any of the fire stones in the main forge, so the guild purchased the fire stone from Sara’s kit for the new forge and Markion bought the rest.”

“It doesn’t have one,” I confirmed. “Markion said he would hunt a fire drake to get one and have someone enchant it.”

“Right, of course, he’ll hunt one, hah, I’d pay money to see that,” Noctus snickered.

“What do you mean?” I frowned at the vampire, feeling I was missing something.

Darius snorted, his black furred ears twitching. “It takes a full team to bring down a drake. Even then, it isn’t easy. Then again, we were already planning a trip to Valonia through the portal in two weeks, and it's only two days from there to reach the volcano where the drakes nest. We planned to ride back to Caruan after we spent a week running the new dungeon, but if we stayed the extra few weeks until the portal reopens, we can stockpile fire stones.'' Darius said, looking thoughtful as he glanced at me. “You should come as well. I know for a fact that there is an alchemist in Valonia who buys fire drake corpses.”

I hesitated, memories of a massive black dragon tearing me in two playing out in my mind.

“Last time you and Marcus took me dragon hunting, I got eaten.” I said, biting my lip as I mulled over how to voice one of the many concerns I’d had since arriving. “Does, um, does Kaledon have pain limiting features?”

“No, it doesn’t. We can take more damage before dying than a normal human would in reality and, as you grow stronger, you get hurt less easily.” Darius said, a grimace curling over his lips. “Death is not something we take lightly, it is painful, and something we try to avoid where we can. Ah, Noctus, while I think of it, see about collecting any potions and alchemic creations that are for sale. Pay a visit to the Whispers guild if need be.”

“Already planned on it. I will compile what we already know and provide Kadia with anything we can find.” Noctus replied.

As we reached the guild hall, the vampire turned towards me with a smile.

“I will collect the Muroosa wood and look through my bags for anything I think you might find useful,” he said before he sunk into his own shadow and disappeared from sight.

Staring at the spot where Noctus had been only seconds ago, I had the strangest urge to fling salt on the ground. It’s too bad my salt won’t be arriving until tomorrow. Hmm, then again, isn’t salt for demons, and not vampires? I need to work out if there is a way to guard my workspace against thieving vampires.

“Are you tired? We can wait until tomorrow to set up the workshop if you prefer.” Darius said as we walked past the guards, the goatman and his friend having been replaced by a red-haired dwarf and a blond elf.

“I’m not tired, but I can just read in my room if you want to go to bed,” I told him, feeling a little guilty about keeping him up.

“Nah, I slept last night. You’ll notice you don’t need as much sleep anymore. We only need to sleep for a few hours every two to three days. Though, some choose to sleep every night for the sake of normalcy. Sleeping is also a way to allow your body to heal itself from minor injuries. Not everything can heal on its own though,” he explained, then gestured towards the stairs.

“Go grab your alchemy kit while I get a bag from my room. Noctus had the right idea to go through our old bags. I’ve got some potions and I think some herbs. They’ve been there since Sara was trying to learn alchemy about two months ago, so they might be rotten or beyond use. Meet back here in a few minutes?” Darius suggested, putting the pots he was carrying down on a nearby table.

Nodding in agreement, I headed upstairs while he walked down the hallway that was next to the stairs towards Marcus’s room, so I guessed his room must be down there as well.

Reaching my room, I pulled the alchemy kit out of the wardrobe and let out an annoyed sigh when the hardened leather case wouldn’t fit into the satchel because of its width.

Leaving the room, I headed back towards the main hall while mentally cataloging all the information I’d learned over the last few hours.

Darius was already waiting for me when I returned to the first floor, a backpack held in one hand and a candle holder in the other.

Leaving the hall with Darius, I followed him into a large, paved courtyard. The area was lit by dozens of oil lanterns which bathed the area in a soft yellow light.

“No magic lighting?” I queried, tilting my head back to look up at the flickering flame of a nearby lantern.

“Spells and enchantments which create light required mana to fuel the light. Candles, and oil lanterns are cheaper.” He said with shrug, directing me towards a pavilion with white marble columns and a domed roof. Inside the pavilion was a thick marble slab covered in golden scripture.

“This is our guild's altar,” Darius said, gesturing at the altar at the center of the pavilion. “Here you can bind your revival point by placing your life token at the center of the runic circle.”

Following Darius’s instructions, I removed my life token from the pouch I’d tied to my new leather belt and laid it on the altar.

A soft breeze blew through the courtyard as my life token came into contact with the altar, and the golden scripture glowed for several seconds before fading.

“From now on, if you die, you will return to this altar after a set amount of time. At your current strength it will only be an hour at most, but as you grow stronger, it will take longer for your body to be restored.”

“Well, let's hope that doesn’t happen often, or not at all.” I muttered as we left the pavilion, walking through the courtyard towards a large building which joined onto the main hall in an L-shape.

“This building is the crafters workshop, the upper floors are used by the artisan professions, while the ground floor is used by the blacksmiths, bowyers, fletchers, leatherworkers, woodcarvers, and also a shared workspace used for those who wish to experiment with a profession but have not yet chosen to commit to it.” Darius said as we walked past the building where the sound of clanging hammers and low murmuring voices could be heard from the ground floor.

“Here is where combat training classes are run by guild instructors, times for these classes will be posted on the notice board in the main hall.” The guild leader continued, explaining the purpose of each building and section as we toured around.

I gave the area a brief glance as we continued down the path, several targets and training dummies were set up along a wall, and there was a fenced area with a sand floor that I guessed must be some kind of fighting arena.

The next building we came to was a short, round building with a cone-shaped roof. The tower was opened to the courtyard by a high archway and as Darius led me inside I saw a large furnace in the center of the room, the soft glowing embers it held bathed the room in a red-tinted light.

Around the edges of the room were benches and shelves piled high with tools, metal ingots and half-finished weapons.

Stopping at the forge, Darius grabbed a large pair of metal tongs and used them to lift one of the fist-sized embers from the furnace.

“This,” he said, holding up the tongs for me to see. “Is a fire stone, and as guild leader I am allocating it for your use. Markion can sulk all he wants, but he doesn’t need six fire stones for the forge as he doesn’t have any ores that require that kind of heat. Besides- we will be in Valonia soon enough, so he can replace it then.”

“You can be the one to tell him that,” I said firmly, earning a chuckle from the guild leader.

“The stone, as you can see, is in a dormant state. Here, pass me that poker and I will show you how to use it.” Darius pointed to a rack of four fire pokers next to the furnace.

Handing Darius the poker, I watched as he placed the fire stone back into the furnace and pressed the tip of the poker against it. Flames curled over the surface of the stone, growing larger until the furnace was filled with a raging fire.

“The poker is enchanted along with the firestone and is the key to controlling the stone's enchantments. Lighting the stone is a simple matter of placing the poker against the fire stone and pushing the mana from the poker into the stone.” Darius demonstrated by making the fire smaller and larger before returning the stone to its dormant, ember-like state. “The flames will increase with the amount of mana you push into it. To decrease the flames, you need to reverse the process and pull back the mana into the poker. Think of it like how a normal fire can be controlled by restricting the amount of oxygen it receives.”

Pulling the stone out of the furnace once more, Darius handed me the poker and, leaving the candle holder on one of the work benches, gestured for me to follow him toward the far side of the room, the fire stone he held aloft in the metal tongs acting as a replacement for the candle.

“The workshop is on the third floor of the tower, as you can see, there is no second floor to allow room for a certain Minotaur.” Darius explained, as he led me to a door which concealed a staircase. “We also took out the second floor of the guild hall when his horns kept dragging across the roof. The floor we now call the third floor, which your room is on, was the fourth floor. Fortunately, we could reuse the materials removed from here and in the guild hall when we built the crafters’ workshop.”

The stairs were narrow, and I knew just from looking at them that Markion would never fit up them, the mere thought of him trying to squeeze his large body into the small landing at the bottom of the stairs was laughable.

Reaching the room at the top of the stairs, I was struck by a coughing fit as the door opening stirred up a cloud of dust. Pulling the door closed, Darius backed out of the room and onto the stairs as we both waited for dust cloud to subside.

“I didn’t think it would be so bad,” he choked out, looking at the door and shaking his head. “Wait here, I’m going to go find some people to help clean this up.”

Handing me the tongs with the glowing fire stone, Darius shrugged off his bag, leaving it on the stairs as he jogged down the stairs and disappeared from sight.

Instead of remaining on the stairs, I risked opening the door once more, but not before I retrieved the black cloth mask I’d purchased at the saddlers store.

The mask was a tube-style neck warmer, which could be pulled up to cover the lower half of my face. It wasn’t perfect, but it would do for now, and if the air purification enchantment Noctus talked about worked to filter out fumes, then all the better.

Leaving the bag on the stairs, I made my way into the room, doing my best not to stir up the thick layer of dust on the floor as I held the fire stone out in front of me like a makeshift torch.

The room looked like a replica of the one on the ground floor, except the benches were bare of any tools and the furnace was smaller.

The lower floor’s furnace was circular with four arched openings, allowing for multiple people to work at the furnace, while the furnace in the upstairs workspace appeared to be two separate furnaces with one opening.

Both furnaces were shaped in a crescent, curving around the chimney of the lower furnace. The three chimneys then joined as they rose towards the pointed center of the tower's roof.

Placing the fire stone in the furnace facing me, I contemplated sneaking downstairs to steal a second one out of Markion’s forge, but decided against it. For now I could just use a normal wood or charcoal fire in the second furnace.

Fire poker in hand, I pressed it to the stone which laid in the furnace. I focused on the poker, trying to push mana into it to light the stone.

In a flash of searing heat, fire burst to life within the furnace.

Startled, I scrambled away from the furnace where flames licked at the edges of the opening, the fire within burning in a devouring, out-of-control manner.

Panicked by the thought of the fire potentially escaping the furnace and burning down the forge, I lunged forwards with the poker, mind screaming for the mana to be drained away, and just as quickly as the fire had been lit, it flickered from existence. Okay, let's try this again.

Focusing on the poker and the stone, I attempted to light it once more. The stone is a bunsen burner, the poker is a match, and the mana is gas. I’m just lighting the burner and increasing the flow of gas.

This time, the flames appeared almost lazy, curling around the stone before growing in size. Pulling back the poker, I smiled at the flames flickering in the furnace.

The fire now held the comforting feeling of a controlled campfire, unlike the previous inferno which threatened to consume all it touched.

Footsteps on the stairs drew my attention to the open door, and I saw a pair of men enter the room each carrying buckets which sloshed water over the sides, leaving a trail of droplets on the stone floor.

A tall girl carrying mops followed the first two men, with another human man who carried brooms behind her.

The group of four stopped just inside the door, looking around the room in despair as Darius appeared behind them and proceeded into the room followed by a large green skinned Orc.

“Kadia, my sweet little fairy, come give old Bron a hug.” The Orc cried out as he came stomping into the room, his heavy footsteps sending dust flying.

“Bron the Gnome?” I spluttered as the Orc yanked me into a bone-crushing hug before setting me back down on my feet.

“That’s right, kid! Though as you’ll have noticed, there ain’t much about me that’s Gnomish anymore. It’s good to see you, although, I’m also sad to be seeing you. Darius gave me a brief rundown of what’s brought you here, and I want you to know that I’ll always be here if you need to talk.” The Orc said, placing a heavy hand on my shoulder, before he turned to look over his shoulder at the group of four strangers watching us.

“Oi, you lot, no standing about! Get to work!” His voice boomed through the room, and I cringed away from him, my red furred ears pinned against my head in response to the sudden loud noises emanating from the green skinned man.

Bron waved a hand around the room, pointing to each of the four strangers in turn as he gave them instructions. “Taurie, Dez, Corby open up the shutters, light some candles, and then get started on dusting from the top down. Roan, go fetch more water. We'll be needing more than those few buckets to get this place habitable.”

Darius edged around the Orc, his expression apologetic as he approached me. “I’m sorry for not asking your permission before talking to Cook. I went to the kitchens for helpers and supplies and when I mentioned you, he forced it out of me,” Darius said.

I nodded, staring at the big Orc as I tried to picture him as the Gnome I’d previously known.

He certainly sounds the same. Bron had been a retired military cook who’d digitized along with his daughter Yuki five years ago when she became paralyzed from the neck down after an accident during a gymnastics competition. He was also the guilds head cook and administrator in Avalon, so I guessed he was the same here.

“Oh, and ah, I might have mentioned we were expecting a spice delivery tomorrow to the door guards and Bron overheard. So don’t be surprised if he shows up to inspect the quality of the spices, and your vodka,” the guild leader warned.

“So long as he leaves me enough to work with after he has finished his inspection.” I replied, shaking my head as I picked up the broom leaning against the wall to start sweeping. “Think Markion will be mad if I sweep this into his forge?”

“I doubt he’ll even notice it with all the mess in there,” Darius joked as he grabbed a second broom.

* * *

When Bron finally left with his group of helpers after an arduous two hours of cleaning, I let out a sigh of relief.

My ears were aching from all the yelling the Orc did, but I had to admit the place looked a hundred times better than before.

The workspace had almost no storage areas, and after some discussion with Darius, he called for the guild carpenters to inspect the room.

After talking with Narvi, the guild’s master carpenter, we decided to wall off part of the workspace to create a secure storage room with floor to ceiling shelves. This would give me somewhere to store ingredients, and any other items that might need to be locked away from thieving rouges, in particular a certain vampire.

Though, a locked door likely wouldn’t do much to deter Noctus if he truly wanted in.

“I was thinking about hanging drying racks on either side of the furnace,” I said to Narvi who nodded, looking at the sketch I’d made of a rack that could be raised up over the workspace in order to hang herbs.

“I have some ladders made up that we could modify into what you want. If I can get the fixtures from the smiths we can have your herb racks up tonight.” The master carpenter gave a thoughtful hum as he stroked his bushy beard. “We can probably fit a third, smaller one in the storage room for any rarer herbs you’ve got drying.”

I smiled, leading the man over to the workbenches that we’d dragged away from where the storage room was going to be built. I might not be here long, but having a usable Alchemy lab will benefit the guild. Plus, I can also use it during visits with Marcus.

Darius sat cross-legged on the bench, pulling an assortment of random items out of his bag, which he was stacking up in piles beside him.

“Kadia, Narvi, finished with the plans?” Darius asked, looking up from his bag.

“Yes.” Narvi nodded. “I’ve got a good idea of what needs to be done, and Kadia here has provided drawings of the type of shelving she wants for the storage room and around the workspace. The room will be completed in two days at the earliest. Unfortunately, I can only spare two carpenters and an apprentice because of the expansion work for the second forge.”

“Pull the workers from the forge job.” Darius said, gesturing to the room. “This takes priority. It won’t take long to finish this if you are all working on it. A few extra days won’t hurt the smiths any. If Varg has an issue with it, tell him he is welcome to take it up with me.”

“Yes, sir, I will go get them now. With everyone working we can be done by noon at the latest,” Narvi said, inclining his head towards Darius before turning to race out of the room.

“You didn’t need to do that, the storage room doesn’t need to be rushed,” I told the guild leader.

Picking up a blue marble from the bench, I rolled it in between my fingers. It’s cold, like holding an ice cube, and there is a gas or liquid inside.

“The storage room is more important.” Darius said with a shrug. “You’ve got supplies worth hundreds of gold being delivered in the morning. They need to be stored in a safe location. Which is why Noctus is fetching Tink, our guild's Artificer, who will fit locks onto the doors.”

“Tink the Artificer, how cliche.” I teased, glancing up from the orb I was examining.

“Her real name is Talia, but everyone calls her Tink.” He informed me. “I think the two of you will get along, she wanted to be an engineer, but wasn’t able to afford university or get a scholarship so she got an order to digitize. Spent her first few years in the high-tech world of Galxia where she was a spacecraft engineer.” Darius explained as he pulled a scraggly looking twig with crumbling leaves from his bag and tossed it onto the bench where he’d piled up dozens of other plants, which all looked just as bad.

“Going from a high-tech world to a fantasy one like Kaledon must have been quite a change for her. What race is she?” I asked, still rolling the cold marble around on my palm.

“A half-Gorgon, one of the rarer races. The full-blooded Gorgons are non-attainable as a race, however it is possible to become a half-Gorgon, which is the product of a mating between a human male and Gorgon female. Unlike their full-blooded counterparts, half Gorgon's can’t turn anyone to stone, but they can make you freeze in place. Tink can freeze a person for close to thirty seconds and animals for a little longer. Don’t lick that!”

Stopping with the blue marble mere inches from my nose, I stared at Darius in surprise as his voice reached an almost ear-splitting pitch.

“I wasn’t licking it,” yet. “I was sniffing it.” I said defensively.

“Fine, that’s fine.” He sighed, shaking his head. “Just don’t lick it or swallow it. It’s from an ice wisp, a weak elemental spirit. Markion once licked one as a dare and it fused to his tongue. We had to cut his tongue off and regrow it.”

They cut off his tongue? I stared down at the now identified wisp core, feeling a little queasy at the imagery his words conjured up.

Darius continued speaking, a tinge of amusement coloring his tone as he watched me carefully setting the wisp core down on the bench. “If you put it in a bucket of water it will turn icy cold, leave it for an hour and the water will be solid ice. You were talking about needing cold water to condense the steam from the retort, so I thought this would help. I’ve got about half a dozen here, as we use them to cool down water for drinking when we travel.”

“How interesting.” I hummed thoughtfully. “Does it freeze moving water or just still water? If I had the ice orb suspended in flowing water, would it be able to keep it at a steady temperature?” I wondered, staring at the core in fascination.

“One alone won’t freeze moving water.” A soft voice chimed in from behind me. “If you place it in a bucket and agitate the water, it will not freeze. It takes two or more ice cores to freeze a bucket of moving water.”

Tink wasn’t how I expected a half Gorgan to look. I was picturing someone like the paintings featuring the most famous Gorgon in Greek mythology. But Medusa, Tink was not.

In fact, if Darius hadn’t told me Tink was a Gorgon, I would have thought she was a human. Tink’s dark purple serpentine hair was pulled back from her face in a style that gave the illusion of dreadlocks. If dreadlocks moved on their own, that is. With a pair of goggles perched on her head, and dressed in a short-sleeved blouse, leather bustier and tight dark pants, Tink looked like she just walked out of a steampunk dress-up party.

“So, you're going to be an alchemist, huh? Let's see if you are any good. Tell me, what are the ingredients required to make black powder?” Tink asked, crossing her arms over her chest.

A test?

“Sulfur, charcoal, and saltpeter. However, you can also substitute charcoal for sugar, but charcoal is the better option,” I said with a shrug. It wasn’t anything special.

“Right, and now, tell me, what ratios are needed, how much salt and pepper am I meant to use?” Tink prompted, her expression becoming more open as she moved closer to where I stood.

“Damn it, Tink.” Darius sighed. “I told you, no more black powder experiments. You already burned down your workshop six times with the sugar and sulfur experiments. If you do it again, I won’t be rebuilding it.”

Wait, salt and pepper? Was she using salt and pepper to make black powder? Coughing to conceal my laughter, I shook my head, deciding to answer the girl despite Darius’s words.

“Who told you it was salt and pepper? It’s Saltpeter, not salt and pepper. The most used ratios are seventy five percent saltpeter, fifteen charcoal, and ten for sulfur. Grind each into powder and mix them together carefully. You can add water to lower the risk of combustion. Once it is mixed wet, push it through a thin wire screen to form pellets and spread them out to dry. Make sure once dry, you store it in an air and watertight container.” I explained, watching in amusement as the girl pulled a small journal from a leather bag strapped to her upper thigh, and began writing in it with frantic intensity.

“Markion said it was salt and pepper. He said he’d made it with his sister, and they used sulfur, charcoal, salt and pepper. What is saltpeter? Is it salt mixed with something?” Tink said, spitting out Markion’s name like a curse.

“Knowing my brother, he probably thought it was salt and pepper. He zones out when I talk about chemistry. Saltpeter is potassium nitrate, a naturally occurring white crystalline powder. It can be found forming in caves with warm, humid environments or can be extracted from animal excrement.” I told the girl whose hand was flying across the page in her journal.

“Fuck,” Darius moaned, rubbing a hand over his face. “Kadia, please don’t give the most destructive person in the guild more ways to destroy things. Tink, if you want to make black powder, then it’s going to be under Kadia’s supervision until you’ve learnt the proper method.”

“Did you say animal excrement? First, you’re talking about boiling urine, and now you want to make black powder from shit.” Noctus commented as he entered the room.

“I can make phosphorus from rock or bones. The issue is that I don’t know if it’s possible to get the rocks or where it will be and, like I said, saltpeter deposits can be found in warm caves. However, with the guild owning a farm; bone, manure and urine are the most viable options at this point in time.” I retorted, crossing my arms over my chest and glaring at the vampire.

“You know how to make Phosphorus? Can we make smoke bombs?” Tink interjected, eyes wide.

“Smoke bombs, flares, fireworks. If we can find some phosphorite and apatite rock then it’ll be easy to make all of that. It takes a lot of urine for just a little Phosphorus, the experiment I did with Markion used over ten liters of urine and we only extracted about a gram of Phosphorus. Rendering bones to make calcium Phosphorus is a possibility, but I need to find the right solvent to render it in.”

“It sounds like you and Markion did a lot of experiments,” Darius said with interest.

I shrugged, and gave a slight nod of my head. “I thought if I made chemistry a little more fun, he would show more of an interest in pharmacology. I wanted him to take his studies more seriously, to go to university, all that stuff.” I murmured, looking down at the cold blue orb on the table.

“I’m sorry Kadia, I shouldn’t have-” Darius began, but I cut him off.

“It’s fine, I’d rather not dwell on that stuff right now.”

Moping around wouldn’t do me any good, there was nothing I could do except wait for Marcus to get back.

“Um, I have a question about saltpeter,” Tink said, raising her hand in the air.

“Sure, go ahead.” I told her, glad for the interruption.

“How much poop do I need to scoop?”

As the sky outside the open windows turned a soft pink on my second day in Kaledon, the guild carpenters declared my storage room complete.

The newly build storage room took up a quarter of the space in the workshop, with shelving that rose from the stone floor to the flat wooden ceiling.

Narvi had also installed a ladder which could be slid along a wooden rail around the room, though I would need to wax the wood to ensure it would move smoothly along the rails.

While the carpenters worked to build the room and shelving, their apprentices had built dozens of crates to fit onto the shelves, along with half a dozen ten-liter barrels which sat on their sides, propped up by wooden stands.

Shelving had been added to the outside wall of the storage room and a set of wooden stairs led to the roof of the storage room where two barrels of vodka sat.

After some negotiating, I had made a deal with Bron to get the alcohol from the kitchen supplies, in exchange for taking two of my barrels, which would be delivered to me in a few days.

With some help from Tink to slice off the mushroom stems and dice the caps, I added half of the red Amanita mushrooms to the barrels before sealing them and getting the carpenters to heave it up above the storage room.

As I walked around the room, an earthy scent filled the air, wafting from a nearby bench where a retort sat on a tripod, a candle positioned beneath it to heat the contents.

The retorts spout arched down towards the bench where it was connected to a receiving flask that was submerged in a clay bowl filled with icy water thanks to the ice wisp core Darius provided.

A slow trickle of steam flowed through the spout, condensing into liquid as it cooled during the journey down into the cold receiving flask.

Next to the retort was a clay jug of vodka and a bowl filled with more mushroom caps, ready to be added to the retort as needed.

Taking a seat at a bench that contained piles of plants which Darius, Noctus, and even Tink had pulled from their bags, I began the task of identifying each of the plants in order to determine if they were for trash or use.

These purple fig-shaped fruits look like they are from the cat's tongue plant; according to Felix’s guide to common plants and herbs, the waxy outer skin causes irritation if touched without gloves. In a Potioneer’s guide to basic Salves and Tinctures, it says to scrape out the fruit and crush it in a mortar, then infuse it in water with the dried leaves of the morning dew bush to create a revitalizing drink.

The pulpy mass of purple in the mortar gave off a sharp, tart scent and a tentative lick of the pestle I’d used to mash the fruit confirmed the tart taste.

It tastes like a raw quince and leaves a tingling sensation on the tongue, I noted, scrawling this discovery down on a page in the vellum journal dedicated to notes about plants and herbs.

The first four pages were already filled with notes on the Amanita mushrooms and I made sure to leave half a dozen pages blank between those notes and the ones I was making for cat’s tongue.

Scraping the pulped fruit out of the mortar and into two clay jars with my copper paring knife, I made a mental note to add spoons, spatulas and tweezers to the list of things I needed. I need scales with weights for both grams and kilos.

Once the fruit pulp was evenly distributed between the two jars, I filled the first with vodka and the second with water, which I boiled in a copper kettle Bron provided, to make sure there were no potential bacteria in the water.

Darius claimed it was safe to drink, but he also said the city's water supply was from an underground river and who knows what kind of contaminates or even monsters could be in there.

After using a candle to melt some of the beeswax I had set aside in a clay bowl, I dipped the lids for each jar in the wax, making sure to evenly coat the tiny lip that would sit inside the jar before pressing them into place. Then, using my charcoal pencil to write directly on the clay jar, I scrawled a notation of its contents and the date it was sealed.

Strange that a virtual fantasy world would still use the same calendar as the physical world, though I guess it helps both players and digital citizens track the passing of time.

Humming under my breath, I carried the jars into the storeroom and placed them on the shelf next to the four jars I’d set in there earlier, each one containing a different infusion of the Amanita mushrooms.

Back at my work bench, I rinsed the tools I’d used with water and then wiped everything down with pure vodka to sanitize it before I examined the next plant.

* * *

Boom, clang, boom, clang.

The thunderous sound of a hammer hitting metal shattered my concentration as I read the notes Noctus had given me on the various potions sold by other alchemists.

Between Noctus and Darius, I had almost twenty vials and containers filled with different concoctions that boosted the ability to do a range of things.

Boom, clang, boom, clang.

Slamming the book closed, I stood from the wooden stool and headed for the door.

The moment I opened the door, the noise increased to a deafening level.

Ears reflexively pinned against my head, I entered the forge where a sweaty Minotaur was hammering away at a long piece of metal.

“You’re back,” I called out in-between swings, causing Markion to spin around, hammer raised as though he were about to throw it in my direction.

“Kadia! Don’t sneak up on me like that,” he spluttered, dropping the hammer down onto the anvil and rubbing a hand over his muzzle.

“I wasn’t sneaking, you just couldn’t hear me over all the noise,” I told him with a shrug as I walked further into the room.

“Where have you been? I spent a good twenty minutes looking for you, and when I couldn’t find you, I thought you might have gone into the city,” Markion said, screwing up his face in confusion as he looked to the open archway that was on the opposite side of where I had entered the forge.

“I’ve been in my lab,” I said, pointing a finger at the ceiling.

“Your lab- what lab?” The confused look on his bovine face made it clear that Darius hadn’t informed him I’d moved in upstairs.

“I’ve assigned Kadia the workshop upstairs as an alchemy laboratory.” Darius announced, walking into the forge with Bron and his team of helpers, two of which carried cloth sacks, while the other two were rolling barrels.

“Kadia, little fairy, ah no, little fox, I’ve brought your spices.” Bron said, gesturing to his workers with a beaming smile.

“Thank you, Bron. Is it possible for you to put the empty barrels above the storage room? On the opposite side of the other two, please, so they don’t get mixed up.” I returned the Orc’s smile as he nodded and gestured for his workers to roll the barrels up the stairs.

“Ay, I can do that. I’ll also have young Taurie here to sort, label and jar up the spices. I’ve also got this for you,” Bron said, waving a small leather-bound journal in the air.“I’ve copied down everything I know about the spices, meats, fruits and vegetables I use and the effects it has on cooking. I’m sure you’ll find it useful for your research. I can’t help much, but Chefs do have some recipes which cross over into the alchemy side of things. Once the lads have the barrels situated, they will bring in some crates of the fruits and vegetables that I have on hand that have different magical properties.”

“Thank you, Bron, I appreciate that.” I said with a polite smile.

The green skinned man smiled back at me. “If it helps you become an alchemist, then there are no thanks needed. I know alchemy isn’t quite the profession you planned for your future kid, but it ain’t that far off.”

“No, it isn’t far off at all,” I sighed. He is speaking as though I’m going to be staying.

As Bron headed towards the stairs which led up to the lab, I looked over at Markion, torn between following the Orc and speaking with my brother.

“We’ll talk once everyone’s gone,” he muttered, glancing at the stairs.

“Nothing I need to know urgently?” I queried, a pang of disappointment shooting through me when he shook his head.

Straightening my shoulders, I forced a calm expression onto my face as I walked up the stairs with Bron, leaving Markion and Darius downstairs.

“You’ll be needing an ice box for some of the fruits to keep them from perishing.” Bron advised. “Since we dug out the cellar for cold storage, I haven’t been using the one in the kitchen anymore. We’ve just been using our old one as extra shelving for pots and such. I’ll have it emptied out and carried up to your lab, though, you’ll need to get an ice wisp core for it. I’d offer you one from the cellar, but they’re all inaccessible.”

“I have some that Darius gave me. I’ve been using them to cool water for my experiments,” I told the Orc, who grunted.

“Just be careful,” he warned. “If you leave a core in ice for too long, the wisp will re-form, so make sure you take the core out every few days and plop it into the sun or in front of the fire for a bit before refreezing it.”

Darius never told me about the wisps reforming. That would have been a rather nasty surprise if Bron hadn’t said anything. Turning my gaze to the burning fire in the furnace, I shuddered at the mental image of a fire drake crawling out of the furnace and going on a rampage.

“Uh, Bron, if the wisps can reform does that mean fire drakes can?” I asked, pointing to the furnace, and getting a booming laugh from the Orc in response.

“No, no, though that’d be quite the sight. A wisp core is just that, the core of a wisp's essence. While a fire stone is found inside a fire drake's uvula. Once the fire drake is dead it’s a simple matter of prying open the mouth and cutting the uvula from the back of its throat and peeling away the flesh to reveal the fire stone.” The Orc explained and, pressing a hand to my back, guided me over to a nearby workbench.

“Now, I noticed you didn’t come to the hall for the morning meal, so I’ve brought you a meal box,” Bron said, pulling out a lacquered wooden box from the pocket of his apron, which I’d learnt the night before had the same enchantments as a bag of holding.

The scent of cooked meat and freshly baked bread wafted out of the box as the Orc lifted off the lid to reveal the contents. Split into three compartments the box reminded me of the lunch boxes our school cafeteria sold, though those came in a plastic container.

“Wild boar curry, cornbread and a sweet honey roll for dessert,” the cook declared with pride, and turned the box's lid over to show me the wooden utensils that were clipped to the underside of the lid.

“I provide meals three times a day in the hall, and you’ll hear my bell ring thrice to announce the meal being served.” Bron explained. “In the mornings, we also hand out prepared meal boxes for anyone who wants a packed lunch.”

I nodded, not fully paying attention to what he was saying as I ate. It hadn’t been until the scent of food hit me that I realized how hungry I felt, the moment the lid of the food box was lifted my stomach began screaming out for food. Hmm, this purple chunk has the texture of pumpkin, but the taste is closer to that of a red bell pepper.

“The purple vegetable, what is it called?” I queried, tearing off a piece of corn bread to dip into the curry.

“They’re called purple peppers in the market, I don’t know if they’ve got another name. They grow on a light purple vine, and look like a bell pepper, but where a bell pepper is hollow, these contain a hard flesh which softens when cooked. They have seeds inside which are dried and ground to create a powdered spice. Touching raw purple pepper or the powdered seeds will cause irritation.”

“Do you have some you can spare?” I asked, looking up at the Orc with wide, pleading eyes.

“I already put a few in the crates the lads are bringing up. Taurie will sort everything into the storage room with labels and dates. Good kid, that one, bit of a rough life before becoming digitized, but she’s got a good head on her shoulders.” Bron said with a smile, looking over his shoulder.

Following his gaze to the open door of the storage room, I saw the slender elf pouring salt into one of the clay jars I’d stacked onto the shelves in preparation of the spice order arriving.

Once I was finished with my meal, Bron popped the box back into his pocket of holding, informing me that in the future there was a crate outside the kitchen where used boxes could be stacked for cleaning.

Leaving the Orc in the lab with Taurie, I made my way back down to the forge with my dented pots and the book containing the list of things I wanted Markion to make.

Hearing voices, I stopped on the bottom step, clutching the copper pots to my chest as I listened to my brother talking with Darius.

“How could they just act like nothing happened?” Marcus ranted, his voice echoing through the forge. “The maid was already cleaning out Kadia’s room when I left my capsule. Almost everything was gone, her books, her clothes. The only thing I managed to save was that resin periodic table she used to carry around like it was a damned teddy bear when we were kids. I tried to talk to them about what happened, but they just kept changing the fucking subject, or telling me it’s for the best. Dad wouldn’t even talk about appealing the digitalization order for Kadia. I had to contact the lawyer myself.”

“There is one thing I don’t get,” Darius’s voice was a low murmur, and I was only just able to make out what he was saying. “Kadia said she was given the order because of her academic scores, but that shouldn’t have been enough to make her eligible for mandatory digitalization, there are several criteria she would have needed to meet.”

“Kadia has been at risk of digitalization for a few years.” My brother said, his voice pained as he spoke. “You ever notice how she always holds her foot off the ground when she stands still? Thats because when we were fifteen, she injured her foot, and it’s been painful for her ever since.”

I scowled, annoyed he was so openly airing our family’s dirty laundry, while also curious about what he would say. My injury wasn’t a subject we discussed, but I knew he held some guilt regarding the incident.

We weren’t a family that openly talked about our emotions, though it seemed Marcus trusted Darius enough to share the details of what occurred that day.

“Not being able to bear weight on her foot for long periods of time puts her in the category of having a minor physical disability. The government doesn’t care if you come from money, or can be supported on inherited income, as those aren’t personal societal contributions. If she got into Geraldine University of Science, and graduated, then Kadia would have been able to claim a temporary exemption for academic achievement. That would give her three years from the date of graduating university to find employment. By not getting into university, Kadia was deemed unlikely to find suitable employment due to a physical disability, and given the mandatory digitization order.” Marcus explained, causing my heart to ache as I thought back to the letter I’d received from the Universities I’d applied to.

“Doesn’t your father own a pharmaceutical company? Why couldn’t she work there?”

“Our company focuses primarily on private research for the government and other companies. You won’t find anyone with only a high school graduation certificate working there. The company has strict employment requirements which are heavily regulated due to the area of work. If a job was “made” for Kadia, and someone reported it the company would be investigated and Kadia wouldn’t be able to continue working there. In that scenario, she would eventually be given a digitalization order when she failed to secure employment. There are very few jobs available that don’t require higher education and they are hard to get into even for someone with full physical capability.” Marcus said with a sigh.

Pushing off the wall, I stood straight, placing my right foot, which I had been resting behind my left knee, down onto the stone step. Until Marcus mentioned my foot, I didn’t even notice I was still picking it up whenever I stood still.

“Regardless of her physical disability, your parents committed fraud by switching out the exam scores. Surely someone noticed that before the exam she had high grades and realize there is an issue.” Darius said.

“Our identity numbers are only one digit different. As the first child of this generation in our family, the last digit of hers is one and mine is two. Supposedly due to my shitty handwriting, the computer read my test paper as having a one. I submitted my test before she did, as I didn’t bother actually putting any effort into it, so my test was recorded first and the system automatically allocated Kadia’s to me when it saw her file already had a score recorded.” Marcus snarled, a loud thud from the room suggesting he’d hit something in his anger.“The mistake was discovered when I attempted to report my parents for fraud. I managed to get a hold of the lawyer who manages her trust, and he said he’ll take care of things with our parents. He is in the process of working on an emergency appeal.”

The forge went silent, neither of them speaking, and I took this as my cue to enter. Taking a second to compose myself, I straightened my shoulders, and walked into the forge with a mask of calm plastered on my face.

“Marcus, I have some pots I need repaired and a list of things I want made.” I declared, forcing myself to keep my right foot firmly planted on the ground as I came to stand near my half-brother.

“Kads- how long,” Marcus began, but I held up my hand to silence him.

“Long enough. You spoke to Mr. Davis correct?”

“Yes, I-”

“Then there’s nothing else to discuss, Mr. Davis will do what he can.” I announced, staring at him with a fierce expression.

We stared at each other in silence, both ignoring the other occupant in the room. Eventually, Marcus pulled his gaze away from mine, turning his attention to the pots I held.

“Why’d you buy these dented, old pots? Just toss them. I’ll make new ones.” Marcus scoffed, picking up one of the pots I held and raising it up to eye level.

“Noctus says they are enchanted same as Cook’s,” Darius chimed in, startling me a little, as I’d forgotten he was there. “And he only paid twelve silver, which is less than what the mana crystal to empower them would cost.”

“Not much good without a ladle, can’t work the enchantment without the key.” Marcus grunted out as he carried the pots to the furnace and shoved them inside.

“I left the ladle upstairs.” I told Marcus before looking over at Darius. “Are the pots like the fire stones? Do I use the ladle the same way I use my fire stone poker?”

“Yes,” Darius nodded. “The ladle is the activation key for the pot's enchantment. Once the pot has reached the temperature you want it at, the ladle can be used to activate the enchantment, which will keep it from getting any hotter. However, it will cool if you remove it from the heat source.”

“Fire stone poker? You managed to find a stone for your lab?” Marcus asked, looking up from where he was moving the pots around in the furnace.

“I allocated her one of the stones from the furnace in here.” Darius said casually.

Brow raised, Marcus leaned down to peer into the furnace, counting the stones.

“I thought there were two furnaces upstairs,” he said after a moment.

“There are,” I agreed, watching as he scrunched up his muzzle, looking thoughtful before he nodded to himself.

“You can have one of the other fire stones for your second furnace. Just let me borrow it if I manage to find some obsidian or something harder to melt.” Marcus announced, leaving me a little stunned.

The way Darius and Noctus spoke about how possessive Marcus was over the forge, I expected him to get angry about the fire stone and was mentally gearing myself up for an argument. Even Darius seemed surprised as he began explaining the plans for a large scale fire drake hunt to Marcus, whose face lit up at the prospect.

While the pots heated in the furnace, I conferred with Marcus about the lids I wanted him to make for the pots.

“It would work best if the lid is shaped in a cone with the tubing at the highest point.” I explained, sketching out a rough cone shape onto a page of the vellum journal.

“If you want it to be copper, then it will need to be cast.” Marcus said, tapping a finger on the page which showed the sketch of a pelican flask “Some of these other items will be best cast as well, such as the pelican distilling flasks and the retorts. I’ll look for a potter to make the molds. In the meantime, I can start on some of the other items.”

“It just so happens we recruited a potter last night. He will be here in a few days to drop off an order for Kadia’s lab.” Darius informed Marcus. The guild leader turned me next, pulling a thick, leather-bound book from his bag.

“Kadia, this is your accounting book. I’ve already filled it out from yesterday and the format is easy enough to follow. I deposited twenty thousand gold into your guild account this morning for the purchase of alchemical ingredients and tools. You will need to record all purchases and sales. It is important you keep accurate records, as they will be checked against the withdrawal and deposit records each month.”

Smoking Phosphorus! We spent just over five hundred gold last night? Mouth agape, I stared down at the page which showed the previous nights shopping expenses. “I didn’t realize we spent so much last night.”

“Don’t stress too much about trying to balance your profit and loss to start with. Alchemy isn’t easy, so I don’t expect you to be generating much income in the beginning.” Darius reassured me.

I nodded glancing at Marcus who was flipping through the notes I’d made with a wide grin on his face.

“Two thousand gold for everything you’ve written here, depending on how long the potter takes to make the molds. I can have it all finished by the time we leave for Valonia.”

“Two thousand! Are you seriously trying to take advantage of your own sister?” I scolded, glaring at the Minotaur who shook his head, smiling.

“You’re welcome to get a quote from the other smiths.” He smirked, waving the notes in the air. “They’ll charge you a lot more. I’m only charging for the cost of the resources and discounting you my time. Kadia, there’s over a hundred items on this list, and some of them you want multiples of in different metals. Do you really need twenty ten-liter caldrons?”

“If I only have one, then I can only work on one thing at a time. These aren’t normal caldrons either, they have a heating compartment so they can be used without the furnace. If you can’t do it, just say so.” I said, crossing my arms over my chest and glaring at the bull.

I didn’t see how the caldrons would be hard to make. They were basically a metal version of a ceramic oil burner with a deeper bowl.

“Two thousand is my quote on the work, I have to cover the cost of materials.”

“Fine,” I grumbled, knowing it would be the best deal I’d get.

“I’ll get the pots done, then start on the smaller items first before moving onto the larger pieces.” Marcus said as he spun away to grab a pair of tongs and pulled the first pot out of the furnace.

“Kadia, let’s head upstairs while Markion works on the pots.”Darius suggested. “I have some things in my bag for your lab.”

As we walked up the stairs, the loud sound of hammering started, and I ground my teeth at the ear-aching noise.

“I should have realized that putting the lab above Markion’s forge would be noisy,” Darius said, his black furred ears pinned back in response to the sounds.

“I’m hoping Noctus might have something that will help.” I told the Ōkami as we entered my lab where Bron and Taurie were still working in the storage room.

“I’m sure he’ll be able to enchant some earmuffs for you, maybe some fluffy red ones?” Darius teased, reaching out to tug on one of my ears.

With a low growl, I swiped my hand at him. Fire coated the tips of my fingers where it formed flaming claws that raked across the front of his hardened leather vest.

Laughing, he leapt back, patting the leather to put out the flames that clung to his vest.

“Nice fire strike,” he praised as I stared at my hand in shock.

“I didn’t mean to do that.” I spluttered, wiggling my fingers, which were normal again.

“It is an instinctual Kitsune attack.” He said. “Coating your fingers in flames to claw at your enemies is one of the first things a Kitsune naturally learns to do. Over time, you will uncover new skills and abilities. The first for a Kitsune is the fire strike, and the second is normally manifesting your true form. It was also around then that Yuki summoned her first wisp. Some things will differ depending on your chosen path, but the base skills and abilities will be the same.”

“Wisp? I remember Noctus talking about the claws now, and you also talked about transformations, but I don’t recall you saying anything about wisps other than about the ice wisp core.” I queried, glancing at the storage room to see if the others saw me attacking the guild leader.

Luckily, Bron and Taurie were in a world of their own as they chatted happily while labeling and stacking jars of spices onto the shelves.

“The Kitsune race have the ability to create and control wisps. Yuki manifested a wisp core during our first weeks in Kaledon. The core created was a pure mana wisp core with no element, it later became an ice wisp, which we believe is due to the fact we were camping in the snow when she formed the core. Another Kitsune we know placed her wisp cores into different poisons to make poison wisps.”

If putting a pure wisp core into poison makes a poison wisp, would putting an ice wisp core into frozen poison make a poison ice wisp or a normal ice wisp? Do other wisp cores have effects like the ice cores? Lost in thought, I absentmindedly began sorting the items Darius was pulling out of his bag.

Soon, piles of plants lay strewn across two of the long work benches.

On another bench was a scattered assortment of animal parts consisting of feathers, claws, fangs, horns, scales, gossamer wings and a pouch containing, what Darius called, slime cores.

Where do I even begin identifying all this stuff?

Shoving away his bag, Darius looked over to where I was inspecting a purple flower. “I’ve put up a notice on the board in the guild hall for all guild members to start collecting parts from creatures and any plants they come across. A collection box will be placed outside the forge, where items will be placed into cloth bags or jars that will be numbered.”

“How do we track who deposits what?” I asked, setting a flower down with several others.

“A log book. At the end of the week, Bron reviews all the resource submissions and hands out payment based on what has been provided. We use this same system for the kitchen, and other professions who need gathered resources such as the smiths, carpenters and masons. These items were submitted to me this morning, when I announced we’d be conducting alchemic resource gathering.” Darius explained.

“Oh,” I don’t even know how any of these need to be stored, or what half these creatures on this list are. I mean, grumble toad? What the heck is a grumble toad?

“We can help you get it sorted if you need,” Bron called out, looking at all the plants piled up, and then at Taurie who nodded silently “I’ve got to head back to the kitchen to work on lunch, but I can spare Taurie for a while.”

“Thanks for the offer, but I need to catalog it all as I work through them. Thank you for helping with the spices, and letting me have the ice box. I really appreciate it.” I told the pair, making a mental note to find some way to repay the favor.

“If you need anything at all, just come find me.” The Orc said, before leaving the lab with the dark-haired elf in tow.

“I need to be leaving as well,” Darius said. “I won’t be around for the next few days. So, If you need anything resource related, speak with Bron. If the matter is more serious, then speak with Noctus, as co-leader he can help with most things. We tend to keep at least one commander in each city we have a guild hall in, and Yuki is due to take charge of Caruan from the end of this week.” Darius informed me.

“How many guild halls does Eternia have?” I asked, walking with him to the door.

“Three; this one is our main guild hall and the largest. We have a smaller hall in Airus, one of the four main cities which is in the Almer mountains. The third is special, and the location is not told to any below captain or, in your case, a craftsman. Somehow, I don’t think it will be long before we are discussing your promotion in rank, so you will know about it soon enough.” The guild leader said me with a smile. “I’ll see you in a few days.”

“Bye.” I gave a half hearted wave, watching as Darius disappeared around the corner of the stairway.

When he was gone, I closed the door to my lab and turned to survey the mess that had been made of my previously neat workspace.

Right, where to start? Herbs and plants, I should start there as I have Felix’s guide to help with identifying some of them. Course of action decided, I began sifting through the bundles of plant matter, sorting them into piles with the ones I’d already identified on one bench and those which were still unknown on another. This shrub-like plant is morning dew. The potioneer’s guide said to infuse dried leaves, and Bron’s notes say morning dew is used to make tea. If I get all this dried, and make a big batch of the revitalizing tincture, I can give some to Bron and his staff as thanks for their help. Tea leaves are normally dried off the stems, so I need to pluck these branches.

Slowly plucking the leaves off the dozens of morning dew branches, I pondered the best way to dry the leaves. I think I recall a documentary about tea culture that mentioned tea leaves are sun dried or baked at low heat. Ah, I need some drying screens. These won’t be the only plants that will need to be dried off the stem. I’ll speak with Narvi. A wooden frame with cloth stretched over it would work well and, if there is a gap for air flow, I can stack several together.

In the forge below, the sound of Marcus's hammer stopped.

Marcus must be done with my pots. Heading for the door, I bounded down the stairs calling out as I reached the bottom. “Marcus, are my pots ready?”

There was no response to my question, and as I circled past the furnace, the reason became clear when I saw the hulking figure of a Minotaur statue standing with its hammer held mid-swing. He left the virtual world?

Peering up at the statue, which was frozen mid-action, I felt a surge of worry as I realized that he must've been pulled out through an emergency override.

He wouldn’t have logged himself out in the middle of doing something.

Who would override his capsule? Don’t they know it's dangerous? If they needed him out, why not use the capsule notification function to ask him to log out? As that thought crossed through my mind, the image of the forge began to twist and turn, swirling around in a mass of color that bled away into darkness.

Awareness returned, and I looked around, finding to my shock that I was back in the void, surrounded by bright stars. Are they taking me out of the capsule?

My heart constricted in my chest as I scanned my surroundings for the artificial being who had been here when I first arrived in the void.

“Citizen Kadia, I apologize for bringing you into this domain without warning.” The shining woman said, her glittering form appearing in a burst of light.

“Why am I here?” I asked, not bothering with pleasantries. What is happening?

“Those of Earth have requested to speak with you, my citizen, and while I have no wish to see the lives of my citizens disrupted in this manner, I must ask if you are willing to speak with this non-citizen.” The woman responded.

“Who wants to speak with me?” I questioned.

“A man named Mr. Davis.”

“I’ll speak with him.” I told the woman, glancing down at my wrinkled clothing. I wish they’d given me some warning so I could change.

“Very well, come, let us sit. Mr. Davis will join us shortly.” The shining woman said, waving her hand towards a chaise which appeared behind us.

“Thank you, ah, I don’t know your name,” I told her as I allowed her to guide me to the chair.

“I am Celeste, goddess of new beginnings, mental health, and harmony. I watch over all digital citizens, aiding their mental transition into this world, and providing guidance to those who seek it.” Celeste responded.

Aiding mental transition? Before I could open my mouth to respond, the goddess spoke.

“Mr. Davis is here, do you wish for me to remain?” Celeste questioned as she turned to look into the darkness.

“I’m not sure yet.” I responded, following her gaze to where a balding man clad in a dark gray suit approached.

“Then I will remain until you request otherwise.” The goddess informed me.

“Miss Greene, I regret that we must meet under these circumstances.” Mr. Davis said, holding out a hand as he came to stand in front of where I sat with Celeste.

“No more than I do, I assure you.” I informed him coldly, not taking the proffered hand.

“I see,” he murmured, glancing around before taking a seat on the plain wooden chair that appeared behind him.

“Kadia, I am sorry this has happened to you.” Davis sighed, his face a mask of regret. “Before we begin our conversation, I have some questions to ask.”

“What questions?” I asked, frowning at the man. How strange, he’s never called me Kadia before, it's always been Miss Greene.

“What was your first pet?”

A pet? Security questions? Why would Davis be asking. . . Does he think I’m not me? Glancing over at the artificial being sitting beside me on the chaise, I began to regret not telling her to leave.

Though I doubted our conversation would be private even if she did leave, this was a virtual space she controlled after all.

“I’ve never had a pet.” I answered, getting a nod in response from the lawyer.

“Your mother often said, know the what first before attempting the what.”

“Know the theory before attempting the praxis. I’m not an artificial being pretending to be me,” I scoffed, rolling my eyes in annoyance.

“Oh? Are you sure?” Davis queried, raising a brow.

Was I sure? Staring down at my hands, I considered the possibility that I was not Kadia. In truth, I did not know if I was an artificial being or not, for how would I know if I was?

“My state of being- is not something I can be certain of. I’m a consciousness, and as a consciousness I identify as Kadia. If I am a consciousness of biological nature, or an artificial one, I cannot determine.” I said after a moment of contemplation.

“An interesting response, but from you I would expect nothing less.” The lawyer responded, standing from his chair.

“This citizen is not of an artificial nature,” Celeste interjected, a frown on her beautiful face. “She was born of a biological nature.”

“One can never be certain,” Davis retorted, before turning his gaze to me. “My client will be accompanying me to a private server, please facilitate the transfer.”

“Citizen Kadia must first agree to depart our realm,” Celeste stated.

I was about to agree, but hesitated, glancing at the goddess.

“When I first came here, you told me leaving a world would mean ending my life there.” I said.

The goddess nodded.“This is true, however in this case you would not be leaving your life here to begin anew in another world, you are merely visiting another realm. You will remain as you are now,” she assured.

“I will go with Davis.”

“Very well,” Celeste sighed, waving a delicate hand in the air.

In response to the artificial beings' gesture, a door appeared near where Davis stood.

As I approached the lawyer, he nodded his head at the door in a motion for me to proceed.

After a moment's hesitation I walked through the door of golden light. The room I found myself in was a familiar one, with its expensive hard wood furnishings, and walls covered by shelves filled with books on varying subjects.

As Davis entered the room behind me, and closed the door, I moved to take a seat in the plush armchair positioned opposite the desk.

I said nothing as I waited for the lawyer to take his own seat behind the desk, not knowing where to even begin.

When Davis didn’t immediately tell me he’d managed to sort out the mess my life was in, I knew the conversation wouldn’t be going the way I’d hoped it would.

“How bad is it?” I asked, not sure I even wanted an answer.

“Aut viam inveniam aut faciam tibi.” Davis said, his expression hard as he stared at me.

I shall either find a way or make one. I swallowed, fighting back the urge to give into the roiling emotions welling up inside me.

“The appeal?”

“By the time I’d filed the needed paperwork to appeal your digitalization order, the Everlife facility had already placed you in the capsule.” Davis responded, waving a hand over his desk which lit up with holographic screens.

“My father arranged for them to collect me early.”

“Which never should have happened as it did. You were placed inside before the period granted to allow for submission of an appeal ended.”

“How did they think this would work? The first thing I did was have Marcus contact you, and even without him, I could have found a player to do so with the promise of payment.” I sighed, propping my arm on the armrest and leaning my chin on the palm of my hand.

“You would need to be alive to contact anyone.” Davis countered.

My heart sunk to the pit of my stomach at the implications of his words. They wouldn’t have, would they? “Then why am I alive? Or am I dead? Is that why you thought I was artificial? No- if they were concealing my death, why would I contact you?”

Am I dead? What kind of question is that? Of course I’m not dead! I’m right here, aren’t I? Those stories of people dying, but still being present in the virtual world are nothing more than conspiracy theories.

“You’re alive according to the report given by Everlife. One of the nurses at the Everlife facility recognized you when you were brought in and spoke with her superior who entered the transition room to find you in a state of cardiac arrest. Those in the room with you made no attempts to resuscitate you. It was later found they’d disabled the alarms in the room to prevent others being notified of your state.”

“Cardiac arrest? Uncommon for someone my age, but not unheard of, so it could be believed. There have been instances of those under fifty going into cardiac arrest in response to the drugs used to slow the heart rate.” I mulled that over, forcing myself to view things with a sense of detachment. Getting upset wouldn’t help matters, only delay gaining the information I needed from Davis. “It's surprising I was recognized, I’m not exactly in the public eye.”

My stomach churned, and I struggled to maintain my composure. Why? Why would he do this?

“You tutored her sister, Delia Long. She became concerned when you were brought in medicated, and restrained.”

I nodded, a vague memory of a skinny brunette in the year below me coming to the forefront of my mind. Not very bright, but she passed in the end.

“You said I was in cardiac arrest, any lasting damage?” I asked, a numb coldness filled me as I stared at the lawyer, waiting for the answer.

“Cardiovascular and neurological.” He confirmed.

“Recovery? How extensive is the damage?”

“Uncertain,” Davis shook his head. “You are currently in an emergency medical pod. It was deemed your best chance of survival at the time. The doctors in charge of your case have recommended you be transferred to a long-term capsule. Scans are inconclusive as to the extent of the damage, and due to the situation, they are bringing in a specialist team to assess you.”

“Where is the pod?”

“Still with Everlife. The Department of Digital life has sent someone to monitor you, and to ensure your pod is not interfered with further.”

“Danica and Donavon?” I asked, not able to bring myself to refer to my father in a familial term out loud.

“Currently facing charges of-” Davis flicked his hand over a screen. “Attempted murder, conspiracy to commit murder, fraud, and embezzlement. I’m pushing for a murder charge to be added, as you were in fact dead for a time before being revived to your current state.”

The lawyer continued speaking, but his voice sounded muffled to my ears. A soft buzzing filled the air, and everything became hazy. I wanted to vomit, to scream words of denial, but all I could squeeze passed my lips was a single word.

“Embezzlement?”

“Yes. It appears Mr. Greene was trying to sell the company to hide his actions, but that wasn’t possible. When you turned eighteen, the shares you inherited from Dr. Cole-Greene were no longer under his management, which meant he lacked the majority control he needed to action the sale. In addition to those shares, you inherited control over your mother’s patents.”

I brushed a shaky hand over my cheek, wiping away a stray tear that had managed to escape. “Greene Pharmaceutical holds the commercial rights, but the patent itself was kept in mom's name. If he sold the company, it would lose the commercial rights due to the stipulation that the company not be sold for the duration of the contract.” I said, everything clicking into place in my mind. How long was he planning this?

“Your death would see those patents revert to your father, along with the shares.” Davis advised.

I nodded, closing my eyes against the tears that were trying to spill forth.

“What happens now?” I asked, my voice coming out in a hoarse whisper.

“You authorize me as your legal counsel to crush all adversaries, and we ensure your capsule is kept secure in a private facility until it is determined if you can be brought safely out of stasis.”

“Crush all adversaries? They’re already facing criminal charges, what else is there?” I asked, keeping my eyes closed, scared that I’d break if I dared open them.

“I was referring to Everlife. As you may be aware, Greene Pharmaceutical holds the contract to manufacture several of the drugs used in the stasis procedure. These being products of your mothers research, and among the patents you hold.”

“He used that connection to arrange things on the Everlife end, I’m assuming.” I huffed, opening my eyes to stare at the lawyer, and wishing this conversation would be done with so I could be alone.

“That is what the initial investigation has shown. Those who were involved have been taken into custody and overall the company is suffering. This puts them in a difficult position considering you hold all the cards.” Davis leaned back in his chair with a fierce expression.

“I only hold cards if I’m alive.” I scoffed, crossing my arms over my chest. “Nothing stopping me from having another accident.”

Heat seared through me, and I allowed it to build, using it to mask the crushing weight of sadness.

“For now, you are safe, and I intend to keep you that way. My wife is insisting we need a bigger house, not something I could afford without the hefty retainer I get for managing your trust, and the patents.”

“Didn’t you just get divorced?”

“Married again last week,” he declared, winking at me.

“I don’t even want to know this one's age,” I rolled my eyes, somewhat glad for the slight shift in conversation.

“Everlife is in the process of being acquired by the Gaia corporation, so they’ll be wanting to get this matter dealt with as quickly as possible. The press and public are swarming, which isn’t good for either company.”

“Settlement?” I asked, arching a brow.

“For now,” he confirmed, flashing me a toothy smile. “I’m going to request the settlement be paid to the Gaia corporation and transferred to you virtually.”

“What! Why? All that will achieve is lining Gaia’s pockets,” I spluttered, giving them a real money settlement for digital currency they could manifest out of nothing? That was the stupidest thing I’d ever heard, and that was saying something considering some of the things I’d heard Marcus say over the years.

“Why would Everlife pay money to a company that’s buying them out?” Davis insinuated.

“You think they wouldn’t pay the settlement, but just give me the digital currency and say they did?”

“If they’re as stupid as the lawyers they’ve hired, then yes.” He confirmed, looking a little too pleased with himself.

“And if they do pay it? You’ve lined Gaia’s pockets.” I scorned, getting a nod in response.

“Which will leave them in a bad position where the public is concerned. As you said, digital currency is worth nothing beyond the virtual world, so why not let you have both?”

“You’re planning to double dip the settlement.” I stated, tilting my head back against the chair with a sigh.

“You’ll get what you need to live comfortably in virtual reality, and secure the extra real world funds needed to snatch a chunk of Everlife out from under the Gaia corporation.” Davis said smugly.

Now that, I wasn’t expecting. “Explain.” I demanded.

“Gaia has placed its acquisition of Everlife on hold in order to avoid being “tarred with the same brush”, and I believe it would be in your best interests to take advantage of this situation to acquire shares in Everlife, which are currently plummeting.”

“Another card in the deck.” I quipped, getting a chuckle from Davis in response. Though, considering I was in an Everlife capsule, it would be best to have some control over the company in order to secure my safety.

“Stacking the deck would be more fitting.” The lawyer suggested.

“Stacking up more reasons to want me dead.” I retorted, but Davis shook his head.

“Keeping you alive, and happy is in everyone's best interest at this point in time. For now, we let them believe they have the upper hand.”

“You know, I think I’d prefer Gaia shares over Everlife.” I said with false casualness. “If I’m going to be stuck in this world, let it be a world of my own control.”

“Why not both? Such an endeavor would not be impossible. Doing so would, however, require time to ensure it is done properly.” Davis muttered, tapping his fingers on the desk.

“We’re in luck, because I’ve recently found myself with a lot of time, perks of being a popsicle.”

“Perhaps one day I shall retire into a virtual retirement home, and join you.”

“You retire?” I mocked, shaking my head. “You’ll die at your desk.”

“That is probable.” He agreed, glancing down at something on the desk. “Now, onto the next matter. I have been contacted by Geraldine University of Science, who were informed of your situation. As you are no doubt aware, many universities conduct classes within a virtual classroom, and Geraldine is offering you admittance as a virtual student.”

“Admittance to Geraldine University of Science,” I repeated, staring at the lawyer who nodded.

“This would require your transfer to an earth replication world, where you will be able to connect to the Geraldine University servers to attend classes. This world does not permit such connections, or external communication unless through a special call room located in each towns bank.”

I dropped my gaze from Davis’s, staring down at the floor. I could go to Geraldine University. But it’s not really Geraldine University, is it? Then again, transferring to an earth replication world, would also give me the chance to connect to Greene Pharmaceutical’s research servers.

These days most experiments, and research was conducted in virtual labs with the assistance of artificial beings. Everything could be the way I wanted it, I could live the way I always dreamed.

Except, I couldn’t. Not really.

“What’s the likelihood of my being safely removed from the capsule, no bullshit Davis, tell me straight.” I demanded, looking up to meet the lawyers gaze.

“Less than ten percent,” he admitted, lips twisting downward into a frown. “The doctors believe your heart will not be able to handle the reversal procedure. When the specialist team arrives, we will know more.”

“I will consider it, but for now,” I hesitated, swallowing back the part of me that was screaming in protest. “For now I will stay in Kaledon. I need time to process everything, and I think being in an Earth replication world will only make that more difficult.”

“Of course,” Davis said. “Take time to consider it. I will speak with the university, and see if they are willing to offer an admission for next year if that would be your preference.”

“I don’t know what my preference is,” I sighed. “Is there anything else to discuss?”

“You need to assign a proxy for the company shares you control, and we have some financials to discuss.”

I nodded, sitting upright in the chair. Those were the last things I wanted to talk about, but they were things which needed to be dealt with.

Hopefully it would not take long, as I had the sudden urge to see if Kaledon’s realism extended to intoxication.

Head buried in my hands, I sat slumped over a workbench in the lab, tears falling in an endless stream down my cheeks.

After leaving my meeting with Davis, I was transported into the forge where I proceeded to see if alcohol was as effective for drowning sorrows as so many country songs claimed it to be.

I guess for now, I'm stuck here. Bitter laughter echoed around the lab as I reached for the jug of vodka, taking a deep swig, which left me choking and spluttering.

“Close your eyes and let the mind expand. Let no fear of death or darkness arrest its course. Allow the mind to merge with mind. Let it flow out upon the great curve of consciousness. Let it soar on the wings of the great bird of duration, up to the very Circle of Eternity.”

“I haven’t heard that quote in years, not many people read the Corpus Hermeticum.” I murmured, not bothering to look up at the person who was intruding on my wallowing.

“I would be a poorly educated God of Alchemy had I not read the text said to be written by the Earthen god of alchemy.”

“Some called him a god, others a teacher. I am one who prefers the latter.” I said, finally looking up from my mug.

I shook my head with a wry smile as I saw an old man clad in purple and gold trimmed robes peering down at the retort bubbling away on a nearby bench.

“Hermes Trismegistus?” I questioned, not sure if I felt amused or offended that he would pretend to be such an important historical figure.

“I am not he, though it is in his likeness that I appear.” the old man said, inclining his head.

“You say you are this world's God of Alchemy?”

“I am indeed, and like he whose appearance I share, I am known as Trismegistus or simply Tris. The god of Alchemy, Astrology and Transmutation.” The old man decreed, holding a book and orrery staff in each hand, lifting them high in the air. “Will you devote yourself to me as a disciple of Natural Philosophy? Bestow upon me a tithe of gold and I shall grant thee a blessing.”

“Strange that the god of alchemy would ask for gold, when it is knowledge that an alchemist treasures most.” I quipped, downing another gulp of vodka.

“You are the first to not simply hand over a bag of gold when such an offer was made to them,” he commented with a low chuckle.

“Hermes Trismegistus did not take, he taught.”

“Indeed, and are you willing to be taught? Will you devote yourself to the path you have set your foot upon?” The supposed god asked, tapping the spine of his book against the glass retort which I was using to distill Rowan berries.

“I will devote myself to knowledge; to science, and discovery, not to a god. Even if he is a god born from the advancement of science.”

“This I will accept, and your tithe of knowledge I shall claim.” Trismegistus declared, reaching out and grabbing one of the books I’d tossed onto the workbench.

Seeing the book the god held, I opened my mouth to protest, but with a flash of light he disappeared, taking the grimoire with him. Oh shit, Darius and Noctus are going to kill me. Maybe I’ll just tell them it disappeared? Darius said they do that, right? Just up and go poof if they don’t like you or something?

“What happened to giving me a blessing?” I muttered, glaring into my now empty jug of vodka.

Chink.

A cursory glance up at the sound of something dropping onto the nearby bench revealed a necklace with a delicate gold chain and pendant.

Staggering to my feet, and knocking my stool over in the process, I stumbled over to the bench.

The necklace pendant was a flat circle of gold close to an inch in diameter, with four alchemic symbols for the base elements engraved upon it, along with one more I did not know.

In the center of the circle was a purple stone that appeared to be floating in the middle with nothing to hold it there.

Pressing a finger to the stone, I tried to push it out of the necklace, but it refused to budge. Then I tried pushing mana into it, allowing a small trickle of power to flow into the stone like I’d done with the poker and fire stone.

The pendant glowed softly, for the briefest second, and as the glow faded, I noticed that the unknown symbol had changed, the engraved script now a glittery blue color.

It is the same blue color as the mana crystals. If the other symbols are air, water, fire, and earth, does that make this one magic?

Calling a flicker of flame to my hand, I directed the fire towards the purple stone and once more the pendant glowed as the flame was sucked into it.

This time, the fire symbol became filled with an orange light that flickered and danced.

Water next.

Dunking the pendent in a bucket of water, I waited for the glow, smiling when it appeared and the symbol for water turned a deep blue.

A trip outside to bury the pendant in the soil of a flower bed had the earth symbol filling with a woody brown color.

“Air, how do I get air? There isn’t so much as a slight breeze tonight.” I muttered to myself, pacing back and forth in front of the forge tower. “Spinning it in circles above my head didn’t work and running around with it achieved nothing aside from me looking like an idiot.”

With a sigh I turned towards the forge, and trudged back to my lab where I moved to the nearby window and pushed open the wooden shutter.

Arm outstretched, I dropped the necklace, leaning out to watch it fall and searching for some sign of a glowing light.

Seconds before it hit the ground, a dark form swooped across the courtyard and snatched the necklace from the air.

“Well shit.” I cursed as I watched the dark feathered bird fly around the courtyard, the pendent finally showing the desired glow, but now very much out of reach.

The crow flew in circles around the courtyard, seemingly mocking me with glimpses of the gold necklace it carried.

“You know I’m not stupid, right?” I said to the empty air, gaze fixed on the crow. “The Black Crow, White Swan, Peacock, Pelican, and Phoenix are the five symbolic birds of alchemy. Each representing a stage of the alchemical process. To hatch a crow from a black void of emptiness is the first stage of the Alchemist’s great art.”

“Caw.”

Landing on the edge of the window, the crow stared at me with dark eyes as it dropped the necklace onto the stone floor.

“The blackening, the nigredo,” I murmured, chewing on my lower lip as I gazed at the bird.

I doubted it was a coincidence this bird came to me after my meeting with the Alchemy god, nor did I believe its form being that of crow was one either.

In historical alchemical teachings the nigredo was the putrefaction, decomposition, or oxidation process of both matter, and soul.

The process was described as directing oneself within to find true self-awareness and knowledge. It was said that to overcome this stage of blackening, one must delve into the depths of their inner darkness in order to discover the seed of their souls' corruption, and through this enlightenment pass into the next stage.

I wouldn’t disregard what the bird represented, but I was not yet ready to face the darkness, nor move beyond it.

Ignoring the bird, I bent, picking up the dropped necklace and inspecting the symbol for wind which was now a soft white.

“Caw.”

The crow let out another croaking call, hopping from the window into the lab and onto one of my work benches where it proceeded to inspect the retort in the same manner Trismegistus had. Then with a flutter of dark feathered wings it flew up to the drying rack where I’d hung bundles of plants.

Watching the crow walk across the rack, seemingly investigating each of the plants, I realized that it didn’t intend to leave anytime soon.

Sighing, I returned my attention to the necklace I held, holding it up to inspect the symbols. Pushing more magic into the stone got no further reaction, and neither did fire, so I didn’t bother with re-attempting the other elements. It appeared that the necklace was done doing whatever it intended to do and, disappointingly, it seemed filling it with the elements didn’t have any instantaneous grand effect.

There has to be something special about it, otherwise I just got ripped off by some bloke cosplaying as Hermes Trismegistus.

Clasping the necklace around my neck, I waited, half expecting something to happen, but the pendent simply lay against the base of my throat.

“Well, I’ve got two choices here. More vodka or sleep.” I mumbled, looking at the empty jug on my bench as I contemplated refilling it.

“Caw.”

The crow flew down from the drying racks, a bundle of Olisuba leaf held in its beak as it landed on the bench, knocking over the empty vodka jug.

Dropping the bundle, the crow proceeded to pluck the half-dried leaves off the stalks and drop them into the nearby mortar.

Even birds can be alchemists now? I scoffed, watching the crow with a sneer.

“Caw.” With a low, croaking cry, the crow nudged the pestle with its beak, sending it rolling towards the edge of the bench.

Catching the pestle before it fell, I went to place it back on the bench when the crow began hopping in circles around the mortar.

“You want me to grind the leaves?”

“Caw.”

I didn’t accidentally drink vodka I’d infused with some kind of hallucinogenic, did I? Gods, alchemist crows, necklaces that absorb elements. Yup, sounds like a hallucination to me.

Under the watchful eye of the crow, I ground the Olisuba leaves until they reached a powdered consistency. There were still some small chunks in the powder, as I lacked a sieve, but it was as close as I could get.

Appeased by the powdered leaves, the crow hopped over to the retort, tapping its beak against the receiving flask where a deep red, syrupy substance had formed.

Blowing out the candle which was heating the retort, I disengaged the receiving flask from the neck of the retort and poured the contents into a vial before putting the flask back into place.

The Rowan berries and vodka in the retorts chamber had almost boiled down to nothing, so I left the flame unlit to allow the instrument time to cool so I could clean it.

Vial of red syrup in hand, I moved back to the mortar and poured half the contents into the mortar, stopping when the crow gave a low caw.

Picking up the pestle again, I mixed the berry syrup into the Olisuba powder, where it formed a thick paste.

“Caw.”

Looking up, I saw the crow dipping its beak into the leather pouch I kept the ice wisp cores in.

Core held in its beak, the Crow moved back to me and dropped the core on the bench.

“You want me to freeze the paste?” I asked.

Will the paste freeze? I don’t know if it is liquid enough. I glanced down at the contents of the mortar.

“Caw.”

Placing its foot on the round core, the crow began rolling it around in small circles.

“Roll?” I can’t believe I’m taking orders from a bird. I’m never drinking vodka again.

“Caw.”

After rolling the paste into a large ball, I glanced at the crow, who gave a shake of its head.

Pinching off some of the paste, I showed it to the crow who again shook its head and hopped over to tap its beak against the nail of my thumb.

“Caw.”

I wonder if Bron has a recipe for roast crow? Crow stew? I grumbled to myself silently as I rolled the sticky paste into thumbnail-sized balls.

With the last of the paste rolled, and my hands a sticky mess, I walked over to the bucket of water sitting next to the furnace to wash them off.

The fluttering of wings alerted me to the crow's approach and I watched it land on the lip of the furnace's opening, where it peered at the unlit fire stone.

“Let me guess. Caw.” I said sarcastically, mimicking the birds' croaking cry and getting a nod in response.

What am I supposed to cook them on? I guess I can ask Bron if he has a baking tray I can borrow, but it's getting late so he might be asleep.

Walking down to the forge, I glanced at the things Marcus had lying around, trying to find something I could use as a baking tray and ended up with a half-finished domed shield that reminded me of a cooking wok.

Back in the lab, I placed the balls of paste onto the shield and after adjusting the flame of the fire stone several times to reach something the crow was happy with, I proceeded to cook the balls.

Five minutes of cooking over a high heat saw the balls of paste hardening and taking on the appearance of dark red marbles.

Removing the shield from the furnace with a pair of large metal tongs, I carried it over to my bench where I tipped the red balls into a clay bowl.

Once I’d put the shield back into the furnace where it could cool, and be out of the way, I went to inspect the crows' creation.

Seemingly unbothered by the heat, the crow plucked one of the red marbles out of the bowl and walked across the wooden bench towards me where it placed the marble down.

Touching the marble, I found it was not as hot as I’d thought it would be, and picked it up for a closer look.

The marble was transparent like red tinted glass, but I could see spots where the fragments of Olisuba leaves had not incorporated.

“Caw.” Opening and closing its beak, the crow gazed at me with sharp, intelligent eyes.

Well, I’ve come this far. I decided, and tossed the red marble into my mouth.

The moment it hit my tongue the hardened marble melted into a warm, sweet tasting liquid. Energy coursed through me, making me feel like I’d downed three cups of coffee while also giving me the refreshing feeling that only came with a good night's rest.

The foggy vodka induced buzz dissipated, leaving me clear-headed.

“What the fuck was that? Some kind of sobering pill? Now I have to get drunk all over again!” I cried out indignantly to the smug-looking crow who was preening its feathers.

“Caw.”

Note to self; don’t lick the white berries.

The marble altar felt cool against my skin, the feel of it’s coolness a stark contrast to the acidic burning that consumed me mere moments before.

After laying on the altar for another few minutes, I decided it was time to get up and head back to the lab.

At least this death was a quick one, much better than the black mushrooms which filled my lungs with spores and suffocated me. Grumbling under my breath, I trudged back towards the forge, the cold night air causing my skin to prickle.

“Kadia.” Turning at sound of my name, I saw Darius approaching with a bag slung over his shoulder.

“Darius, hello.”

“Did I just see you leave the altar? What happened?” Darius asked, a look of concern on his face as he reached me.

“I licked a Calacaza berry to test if it was just the flesh which is poisonous or the skin as well.” I admitted, causing the guild leader to gape at me.

“You licked something you knew could be poisonous? Why?” He asked, sounding a mixture of shocked and confused.

“Well, how else am I supposed to find out if the skin is poisonous or if it is just the flesh? I need to know what effect the poison has as well- it burns like acid in case you were wondering.” I informed him.

“Right, acid, got it.” Darius muttered, running a hand through his hair. “You shouldn’t be testing this stuff on yourself, not if it means you might die.”

“Why not? If I die I just reform back on the altar.” I said with a shrug, turning to continue my trek back to the forge.

“Kadia,” Darius spoke my name again, making a sound somewhere between a groan and a sigh. “When your body reforms you sacrifice a part of your power to create the new body. With each death you weaken yourself. If you die too many times at this low level you will permanently damage your core and it will be extremely hard for you to regain any strength. The stronger you are, the more of a power buffer you have around your core to protect it, which means you can die several times before the core is affected. Only a high priest can fix a damaged core and getting a meeting with one is extremely difficult. If you die after you damage the core, it’s even worse. True death is a thing here, die too many times, and you’ll end up needing to create a new avatar. How many times have you died?” Darius asked, looking worried.

“Uh, well,” I pondered the question, mentally listing the various deaths I had suffered. The first time was the experiment with the fire stone, which exploded when I tried to break it into smaller firestones, then the black mushrooms, and -

“Kadia?” Darius voice cut through my mental countdown of deaths, and looking up at the guild leader I saw his expression of concern as he stared at the fingers I had been using to count off my deaths.

“Three, I’ve died three times.” I lied before asking a question of my own. “What do you mean by true death?”

“Right, that’s not too bad, and by true death, I mean the death of your avatar's current life cycle. Die enough times that your core shatters, and you’ll end up in Celeste’s domain having to recreate your avatar. If that happens, everything you own will be lost, as Celeste takes it in payment for granting you a new life in the world. More often than not, you’ll end up as something less than desirable. I’ve heard if you suffer multiple true deaths, your race gets worse and worse. There’s a bloke running around right now as a goblin who’s had three true deaths.”

“That, er-” I shook my head, not really knowing how to respond to this newfound information.

“Hasn’t Markion taken you out hunting yet? Why didn’t he tell you any of this?” He asked, scowling in the direction of the forge.

“Um, no, Marcu- er, Markion, isn’t here.” I said, giving the guild leader a brief explanation of what I knew about our father’s arrest and my conclusion that it had to do with why Marcus was gone.

“I know he came back for a bit while I was dead the first time, because the Minotaur statue moved and he wrote ''Be back soon” in charcoal on the door leading to the stairs. It has been five days since then; honestly he needs to hurry up and come back, I need my stuff made.” I said with a huff, trying not to show how worried I was about what might be happening to Marcus.

“I’m sure he will be back soon.” Darius said, pulling his bag off his shoulder and unbuckling the straps. “While I was away I found some things for you. I got these books from some idiot who tried to kill me.”

“Books? What are they about?” My vulpine ears perked up, and I peered into bag, seeing nothing but an empty space inside as Darius interacted with the inventory screen.

“Barlows Bestiary, Plants and Fungi of Salvia, and the third is called Trismegistus and the Philosophies of Nature. I’ve not heard of the last one before, but the first two have been through the auctions a few times. It was strange, he only had the books, a globe, a weird metal disk and dagger on him. No armor or any real weapon, he was just wearing cloth robes and actually thought he could rob me. He must have been new,” Darius said, shaking his head with a slight grin. “After he realized how outmatched he was, he dropped his dagger and bag, then bolted off into the forest. The bag didn’t even have any holding enchantments on it.”

Narrowing my eyes, I stared at the cover of the book titled Trismegistus and the Philosophies of nature.

“Can I see the other items? The globe and metal disk?” I asked, getting a nod from the guild leader who proceeded to remove an Orrery and Astrolabe from his bag.

The Orrery was made of bronze and was set on a short stand, unlike the gold one Trismegistus carried, which was set atop a staff.

“This is an Orrery,” I mused, staring at the Orrery Darius held out for me. “A device used to depict the solar system. See here; it shows Kaledon’s solar system has nine planets, one sun and two moons.”

“What is an Orrery used for?” he asked, peering at the Orrery with interest.

“I do not know if it has a special use here, but they were historically used in Astrology and Alchemy to track the position of the celestial bodies. The other device you have is an Astrolabe, the markings around the edges are measurements used to help Astrologists with various calculations.”

“Alchemist can use them?”

I nodded, brows furrowing. “Darius, the man who attacked you, was he an old man with a long beard, wearing a robe with symbols embroidered onto the sleeves and hem?” I questioned, unconsciously chewing on the nail of my thumb.

“He was, why?” He asked.

“Well, while you were gone I sort of met Trismegistus the god of Alchemy, Astrology and Transmutation.” I said, giving a rough overview of my meeting with the god and admitting to him that the god had taken my grimoire.

“Ah, I see,” he hummed, his expression thoughtful as he looked at the items. “So you think this Trismegistus may have been the man I encountered? Well, that is possible. Typically, that kind of situation is what we refer to as a “special encounter”. I suspect his intent was that you receive these items as I was alone when I met him and have no use for them myself.” Darius concluded. I nodded in agreement, otherwise why else would Darius have received those items in such a manner?

As we entered the forge, Darius stopped so abruptly that I almost crashed into him.

“W-hat is he wearing?” The guild leader gasped out, choked laughter spilling from his lips. I giggled, following behind him as he walked over to the Minotaur statue sitting against a wall, dressed in a frilly nightgown and bonnet.

“Noctus came by the night before last and was concerned Markion’s statue would be cold in just his loincloth.” I informed him matter-of-factly, struggling to keep a straight face.

“The makeup?” He wheezed, leaning down to inspect the Minotaurs bright red lips and charcoal lined eyes.

“Oh, that was me. Jezebel and two of the seamstress apprentices in the guild requested I try to make some better cosmetics for them, and I used Markion as my tester. It was fun, Yuki and Tink helped as well.” I snickered, admiring the Minotaur’s clown like appearance.

“It’s, ahem, definitely an improvement.” He muttered, rubbing a hand over his chin with a broad grin. “I wish we had cameras.”

“Me too,” I agreed, leading the way up to the lab, and unlocking the door with my guild token.

I had begun locking the lab and the door at the bottom of the stairs to dissuade the guild members who seem to continually interrupt my work with requests for tinctures and salves.

To combat this, I supplied Bron with the tinctures, and salves I had on hand each morning and each evening he would provide me a list of what was sold for my accounting book, while depositing the coin into my guild account when he did his nightly banking for the guild.

Letting out a low whistle, Darius looked around the lab with an awed expression. I smiled seeing his reaction, a sense of pride filling me.

“This place has changed a lot; it definitely looks like what I’d imagine an alchemy lab should be.” He said, looking at the racks of drying herbs hanging over our heads.

“Here, let me show you the things I’ve made.” I placed the books down on a bench and Darius did the same with the Orrery, Astrolabe, and an ornate dagger with inscriptions on the blade and hilt.

“He dropped the dagger as well, so there must be a reason why. I suggest consulting with Noctus as to any enchantment they have. The bag appeared normal to me, and doesn’t have a holding enchantment, but maybe it isn’t active or has an enchantment that isn’t noticeable.” He suggested.

I nodded, examining the Astrolabe with interest.

“Kadia, is that crow stirring an ice wisp core into a bowl of water?” Darius asked with wide eyes.

“Yup, his name is Zosimos. The water needs to be kept cold to help the condensing process when distilling.” I told him, glancing at the crow who held a wisp core in his beak, swirling it through the water that the retort’s receiving flask sat in.

“I guess it’s not the strangest thing I’ve seen,” Darius muttered before asking, “Zosimos?”

“Zosimos of Panopolis was an Egyptian alchemist in the late third century and was accredited with making one of the first definitions of alchemy. He authored the oldest known collection of books on alchemy, and is considered the father of Alchemy.” I explained, leading the guild leader to the upstairs storage area.

Instead the storage room, I showed Darius the barrels of tincture and the smaller tubs with salves.

“So far, I’ve made everything in the Potioneer’s guide to basic salves and tinctures. Which is all stored here above the storage room. There are bulk batches of everything and Bron keeps a supply in the kitchen, which he sells. Guild members bring their own containers and can fill them from the barrels.”

“Excellent idea, cuts down the cost of buying a continual supply of vials and salve jars.” The guild leader commented.

“Exactly, and it keeps them away from my lab. It was a nightmare, with guild members constantly banging on my door or simply walking in. Luckily, Noctus took care of that and declared my lab off limits. He has been talking about setting up a stall in the courtyard, because even Bron is getting a little sick of people tramping into his kitchen.”

“I will speak with both on the matter, it sounds like a good idea if the demand for supply is there.”

Leading Darius back down the stairs, I showed him into the storage room where I’d managed to fill almost half the shelves.

“Starting here on the left, we have cosmetics. I’ve got powders, stained paper and balms which can be applied as lipstick or eye color, as well as an eyeliner made with charcoal and oil. I traded some for clothing, and this is the excess.” I explained, pointing to the different palm-sized clay containers that were stacked up on the shelf.

“Next, we have the herbal teas, I have four which are being supplied to the guild and another I’m still working on. Starting at this tin, we have an antioxidant tea, revitalizing tea, a pain relief tea and this one is a mix of all three, which is very popular with the guild as a hangover cure. I’ve also mixed together a few more teas which had no notable effect beyond tasting nice, those recipes have been passed on to Bron. During some infusion experiments I also ended up creating a few different alcoholic beverages by infusing plants into vodka, so I passed those onto him as well. The cat's tongue vodka was rather nice,” I trailed off reminiscing about the deliciously tart concoction I’d accidentally made when mixing cat tongue fruit with vodka.

“You’ve certainly been busy,” Darius noted as I began showing him the next set of jars which contained my attempts at recreating the daylight salve for Noctus.

My work on the salve hadn’t been very successful, in part due to a lack of Muroosa wood, but hopefully that would be resolved with the upcoming trip to the desert where the bush grew.

“I’ve been stuck working on things that don’t require much processing due to a lack of tools. I tried to commission the smiths to make some, but they refused. They really don’t like Markion apparently,” I grumbled, remembering the less than pleasant encounter I had with the dwarf who claimed he was the guild’s forge master.

“Noctus and Bron both tried to coax them into helping, but they said they’d only do it in exchange for one of Markion’s fire stones. I told them no, because it isn’t worth dealing with the fallout with my brother, plus I already blew up one of my own fire stones, so if I gave them one I’d have none left.”

“You blew up a fire stone? How did you manage to blow up a fire stone?” Darius asked aghast.

“Uh, well, you see, I wanted to try breaking it into smaller pieces to make lots of small firestones that I could use as burners. I used Markion’s forging hammer to smash it, and it went boom.” I concluded with a shrug. “Trust me, that was tame compared to what happened when I tried making gunpowder.”

“You managed to find saltpeter?” Darius enquired, voice sounding strained.

“Yup, turns out Calidus knew about saltpeter and how to make it already. He’s been using it as fertilizer at the farm. I’ve got a few jars of saltpeter and a failed black powder mix in the cabinet.” I informed him, pointing to the shelves which had been enclosed with lockable doors. “Turns out the normal black powder recipe doesn’t work, which I guess is to be expected, otherwise every player with an outside network connection would be making it. But- I managed to make something similar to black powder using the firestone fragments.”

“Please tell me that you didn’t leave Tink unsupervised with any.” He pleaded, breathing a sigh of relief when I nodded.

“Noctus said she wasn’t allowed to experiment with it until you returned.”

“Thank fuck for that, or else there wouldn’t even be a guild hall for me to return to.”

“I’m sure it wouldn’t be that bad,” I defended.

The guild leader gave me a deadpan look in response.

“We used to have four guild halls, Tink’s the reason we now have three.”

“Oh.”

“Stop whining and stab the bunny.”

“But I don’t want to stab the bunny, the bunny didn’t do anything wrong.” I whined, staring sadly at the poor, fluffy white rabbit as it writhed in the net Darius used to stop it from flying away.

“You said you wanted to make the light-foot potion the guild purchased the recipe for. If you want the wing-eared rabbit feathers, you need to stab the bunny.” The guild leader said, standing behind me with his arms crossed over his chest.

“Can’t we just pluck the feathers and let it go?”

“Then it’ll die, regardless. Without its feathers, it won’t be able to fly away from predators. Stab- the- bunny.” He said firmly.

Cringing, I turned my head away from the bunny, which was squealing out high-pitched pleas for its life. Blindly I thrust the sharp tip of my wagasa towards the bundle of fur, feathers, and rope.

The shrieks of the bunny reached a new crescendo as the weapon slammed into flesh, and I peered through squinted eyes at the bunny who I’d stabbed in the leg.

“You could have killed it in one strike if you were looking where you aimed. Now you’ve just made it suffer more. Stab it again.” Darius scolded.

I pulled back my wagasa, this time keeping my eyes on the bunny as I aimed for its side with my next strike.

Blood gushed from the wound where I stabbed it; its white furred body convulsing with tiny spasms before it finally lay still in the net.

Digging the tip of the wagasa into the dirt, I used it to steady myself as I took in several shaky breaths. I had never fought much in the previous virtual world I spent time in, and when I did, it was never against the cute and fluffy creatures.

I’m sorry, little bunny, but I really needed your feathers. I mentally told the dead rabbit as I knelt next to it and began plucking the feathers from its long ears. Once the ears were stripped of any feathers, I went to stand, but stopped when Darius cleared his throat.

Huffing out a sigh, I pulled out my dagger.

According to Noctus, the dagger Darius got from Trismegistus was heavily enchanted, and just getting the dagger back from the vampire had required Darius’s interference, plus promises from me to allow him to study it. From what he told me, the enchantments that were inscribed meant the dagger always stayed sharp, and it had a form-changing ability.

When holding the dagger, I merely needed to think of the style of knife I wanted and it would change into that shape, though it could not grow any larger than a ten-inch long dagger.

Focusing on the dagger, I imagined a curved skinning knife and watched as the dagger shimmered before being replaced by the more slender blade I had pictured.

Staring down at the rabbit, I didn’t even know where to start with skinning it. I had dissected animals before in biology classes, but there was a lot of difference between dissecting something and skinning it.

“I will do this one, you do the next.” Darius grumbled, kneeling beside me with his own knife in hand.

Once the rabbit had been skinned, and Darius had removed the unwanted organs, he placed it into a leather sack which he packed away into his bag.

“Cook will take most animals for the kitchen and the tanners will take the fur. Even if you did mess up the pelt with poorly aimed hits, the apprentices can always use scrap to practice with.” Darius teased as we crept through the meadow looking for more wing-eared rabbits.

After the twenty-fifth wing-eared rabbit, I was ready to return to the guild hall and my lab, but unfortunately Darius seemed to disagree with me, insisting that we move into the nearby forest.

“You need to practice your fire manipulation. Killing bunnies that I’m holding down for you isn’t going to help with that.” Darius announced as he led the way through the trees.

“I can only conjure up a tiny flicker of fire. That isn’t going to do me much good against anything here. It barely even singed the fur of the wing-eared rabbits.” I argued, wishing we could hurry up and return to the city. I wasn’t an outdoorsy kind of girl, I was a huddle in a library reading research papers girl.

“Which is why you need to practice. You also need to hunt in order to grow stronger.”

“I can do that by making stuff in my lab,” I argued, knowing it was a lie.

Kaledon did not give out experience in the same way other virtual worlds did, fighting a creature here would see a person gain a portion of its mana. Mana could also be gained passively by absorbing it from mana crystals or being in a mana-rich environment.

While creating the tinctures, and salves did give a bit of mana as reward, killing a single bunny gave me a bigger increase than what I’d gained from working in the lab over the past several days.

“That’s a lie, and you know it.” Darius stated, a knowing smirk curling over his lips.

“Why are you helping me so much?” I huffed, looking at the guild leader questioningly. “I mean, you’re the guild leader, don’t you have more important things to do than take me hunting? You’ve done so much for me already.”

Darius arched a brow at me.“You are Markion’s sister, someone I consider a close friend, and I also consider you a friend. Isn’t that reason enough?”

We’re friends? I tilted my head, pondering that for a moment before nodding to myself. I guess we are.

“There,” Darius said, coming to a stop and pointing at something through the trees.

Hanging from a branch just above head height was a beehive that looked as big as the barrels my vodka was delivered in.

Bees half the size of my fist were streaming in and out of the hive in a constant flow, their fast-moving wings filling the air with a continuous low humming.

In a motion too fast for me to fully register, Darius tore the wagasa from my hands and shoved me towards the beehive, where I collided with a line of bees, knocking several out of the air and sending them spiraling to the ground.

The humming grew louder and, as one, the swarm of bees streamed towards me.

Letting out a cry of fear mixed with anger, I swiped at the mass of bees with flame covered fingers. Sharp pain in the back of my hand tore a yelp from my throat as I desperately flailed my hands around in the air, swiping left and right at the endless swarm of bees.

The leather armor I wore protected me from most of the stingers, but my neck, face and hands were left vulnerable to attack.

As the wave of bees continued, my flames flickered and died, leaving my swipes to achieve little more than knocking the bees away, where before they were able to slice through them like butter.

Adrenaline surged through me and suddenly where before I stood on two feet, I now stood on four.

Jaws filled with small razor-sharp teeth snapped closed around a bee, and a sharp, almost spicy, tang coated my tongue.

Yips and yelps echoed around the clearing as I snapped at anything that dared draw near, my tail flicking and swishing in fast motions, knocking away any bees that found themselves in its path.

Heat and anger surged through me as the bees continued to swarm with no end in sight.

Fire coated my fur as a yowling scream sounded from my throat and a torrent of flames exploded outwards in a scorching hot wave.

Dizzy and exhausted, I slumped to the ground unable to even lift my head as my ears picked up the crunching sound of footsteps approaching from the cluster of trees to my left.

“Drink this,” Darius coaxed, pouring a violet-colored liquid into a wooden bowl.

Nose twitching, I sniffed the contents of the bowl, and the familiar smell of cat's tongue and morning dew filled my senses.

Lapping clumsily at the rejuvenation tincture, I scrunched up my nose at the tart taste.

It was easy to tell that whoever had made it did so following the recipe in the potioneer’s guide. It’s much better if you add a little bit of honey to counteract the tartness.

“Stay here while I collect the hive.”

As I slowly started to feel more energized, I sat up on my haunches and looked around the clearing.

Everything appeared slightly dulled, the colors not as vibrant.

The forest floor was littered with the yellow and black corpses of the bees, their bodies making crunching noises as Darius walked around the hive which he had cut free of the tree.

As I looked at the bees, the forest floor began shining with a soft golden light, which pulsed twice before it faded.

Shaking my head I looked at the ground again, but it stayed the same.

Slowly I stood, taking a tentative step forward, unsure of the mechanics of walking with four legs, but it seemed my mind had already adapted to this new body and I was able to move across the clearing without falling.

As I walked towards Darius, the beehive he was rolling onto a large piece of leather became encompassed in the same soft golden light as the forest floor.

This time, the light pulsed three times before it faded. Is this some kind of sensory ability of foxes? I wondered as I watched Darius wrap the leather around the beehive, securing it in place with ropes.

The hive was left looking like a giant backpack, with two sections of the rope creating loops which the dark haired Ōkami slid his arms through as he hefted the leather covered hive onto his back.

“Come on, it’ll be quicker if you jump up and sit on top of the hive. You’re not going to be able to regain your human form until you’ve gotten back some more strength. Any time you reach a state where you have completely drained your core of power, you will revert to this form. This is the same for all the Yōkai races with animalistic true forms, and while no one has tested it yet, it is speculated that if a beast Yōkai dies enough times, and reaches the point of damaging their core, then we will be trapped in our true bodies until our cores have been restored.”

Trapped? I could be stuck like this? I don’t want to be a fox forever! Do you have any idea what kind of gross things I can smell? Something has definitely defecated somewhere around here. I yipped, staring up at the hive and wondering how Darius expected me to be able to jump onto something so far up.

“Sorry, Kadia, I can’t properly understand you. If you were a Ōkami, we could communicate while you are in this form, but I’m only getting about every third word. It’s like you are speaking a jumbled mix of English and a foreign language.” Darius said, looking down at me. “Are you jumping up or do you want to walk?”

No, I don’t want to walk. My legs feel like they are about to fall off. I yipped again, cringing at the high-pitched noise that sounded from my own throat.

“I got legs and fall from that, so I’m guessing you are worried you will fall. You won’t, foxes are very agile.”

Right, that’s right, foxes are almost as agile as cats and cats jump up on stuff taller than this all the time. Backing up a few steps, I stared at the top of the hive, which sat a little higher than the Ōkami’s head.

In a burst of speed, I rushed towards the leather wrapped hive. I didn’t make it to the top, but the ropes and leather provided just enough traction that I could scramble the last of the way up onto the top of the hive.

Panting with exhaustion, I gazed around the clearing from my new vantage point, spotting the wooden bowl Darius had placed on the ground a few feet away from us.

As I focused on it, a soft golden light filled the bowl, its glow only encompassing the tiny amount of tincture that I’d left behind.

Once, twice, three times, the light pulsed before fading from view.

Is this Arcane insight? Noctus says he can see enchantments, and that they will briefly glow then stop unless he focuses on them with his insight skill. Narrowing my eyes, I focused on the bowl as Darius began walking towards it.

This time, the golden glow did not fade, nor did it restrict itself to the bowl.

The hive and the bees all glowed with soft golden light, the light around the bees pulsing twice and the hive pulsing three times, as did the contents of the bowl.

This can’t be arcane sight, that is an enchanter’s ability and I’m not seeing scripture either. Is this some kind of alchemy ability? Is it showing me alchemic components?

As Darius crouched to pick up the bowl, tipping its contents onto the ground, I leapt off the hive and trotted over to one of the bees.

Focusing on it, I watched as it lit up with the golden light, then I turned to Darius and saw the hive light up, but his bag and armor, which I knew was enchanted, stayed the same.

The tincture has three ingredients, and it pulses three times. If I am correct, that means the bees contain two components that can be used in alchemy, and the hive has three. Hmm, I’ve used both honey and beeswax in my experiments, but what could the third thing be? Pollen? Eggs, Larva? Royal jelly from the queen?

“Kadia, what are you doing?” Darius asked, looking down at me in confusion as I sat staring at the bees littering the forest floor.

We need to collect all the bees. I yipped, as I reached down to gently close my mouth around the nearest bee that was still intact and carried it over to the confused guild leader.

“Collect bees? You want the bees?”

Yes. Nodding my head, I dropped the bee near his feet and nudged it with my paw.

“Alright, give me a minute.” Darius grumbled, looking a little annoyed as he unburdened himself, setting the beehive on the ground and knelt to pull a woven basket out of his bag.

“If you want the bees, then you’re helping pick them up.” He said, pointing at the basket.

Nodding, I picked up the bee I’d dropped and moved it to the basket before grabbing another bee.

In the end, collecting the bees was easier than I thought it would be, as Darius used his foot to sweep them into a pile before scooping handfuls of them into the four baskets he’d pulled from his bag.

Once we’d collected all the bees we could find, Darius used some twine to tie the lids onto the baskets before depositing them into his bag.

“Anything else?” He asked, looking down at me.

I gave the clearing a cursory glance before shaking my head when no more glowing lights appeared.

Once more perched on the beehive carried by Darius, I used my new ability to scan the forest for golden glows as we slowly made our way back towards the city.

Seated in the plush armchair opposite his sister's lawyer, Marcus stared down at the medical report he’d been given.

The words written on the page left him feeling as though he’d swallowed molten lead.

He’d noticed the difference in Kadia’s behavior immediately. For the first time, Kadia was smiling, laughing and acting almost normal.

There were no cold calculating looks that left him feeling as though he were being mentally dissected, no scowls or sharp retorts. She’d even hugged him! Sure, it was completely out of character for his sister, but then again, Kadia had always been- different.

Marcus remembered the first time he’d met his sister, could recall staring into those dark, shrewd brown eyes.

When he was eight, he didn’t comprehend the true depth of his parents’ actions, didn’t understand why the pretty red-haired girl who was his new sister glared at him with those dark angry eyes.

His mother told him they were moving to a new home, one where he’d be able to see his father more often, and he’d been overjoyed. Then, she’d told him about his sister, and he’d learned the truth about his father’s other family- his real family.

The first few years were difficult, and he’d swiftly grown to resent that pretty child who easily entrapped everyone around her. In class, the teachers lavished attention on her, singing her praises to anyone who would listen.

Their classmates would gather around her, vying for her attention, whilst he sat on the edges- alone, and discarded. Everyone knew he was the Greene’s son from the outside, the students mocked him in low whispers in the halls, the teachers sneered down at him in disdain.

All the while, Kadia looked on, gazing down at him from her lofty throne with cold, expressionless eyes.

It took years for him to see it, to notice his sister was little more than a doll crafted by the expectations of others.

During breakfast, if their father mentioned an article of interest he’d recently read, by evening Kadia would be an expert on the subject it pertained to. While at school, Kadia was often surrounded by peers, though she rarely spoke to any of them. The teachers who sung her praises, expressed disappointment if she scored anything but full marks, no matter the assignment.

Everything changed for Marcus on his fifteenth birthday. That day, he saw true emotion in those cold eyes. He watched as the facade of perfection shattered, replaced with pain, and fear as she fell down the stairs.

Then, he’d watched her rebuild that mask of cold indifference, hiding the hurt and hatred as his mother mocked her from the top of the stairs.

That day, his world shattered along with his sister's bones, as he saw for the first time the truth his resentment of that red-haired girl blinded him to.

Marcus swallowed back bile as he read the medical report for a second time. She’d almost died, no- she had died; died and been revived, but not without lasting damage.

“Does Kads know?'' Marcus asked, looking up at the lawyer, who nodded.

“She is aware to an extent, however at the time of our last meeting, her full diagnosis was not known.” Mr. Davis said, his expression impassive as he sat behind a polished wooden desk.

Marcus nodded, eyes drifting back to the report before he returned his attention to the lawyer. “What does this mean for my sister? Is there a way to fix this?”

“Surgery is an option, however at this stage the frontal lobe appears to be showing signs of improvement. The specialist team in charge of Miss Greene believe at this point in time the best treatment is for her to remain in the capsule. Many who suffer injuries such as these are placed into medical capsules to facilitate rehabilitation of the brain's cognitive functions. It is recommended you not interfere with her natural progression,” Davis said as he leaned back in his chair, his eyes intent as he stared across the table at Marcus.

“What do you mean not interfere with her natural progression?” He asked, scowling at the lawyer.

“Your sister is a highly intelligent girl, and it is the concern of her medical team that she could damage her rehabilitation. If Miss Greene is aware of the true extent of the damage, she may attempt to force herself into a return to normalcy, or what she considers to be normal. This could prove detrimental to her recovery.”

“I understand,” Marcus sighed, scrubbing a hand over his face as he thought over what the man had said. “What is going to happen regarding Everlife and the others who were involved? I know my parents were arrested, but this goes beyond them.”

“You need not concern yourself with those matters; Miss Greene and I have already discussed what shall be done.” Davis replied, the gleam in the lawyer's eyes sending a chill down Marcus’s spine.

“Right, er. Okay.” Clearing his throat, Marcus slid the report onto the lawyers desk, not meeting the man's gaze.

The current Kadia, with her vibrant smiles and unhidden emotions, was a refreshing change. But, was it really alright to leave her like that? What would she do when- If she got better? Would she be angry with him?

The lawyer's voice drew his attention away from the memories of his sister as the man spoke about the release of money from his trust fund.

Technically it shouldn’t be released until his birthday, but under the circumstances, he was permitted to withdraw money for his living expenses.

Twenty minutes later, Mr. Davis’s secretary escorted him to the door where a taxi waited to take him home, not that it was his home anymore.

He was only going to be permitted a short amount of time to pack up any of his personal belongings. Where he would go after that he wasn’t sure, but there were several capsule hotels in the area where he could rent a room for now.

First, he would get the few sentimental items he owned from his room, and see if he could salvage anything belonging to his sister.

Then he would return to Kaledon, and Kadia.

The sun peaking through the window announced the arrival of morning, and as I woke, it took a moment for my brain to register I was inside my room at the guildhall.

I yawned, stretching out on the bed, glad to find myself back in my human form.

Shuffling over to my wardrobe, I grabbed a cotton towel and after staring at the dozen outfits the head seamstress, Jezebel, had given me in thanks for improving her cosmetics; I decided on a pair of dark woolen trousers and a short-sleeved purple blouse with a front-lacing vest.

Wearing a vest had been strange at first, even more so the fancier corseted ones Jezebel made, but it seemed to be that everyone wore leather outerwear over their clothing, though the style tended to differ.

After making use of the showers located in the bathroom down the hall from my room, I tossed my wet towel and my dirty leather armor into my laundry bag, heading towards the bathroom door which opened to reveal a woman with pale blonde, almost platinum, colored hair, white furred ears and three white tails.

“Good morning.” Yuki said softly, stopping to hold the door open for me.

“Good morning, Yuki.” I replied, smiling in thanks as I slipped past her out of the room and tossed the bag with my dirty items into the laundry chute outside the door.

“Your hair is damp. Are you still struggling to expel heat through your fur?” the older Kitsune observed.

“I have been practicing. I’m just too tired to try this morning,” I told her, while fighting back a yawn.

“Even if you are tired, you must at least make the attempt.” Yuki advised.

Closing my eyes, I focused on my inner fire, pushing the heat outward through my hair and fur.

As I did so, steam began rising in small clouds from my hair, ears, and tail, which became dry in a matter of seconds.

“Well done. Your control has improved. You managed it without a single flame appearing. Keep practicing.” The other Kitsune advised.

“Were you able to talk to Lena?” I asked, glancing down at the floor as the sound from the main room of the guild hall rose in volume.

Shouts and mocking laughter reached my ears, but I could not make out what was said by those below. Though, considering it was time for the morning meal, someone was likely sharing an amusing tale from one of their adventures.

“I did.” She nodded, a gentle smile forming on her lips. “She was reluctant to reveal the true nature of her wisps at first, but has agreed to disclose the information in an exchange. Lena wishes to create an explosive poison pellet, but lacks the knowledge or ability to do so. If you can assist her in this, she will assist you in turn. Lena did not say when she will visit, as she is quite busy with her role as the Silver Arrows co-leader. It may be some time before she is able to meet you.”

“A poison pellet?” I mused. “That is certainly possible, I’ve already got plans to make some smoke bombs.”

“If you can create a small sample of what you will be able to produce, it would be to your benefit as it will allow you to skip over the initial stage of Lena doubting your abilities.” Yuki suggested, patting my shoulder. “Now that Darius is back, I will need to leave. I shall return in a few days, after which we will visit the livestock auctions to find you a mount. Let us hope we can find you one suitable before the end of the coming week when you leave for Valonia.”

“Thank you, Yuki. Have a safe hunt.” I told the blond Kitsune, who nodded with a smile before disappearing into the bathroom.

After returning to my own room to gather my bag and my wagasa, I made my way down to the main hall.

Moving to the table where the kitchen staff had piled up food trays, I grabbed a tray and joined the line of people waiting to be served.

“Morning, Kadia,” Taurie greeted as she placed four strips of bacon onto my tray with a smile.

“Hi, Taurie, can I have a packed lunch please? I’ll be eating in my lab.” I informed the girl, who nodded.

“I will bring it to your table. Lunch is a choice of rabbit stew or chicken curry and rice.”

“Chicken, I’ll take the chicken.” I said quickly, cringing at the memory of the previous day's bunny massacre.

Leaving the serving line, I scanned the tables for a place to sit. I hated eating in the main hall. It always felt like I was back in school with everyone clustered around in their friend groups.

Resigning myself to eating with strangers who might pester me with questions and requests for tinctures, I headed for a nearby table with an empty seat, only making it halfway across the room when a voice called my name.

“Kadia.”

Looking up and seeing Darius waving at me, and gesturing to the table where he sat with five others, I hesitated for a second before walking over. When I reached the table, the group with Darius all stood and left.

As they passed me, I noticed that Nolin, the dwarf who’d called himself the Eternia guilds forge master, was in the group which appeared to be made up of different crafters. Jezebel, the head seamstresses, was also in the group and gave me a friendly smile as she moved to join another table with her apprentices.

“Sit, we’ll talk while you eat.” Darius said, indicating the spot across from him as he flipped through the pages of what looked to be an accounting book.

“What did you want to talk about?” I asked cautiously, glancing down at my plate of eggs, bacon, and thickly-cut toast.

“I want you to teach a member of the guild to make the basic salves and tinctures so we can move the production of those items to the kitchen. They are a basic daily need, and with what I can see here in Bron’s sale records, the demand for them in the guild is high. No one is buying any outside the guild anymore and Bron wants us to begin shipping bulk amounts to the other halls. I don’t want you spending all your time making basic items like these, which is why I want you to train Taurie to make them. According to Bron, she has been helping you with preparing the ingredients so she already has an understanding of what needs to be done.”

“I can do that,” I agreed, relaxing as I realized I wasn’t in trouble for anything.

“Good, Taurie will report to your lab daily until you feel she has an understanding of the process.”

“She already knows how to prepare all the ingredients used. I just need to give her the recipes I’ve modified from the Potioneer’s guide and she should be able to complete them without much guidance. But, using the kitchen isn’t a good idea, some parts of the plants used are poisonous, and there could be a risk of contamination.” I told him.

Darius nodded. “I’m having one of the kitchen's storerooms converted to a workspace, and we’ll allocate one of the new fire stones there after the hunt. Speaking of fire stones, I spoke with Nolin this morning about his uncooperative behavior regarding your commissioning tools. There should be no issues requesting items from the smiths in the future. I intended to pass the job of making the tools you need onto them, but Markion made a rather spectacular entrance earlier, so he can do it.”

“He’s back?” I asked, putting down my fork.

“Yes, he removed the dress before entering the hall, but it appears he did not notice the makeup. It caused quite a ruckus. I don’t think he’ll hear the end of this incident for quite some time.” The guild leader said with a wry smile.

“Do you think he’ll know it was Noctus who put him in the dress?”

“I do now.” Markion growled from behind me, causing me to let out a startled squeak. How did he sneak up on me? He’s massive. I should have heard his hooves clomping on the floor.

The Minotaur sat beside me, taking up all the remaining room on the bench seat that was meant to fit four. Shuffling to the side, I bit my lip as I peaked at him from the corner of my eye. What should I say? Do I ask what happened? Do I want to know?

“Darius, mind giving us a moment? I need to talk with my sister.” Markion said.

“Of course,” Darius replied, picking up the books and paperwork he had spread on the table.

When the guild leader left, I pushed my tray away, my appetite having fled with the arrival of my brother.

“Mr. Davis asked me to let you know he was informed the settlement money was transferred to Gaia corp yesterday, and that due to the restrictions on gold transfers you will be contacted by a Gaia corp representative to discuss how you will be paid.” Markion began, skipping over any pleasantries, which I was grateful for. “The settlement Davis accepted was thirty million all up, though the greedy fucker took a million for himself in fees.”

“Are you okay? You were gone for days.” I said softly, trying to read the expression on his face, which was extremely difficult considering his non-human features.

“I am fine, it was a rough few days, but I’m good now. I got yanked out of my capsule by some government agents who were crawling all over the house like ants getting into every nook and cranny. They took me to the Department of Digital Life and tossed me in a cell for a few hours before bringing me into a room for questioning. Thankfully Davis showed up to play the part of my lawyer.” He informed me, and I made a mental note to thank Mr. Davis for looking after Marcus the next time we spoke.

“After about twenty minutes of questioning, they opened the door and basically told me to get lost.” Markion’s words faltered and he let out a sigh, his large shoulders slumping as he grabbed my tray, pulling it towards himself.

“Were the family accounts frozen?” I asked.

“Yeah, once the trials were over, most of the family's assets were seized to pay back the company, but they left both our trusts alone. I was able to get my personal items from home and some of your things. I’m staying in a capsule hotel at the moment.” He sighed, shaking his head.

“What’s happening with the house? Did they take that too?”

“It’s being foreclosed on,” Markion said as he stuffed a strip of bacon into his mouth.

“What’s happening with the company? Have you spoken to anyone there?” I asked, wondering who would take over now. I knew Markion wouldn’t, nor was he qualified too.

“Do you remember Dr. Carlson?"

"Yes, he worked with my mother. He is the head of the development and research department,” I answered. I’d spent the last few summers interning under him at the company, so it was a little difficult to forget him.

“I spoke to him yesterday, he’s pretty torn up about everything. We talked for a bit, and I think I’m going to sell my company shares to him. He’s currently acting as temporary chairman, but with the addition of my shares, he should have enough to secure the position. He seems to know what he is doing and will run the company better than I ever could. Not that I want to run it." Markion said, hesitating for a moment before continuing. “Did Davis tell you what charges the Greenes’ are facing?”

“The Greenes?” I murmured questioningly. Why was he calling them that?

“They don’t deserve to be called parents,” my brother spat, lips curling back over his teeth in a sneer.

I lowered my gaze to the table, thinking it over for a moment before nodding. “No, no they don’t, and yes, he told me the charges.”

“Yeah, well, it got rushed through court. Lots of people want this to go away from what your lawyer said. They were found guilty on all accounts, and received a life sentence to be served in one of the food plantations.”

I nodded, already knowing where they would end up. Davis and I had discussed my preference regarding the manner in which the pair would serve out their sentences.

In my eyes, working in one of the hydroponic food plantations would be the worst kind of punishment for them.

Danica had never worked a day in her life, and my father was a businessman who’d inherited the company from his own father. The term labor was an unfamiliar one where they were concerned.

After speaking with Markion for awhile longer, I met up with Taurie who was finished with the breakfast service, and left the hall, heading for my laboratory with the elf in tow.

* * *

“By adding a small amount of powdered sage root, the effect of the red Amanita mushroom tincture is increased. The ratio is one vial of powdered sage root to a hundred liter barrel of vodka, added before the mushrooms to allow for it to be fully incorporated. At this stage, I am grinding the dried sage root with a mortar and pestle, but Markion is making a manual herb grinder, so that will ease the process.”

Standing in front of a work bench, I spent several minutes going over the various recipes with Taurie, guiding her through the process of brewing the basic tinctures, and slaves.

“One vial fits a quarter cup of powder, based on the measuring cups Bron allowed me to borrow from the kitchen. Once I have a scale and counterweights, I will update the recipes with the weights.” I explained, getting a nod in response.

“The sage root is the pink root with the fuzzy skin that we sliced and dried, right?” Taurie asked, looking around the storage room and pointing to a crate with unprocessed sage root.

“Correct.” I nodded, walking over to the crate containing the sage root. “I spread the sage root slices on one of Bron’s baking sheets and dried them in the furnace over coals for three hours, then ground them into powder. Sage root is also used in the wound salve we have for treating skin irritations, cuts, and abrasions. Mix a teaspoon into the honey and tallow mixture, along with a quarter teaspoon of powdered Ephedra. Make sure they have been fully incorporated into the mixture before adding one cup of Amanita mushroom paste. While the salve can be made in larger batches, I found it best to stick to this quantity as it requires a lot of mixing to incorporate everything.”

“Could I use a mixing barrel? We also have hand mixers in the kitchen,” Taurie questioned.

“How does a mixing barrel work?”

“The barrel’s lid has a pole with metal paddles attached. When you put the lid onto the barrel and turn the handle, the gears will turn the pole to mix the contents. Cook had it made for mixing large batches of dough,” the dark-haired elf explained.

Interesting, that would indeed be helpful for salves. “What metal was used? Iron?”

“Yes, oh right, you said the type of metal of my knives can affect the properties of the plants.” Taurie’s brows furrowed.

I smiled, pleased she had recalled that tidbit of knowledge.

“Copper would be best, and if you intend to use the same barrel for mixing different items, then that should be made of copper as well. Always remember to clean and sterilize your equipment to prevent cross-contamination.” I informed her, while making a mental note to speak with Markion about making some mixing barrels and hand mixers for my own work.

Over the next two hours I walked Taurie through each recipe step by step, before leaving her to work at a bench I’d allocated for working on tinctures.

Heading to my own bench, I began setting up the instruments needed for the light foot potion I planned to work on. I’ve already dried and ground the cloud moss, so now I need to distill the wing-eared rabbit feathers to produce this elemental essence stuff mentioned in the recipe.

After stuffing the retort with the wing-eared rabbit feathers, and adding the needed amount of water, I set on a tripod over a medium flame.

When the water containing the feathers began to bubble and boil, the steam traveled through the neck of the retort, it condensed and dripping into the receiving flask as a pale, cloudy liquid that swirled around in hypnotic patterns.

This is the first time I’ve created something that actually gives off the appearance of being magical in some way. The tinctures and salves were just herbal remedies, but this looks like what I’d expect a magic potion to be. Ah, I wonder what would happen if I distilled Zosimos’s feathers. I smirked, glancing up at the crow who was napping on top of the drying racks.

Leaving the retort to do its thing, as it would take at least two hours to finish distilling, I moved over to a second workbench, where I’d placed the baskets of dead bees.

Pulling on a pair of leather gloves, I took one of the bees out of the basket and placed it flat on a wooden chopping board.

First, I plucked off the wings, focusing on them alone to see if they glowed.

Hmm, so the wings alone are an ingredient. I placed the wings into a bowl and continued dissecting the bee, checking each individual part of its body to locate the source of the alchemic component.

The abdomen is the part which glows, so it must be the venom. I remember being stung in the areas my armor didn’t cover, but the pain dissipated when I changed forms.

Slowly, I worked through the baskets of bees, plucking off the wings and separating the abdomens which I placed into bowls.

The remainder of each bee's body I tossed into a basket to be discarded, as they had no alchemic value according to the golden light which I’d decided to call Alchemic Insight.

“Boom, boom, I’m gonna make it go boom.” Hearing the faint sing-song voice of Tink coming up the stairs, I brushed the last of the bee remains into the trash basket and rose from my workbench right as the door to the lab slammed open with a crash.

“Darius said we can make the boom,” Tink cried out, rushing into the lab and heading straight for the storage room.

“Tink, be careful with the jar.” I called, as she yanked open the cabinet where I’d stored the first batch of black powder. “And, I’m sorry to say, but we can’t make explosives with that. It didn’t work properly, there was no boom, just a bit of smoke.”

“What? You tested it without me?” Tink exclaimed, as she carried the jar of failed black powder back to the table.

“Darius wanted to test it before letting you experiment with it. We suspect the developers made it so that black powder can’t be made the same way here as it was on Earth to prevent players from searching for the information needed on the net and thus damaging the world balance.” I explained.

Tink’s shoulders slumped, and she stared sadly down at the jar.

I felt bad for lying to the girl, but Darius made it clear he didn’t want anyone to know about the items I created using the fire stones, Tink in particular.

Until I was able to make the formula more stable, it was best the girl did not know about my experiment.

“Put the jar back and get the saltpeter. I’ll show you how to make smoke bombs instead.” I offered, hoping to distract her with the smoke bombs. Those were less dangerous and should keep her occupied for a while.

“Don’t we need the black powder for smoke bombs?” The gorgon asked, the purple snakes in her hair hissing softly as she headed back to the storage room.

“No, we’ll be using a different method. Grab some sugar while you're in there as well.” I called, moving to clear off a spot on the nearby work bench and grabbing a copper pot.

“I have the sugar and the saltpeter, now what?” Tink said, placing the sack of sugar on the bench and holding the saltpeter jar cradled to her chest.

“Next we need some cotton twine. This will work better if we had some cylinder clay containers, but those will need to be made by the potter, so we’ll make do with using some of the clay vials for now.” I told the gorgon, who nodded.

Watching the girl run out of the lab, saltpeter jar still clutched tightly, I fought back a smile. It’s hard to believe Tink is six years older than me. I shook my head with a sigh as I grabbed the measuring cups from Taurie.

I need more measuring cups, spoons and, most importantly, I need a set of scales. Markion said he can’t make scales, so I need to find someone who can or buy them already made. The bank used some kind of magical scale. Maybe I can ask them if they know where I can buy normal ones with counterweights.

Pouring a cup of water into the copper pot, I placed it into the furnace to heat. I can’t remember the exact ratio, but it was half water, then sugar and saltpeter. I think there was more saltpeter than sugar.

“I have the cotton,” Tink called out as she skipped into the room, followed by a concerned looking guild leader.

“Kadia! Tink said you are making bombs?” He said, his words were more a demand for answers than a question.

“Smoke bombs, the ones we talked about.” I explained, and he let out a relieved sigh slumping against the wall.

“Okay, that’s okay.” He muttered, placing a hand over his chest. “I thought we were about to have a second Valonia incident. The guild is still on very bad terms with the city after Tink blew up the guild hall there.”

“I didn’t blow it up! I just burned down the workshop.”

“You burned down the workshop, which set the entire street on fire.” Darius snapped, giving Tink a look so fierce she was practically cowering.

“It was an accident,” she whispered, looking on the verge of tears.

“That incident cost the guild not only a hall, and more gold than I even want to think about, but our reputation with Valonia. We’ve only just managed to get on good enough terms to be allowed back into the city. You need to be more cautious with your experiments.” The guild leader said, pointing at the snakes in the gorgon’s hair. “When I last saw you, there were three snakes alive in your hair and now there are two. That means you’ve died at least five times since I left, and I’m guessing those deaths weren’t due to fights. I’ve already given Kadia a lecture about carelessly dying. Do I need to give you one as well?”

“No,” Tink muttered, staring at the ground.

“Good,” Darius said, then turned to me, his fierce expression easing. “Kadia, I’m going to the auction tonight. Do you want to join me?”

“Er, sure, what time?” I asked, glancing at Tink, who’d moved to put the cotton and saltpeter jar on the bench.

“The auction is at six, so we’ll leave at five. Do you have a timepiece yet?”

“Yes, Tink made me a basic timepiece.” I told Darius, who nodded.

“I’ll meet you in the main hall at five,” he said before turning to leave the lab.

The moment the door swung closed behind the guild leader, both Tink and Taurie let out an audible sigh of relief.

Moving to the bench where Tink stood, I tried to think of something reassuring to say.

“The first thing we need to do is make a slow-burning fuse,” I instructed the gorgon, deciding the best way to cheer her up was to distract her.

“Are you going to coat the cotton in beeswax? is it like a wick?” Tink asked.

I shook my head. “No, we are going to soak it in a mixture of water, saltpeter, and sugar. I am not sure how it will work with raw sugar, or the exact ratios, but we should be able to work it out. We will try with smaller pieces of string to start with.” I informed the girl as I mixed together the saltpeter and sugar, before taking it over to the pot, which was slowly rising to a boil.

Lowering the heat from the fire stone, I added the saltpeter and sugar mixture to the water, stirring until it began to froth slightly.

“Okay Tink, add some of the cotton twine.” I instructed the gorgon artificer who dropped the strand of cotton into the mixture, which I pulled off the heat.

It ended up taking three attempts to find a water, sugar and saltpeter ratio, which created a fuse that I felt was usable.

The first two attempts did not burn properly, with the first attempt being too fast and the second barely burning at all.

“Now we mix sugar and saltpeter together. I think the ratio I’ve used previously with Marcus was sixty percent saltpeter and forty percent sugar. So, we’ll try that first and adjust if needed.” I said.

“You’ve done this with Markion?” Tink asked, standing next to the furnace and watching the pot as I stirred the mixture over a low heat.

“We made these smoke bombs in our chemistry class. No one wanted to partner with my brother because he never did any work, so I was usually left with him.” I said with a wry smile.

“Oh, it’s strange you say that because usually people in the guild don’t like working with him because he takes over all the work.” She commented.

I stiffened, looking down at the mixture I was stirring.

“Uh, do you want to stir for a bit? I’ll prepare the vials and wicks.” I offered, handing her the long-handled spoon.

With a beaming smile, Tink took the spoon and began stirring the mixture, while I moved to the bench to attach the cotton fuses to the bottom of the vials with a small amount of beeswax.

Once the saltpeter and sugar mix had turned into a thick brown paste, Tink carried the pot over to the bench where we filled the vials with the mixture.

“Alright, now we just need to let them harden.” I told the gorgon, then tapped the pot with a grin. “In the meantime, you can clean the pot. By the time you’ve finished scrubbing, they’ll be ready to test.”

With a nod, Tink carried the pot out of the lab, heading to the wash basin that was set up outside the forge.

As I stood at the bench checking the hardness of the smoke bombs, I heard a flutter of wings and tilted my head to the side as Zosimos landed on my shoulder.

“What do you think? Will they work?” I asked, holding one of the vials up for the crow to inspect.

“Caw.”

“Will adding saltpeter and sugar to a poisonous liquid instead of water create a toxic smoke?” I queried, getting a nip to my ear in response.

“Don’t be mean. It was just a question,” I grumbled, rubbing at my ear with a pout.

“Kadia?”

Turning to see Taurie approaching, I gave the elf a smile.

“All done, Taurie?”

“Yes,” she nodded, her expression hesitant. “I promised Cook I’d help with the evening meal.”

“That's fine, you don’t need to report to me or anything. I will see you tomorrow.” I told her.

Taurie nodded, turning to leave the lab after a quick glance at the smoke bombs.

Picking up one of the smoke bombs, I followed Taurie out of the lab, and met up with Tink in the forge.

“Markion, we’re going to test some smoke bombs. Are you coming?” I asked the Minotaur, who was bent over in front of his furnace.

“Yeah, give me a minute. I just need to quench this.” He said, pulling a dome-shaped piece of metal from the furnace and shoving it into a trough of water.

Making my way into the courtyard with Tink and Markion, we decided to test the smoke bombs in the sand arena of the training ground. After I placed the smoke bomb in the center of the arena, I moved back to stand with Tink and Markion.

Looking around, I saw our actions had attracted a crowd of guild members who’d been in the courtyard training or working in the nearby workshop.

Spotting Darius in the crowd with three men holding water buckets, I gave him a reassuring look and conjured a small, flickering flame, which I directed towards the fuse of the smoke bomb.

“That- that’s it?” Tink asked, staring at the small plumes of smoke which poured from the top of the vial.

“Yup,” I agreed, lips twitching as the surrounding crowd began to relax and let out relieved sounding chuckles.

“I thought it would be bigger.”

I laughed, brushing a loose strand of hair out of my face. “A tiny smoke bomb makes tiny smoke. Now we know it works, we can make bigger ones.”

“I wonder what would happen if we filled a whole barrel.” Tink mused.

“I don’t recommend doing that. Stick with smaller amounts, otherwise the smoke will not be manageable.” I told her, trying to dissuade any attempts at giant smoke bombs.

“You’re right, plus, I don’t think we have enough saltpeter for a barrel.” She said with a sigh, looking mournfully at the almost burnt-out smoke bomb.

“Want to go get the rest and set them all off at once to give Darius a heart attack?” I asked the girl with a grin, earning a loud cheer in response.

“Heck yeah I do.”

“Where did I go wrong?” I asked Zosimos as we gazed down at the swirling cloudy mixture in the bowl.

The light foot potion, which was meant to make a person feel lighter and move faster, had zero effect on me when I tested it, aside from making me gag from the taste.

“Caw, caw.” Hopping across the bench to where I’d left the plants and fungi book, Zosimos used his beak to flip through the pages while I watched on silently. It’s so strange talking to a bird, even stranger that he knows what I’m saying.

Larnurma Bush: The flowers of this shrub secrete an oily substance which attracts bees, birds and small animals. The Larnurma bush is often found growing near the viper vine, and these two plants are observed to have a symbiotic coexistence.

When prey are lured close by the Larnurma flowers, the viper vine attacks with a corrosive poison. As the prey animal breaks down into the soil, it provides both the viper vine and Larnurma plant nutrients to fuel their growth.

The Larnurma flowers grow in mountainous regions and the flower oil is prized by the Tengu tribes who use it to speed their flight.

“They left out an ingredient? I know Noctus said recipes are hoarded and kept secret, but if you’re selling a recipe, it should be complete.” I muttered angrily as I stared down at the page in the book.

“Caw.”

“Did they think no one would find out?” I scoffed. “Surely I’m not the only alchemist who bought the recipe. Others will know it doesn’t work.”

Clicking my tongue in annoyance, I filled two vials with the failed potion, then carried the remainder over to the barrel I was using as a rubbish bin and poured the contents in.

The remnants of various experiments, creature parts, and plant scrap were all tossed in a barrel to be burnt.

“Caw, caw.”

“I really should find a better way to deal with all this waste,” I mused as I put the lid back on the barrel.

“Zosimos, I’m leaving for a few hours. You can either stay here or go out for the night, I need to lock up so the shutters have to be closed.” I told the crow as I started putting my materials away in the storage room.

Jumping up from the bench with a flap of his wings, Zosimos flew out the window.

“What, not even a goodbye?” I grumbled, shaking my head at my own stupidity. It's a crow Kadia, a really smart crow, but still a crow.

Lab secure, I headed down to the forge, walking past an oblivious Markion who was hammering away at something with intense concentration.

Arriving at the guild hall, I quickly made my way upstairs to shower and change before returning to the ground floor.

Darius was already waiting at the main doors when I arrived, talking with the guards who I recognized as Duncan and Marvin, the same human and satyr pair who’d been stationed at the door the first day I came to the guild hall.

“Kadia, ready to head out?” Darius greeted, ending his conversation with the pair as I approached.

“Yes, though before we leave, I’d like to talk to you and Noctus if he is around.” I told the guild leader who raised a questioning brow.

“I believe he is in the office talking with Dravern and Helvern. What is it you need to discuss?” Darius queried, inclining his head to the door at the far side of the hall.

“My research, it’s best discussed in the office.” I explained, causing him to stiffen and flick his gaze to the nearby guards who’d made no attempts to hide their eavesdropping.

“Let’s move to the office then,” the guild leader suggested, waving a hand to direct me towards the office.

Two minutes later I was seated in the guild’s administrative office with Darius, Noctus and a pair of winged men who’d been introduced as Dravern and Helvern.

Both of the Tengu had brown hair and eyes, which matched the large pair of brown feathered wings folded along their backs.

“Are you sure that you made it properly?” Noctus asked, peering into the clay vial.

“Yes, I followed the instructions exactly. I made it twice just to be sure, and Zosimos clearly indicated that it needs a component from the Larnurma plant.” I told him, a little offended he thought I was so incapable that I couldn’t even follow a recipe.

“The tengu clans use oil from the Larnurma flowers which grow near the nesting grounds to massage into their skin. They say it hastens flight.” Helvern interjected, looking up from the vial he and his brother were inspecting.

“Which is why I suspect it is the oil which should be used in the potion.” I added, watching as Noctus gulped down the contents of the vial he held.

“Anything?” Darius asked, getting a head shake in response.

“It doesn’t even taste like it, the light foot potion has a sweet flowery taste. This tastes like dirt.”

“Why would the Whispers guild risk their reputation over something like this? If it gets out they’re selling dodgy information, it’s over for them.” Dravern commented, offering the vial he held to Noctus when the vampire gestured for it.

“They wouldn’t,” Noctus replied, rolling the vial he took from Dravern between his fingers. “Either they don’t know the recipe is fake, which I find odd since they should have verified the recipe first, or the broker who is selling it decided to make some extra gold by selling unverified information on the side and is using the guild’s name to do it.”

“Kadia,” Darius instructed. “I need you to write down the information on the Larnurma flower and I’ll need the original recipe back, so make a copy to keep. Helvern you said this flower is located near your tribe? Can you bring some back to the guild for Kadia to test? I want confirmation that the Larnurma flower oil is the correct missing ingredient.”

The guild leader looked at the two tengu who nodded in agreement.

“I don’t think Van would sell a fake recipe, he values his reputation and gold too much.” Noctus chimed in, rubbing his chin. “I will contact him directly, see what he has to say.”

“Do that,” the guild leader ordered. “Take the recipe with you, and the second vial as proof. It has the whisper guild seal marking it as verified information, so let them test it themselves. If they deny the recipe is fake, demand they test it in front of you to prove it.”

“Here,” I said, holding out the recipe to Noctus. “I already have it copied in my notes.”

Nodding, the vampire stood and after taking the recipe he disappeared in a swirl of shadow.

“We’ll head out as well,” Helvern declared, rising from the backless chair he was sitting on. “The sooner we leave the sooner we can return with the flower.”

“If possible, would you also be able to bring back some viper vines?” I asked, looking at the two winged men hopefully. “Alive if you can, I would like to milk them for their poison. The book says the poison can only be extracted when they are alive.”

“We can give it a shot, I’ll try to dig up the Larnurma plant with roots intact as well.” Helvern agreed before leaving with his brother.

“Kadia, I need to ask that you don’t mention this to anyone. Not until we know what is going on,” Darius told me.

“I understand, I won’t discuss it with anyone.” I promised him as we headed for the door.

“I don’t believe Van is behind this, as Noctus said, he cares too much for his guild's reputation to sell unverified information. He’s no fool, and he won’t take this issue lightly. I almost pity whoever is behind this, Van can be a savage bastard when crossed.” The guild leader said with a chuckle as he held open the door for me to proceed him into the hall.

As Darius and I walked through the market seeking out the meat skewer stall, I gazed at all the items being sold by the different vendors searching with my Alchemic insight for anything glowing gold.

As I scanned the street, a bright, dazzling light shone from a stall halfway down and grew brighter as we approached.

Birds, mice, rats, lizards, wing-eared rabbits, cats, puppies and even a tortoise were crammed into cages that looked far too small to hold any of them.

The noise made by the animals was chaotic, but the few customers nearby didn’t seem to mind.

“Welcome, customer.” The stall owner coaxed, showing off the cage containing gray furred puppies to a pretty, blond elven woman. “Interested in finding yourself an animal companion this evening? We just got some new wolf pups in. These are Almer mountain gray wolves, they make fabulous pets and battle companions.”

“Jonas, let's get a puppy. Look at how cute they are.” The blond elf pleaded, clutching at a dark-haired man's arm.

“How much for the gray wolf pups?” The man with the elf asked, pulling a pouch from his belt.

“Two hundred gold,” chimed the stall owner, causing the man to stiffen and go wide eyed.

“Two hundred gold for a dog? Are you insane? What’s stopping me from just going up to the Almer mountains and getting one for myself.” The man sneered.

I nodded in silent agreement with his words. It seemed like a lot of money to pay for a pet that could be gotten in the wild.

“If you think it is easy to defeat a pack of gray wolves who are defending cubs, then by all means, go ahead. You cannot simply tame a grown wolf, one must raise and train it from young.” The man selling the animals said, waving his hands at the cages.

These are all babies. I looked closer at the cages. Not a single one of the animals was fully grown.

As I looked at the caged animals, one in particular caught my eye, as the glowing light surrounding it pulsed five times before fading.

Unlike the other animals in cages made of metal bars, these creatures were in a rectangle glass tank, and considering the cost of glass, this made it stand out even more.

Focusing on the glass tank, I saw the light again pulse five times. Out of all the animals here, this strange-looking creature, which looked like someone had crossbred a gecko with a scorpion, was the most alchemically useful.

The gecko-shaped body was a dark gray that changed to a bright glowing orange towards the tail which curled over the lizard's back and ended in a curved stinger.

“What are those?” I asked Darius, as the stall owner was busy bartering with the blond elf girl and her male friend.

“A painful way to die,” he grumbled, looking at the tank. “They’re called scorchers and are found in the deserts near Valonia. Scorchers will attack in two different ways, the first is by stinging you, which feels like you have molten lava running through your veins. A few seconds after being stung your veins will blacken against your skin, then your entire body blackens and after that, cracks will form in the hardened, black skin showing glowing fire from within- then you die. The entire time, you feel like you’re being burnt alive.”

“Sounds painful.” I murmured, turning back to the tank of innocent looking scorpion geckos, who I’d previously thought were kind of cute.

“The second way they attack is by breathing fire. They may be small, but they can spit fire a fair distance. Hundreds of them can occupy a single cave, and they typically share caves with fire drakes, so not only do you have to worry about the big fire breathing lizard, but a ton of little ones.”

“If they are so dangerous, why are they being sold as pets?” I queried, gazing at the tank, which was teasing me with its golden light.

“Not pets my dear customer- food.” The stall owner informed me, coming over with a beaming smile after having successfully sold one of the gray wolf pups. “Scorchers are a favored meal of steel-winged eagles.”

“I see,” I murmured, glancing over at the bird, which had only one flicker of gold and a dim one at that.

“How much are the scorchers?” I asked the seller.

“Scorcher eggs are not easily attained, my dear customer, as such they are one silver each.”

“How many are there; do you have any unhatched eggs?”

“Twenty-three, and no, I do not have any eggs as these are the last lot to hatch.”

“I’ll take them all, and the tank as well.” I told the man, ignoring the sharp intake of breath from the guild leader beside me.

“The tank? The tank is not for sale, ah, but as you are buying the scorchers as a whole and thus I will not need to catch them from the tank, I shall sell it to you for fifty gold.”

“Thirty two gold for the tank and scorchers,” I told the man, crossing my arms over my chest.

“Deal.” A gruff voice called as a stocky dwarf approached the stall, shoving the first man away as he opened his mouth to protest.

“I ain’t getting stung by those damned things again. If this lady wants them, she can have them.” He told the man, who nodded meekly.

The dwarf must be his boss. Smiling I pulled out my pouch and paid for the scorchers.

“Here, take these as well.” The dwarf said, handing me a long-handled pair of tongs and a pair of thick gloves that would cover my arms up to the wrist. “We won't be needing them, as I’m not planning on dealing with scorchers anymore. These are too young to be breathing fire, but they’re much more venomous than the adults. You’ll be dead in seconds.”

“Thank you, sir,” I said, putting the tongs and gloves into my satchel before picking up the glass tank.

The lid of the tank was thin mesh, which folded down over the sides and had been strapped down with two leather straps at either end.

Peering down at the scorchers in the tank, I admired their bright tails, absentmindedly wondering if they’d grow back if I cut them off.

“You won’t be able to take those into the bank, or the auction house.” Darius said, giving the tank a cautious look.

“I was hoping we could stop by the guild hall to drop them off, we still have half an hour until the auction.”

He nodded, leading the way through the crowds which parted before us when they saw the contents of the tank.

“What exactly are you planning to do with those?”

“Well, I’m not sure, but according to my alchemic insight they have five alchemic components. That was my first reason for buying them, and the second was what you said about them being around the fire drakes. I thought I might see if I could make an antidote or a repellent. I don’t have the scientific equipment to create an anti-venom, but I can at least try to find something.”

“A repellent or cure would be nice,” Darius muttered with a glance at the tank.

“Have you been killed by them before?” I asked, guessing that he had from his reactions.

“Twice, and each time was agony. The first time I let the poison run its course, as we didn’t know what would happen at that time. The second, I had Markion kill me so I wouldn’t have to suffer the pain. That’s how most people deal with a scorcher sting. Scorchers are why fire stones are hard to attain, killing a fire drake on their own isn’t so bad, it’s these little fuckers getting into the mix that makes it deadly.”

“Then I guess I know what I’ll be focusing most of my attention on over the next week.” I muttered, tightening my hold on the tank of tiny, but deadly, geckos.

After a short detour to the guild hall, we made our way through the busy streets to bank where I was reminded of my need for scales.

Gazing at the dozens of counters with their enchanted scales, I made a mental note to ask the person serving us if they knew where I could purchase a set.

As we lined up at one of the three counters designated for those with guild accounts, I saw a familiar-looking dwarf behind the counter.

Approaching the dwarf after several minutes of waiting for our turn, I was a little amused to see the guild leader and dwarf play out the exact same scene as the first time I’d visited the bank.

The dwarf, seeing Darius, purposely ignored us, turning his attention to his record book until the guild leader tossed three gold coins onto the counter with a snide remark about greed.

As the gold disappeared, the dwarf was all smiles as he greeted us, until the moment Darius requested a gold withdrawal.

“Come on, Henric, we do this every other week. I’ve deposited thrice that amount this week with the sale of items farmed in Mora.” Darius said, rolling his eyes at the dwarf who looked like a grumpy toddler as he slammed a rune inscribed box onto the counter.

Once Darius finished putting away his gold, I stepped up to the counter, greeting the dwarf with a smile.

“Hello, Henric, I would also like to make a withdrawal.”

“How much?” The dwarf grunted, scowling at me as I handed over my life token.

“Five hundred gold from my personal account please. I would also like to ask if you know where I can purchase a set of scales?” I told him.

“These scales are specially made for the bank, if you’re looking to buy normal scales with counterweights I suggest you visit Carmine’s Curios.” The dwarf said, glancing down at something in his book with a frown.

I watched in confusion as Henric didn’t immediately hand back my life token after pressing it to his book, and instead flipped to a new page where he pressed it down again.

“Please wait here a moment,” he said, hopping down from the stool he sat on and walking away through the door, my life token still held in his hand.

“That was strange,” Darius muttered, watching the dwarf leave with narrowed eyes.

“Yeah, it was.” I agreed as the dwarf disappeared into a door.

Henric returned within a few seconds, followed by another dwarf with dark hair who wore the closest thing to a business suit I’d seen since arriving in Kaledon.

“Miss Greene, I am Mr. Gold, a branch manager for the Hand of Midas bank. If you would come with me, we have some matters to discuss.” The dark-haired dwarf said, opening a door that appeared beside the counter to allow me to access the rear section.

“Mr. Gold, can I ask what it is you need to discuss? We were about to leave for the auction.” I asked, glancing at the guild leader.

“Did Mr. Davis not inform you that a representative would contact you?” Mr. Gold asked, frowning slightly.

Mr. Davis? That’s right, Markion said someone was supposed to contact me about the settlement. Things moved faster than I thought they would.

“Kadia? Is everything alright?” Darius murmured, giving me a concerned look, I hesitated for moment before nodding.

“I think so,” I told him, biting my lip, and widening my eyes as I turned to look at the suit-wearing dwarf with what I hoped was a nervous expression. “How long will this take?”

“That depends on you. This is a confidential matter, so I ask that your companion wait here.” The bank manager said, his expression losing some of its previous frigidness as he looked at me.

“Darius, if you want to go ahead to the auction I can meet you there. I don’t want you to miss it waiting for me.” I said, looking up at the guild leader who glanced at the dwarf before shaking his head.

“I will wait for you over there, it won’t matter if we miss the first half of the auction.” The guild leader said, gesturing to some benches at the far side of the lobby.

Following the bank manager back to the door he’d entered through earlier, I found myself in a long hall with doors on each side. Entering a door directly to the right, I glanced around at what looked to be an unused office with a wooden desk that had a single plush-looking chair on the far side and two less comfortable looking chairs on the other.

As Mr. Gold moved around the desk to sit in the nicer of the chairs, I sat opposite him, trying to keep my expression from showing any signs of the multitude of emotions I felt.

“Now then, firstly on behalf of Gaia Corp I would like to offer you our deepest sympathies for the situation that has befallen you.”

Sympathies won’t change anything, so why bother offering any? They’re just empty words. I scowled as the dwarf continued speaking. Is he artificial or a true representative of the company playing as a bank manager?

“As your lawyer Mr. Davis will have informed you, a settlement has been paid to Gaia corp to be transferred to you in gold. This settlement amounted to twenty-nine million after your lawyer’s fees.”

Markion said it was twenty-nine million, but I’m still surprised Davis actually settled for this pittance. I was expecting a lot more. Frowning, I listened to the banker drone on about how I’d been granted a tax waiver on the settlement.

“In regard to the transfer of dollars to gold the standard exchange rate is ten dollars to one gold, with an exchange restriction of fifteen thousand gold per month. This restriction is in place to prevent an influx of gold that could upset the world balance as not everyone is able to purchase gold in this manner. At this exchange rate the settlement you would receive is greatly diminished. Which is why we would like to offer you an alternate exchange that would allow you to make use of your full settlement.”

“You just said Gaia corp doesn’t want an influx of gold, and now you’re saying they are going to give me twenty-nine million in gold?” I asked, in response to the manager's contradictory statement. I can already think of ways to get around that little restriction, and I’m sure others have as well. So why even bother? Guilds like Eternia could just send money to their members, and have each of them transfer it to gold. I’m sure there’s also gold sellers who sell gold for real world currency outside of the official exchange method.

“Instead of gold, we are willing to allow you to spend your full settlement on items, with some restrictions of course. We will make it so that any items which are currently being offered for sale, anywhere in Kaledon at this moment, can be purchased by you. The exception to this is grimoires or unique items.”

“So, you will let me buy twenty-nine million gold worth of items? What is stopping me from just selling the items?” I questioned, as the dwarf placed a thick book on the desk.

“The items you purchase here today will be bound to you, they cannot be sold, given away or stolen.”

“What if the items are damaged or destroyed?”

“That depends on the nature of the item. Consumables will not be able to be restored, but non-consumable items bound to a person can be restored at a cost. Ah, let's see what can I use as an example?” He tapped a finger on his desk, making an exaggerated attempt to appear as though he were lost in thought. “When a tamer loses a bound creature in battle, that creature can be reborn by the tamer sacrificing a portion of their power or by using a mana crystal to recreate the creature's body. This is the same for bound items, if a bound sword is damaged in battle, you can restore it through power, however the amount of power needed will vary depending on the item itself.”

As the dwarf spoke, he pushed the thick leather bound book across the desk towards me.

“This is?” I asked, eyeing the book.

“This book contains a list of all the items you may choose from and their price in gold.”

“Do I have to spend all my settlement on items? Can I have some gold, and the remainder in items?” I questioned, not liking how this dwarf seemed to be pushing me to accept these items in place of gold.

“How much of your settlement would you want in gold?” the dwarf asked, his voice losing some of the friendly tone.

“I’m not sure, can I buy things first, and have what is left over in gold?” I queried, not wanting to jump into a decision too quickly. Why doesn’t he want me to have the gold? It’s not like making a bunch of gold is difficult.

“Take a look at what is available, and we can discuss the transfer of any remaining money into gold after.” Mr. Gold coaxed, nudging the book closer to me again.

Giving the manager a look that I hoped conveyed that I was a nervous teenager being bullied into compliance, I picked up the book. The first page I saw was an index which ran over three pages and was split into different categories. Seeing a category for professions, I found alchemy and turned to the six hundred and thirtieth page.

Every instrument I could ever want was listed on the page, made in every kind of material. Vials, retorts and other distilling instruments. Burners, caldrons, and so much more.

“What about things I make using items here? Can they be sold? What about the potion vials?”

“Items made by you using things purchased here can be sold, the vials are an item purchased and thus cannot be sold even if they contain a crafted item.”

“How do I select what I want? Do I just tell you?” I asked, swallowing back the saliva which was starting to pool in my mouth as I gazed at the items listed. So many good things.

“You may use this quill to mark your selections in the check box, simply write how many of each item you wish. The top left-hand corner of the page will keep track of how much you have spent.” The dwarf said with a smile as he handed me a gold fountain pen.

“If you press the tip of the pen to an item, you will see an image of the item along with a basic description.”

As I went to press the pen to the page, I noticed the pleased look on the dwarf’s face, and hesitated. Should I really be jumping into this without properly thinking it over?

“How long do I have to choose? Can I spend a few days looking over the items?”

“I’m sorry, but this must be settled today.” Mr. Gold said, his apologetic expression showing no true emotion.

“Can I get someone to help me look at the items on offer? To help me choose?” I asked.

“We would prefer this matter to stay confidential and would ask you not speak publicly about your settlement. It may cause issues with other players and citizens who may feel it is unfair you have these things.”

“I do not think I can make a choice regarding spending my settlement on items, I don’t know this world well enough. So, I’ll just take the gold.” I told the dwarf, closing the book and placing it back on the desk.

“There is no need to be so hasty, Miss Greene. So long as the person you ask to help you is willing to sign a non-disclosure agreement, they may assist you with your purchases. We would also ask that you sign one as well.” Mr. Gold conceded. I narrowed my eyes. They really don’t want me getting gold, do they?

“Please ask Darius, the man who was with me earlier, to join us.”

“Please wait a moment.” Mr. Gold said, rising from his seat and leaving the room.

Not long after, the bank manager returned with Darius who took the seat next to me with a quizzical look.

“Mr. Gold, can we please have some time to discuss this alone?” I asked, looking at the bank manager who was about to retake his seat.

“Very well, I shall give you some time to speak. When you have finished talking and have made your selections please ring this bell.” The dark-haired dwarf said, pulling a silver bell out of his pocket and placing it on the desk.

Once the bank manager left, I began explaining the settlement offer to the guild leader, who seemed to find it just as suspicious as I did.

“It is clear they don’t want you to ask for the gold, and while I am tempted to tell you to push for it to see what they do, I do not think treading on Gaia corp’s toes to see how they react is a good idea. They do control the world we reside in after all, and I don’t think you should change all the settlement to gold for Kaledon, or items, keep some in real world currency.”

“I can’t help but feel-” I hesitated, trying to find the right words to explain how I felt.

“Like they're about to rip you off? Everything in that book can be acquired somewhere in this world, but then again so can gold. We can make gold through selling items and farming dungeons. Can we make everything in that book? Probably not anytime soon. The restrictions are annoying, but I think even with Gaia clearly trying to pull something underhanded, you are better off with the items.” Darius advised, and I sighed.

That wasn’t exactly what I meant, but I can’t exactly tell Darius that there is something more going on with the settlement.

“So, I guess we have some shopping to do. I want pretty much everything alchemy related, but I don’t know what else to get.”

“Are you sure you want to transfer all twenty-nine million to Kaledon? It might be smart to keep some as real-world currency, you can always transfer it to gold later.”

“Let's see what I can get first.” I murmured, looking down at the cover of the item's book. “I’m not exactly short on funds, to be honest, the twenty-nine million won’t really make much of a difference to my personal finances.” I can’t exactly tell him I’m expecting to get the settlement both digitally and physically.

Add together what my mother left for me from her personal finances, her shares in the company, plus the money that was still paid to me from the various patents, along with my trust, and it was significantly more than the twenty-nine million.

This little settlement didn't even amount to a quarter of my personal worth, and that was after the money I donated to various charities in my mother’s name.

“Considering what I know of your family's position, I’m inclined to believe that. Let’s start off with your alchemy stuff, and then look at things like a quality mount, weapons, armor, books, items with enchantments like bags, rings.” Darius listed.

Opening the book and turning back to the alchemy section, I began looking over the items intently, trying to decide what to get and how many of each item I wanted.

“I definitely want one of each retort, actually make it two of each and two of each set of equipment. Let's get at least a few hundred glass jars for storage, and some vials as well. There are different types, so I should get a bunch of each as they are considered consumable. Even if I can’t sell them, I can use them in my lab for personal use and as a sample for someone to recreate.”

“The equipment is consumable, so it can’t be restored if broken. Get more so you have spares.” Darius suggested.

Somehow, I don’t think we are going to make it to the auction tonight. I mused as I continued slowly working my way through the list of alchemy items with Darius’s help.

“Well, at least we won’t have to worry about you licking poisonous berries anymore.” Darius teased as I marked a listing for an alchemical construct, which was described as a tool for identifying the effects of alchemic creations.

The construct looked like one of the wooden dolls my art teacher used, except this was inscribed with hundreds of glowing runes. I’d been unsure about buying the construct, but in the end decided that a safe way to identify the effects of my experiments was worth the cost.

“I was going to make Markion lick them instead,” I quipped with a grin.

“Don’t, he whines like a baby every time he dies. A Minotaur's horns get more brittle with each death and can break off if they die too much. He takes a lot of pride in his horns, polishes them every night.” Darius joked.

“I have a response to that, but he is my brother so I’m not going to go there.” I said, pulling my lips back in a grimace.

Laughing, Darius turned his gaze back to the book, and tapped a finger on the listing for portable workshops.

“Bring up the descriptions for these, I can’t see the basic being any good, but one of the others might be worth buying.”

Pressing the tip of the fountain pen lightly to the listing for a basic workshop, I scrunched my nose up at the image of a wooden work bench and metal furnace which appeared.

“I can have Narvi and Markion make that for less than two thousand gold.” I grumbled, moving the pen to the intermediate workshop.

The intermediate workshop was a marquee style tent, with a furnace and benches encircling half the room. The second half of the room was curtained off, with a bed and seating area with a low table surrounded by cushions.

Next was the advanced workshop, which was a large rectangle carriage with a curved roof. Looking from the outside, it appeared like the wagon had two levels as the roof had a raised section in the middle with small windows.

As the image shifted, it showed the interior of the wagon to be fitted with benches on each side with a small furnace near the door at the back. A ladder was opposite the furnace, which led up to a sleeping loft, which had just enough room for someone to sit upright.

“So much gold for a carriage?” I mumbled, staring numbly at the price.

“Read the description, it’s loaded with enchantments. Stabilization, weight reduction, speed, and durability. I’ve only seen a few like this at auction, and the guilds went into a major bidding war over it, shooting the cost up. Later, when they become more available as crafters get more skilled, the prices will go down, but even then, this will still be worth it. Just look at the craftsmanship, the detailed carving.” Darius exclaimed, leaning closer to the images being shown.

“Want me to give you and the book a moment alone?” I queried as the guild leader looked ready to snatch it from my hands.

“No, but Narvi might want some alone time with the wagon.” He chuckled, rubbing his chin.

“Okay, so getting the wagon?”

“Yes, and get the tent as well. You will need a tent for our trip to Valonia, as I don’t think the wagon will travel well across the desert. Originally you were going to share a tent with Markion, but-”

“Like hell I’m sharing with him.” I spat, quickly using the pen to mark down one of each.

“Good tents are expensive and I didn’t think you’d want to waste gold on one before this. Traveling in the desert during the day is nearly impossible due to the heat, so we ride during the cooler hours of night.”

“Isn’t traveling at night more dangerous?”

“Better than burning alive under the scorching sun.” He rebuffed, rapping a knuckle on the book. “That’s pretty much all the alchemy things, I thought there would be more though. Let's look at mounts now. You will need something strong to pull that wagon.”

“Mr. Gold said only items that are currently for sale in the world are in here. So maybe there aren't a lot of alchemy things being sold? It doesn’t make sense that there is so little, there should be more books and recipes.”

“It makes perfect sense, actually, there is limited information available about a lot of professions and magic. You can’t buy the information because it no longer exists or isn’t being sold. After the great cataclysm a lot of things were lost, so what is found won’t often be sold.” Darius mused, rubbing his chin.

“The great cataclysm?” I asked, raising a brow in a question.

“Yes, haven’t you ever wondered why so many races live on one continent? Or why we are restricted to one continent when there is a whole world out there to explore?” Darius exclaimed, his eyes shining with barely restrained excitement.

“We’re restricted to one continent?” I asked. I should have asked more about Kaledon, I didn’t even know we were restricted to one continent or that all races lived here.

“Yes, we are. Salvia is the only accessible continent at this stage. This is due to the great cataclysm. According to the lore of this world, two hundred years ago there was a cataclysmic event which caused volcanoes on all the continents to erupt, sending plumes of smoke and ash to sweep across the skies.” Darius waved his hand in a wide gesture. “Many fled their homes as the cities were destroyed by the volcanoes, volcanic earthquakes, and beasts who rampaged in mindless fear. The remnants of each race who survived banded together here on Salvia, the only land with no volcanoes. Four of the strongest magic users sacrificed their lives, conjuring a great protective barrier to keep out the ash, as the volcanoes continued to erupt. The barrier ends at the coastline, that is why despite being only a day's ride from the coast there are no fresh fish or sea products, it’s because we can’t access it.”

“So, because of this event, much of the world's knowledge was lost.” I concluded.

“Exactly. Though many did their best to record what they could, most of the world's knowledge was lost, or in some cases hoarded by those who would seek to empower themselves.”

“Let me guess, the barrier is going to drop and we all go exploring? It's a bit obvious isn’t it?” I scoffed, getting a chuckle in response.

“That’s what everyone believes will happen.” The guild leader explained. “We’ve been preparing for months. Those of the guild who have land and housing tokens with their personal membership will be pooling together to get the beginnings of our settlement started.”

“I was given both a house and land token with my platinum plan, but I wasn’t really sure how they worked.” I told him, a little overwhelmed by the idea of building a city on some unknown land.

“Land tokens will allow you to claim a certain area of land. Only structures you permit can be built, and no one can make changes to claimed land. For example, if an earth mage wants to use earth magic on claimed land, then he would need to seek permission from the land owner as the earth will not move without it. That is why earth magic cannot be used in any cities. You can also set rules for your land, and while they are not magically enforced, you will know if a rule has been broken. If you set your land to private, you will know if someone who has not received an invitation comes onto your claimed land and will know their location while they are on your land.”

“Are all cities claimed land then?” I asked, getting a nod in response.

“For creating a city, land tokens can be used in conjunction, and the claimed land ‘sold’ as we did with the farm using Bell and Calidus’s tokens. Their land tokens were used side by side, and then we had Bell ‘sell’ her land to her husband, by doing this it became one large plot of land. As for housing tokens, you need a blueprint and the materials for it to work. They can only be used once, and it is best to keep the building simple, as mistakes in the blueprint will result in a poorly constructed house.”

“How will the guild’s city be run? I mean, what kind of ruling system will you put into place? Direct democracy, a representative democracy, socialism, communism…” I asked, my tail thumping against the chair as the furry appendage began wagging in response to my shifting emotions.

“Kadia, slow down. We don’t need to talk about all this now, let’s get this sorted first.” Darius said, gesturing to the book I held. “We can talk about future plans later, but in saying that, let's look if there are any ship blueprints. Because let me tell you, shipbuilding is not easy.”

“Can’t players just look up blueprints? Honestly, it should be the same for alchemy, I don’t understand why people are struggling when they can just log out and do research. Well, digital citizens can’t,” I faltered, grimacing at the reminder that I was trapped here with no way out.

“We have players trying to redraw blueprints from the net, but it is slow going, and we need to be careful. We’ve already had two players banned for drawing blueprints from Earth designs. I think Gaia corp wants us to design and build ships using more magical methods. If you can buy things already created, then if someone else has created ship blueprints we can get those for our own use. I don’t think buying a ship would work, as it will be bound to you, and may not be something others can ride on. We should check if someone can use something you’ve bought with permission.”

Nodding, I turned the book back to the index page, searching for any mention of ships.

There was none, but after turning to the transport category we found two types of ships and three blueprints. The first ship was small and looked like an old Viking longship. The second was much larger with three tall masts and according to the description it was called Baron’s warship.

“So, someone has managed to build a ship to completion and is selling it. I wonder who it is?” Darius mused, looking intently at the vessel.

“Let's ask Mr. Gold if other people can ride items I own if I give them permission or am on board myself. If so, then I’ll buy this ship.” I said, and marked each blueprint for purchase.

“Thank you, the blueprints will greatly benefit the guild.” Darius said, giving me a warm smile.

“Okay, now for my horse.” I declared, excitedly flipping back a few pages where I’d seen entries for horses.

After some debating, and a recheck of the wagon’s description, I finally settled on an Elven bred Friesian stallion for twenty-five thousand gold.

As Darius advised, I purchased tack, armor and grooming supplies, along with twenty sets of enchanted horseshoes which were consumables. Then we moved to the books section, where I found only a handful of books. Many of the books were, according to Darius, commonly found and already owned by the guild.

“I’ve selected everything I could need, and still have just over fifteen million gold left. None of the weapons are any good to me as I don’t know how to use them, and anything I buy will just be outdated when the smiths start making better things. Same with armor and most things here.” I complained to Darius as I marked off a pair of knee-high boots that were enchanted to make my steps soundless.

“Let's take a look in the miscellaneous section, maybe we’ll find something interesting there.” He suggested.

I nodded, flipping through to the back of the book. One item stood out like a beacon in the miscellaneous section.

“Land token, a hundred thousand gold per acre.” I murmured, staring down at the page.

“That's cheap, land tokens purchased through the land office are normally a hundred and fifty thousand per acre.”

“How many acres worth of tokens does the guild have?”

“We’ve got eighty nine guild members on platinum plans and seventy two on gold plans, all of whom have agreed to use their tokens for the guild city. Platinum gets five acres, and gold gets one, we haven’t purchased any from the land office yet.” Darius explained. “Because we transferred over through the deal with Gaia, most of the guild are on special plans that are associated with the guild. Those with tokens already had a higher ranked plan, so transferred over to Kaledon on those plans to take advantage of the benefits.”

“How many people are in the guild right now?” I asked, remembering it had been somewhere near six hundred members in Avalon.

“Just under seven hundred, we were only allowed to bring five hundred members over as part of Gaia’s initial access phase to act as a test population. Because we had members who could come to Kaledon on their own life plans, we had them enter Kaledon separate from the guild. This gave us a chance to absorb those in our feeder guild who lacked a private life plan.”

“That’s a lot of people,” I exclaimed, wondering where they all were. “Where are you even keeping them all!”

“Most are spread out training and exploring. Seven hundred is low compared to other guilds.” Darius said, with an amused smile. “Our allies, the Silver Arrows, managed to bring their feeder guild on its own merit, so with both combined they’ve got almost two thousand people running around.”

I nodded, listening as Darius explained how Eternia and the top twenty guilds in Avalon were offered the chance to move five hundred of their members to Kaledon.

They’d also offered the guilds a chance to bring over their gold to Kaledon at a three to one exchange. The guild, and everyone in it, sold everything they owned, doing their best to get as much gold as possible saved up for the transfer.

“Should I buy some land tokens then?” I asked, looking back at the book once Darius finished.

“Are you sure, Kadia?” Darius asked, giving me a searching look.

“I’m not interested in any of the other stuff here, just promise I’ll get a big private alchemy lab out of it.”

“You can have your lab, we’ll give you a large plot in the city planning.” He promised.

I smiled, marking down the purchase for the ten million gold worth of tokens.

“Alright, I think we are done. If I don’t buy the ship, I’ll just get the rest in gold.” I told him as I reached forward to ring the bell.

“If you buy the ship, you will have just over two million left. At the exchange of ten dollars to one gold, it goes down a lot.” Darius said.

I nodded with a sigh. “The exchange rate sucks.”

“Miss Greene, have you finished already?” Mr. Gold asked, entering the room with a tight smile.

Already? It’s been almost three hours, I don’t see how that counts as ‘already’. I silently mocked as I plastered a smile on my face.

“I have a question regarding an item,” I told him.

He inclined his head, looking at me expectantly, so I continued.

“If I buy a transport item, can others ride on it? Can they use it with permission from me?” I asked, deciding not to mention the ship directly.

“They can use a transport item that is in your ownership, so long as it is with your permission and the item remains in your ownership. You could, for example, purchase several wagons and use them to form a trade caravan. However, if someone attempted to use one without permission, it would be deemed as stolen, and would be returned to your possession.”

“I see,” I mused, glancing at Darius whose eyelid twitched ever so slightly.

Opening the items book, I quickly marked down the purchase of one warship and after a moment flicked through to the section where the wagons were listed. After finding the one I was looking for, I marked it for purchase along with one more wagon that was fitted out like a small house.

“I’m done making my purchases. I would like the remainder changed into gold.” I informed Mr. Gold, handing him the book.

“Of course, if you will give me a moment I will arrange your items.” The dwarf said, giving me a strained smile.

Ten minutes later the bank manager returned holding a small silk purse, which he handed to me, before taking a seat behind the desk.

“Miss Greene, you will find your items inside in the form of paper tokens, simply tear the token to receive your item. Now, as for the remainder of the money which you wished to receive in gold, in light of your tragic circumstances we would like to offer you a one-time lowered exchange rate, and an exemption on the transfer restrictions. We will allow you to change the one million, and nine hundred thousand dollars at a one to one rate.”

What did he just say? A one-to-one exchange? Narrowing my eyes, I glared at the short man. Would like to offer me… Bullshit!

“The courts must have ordered you to offer me an equal exchange and a lift of the restriction. Gaia corp didn’t want to give me the gold, so they offered me this item deal.” I spat, fighting against the urge to leap up from my seat in an explosion of anger.

“Now Miss Greene, you must understand that flooding the market with that much gold would greatly affect the world balance.” Mr. Gold said, holding his hands up placatingly.

“I have no interest in flooding the market, I wouldn’t have gone on a gold spending spree. If you’d been honest up front, I probably would have taken the items deal anyway as it saved me time and put everything I could want on a neat little list right here. Even with the restrictions! Instead, all you’ve done is shown Gaia corp is just as conniving and filthy as Everlife. You’ve pocketed twenty-nine million dollars, and all I’ve got is some fucking lines of code that are worth nothing.”

“Kadia,” Darius murmured, placing a hand on my shoulder, but I shrugged him off.

“That was not our intention,” Mr Gold said. “Miss Greene, I apologize for my handling of this matter. We only sort to find a solution that would work best for all parties. We did not wish to upset you in any way. Are you not happy with the items you have chosen? If you would like to review them we can look at exchanging the tokens for others.”

Well, aren’t you back-peddling?

“Those items are just code to you, they take nothing to create beyond a little computing power from the central AI who runs this world.” I said bluntly, staring at him with my fiercest expression. “Twenty-nine million gold worth of digital items? You think your lines of code are worth the twenty-nine million dollars I could have had if I’d been on Earth? Do you think this is enough to just sweep it all under the rug?”

Stalking closer to the desk, I leaned forwards, palms pressed to the wood. “Do you really think some non-existent things can make up for the real life I can no longer live? With that twenty-nine million dollars, I could have purchased thousands of acres worth of land on Earth! Somewhere away from everything, to live out my days without bothering anyone.” I told him, emphasizing the last three words in a way that I knew the fat fish in front of me would get the message.

Take the bait, you little corporate prick. You think I can’t see through you? I grew up with a man just like you, I’ve been around pricks like you my whole life, I know you’ll give a lot more than you have.

“Is that so?” Mr. Gold murmured, staring at me with a look that said he saw through me just as I did him.

“How many acres would fulfill this little dream of yours?” The dwarf asked, stroking his beard.

“Twenty nine, million,” I declared with a smirk, ignoring the choked sound from the guild leader behind me.

That should cover a decent-sized island or something, right? My own little island, where I can do whatever I want.

“That is asking a bit much, Miss Greene.” Mr. Gold said, shaking his head. “Please give me a moment to consult.”

Closing his eyes, the dwarf sat still for a moment before opening his eyes once more.

“Ten thousand acres is the most we can offer. This is equal to the amount of land tokens that another citizen owns and thus cannot be considered unfair.”

Someone has enough tokens for ten thousand acres? He said a citizen, meaning one, not the land tokens of many people combined, like a guild.

“Twenty-nine thousand,” I responded, crossing my arms over my chest. I’d prefer the twenty-nine million, but I think I’m already pushing a bit much.

“Agreed, the tokens have been added to your bag.” The dwarf said quickly, not giving me any chance to respond as he slapped two piles of paper down on the table. “These state that you will not reveal any information regarding the settlement. All items you have gained are things which can be purchased, thus no one should question how you came by them. If they do, it shall be up to you how to respond without disclosing information regarding the settlement.”

Taking some time to read through the contracts, I found they were as the dwarf said.

With an exaggerated air of hesitation, I signed both, making sure to appear frightened as I did so. The most important thing about this entire situation was to appear that I was conceding to them.

I was at Gaia corps mercy, living out my life in their virtual world, and in a capsule belonging to a company they would soon own. Not signing that agreement would only make them suspicious, and even so, Davis would easily have their little agreement tossed aside.

Making me sign without a lawyer present, while I was under duress? Gaia’s agreement wasn’t worth the digital paper it was written on.

The rhythmic sound of pounding hooves filled my ears as Arion cantered along the soft sandy beach. The beautiful black stallion’s stride was so smooth it felt as though we were riding through the sky and not the beach.

Riding with Arion felt freeing in a way that was beyond words, in this moment nothing mattered anymore.

All the pain, the anger, and hurt was blown away with the wind that tugged at my hair as we raced through the countryside surrounding Caruan. Darius had claimed it took a day to reach the coast, Arion and I did it in half.

To our left, a shimmering translucent barrier rose up into the sky, the sea's waves battering against it from the other side. Not even a single drop of water touched the small strip of sand that formed this beach, if it could even be called a beach.

The sky beyond the barrier was blue, no signs of the darkness and ash spoken of in the world’s lore. Two small islands were visible on the horizon, and there wasn’t any indication of an erupting volcano on either of them.

I slowed Arion to a trot as we approached a section of the beach where a river had formed a large dam as the water pooled against the barrier. I directed my horse to turn away from the beach to follow the river back inland.

Soft sand became long grass as we rode along the riverbank and I scanned the water for any signs of aquatic life.

“Caw.” The croaking cry from overhead was the only warning the crow gave as he dove to land on my shoulder.

“Did you see anything, Zos?”

“Caw, caw.”

The negative indication from my companion was disheartening, but I carried on along the riverbank regardless. This was the second river I’d found, though with its location it was possible it was part of the same river.

Annoyingly, the map I’d purchased with my settlement was not what I’d thought it to be. I thought I was buying a complete map of the world. Instead, I got a scroll that only showed the places I had already traveled to.

Looking at the map, I could see the river I’d checked earlier ahead and to the left of me, separated by a large blank space.

The plant I was searching for was only found in the northern rivers, and despite spending my day searching, I’d not found even a glimpse of the siren lily I searched for.

It was strange, surely I should have seen something by now? I hadn’t even seen any fish or any land-dwelling creatures near the rivers during my ride.

The only other beings I’d come across were the people living in a village atop the cliffs which overlooked the unreachable seas.

After following the river for another half an hour, I came across what I guessed was the source of the sparse fish population in the rivers. Laying on the muddy banks of the river sunning themselves in the midday sun, were five very large crocodiles.

In hindsight, bringing Arion to a stop next to the river after spotting the crocodiles was complete and utter stupidity. The sound of a splash from the river was the only warning I got, and it was far too late as a crocodile lunged up out of the water to clamp its jaws around Arion’s rear leg.

The horse squealed, rearing up, and I was flung from the saddle onto the bank of the river. Zosimos left my shoulder in a fright and was circling above us, calling out with loud cries as I tried to scramble up out of the shallow water I’d landed in.

White hot pain shot through me as a sharp toothed jaw clamped down on my calf with bone crushing strength.

My screams of pain joined those of my horse, as I was dragged backwards into the river. Agony coursed through my body while water rushed into my lungs as the crocodile began to flip over, spinning me in the water.

As death claimed me, the pain faded away and was replaced by an overwhelming desire for revenge.

* * *

Waking on the altar in the middle of the guildhall's courtyard, I jerked up into a sitting position and instinctively reached down to check my leg.

The leather pants I wore were torn, with puncture marks around my calf, but the flesh of my leg was unmarred.

Sliding off the altar, I ran towards the forge, shouting for Markion as I went.

“Markion, get your ax! You have to avenge me,” I yelled at the Minotaur who came rushing out of the forge in response to my shouting.

“Avenge you? Kads, what happened?” My brother asked, looking me over in concern.

“I got killed by crocodiles, and I think they killed Arion, too. I don’t know what happened to him. Help me slaughter them all!” I demanded, telling him in breathless rush about how I’d come across the crocodiles on the river bank.

“What were you even doing there? Everyone knows the northern rivers are infested with crocs.”

“I needed to find siren lilies, I put a request up on the guild notice board, but no one has brought any back.” I complained.

Markion nodded, running a hand over his muzzle. “I suppose I can spare some time for a croc hunt, it’s been awhile since I’ve had a decent fight. What are these siren lilies you want?” Markion asked as he guided me back to the forge where he grabbed his ax and began pulling on armor.

The armor was made up of different smaller metal plates which shifted and moved as he pulled on a pair of leg guards that covered his leg from upper thigh to just above his hooves.

A chest plate with shoulder guards covered his torso, with a pair of heavy bracers covering his arms from wrist to elbow with a sharp looking blade curving along the outer edge.

The final piece of armor he pulled on was a barbed metal ring that was placed just below the tip of his horns.

“Siren lilies are a water plant that is said to be found in the northern rivers. According to my plants and fungi book, siren lilies are a pale blue water lily that have a chilling effect on the body, and are used to cure those who’ve been poisoned by Calacaza berries. The effect of Calacaza berries is a burning sensation, so I want to see if the siren lilies have any effect on the scorcher venom. We leave for Valonia in two days, and I’ve barely made any progress.” I explained, letting out a frustrated sigh.

If only the few books I’d gotten from the settlement weren’t all in Latinus, I'd not even had a chance to look at any of them beyond flicking through a few pages. I need to finish working on Noctus’s books before I start working on any new ones.

“Do you remember where you were?” Markion asked. I nodded, pulling out my map to show him.

“I was here,” I told him, pointing to the area on the map where I’d been. “Zosimos was able to fly away, but they took Arion. I don’t know how to find out if he is okay or not.”

“Check your bag. If he died then as a bound mount, he would have returned in the form of a crystal figurine. You will need to use a mana crystal to reform him.” Markion advised.

Wiping away the stray tear that had been creeping down my cheek, I opened the leather pouch that was attached to my belt, which was where I kept all the tokens I hadn’t used.

It was annoying that I couldn’t use all my new alchemy equipment, but my lab was accessed by too many other people, and if I suddenly gained dozens of items that were not commonly available, it could draw unwanted attention. So I had only redeemed my alchemical construct and some basic items such as extra retorts, scales and caldrons.

The construct was kept hidden in my bag when I wasn’t using it and I told Taurie or anyone visiting my lab that the new items were made by Markion or purchased from other crafters.

Trying to find a way to explain the items to Noctus and Markion without breaching the non-disclosure agreement was easy enough. After dropping some hints, they seemed able to put the pieces together with both agreeing it was best I slowly redeem the tokens as needed.

After some searching, I found a clear crystal figurine of a beautiful Friesian horse, and mournfully pulled it from the bag along with the crystalline tokens for his riding tack.

I’m so sorry, Arion, please forgive me. I pleaded as I stared down at the crystal horse.

“Have you got any mana crystals to reform him?” Markion asked. “I’m not sure how many a horse like that will take, Yuki’s tamed beasts can cost around from two low-grade mana crystals to a high-grade depending on the size and strength.”

“How do I know how many it will take?” I asked, looking for something on the figurine that might tell me what I needed to do in order to restore Arion.

“There is no way to know exactly, see how the crystal token is clear? When you feed the token mana, it starts to glow. The figurine acts as the creature, or item's core, when you refill it with mana the body will reform. It’s similar to how we revive; when we die,” Markion explained, pointing towards the revival altar in the distance. “On that note, have you checked you have all your things? If you dropped something in the water, or the croc ate it, we might have a hard time finding it.”

Doing a quick check of my body, I found I still had everything with the exception of my weapon.

The satchel Noctus originally gave me had been returned to the vampire, having been replaced by a stylish leather bag. The upper half of the bag was attached to a belt with a strap that went around my thigh to hold the bag flush with my leg. On the opposite side of the belt was a small square pouch and six loops that could be used to hold vials or tools.

“My wagasa is missing, it was strapped across the back of my saddle. I don’t think it would have reformed with the saddle as it isn’t a bound item.” I told Markion as I pulled out one of the high-grade mana crystals I’d purchased.

It’s a good thing I decided to buy some of these, as I’d planned to use them to experiment with. Hopefully it won’t take a lot of mana to restore Arion as I only bought ten high grade crystals because Darius said they could be mined from dungeons.

“Damn, well with any luck we will find your wagasa on the bank of the river. Don’t revive your horse yet, he might get hurt again. Best to leave him for now, and next time you should be riding with armor or at the very least put leg protectors on him.” Markion advised, reaching out to stop me from pressing a mana crystal onto the crystal figurine.

“I didn’t even think about the armor,” I admitted, guiltily putting the figurine away. “How are we going to reach the river where I got killed? It’s pretty far away.”

“I’ve got my mount staying at the south stable, he isn’t as fast as your horse, but he’ll get us there faster than walking will, and he is combat trained. Elven Friesians are trained for speed and stamina, so I’m not surprised it wasn’t smart enough to get out of the way.” Markion said as we made our way through the guild hall and out onto the street.

“Arion is plenty smart. We were just taken by surprise.” I defended breathlessly, as I half jogged to keep up with Markion’s longer strides.

Grunting in amusement, Markion glanced down at me, then turned to scoop me off my feet. As I found myself hoisted up to sit on the Minotaur’s shoulder, I let out a startled squeak, and reached out to grab onto the base of the horn nearest to me for balance. Cheeks burning with embarrassment, I kicked my heel against the Minotaur’s chest plate.

“Oi, don’t scuff my armor. I just polished it.” Markion scolded, grabbing my foot to stop it banging against his chest.

“Put me down,” I ordered, yanking my foot out of his grasp.

“Nah, I might lose you in the crowd, it’s faster this way. Damn, sis, that croc really did a number on your leg didn’t he.” The bull commented, grabbing my leg again and twisting it so he could examine the damage to my leather pants.

“Yeah, I probably should have changed into a new set of leathers.”

“Why didn’t you buy any high-quality armor when you were picking stuff?”

“Because the good stuff was heavy or medium armor which I can’t wear. I did buy a set of leather armor, but Darius wants me to wait until we arrive in Valonia to wear it, so we can claim I looted it somewhere. It is only a rare quality, so it’ll be outdated once the crafters start increasing their skills.”

“It’s fucking bullshit what they pulled, you didn’t even get any unique or special items. Everything you got can already be bought or crafted, so there isn’t anything special about any of it. Only good thing is that you managed to get some of the harder to craft alchemy crap you wanted, which means I don’t have to keep slaving away trying to work out how to make it.”

“I know, but I wasn’t given much option.” I said with a sigh, looking around at the crowds from my heightened vantage point.

“So, what is your mount?” I asked, wondering what kind of horse would fit someone his size.

“Basher is a steel-horned rhino, I got him as a calf. The Minotaur clans raise them as mounts and beasts of burden. His mother was killed by a pride of fire-maned lions, and once I killed the lions I was given Basher to raise.” Markion said, regaling me with the tale of his battle against the pride of lions whose manes were bathed in burning flames.

Basher, as Markion called him, was a large, gray rhinoceros with two gleaming horns that looked sharper than the Minotaur’s ax. To my surprise, Markion did not saddle the rhino and instead appeared from the stables pulling a metal chariot.

With Basher hooked up to the chariot and draped in gleaming metal armor, we led the rhino out of the city before moving to stand in the chariot.

I feel like I’m in a gladiator movie. I mused as the rhino began to trot along the road which would lead us around the city and back towards the north.

* * *

When we arrived at the location of my death, what should have been triumphant return for vengeance, quickly spiraled into a live action horror movie.

The moment Markion approached the bank to pick up my wagasa from where it lay in the mud, three crocodiles lunged out of the water.

Swinging his double-bladed ax, my brother bellowed out a deafening war cry as he separated the first crocodile’s head from its body, and in response to his war cry, dozens of crocodiles lunged out of the water, and among them was one I’d decided to name “The Beast”.

The Beast was over three times the size of the other crocodiles, which weren’t small by any means.

The enraged bellows of the Minotaur, and the equally loud roaring of the crocodiles, were terrifying enough to have me cowering in the chariot, as waves of intimidating power swept through the area surrounding the battle.

Before the fight, Markion warned me that he had a skill called intimidating aura, but I didn’t think much of it until an aura of fear knocked me off my feet.

He is going to be so mad when he revives. I sighed as I stared at the Minotaur’s horns, which were now only one horn and a half.

Hopefully, he doesn’t blame me for the whole getting-killed-thing. The memory of Markion’s angry shouts accusing me of not telling him I’d been killed in a den, brought a grimace to my lips.

How was I meant to know it was a den? I was killed so fast, I didn’t even see the momma beast. Now Markion is dead, and I’m stuck here because Basher won’t listen to me. I don’t want to leave him here to die, and Markion said the chariot isn’t bound like Basher is, so if I leave and something happens, he might lose the chariot.

It took what felt like an eternity for the mana to flow out of my brother's core, and his body to fade from sight as a blue light shot up into the sky from where he’d been floating in the lake. Surprisingly, the moment it did so, Basher began to move.

The rhino still wouldn’t listen to me, or respond to my tugging on the reins, it simply began trotting along through the forest on his own whim. I contemplated jumping out of the chariot, but worried that I might lose my brother's mount in the process.

Fortunately, it seemed Basher was making his way back to the city, as once we reached the road he turned back in the direction of Caruan.

Tired of standing, I sat down on the floor of the chariot with my knees pressed against my chest as I attempted to force the images of Markion’s horrific death from my mind.

He’s okay, it’s not real. Markion is safe, and soon he will be back at the guildhall throwing a tantrum over his broken horn.

As the sun disappeared over the horizon, I felt the chariot slow as Basher shifted from his trot to a cautious walk. Can he not see in the dark? Normal rhinos have bad eyesight even in daylight, don’t they? Is it the same for Basher?

Focusing on the air above the rhino's head, I called forth the largest ball of flame I could produce, which had grown from a flicker to the size of a golf ball. It was large enough to light up the area directly ahead of the rhino, and after a cautious glance up at the hovering ball of fire Basher started trotting down the road again, resuming his faster pace.

After an hour, I replaced my conjured fire with a candle that I melted onto the rhino’s metal helmet, as I’d run out of mana to sustain the light.

Luckily, Basher seemed to understand I was helping him, and allowed me to put the candle in place then waited for me to get back on the chariot before resuming our trek back to the city.

I’d just begun to see the lights of Caruan in the distance, when the thunderous pounding of hooves on the road set Basher and I on high alert.

Crouched in the chariot, and clutching my enchanted dagger, I peaked over the side as a group of horses rounded a bend in the road.

“Whoa,” a familiar voice called, causing me to let out a shaky sigh of relief as the guild leader brought his horse to a halt next to Basher.

“It’s Basher.” I heard him call out, and as I rose into a standing position, the rest of the group rode closer. “Kadia, glad to see you’re okay. We waited for a while to see if the crocs got you after Markion died, but when you didn’t appear, we decided to head out to find you.”

“I’m fine, they didn’t move past the riverbank, and when Markion’s body faded, Basher started heading back to the city.” I told the guild leader, scanning the group of six riders for my brother.

“He is following on a wagon; we rode on ahead.” Darius told me, seeing my searching expression.

“You might want to take that candle off Basher’s head before he gets here.” Noctus commented with a snicker as he looked at the rhino who seemed content to take the time to rest.

“I needed a way to light up the path for him.” I defended, glancing at the candle attached to Basher's head.

Moving his horse forwards so that it sat alongside the chariot, Darius dropped the pole he was holding into a hole in the chariot's side.

“That’s what the lantern holders are for.” He commented with a chuckle as he took a second lantern from one of the unknown men with him and rode to the other side of the chariot to drop it in the second holder.

“I didn’t have any lanterns.” I grumbled, jumping down from the chariot to blow out the candle on Basher's head and pry off the wax which had dripped on the metal helmet. I didn’t even know those were for lanterns, I thought it was to hold spears.

“How mad is Markion?” I asked the group who’d gathered their horses around the chariot.

“Absolutely pissed,” one of the men said with a chuckle, covered in red scales his features were distinctly reptilian in nature.

“He’s sworn vengeance on the entire den, hence why there is a hunting team with us.” Darius informed me with a smile before pointing to the red scaled lizard man.

“Kadia, this is Roderick, he is a Draekin, Kaledon’s version of the Dragon-men race. He is the captain in charge of this hunting team, starting to the left of you we have Killian a wood elf archer, Conrad who is a high elf water mage and Bastian a dwarven fighter. The last member of their team is on the wagon with Markion, his name is Dorian and he is a human healer. Everyone, this is Markion’s sister, Kadia.” Darius introduced.

Waving my hand in greeting to the gathered riders, I awkwardly shifted around in the chariot, not really sure what to say or do.

Thankfully, I was saved from needing to say anything as the trundling sound of a wagon's wheels bumping over the rough dirt road drifted towards us as a horse-drawn wagon rounded the corner.

The wagon appeared more like a farm cart than a wagon, and seated at the front of the wagon was a man with short curly blond hair.

As it drew closer, I saw that sitting behind the man in the back of the wagon was a seething Minotaur missing half a horn.

“Should I start running?” I asked Darius in a low whisper.

“Basher!” Markion called out, leaping out of the bed of the wagon before the horses pulling it came to a stop. “You’re okay!” He exclaimed, wrapping an arm over the rhino's head in an affectionate one-armed hug.

I’m also okay, but it’s fine, don’t worry about me little brother! Just hug your rhino.

“He started back towards the city once your body faded.” I told my brother as he smacked the rhino's side before moving around to jump into the chariot.

“Well, then. Let's go kill some crocodiles.” Markion cheered, using the reins to get Basher to turn back the way we came.

“You… You’re not angry?” I asked, as I pressed myself against the side of the chariot.

“I’m fucking pissed, that damn croc took my horn.” He snarled, his muzzle scrunching up to reveal a flash of teeth.

“I meant with me.”

“Why would I be mad at you?” Markion questioned, looking down at me in surprise.

“Because I got you killed?” I reminded him. He laughed, shaking his head.

“I got myself killed, Kads. I shouldn’t have run in and used my skill intimidating aura to stir up the crocs without knowing how many there were. It’ll be different this time. If I’d known it was a den, I wouldn’t have gone alone.”

“I’m sorry, I didn’t know it was a den, or even what a den is.” I told him and he nodded.

“A den is an area where a high-level creature resides, and typically the area around a den has a high density of lesser creatures that are drawn to the area by the higher level creature's presence. Do you remember what I told you about scorchers being in caves with fire drakes? It’s the same premise here with the lesser crocodiles sharing the river with the Sarcosuchus.” Darius interjected from atop his horse beside the chariot.

“Sarcosuchus? Why does that sound familiar?” I mused, furrowing my brow.

“It’s a prehistoric crocodile from the early Cretaceous period.” Markion informed me, and I looked up at him in surprise at how smart he sounded all of a sudden.

“There are a few different creatures running around based on prehistoric animals from Earth. They haven’t stuck to one period either, it’s a bit of a mixed bag. The raptors are a damned pain, little shits are everywhere, each area of the continent seems to have a different type of raptor running about.” The guild leader added, looking over at Noctus with a chuckle.

“Yuki has one as a pet,” Noctus chimed in. “You probably haven’t seen it yet as she isn’t allowed to bring it into the inner city. It’s a Bambiraptor, and it’s an annoying little fucker. They’re all over the forests around here.”

“It hates Noctus. Likes to chase him around biting his ankles.” The red scaled Draekin named Roderick informed me with a chuckle.

“Really? I haven’t seen anything other than the crocodiles while I was riding today, I could hear some birds, and small creatures running about, but only the crocodiles attacked me.” I told the group.

Markion chuckled, one of his dinner plate sized hands reaching out to ruffle my hair. I scowled at him, slapping his hand away with a low hissing snarl that only made his grin widen.

“The Bambiraptor’s make sounds like a bird. You may not have seen them, but I guarantee they saw you. They are small, so wouldn’t have attacked you unless there was a large enough group of them, they probably didn’t get their chance before the crocs got you. I bet they were stalking you the entire time.” My brother informed me with a wink.

“There’s about thirty of em stalking our group now, but don’t worry lassie, they won’t be attacking us. They be cowards, and our group is too large for em to brave an attack.” The dwarf of the hunting group said, his voice thick with a strange accent that sounded like someone pretending they were Scottish.

Is he one of those players who likes to role play their race? I frowned at the dwarf as I tried to focus on the surrounding sounds.

Soft chirping and chittering calls could be heard from the trees on either side of us. They were the same bird calls I’d been hearing most of the day. Now that I knew they were some kind of prehistoric dinosaur, those sounds sent a chill down my spine.

A louder bird cry suddenly pierced the air, and I almost screamed as a dark form swooped down towards me. My brain processed the familiar cry of Zosimos just in time to choke down the fearful sound as my avian companion landed on my shoulder.

“Fuck, where the bloody hell did that come from?” The dwarf cried out, his fake Scottish accent falling away to be replaced by a posh British one. “I mean, ack where did tha’ wee beastie come from.”

“Cut the bullshit, Bastian, you’re not fooling anyone.” Killian, who’d been introduced as the group's archer called from where he was riding beside the wagon at the rear of the group.

“Foolin? I don’t be-”

“Enough,” Roderick snapped, craning his head around to scowl at the dwarf. “Just give it up already, we are all sick of hearing it.”

“Well, yer don’t have to be so mean bout it.” The dwarf mumbled, still not dropping his fake accent.

Listening in amusement as the group argued over the dwarfs play acting, I reached up to stroke Zosimos’s feathers and got a gentle nip to my ear in response.

“I’m glad you’re okay Zos, I don’t know what would happen if you died.” I murmured.

I was pretty sure Zosimos was part of my blessing from the god of alchemy, but I had no clue if he was bound to me and could be restored like Arion or not.

“Caw.”

“Darius,” Roderick called to the guild leader as he split off from his squabbling team, and moved his horse up to ride beside the chariot. “I’m going to send Killian ahead to scout the area around the den. He should be able to follow Basher's tracks.”

“Noctus, go with him.” Darius advised, but I interrupted before the vampire left. “See if you can get a head count.”

“A hundred and twenty-six.”I told the guild leader who jerked his head around to look at me in surprise. “Twenty-seven if you count the big one. My alchemic insight lights up the crocodiles because they have alchemic uses. Basher wouldn’t leave until Markion’s body faded, so I had long wait with nothing to do aside from stare at the water.”

“Damn, that’s a lot of crocs.” Roderick said, letting out a slow whistle.

“Why are we going back now? Wouldn’t it be better to wait until morning?” I finally asked, glancing at the dark shadows of the trees around us, and wishing I was in my fox form so I could see what was out there.

“Because,” Noctus answered. “We don’t want someone else stumbling upon the den and stealing our prey. We can make a lot of gold culling a den this size, and one this close to Caruan is bound to be found soon. I’m surprised it managed to get so big without being discovered. We’ll wait until dawn to start hunting but will be nearby to keep others away.”

Looking around at the group, I could see them all mentally counting the gold they were about to make.

As Killian and Noctus departed from the group to scout the area around the den, I crouched down on the floor of the chariot to shield myself from the wind and pulled a cloak from my bag to wrap around myself as the night air grew colder.

The idea of camping out on the riverbank wasn’t an appealing one, but the thought of riding back to the city alone was even worse.

Maybe I can convince Darius to have the hunting team ride along the river to look for the siren lilies after they’ve finished with the den. Fighting back a yawn, I let my eyes drift closed intending to rest them for a while as we continued the bumpy ride back towards the crocodile den.

“Caw!”

The sound of Zosimos’s sharp cry woke me as I blearily opened my eyes to peer at my shadowed surroundings.

I was still in the chariot, though I was no longer sitting propped up against the side and was instead laying curled up on the floor. Someone had given me a pillow and a fur blanket and, from the sweaty animal smell of both, I was sure that someone had been my brother.

Crouching near my feet was a strange-looking creature, and as it took a step closer my sleep-addled mind finally caught up with what I was seeing.

The thing in the chariot with me was a raptor, covered in feathers with a pair of winged arms and powerful looking legs. Yellow eyes stared into mine and a soft trilling chirp sounded from the raptor’s throat.

In response, a second feathered reptilian head peered around the open back of the chariot, its gaze finding me as it moved to join the first.

Hands still under the blanket, I slowly reached for the bag strapped to my thigh, trying not to make any movements that might spur the raptors into attacking.

The first raptor wasn’t fooled by the blanket, its eyes shifting to the spot where my hand was the moment it began to move.

A low thrumming sound preceded an arrow flying through the air as it embedded itself into the second raptors side. The one inside the chariot spun, leaping out to run high-speed towards the trees, but it was met by an arrow seconds after leaving the chariot.

The next figure that appeared was the lightly tanned face of the wood elf archer, his green eyes filled with concern as he looked at where I was huddled on the chariot floor.

“Are you hurt?”

“N-no, just- didn’t expect to see that when I first woke up.” I croaked out, my dry throat making my voice sound worse than Zosimos’s cawing.

“It might be best if you come sit round the fire with the rest of the group, your brother was meant to be keeping watch over you, but it seems he fell asleep.” Killian said, placing a foot on the back of the chariot and reaching down to offer me a hand up.

Ignoring the proffered hand, I scrambled out of the chariot. The large form of my brother was sitting with his back pressed against the side of the chariot and a third raptor lay dead next to him.

“Little shits were trying to steal his pouch, they’re worse thieves than Noctus.” Killian quipped, kicking out a booted foot at my sleeping brother who just kept snoring.

Even in virtual reality, he sleeps like a log. Scowling, I reached out to grab one of the bovine ears and twisted it with a hard yank.

The response from the bull was instantaneous as he let out a bellow and tried to stand, but I kept my grip on his ear, using it to hold his head down.

“Kadia, what the fuck.” he wheezed, his hand coming up to grab my wrist.

“I almost got eaten by raptors,” I informed him bluntly, releasing his ear and yanking my arm out of his grasp.

“Wha—raptors? Ah, fuck, I fell asleep.” The Minotaur blustered, finally noticing the small raptor laying next to his leg with an arrow sticking out of its side.

“I thought you were meant to be some strong barbarian fighter?” I mocked as I turned to walk towards the fire where everyone was gathered.“So far you’ve been killed by crocodiles, and didn’t even notice a raptor basically giving you a lap dance.”

It seemed the group around the fire had heard my comment, as the clearing was filled with boisterous laughter and jokes about making sure to tip the raptor some coppers for the dance.

Heaving a sigh, I pulled my timepiece from the pouch on my belt to see it was just after three in the morning, two hours to sunrise.

“Miss Kadia, are you hurt?” One of the men around the fire asked, who I vaguely recalled was the man driving the wagon.

“I’m fine, the raptor didn’t attack me.” I told him as I sat on a log next to Darius.

“I noticed you were favoring your right leg, and your armor on that leg is torn. You don’t need to hide it, I can heal, so you don’t need to wait for your injuries to heal naturally.” The healer said, standing to move around the fire towards me.

“The damage to my armor was from when I was first attacked by the crocodiles. My leg is fine.” I told him, pulling my right foot back and tucking it behind my left.

“But—”

“She said it’s fine. So fuck off and leave her alone.” Markion snapped, towering over the blond healer who backed away with his hands raised.

“Markion, he was only trying to help.” Roderick defended as the healer returned to his seat.

“If Kadia says she is fine, then she is fine! So shut the fuck up about her leg.” My brother retorted, his fists clenching at his sides.

“Markion, calm down. He didn’t mean anything by it.” I chided, before glancing at the healer. “My leg was injured when I was younger and has been painful ever since. I favor it sometimes because I forget that it doesn’t hurt anymore.”

As I spoke, I reached up to tug on the skinny tail poking out the back of my brother's armor. “Sit down, your big butt is blocking the firelight.”

“Kadia, you don’t like me touching your tail, so stop tugging on mine.” Markion grumbled, moving to sit on the ground beside the log I shared with Darius.

“Then don’t wave it in my face.” I told him as I pulled a clay vial out of my bag and threw it towards Noctus. The vampire hadn’t been at the hall when I’d been searching for him earlier in the day, so this was the first chance I’d gotten to show him my completed potion.

“That is the finished light foot potion,” I informed the vampire, who broke the vial's wax seal and inspected the contents.

“You’ve tested it?”

“I wouldn’t be giving it to you if I hadn’t. I can fully confirm that the Larnurma flower oil was the missing component.”

In the end, I didn’t even need the Larnurma flowers to confirm it, as I was able to buy the recipe when selecting items to purchase with my settlement. I still couldn’t get over the fact that there were so few recipes.

In the book, there’d been only a hundred and sixty-four recipes, none of which looked new. From what I’d been able to translate, I guessed they were all related to alchemists from Kaledon’s history.

The alchemist who was said to have created the light foot potion seemed to think he could fool people into believing he was someone with a lot of skill, when really he just found some recipes, and was taking credit for them as his own creations.

Noctus nodded. “Van was less than pleased to discover that the alchemist he was dealing with was feeding him false information. He doesn’t have an alchemist of his own, so he was using the Dreadmere guild’s alchemist to verify alchemic information, and it was him who sold Van the recipe. Coming from what he thought to be a trusted source, Van didn’t bother getting it verified by a third party.”

The vampire raised the vial towards me with a smile, before he tilted back his head, downing the contents in a single gulp.

If he was smart, he would have saved it for the fight with the crocodiles. I sighed as I watched the vampire get to his feet and move into the forest with a rush of speed. He could have at least said thank you.

“Miss Kadia?”

“You can just call me Kadia.” I told the wood elf archer, who was glancing between me and the forest where Noctus disappeared.

“Kadia,” smiling, Killian turned his full attention to me. “You said that was a light foot potion? Would you happen to have any more that you might be selling? It doesn’t often appear for sale publicly.”

“I have nineteen vials left of the basic light foot potion that is effective for approximately three minutes. The guild cost per vial is two gold or I’ve got five vials of an improved version that is effective for at least five minutes for five gold.” I informed Killian, and Darius snapped his head towards me so fast I could almost hear his bones cracking.

“You improved it? Who authorized those prices? A dose of light foot potion is ten gold on the public market.” The guild leader said, and I raised my hand up defensively.

“Bron did, we spoke about pricing when I began selling tinctures, and he said to set the pricing at a price of fifteen percent above the cost of the ingredients. The only rare ingredient used is the Larnurma flowers, and I only needed two drops for the entire batch; cloud moss, and the feathers were both easily attained.” I explained while quickly recalculating the production cost to make sure my math wasn’t off. “The improved version has added ingredients to promote energy recovery, as the effects of the potion wear off when you run out of energy. A light foot potion burns a lot of the body's energy, thus the reason why the time it is effective can differ per person. I’ve also noted that using the potion after consuming a meal will also boost the effectiveness slightly.”

“Firstly, that pricing model is only effective for low grade tinctures, so we will not be using it for higher-end potions. Secondly, you’re fucking amazing.” Darius said, wrapping an arm around my shoulders and giving me a one-armed hug before quickly letting me go as I made a sound of protest.

Embarrassed by the attention I was suddenly receiving, I ducked my head, wishing my hair wasn’t pulled back in a braid so I could use it to hide behind.

“I don’t have that much gold on me right now, but I can get it once we return to the city.” Killian offered.

I glanced at Darius. “Darius, I don’t think it should be sold for that much gold, not to the guild. I’ve already given the recipes to Taurie, along with my original glass retort. She’s started practicing the first version of the potion while I experimented with the improvements, adding cat tongue extract and so on. It really isn’t something that is hard to make, once the ingredients are prepped it’s just a matter of combining them.”

The guild leader sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. “You gave the recipe to a novice ranked guild member?”

“You said to teach Taurie to make basic items so I didn’t have to worry about them.” I reminded him. Why is he mad? I was only doing what he said to do.

“You consider the light foot potion to be a basic item?” He questioned, arching a brow.

“Yes.” It’s not like it’s hard to make, and the effects are minimal.

“I will trust your judgment then,” the guild leader conceded, turning his attention to the archer.

“Guild price is two gold for the basic potion, and five for the improved.”

“I’ll take all you have of both please.” The archer declared, pulling out handfuls of gold from a pouch at his waist.

“Quickly, before the vampire gets back.” He implored, glancing at the surrounding trees.

By the time Noctus returned from his jaunt around the forest, all the light foot potion I had on hand was safely deposited in the archer’s pouch and I was filling out my accounting book to record the sale.

To say Noctus was pissed to discover I’d shortchanged him by only providing him a sample of the basic potion would be an understatement.

He was even more infuriated when Killian offered to sell him a vial of the improved potion at a heavily inflated price and, considering his attitude, I didn’t feel inclined to inform him I had everything I needed in my pouch to mix up a batch of the potion.

* * *

As the sky lightened, the group moved to the trees that lined the river bank and I scanned the water, counting the glowing lights that revealed each crocodile's location as Darius, Noctus and Roderick discussed battle plans with the group.

“Roderick, and Markion will pull aggro to lure them up onto the bank.” Darius instructed, getting nods from the group. “Try not to pull the big one until we’ve culled out the little ones. Conrad, your job is to use your water magic to chill the water as much as possible. I know you haven’t gotten to the point where you can freeze a river like this, but the colder you can get it, the slower those crocodiles will be.”

Markion had moved the chariot to the same position it had been in last time, leaving it just in front of the tree line, which was where I was directed to stay with Dorian, the group's healer.

As the others moved to their positions, I watched Dorian unpack a bag with bandages and an assortment of medical tools.

Seeing the salves he pulled out, I noticed that they weren’t in the vials or jars I used for our guilds supply. David, our guild's new potter, had started using a stamp to imprint the guild insignia onto all the work he did, so it was easily identifiable.

“Why are you using products sold by the Dreadmere guild?” I scowled at the other guild’s insignia on the healer’s salve jars.

“Huh? Oh, because their alchemist Ge Hong is the most skilled in Kaledon. He has created several new potions—” Dorian started, but I cut him off.

“He hasn’t created anything, the recipes he claims are his invention are potions created by alchemists from Kaledon’s history. He is only following someone else's work and claiming it as his own. The original recipes are all marked with the names of the alchemist who first created them.” I spat, anger rising up within me at the mere mention of the other alchemist's name.

He claims recipes which aren’t his own, and even goes around calling himself by the name of a famous Chinese alchemist. If he was a real alchemist, he would have created more than the three potions he ‘claims’ and would have worked out that adding cat tongue extract would increase the effectiveness of the light foot potion just as easily as I did.

Reaching down, I grabbed one of the tinctures from the floor of the chariot and broke the seal to examine the contents.

“He even waters down his products,” I laughed mockingly, shaking my head. “Here, take your watered-down crap.” Shoving the vial at him, I jumped out of the chariot.

Fucking prick. Best alchemist in Kaledon? He isn’t even an alchemist, he’s a potioneer at best. It is people like him that are the reason the pharmaceutical industry is seen as being full of money-hungry scum. When selfish pricks like this sell subpar products just to make more money, they affect the entire industry. I stalked away from the chariot towards the trees where I boosted myself onto a low-hanging branch.

Seconds after I got myself settled in the tree, a bellow rang out as Markion released a tamer version of his intimidating aura then the one used the previous time he’d fought the crocodiles.

Perched in my tree, I watched as half a dozen crocodiles lunged up onto the bank where my brother and Roderick easily dealt with them. This went on for almost half an hour, with my brother and the Draekin pulling up groups of crocodiles for the team to attack.

At one stage, Bastian the dwarven fighter was almost dragged into the water, but Killian was quick to bring the crocodile down with an arrow to the back of its head. When the dwarf got hurt, Darion burst into action, and I was surprised to see the dwarf disappear from the riverbank in a burst of light, only to reappear behind the chariot seconds later.

So, he has some kind of teleport spell? I wonder if it only works on those who are injured and how far he can teleport people?.

Watching Darion feed a tincture to the dwarf, I felt a pang of pity for the fighter who was being forced to consume something that could barely pass for a pain-relieving tincture.

This was confirmed by the dwarfs' agonized screams, which were barely muffled by the strip of leather jammed into his mouth.

As the healer placed his glowing hands on the bloodied leg, my high vantage point allowed me to see the skin on the dwarf’s leg knitting itself back together. When the flesh was whole again, Dorian washed away the blood with water and helped the dwarf sit upright, offering him another tincture.

“Bastian,” I called out, catching the dwarf’s attention as he reached out to take the vial “Catch.”

Flicking my wrist, I tossed a clay vial to the dwarf. As he caught it, he looked up at me in confusion.

“That is one of my improved pain-relieving tinctures. Much better than that watered-down shit.” I informed the dwarf, who looked from the vial in his hand to the one still held by his team's healer.

“What makes ye say yours is better, lass?”

“Try it and ask me that again. Or don’t, I don’t really care.” I called out before turning my attention back to the battle just in time to see the Sarcosuchus lunge up out of the water and head straight for my brother.

Ge Hong, just you wait. I am going to show Kaledon what a fraud you are, you’ll be lucky if you ever manage to sell a single potion again.

“Oh, ay, she’s right, this is better. I feel great.” The dwarf exclaimed, jumping to his feet and looking around for his hammer.

“Bastian, you can’t go back. You need to rest some more, recover your energy.” Dorian told the dwarf who shrugged off his hand and ran back towards the battle.

“I don’t need rest; I’m missing the big one.” Bastian shouted over his shoulder as he charged at the Sarcosuchus with his hammer held aloft.

“The tincture has cats’ tongue for energy recovery, and blood moss to help with the recovery from blood loss.” I informed the healer who’d picked up the empty vial the dwarf tossed aside.

“You said the tincture I have is watered down, how do you know that? It is sold as an improved pain relief tincture.”

“It’s not,” I scoffed and dug my hand into my pouch, looking to see if I had any vials containing the original tincture.

“Here, this is the original pain-relieving tincture. It is made by infusing red Amanita mushrooms into alcohol; taste it, then taste your own. There is no difference in flavor to indicate any other ingredients, and the taste is fainter, the effect lessened.”

The bellowing roar of my brother drew my attention back to the fight to see Markion straddling the Sarcosuchus and slamming his ax down on the back of its head.

Roderick was in front of the beast, his shield jammed in its jaws, and I watched in awe as the shield buckled beneath the pressure of the prehistoric crocodile's bite. Noctus also straddled the massive crocodile, though he seemed to be there purely for his own amusement rather than actually contributing to the battle.

The Sarcosuchus slowed and stopped moving as Markion continued to slam his ax down on it from above. Cheers filled the air as my brother raised his fist with a victorious bellow.

After doing a quick scan of the river to make sure there were no remaining gold lights, I jumped down from the tree, and cautiously made my way down to where Markion still sat slumped over the back of the Sarcosuchus.

Reaching my brother, I stood back a few meters, not willing to go near the crocodile until I was a hundred percent sure it was dead.

“Here,” I called out, holding up a medium-sized vial in my brother's direction, tossing it towards him once he looked up.

“Cheers, Kads,” he sighed, pulling off the wax seal and gulping down the contents.

“What about us?” Noctus queried, swaggering over to where I stood and holding out a hand.

“Two silvers,” I told him bluntly.

Frowning he quickly withdrew his hand.

“What did you give him?” Bastian asked, looking at my brother as he let out a bellow and punched the air.

“I’ve been calling it Hype juice, it has a revitalizing effect about three times stronger than the tincture sold by most potioneers.”

“I’ll take five,” Killian called out, moving over to me and holding out a gold coin.

“Don’t drink all five at once, the recommended dose is one a day. When you want more, it can be purchased from the guild hall.” I informed the archer as I handed him the vials.

“Markion didn’t have to pay,” Noctus complained, watching me hand out vials to the other members of the hunting group.

“Markion prepaid a hundred gold, so he doesn’t have to pay me each time.” I informed the vampire who reluctantly handed me two silver coins.

“Cannonball!'' Hearing a loud shout, I looked up just in time to see a naked dwarf leaping into the river followed by the other members of the hunting team with the exclusion of Darius, Noctus, Conrad and Dorian.

“What are they doing?” I asked, bringing my hands up to cover my face and spinning so my back faced the water.

“Washing the blood off.” Noctus told me with a smirk as he sipped on his Hype juice.

“Without checking if there are any crocodiles left?”

“Are there?” Darius asked, looking at the water with a grin.

“No, but they don’t know that.”

“You’re right, they don’t.” Conrad the water mage said, a wicked grin crossing his lips.

Seconds later a shout was heard from the river, though it was quickly cut off as Bastian was dragged underwater. The response from the swimming men was instantaneous as they surged out of the water, racing for their discarded weapons.

Face buried in my hands, I listened to the sounds of yelling and splashing as the group searched for the non-existent crocodile which had attacked the dwarf.

Bastian, now on the riverbank, was blustering his way through a tale about how he’d only just managed to break free from the jaws of death as Conrad did his best to smother his laughter.

The cleanup from the crocodile hunt went smoothly, with the crocodiles being placed into enchanted canvas sacks and the Sarcosuchus secured to the back of the wagon.

I was surprised the wagon could hold all that weight, even with the hunting team having gutted it to ease the load.

When I’d spoken to the hunting team regarding the siren lilies, Killian had brought it to my attention that normally lilies will enter a dormant state during colder months.

Which would explain why a plant that should have been easily found was nowhere to be seen. On the bright side, my wagasa was recovered and only appeared to have gained a few scratches during its time under the ownership of the crocodiles.

“I can’t believe after everything, I still didn’t get my siren lilies.” I complained to Markion as I sat perched on the side of the chariot.

“You could always try the herbalist stores in the city.” He suggested.

I shook my head with a sigh.

“I tried, and none of the three stores in the city had any. Though considering they are out of season, it makes sense. They probably wouldn’t have worked for what I wanted anyway.” I grumbled, crossing my arms over my chest.

“Sorry, sis, I don’t know what to tell you.”

“It’s fine, I’ll just-” I started, my voice trailing off as a high-pitched shout interrupted me.

“Marky!”

Turning my head at the sound of a woman’s voice shrilly calling out, I saw a group of four centaurs trotting along carrying a palanquin with sheer, blue curtains.

“Ah, fuck.” My brother muttered, flicking the reins he held to increase the rhino's speed, but it was a futile effort.

Snickers from the group of riders surrounding us preceded them digging their heels into their mounts and galloping away from the slower moving chariot.

The only one who didn’t rush away was Dorian who was plodding along behind us, weighed down by the Sarcosuchus.

As the palanquin reached us, and the centaurs matched our pace, the curtains pulled back to reveal a beautiful, blonde-haired woman whose appearance sent my heart racing. Danica? No, it couldn’t be, she didn’t spend time in virtual worlds and even if she did, Danica was in prison. Wasn’t she?

“What do you want, Bianca?” Markion snapped, ignoring the woman as he tried to get the rhino to speed up.

“So mean,” the woman whined, giving an exaggerated pout.

Not Danica, then. The nose isn’t quite right, and she looks younger than Danica. This girl looks like she based her appearance on a picture from one of the magazines Danica used to model for.

“I just wanted to talk and see if you’d given any thought to what we discussed. Maybe you’d like to join me to talk privately.” Bianca crooned, reaching a hand towards my brother, and managing to scrape her long nails across the metal shoulder piece of his armor. Is this Danica pretender trying to hit on my brother?

A mixture of anger and amusement warred within me as Markion’s face screwed up in a disgusted grimace.

My choked laughter drew the attention of the elven Danica wannabe and she scowled down at me as I sat perched on the opposite side of the chariot.

“Who’s your little friend?” She asked, sitting up from her reclined position and opening the curtain to reveal more of her body, which was clad in a skimpy silk dress.

“She’s my sister; now, if you don’t mind, we’re busy.” Markion replied gruffly, moving to shield me from the woman's gaze.

“Your sister?”

Sneering, the woman gave me a slow, assessing look before saying something so stupid it actually made her more like Danica than her appearance did.

“You don’t look like his sister.” The false Danica stated, and I struggled against the desire to leap out of the chariot to claw her eyes out at the condescending tone she used.

When he didn’t say anything, I glanced at Markion who was staring ahead with a blank expression on his face, like he was trying to pretend the woman didn’t exist. Guess it’s up to me then. I decided, turning back to the woman with a fake smile.

“That's because our father got black out drunk one night and made his way into a farmer's barn, and well, Tada!” I exclaimed, waving my hand at my brother with a dramatic flair, as I tried to dispel my rising anger with humor.

This woman wasn’t Danica, but her mannerisms and behavior were so close to hers that they were driving me over the edge. It was a struggle not to see Danica in this woman, everything about her mirrored the woman who tormented me. I’d been doing so well at trying to keep myself from breaking down, yet this woman was able to shred every ounce of control I had with just one look.

This statement had two of the centaurs letting out muffled laughs, and left Markion slumping over the front of the chariot, wheezing for breath, but the woman on the palanquin looked less than impressed.

“I see you both have the same twisted sense of humor,” She commented, before turning her attention back to Markion. “Marky,” crooning, the elven woman once more reached for my brother, but he turned to give her a cold look.

“No, I’ve told you before, and I’ll tell you again. I have no interest in joining your guild, I don’t care what you can offer me. I am a founding member of Eternia and have no intention of leaving my guild for Dreadmere.”

Dreadmere? The guild of that scum, Ge hong?

“Markion,” the woman’s tone was almost scolding now. “You’re making a mistake; my guild is the strongest in Kaledon. That little guild is nothing more than a bunch of scavenging bottom feeders. You have a chance t-”

Bottom feeders? Shut up, just shut up before I- Drawing in a shaky breath, I screwed my eyes closed as I tried to drown my rage.

“Have you ever heard of the Stonefish?” I asked, opening my eyes, and glaring at the woman who just kept droning on and on.

Why didn’t she leave when Markion told her to? Why does she insist on destroying my life, no matter where I am? Danica was everywhere, her sickly sweet perfume permeated the air, her voice coming from all around me. I wanted her gone, wanted her dead.

“What?” Danica asked. I laughed, of course she didn’t know, she’d killed all her brain cells with that toxic perfume she drowned herself in.

“The Stonefish is an ugly little bottom-dwelling fish that when stepped on, will inject high quantities of venom into its victim, which is intensely painful and can be fatal.” I informed my stepmother sweetly as I dug my fingers into my pouch.

“What does that-”

“Don’t step on me, unless you want to get stung.” I told her coldly, flinging the metal dart I held straight towards her.

The moment the dart hit her, she let out an agonized scream and fell back onto the cushioned floor of the palanquin where she writhed, shrieking in pain.

The centaurs holding her palanquin came to a halt, dropping the palanquin to the ground and whilst two of them went to tend the woman, the others drew swords.

Laughing, I grabbed four more darts from my pouch, and flung them at each of the centaurs as Markion pulled the chariot to a stop.

Sliding down the side of the chariot, I continued laughing as tears poured over my cheeks.

“Kads, it’s okay Kads.” Big arms wrapped around me as my laughter faded into choked sobs, and I buried my face into my brother's armor-covered chest.

As I struggled to regain my composure, the sound of Dorian’s voice called out, causing me to stiffen in Markion’s hold.

“It’s okay, just stay in the chariot.” Markion said softly, rubbing a hand over my back as the wagon carrying Darion pulled up on the scene.

“What happened?” The healer asked, but I refused to turn in the healer's direction, not wanting him to see I’d been crying.

Huddled in the chariot, I wiped frantically at my face as Markion jumped down.

“Don’t ask, just keep going. We need to get out of here.” My brother called out, waving for Darion to keep moving.

As the sound of the wagon faded, I looked around for Markion, seeing him dragging the palanquin, along with the unconscious Dreadmere guild members off the road into the forest.

When Markion finally jumped back into the chariot and urged Buster to move along as fast as possible, he let out a low sigh.

“Kadia, do you even know what you just did? That woman is the Dreadmere guild leader's daughter, they literally call her the princess. The last person who angered her was hunted down relentlessly until they reset a new character and went into hiding.” He informed me as we sped along the road, easily catching up to the wagon.

“Oops?” I choked out, sniffling a little. “I’m sorry, she just—”

“I know, I feel the same, probably not as much as you, though.” He sighed, shaking his head. “You’ve potentially just set us at war with Dreadmere.”

“Weren’t we doing that anyway, though?” I asked furrowing my brows, didn’t Darius and Noctus say we were going to be working with the Whispers guild to bring down Dreadmere?

“Yes, but not like this.” Markion moaned, pressing a hand over his eyes. “What are you even doing with poison darts? Damn, I can’t decide whether I’m pissed at you or proud of how badass that was. That Stonefish line was smooth.”

“Well, Tink saw my scorchers and asked if I could help her make poison bolts for her crossbow. I’m not very good at using weapons like swords and thought I could maybe use a crossbow like Tink, but it was just too clunky for me.” I told him as I settled into a more comfortable position. “Tink suggested I use a sling and clay balls filled with poison, but I kept catching it on my tail when I tried to swing it around. Our next idea was to use throwing knives, which developed into throwing darts because I actually know how to throw them. These are just dipped in poison, but the second model she designed has a compartment that can be filled with one milliliter of liquid that will inject on impact.” I babbled excitedly, holding up one of my darts for him to see.

“You’ve always been good at darts, I stopped playing with you because it wasn’t fun when you always won.” Markion said, letting out a sigh. “What’d you put on em? Looks painful.”

“A poison, with some diluted scorcher venom. It’ll burn like hell for a few seconds, it’s more of a shock thing. I didn’t think they’d pass out like that,” I told him, furrowing my brow. “Guess I underestimated how effective it is. I might need to dilute it some more.”

“You killed them, so yeah, you might want do that if non lethal poison was your goal.” He told me with a smirk as we saw the group of riders milling about on the road ahead of us. “You can explain what happened to Darius, this is your fuck up.”

The reaction from the guild leader was almost the same as my brothers; shock, anger and finally, amusement.

“I guess it is a good thing you’re about to disappear into the desert for a few weeks. We’ll lock down the guild hall and release the recipes before we go. Hopefully they’ll be too busy trying to work out who gave out their guild’s secret recipes to put too much effort into retaliating against us.” Darius said, shaking his head before ordering the group to stay quiet regarding the situation .

“The Whisper guild will be the ones distributing the recipes, so we won’t have to worry about them knowing it was us who supplied them.” Noctus added with a grin before leaning down to where I stood in the chariot. “You better be planning to share some of that scorcher venom,” he drawled, and I smiled, pulling out a dart.

“Sure, where do you want it?” I asked, holding the dart up as though preparing to throw it at him.

“Bitch.”

“Vixen.” I corrected, much to the amusement of the group. Looking at the vampire, I pulled out a tiny glass vial of scorcher venom

“Unless you have your own glass vial, I can’t give you any. It eats through anything else, even metal. It is ten gold a drop.”

“Ten gold?” The vampire spluttered, looking at the vial I held.

“If you want it cheaper, you’re welcome to milk the scorchers yourself.” I told him with a smirk. Noctus shuddered, shaking his head.

I decided not to tell the vampire that I tamed two of the scorchers thanks to Yuki’s guidance and thus milking them for venom wasn’t as dangerous as it sounded. The other scorchers had been dissected for research, and I’d learned quite a bit about the lizard's anatomy from the experience.

Their ability to breathe fire was achieved by spitting out a mist of saliva which was highly flammable. This spittle, when placed into contact with the venom, would ignite, creating the explosive flamethrower effect. Something I’d learnt from first observing my bonded scorchers blowing spit bubbles which would catch fire.

I did want to bond with more than just the two scorchers, but as I was using a dominance bond, two had been my limit. When creating a dominance bond, I needed to push my mana into the creature and imprint my unique mana signature onto the creature's core. Because the mana that was used to imprint myself onto the creature would not regenerate, it would take a while to grow my core back to the point it had been before bonding the scorchers, though it would be faster if I was hunting creatures and gaining mana through their defeat.

Once we reached the guild farm and dropped the crocodile corpses off, I spoke briefly with Calidus, who would be overseeing the processing of the crocodiles. After hearing what parts I wanted from the corpse, the Onikuma also offered to render down the crocodile fat, which I agreed to split between myself and the guild kitchen.

* * *

Two hours later, we arrived back at the guild hall, and I immediately set to work copying out the recipes which our guild had agreed to supply to the Whispers for distribution.

The Dreadmere guild had three potions and one salve they sold, which they claimed were new creations of Ge Hong. The light foot potion, a wound healing potion, a paralysis poison and the daylight salve for vampires.

Taking in consideration that all the recipes were creations of Egenor Barothlas of Calisium, I guessed Ge Hong must have a book or grimoire written by the historical alchemist.

“That’s the last one,” I said with a sigh, dropping my pen and massaging my cramping hand.

“I didn’t expect the recipes to be so long. They’re practically a book in themselves.” Noctus commented, picking up the vellum journal.

“It isn’t just the recipe,” I said, looking up at Darius, and Noctus who stood crowded around my desk. “I’ve included information on each component used and Egenor Barothlas’s notes regarding the potion. I’ve also added a fourth potion which- looking at these in order of difficulty, might be the next one Ge Hong claims and sells. It is called the far-sight potion, and according to Egenor Barothlas’s notes it will allow the drinker to see objects clearly up to five hundred meters away for approximately ten minutes, depending on mental fortitude. If you lack the ability to focus, it will wear off sooner.”

Darius rubbed a hand over his chin with a thoughtful hum. “That’ll certainly stir them up. There have been rumors Dreadmere’s fighters are the most skilled at ranged combat. Noctus, go deliver this to Van.”

The vampire nodded, and I watched as a swirl of shadow engulfed the vampire, who disappeared from sight.

“One of these days, I’m going to invent an anti-vampire potion or something to stop him doing that in my lab.” I said, scowling at the spot where the vampire had been.

Darius chuckled. “It isn’t hard, just light the room to the point there are no shadows large enough for him to travel through.”

The guild leader then inclined his head towards the tank holding my two scorchers. Both of my scorchers, now named Sting and Scorch, were clinging to the walls of one of the caves, their bioluminescent tails creating a soft orange glow.

“What happened to the rest of them?” Darius asked, raising a brow.

“I dissected them,” I told him, grabbing the journal I kept near the tank and flipping it open to show him the diagrams of scorcher anatomy I had drawn.

“Have you made any progress on a cure?” He asked, flipping through the journal and stopping at my notes about the venom.

“Not a cure, but I did discover something interesting, and I think I may be close. Wait over there.” I called out, directing the guild leader to a nearby bench.

Moving to the ice box, I pulled two vials of blood from the makeshift fridge compartment and carried it back over to the bench. Setting two test tubes in the wooden holder, I added a small amount of blood from each vial into a test tube, then pulled out my vial of scorcher venom.

“This test tube contains blood from a scorcher, and this tube contains my blood. Now watch the reaction when I add the venom to my blood,” I instructed as I dipped a slender glass rod with a very small lip at the bottom into the vial of venom.

Carefully I scooped up a small amount of the thick venom and dropped it into the test tube containing my blood.

The moment it came into contact with the venom, the blood in the test tube began to bubble and boil. After several seconds, what was once red blood, was now a thickened, black sludge that filled the jar with tiny plumes of smoke.

“Now I will add the venom to the scorcher blood.”

This time there was no reaction from the blood, and even adding a second drop of the venom left it completely unresponsive.

“So, the scorchers are unaffected by their own venom?” Darius asked, glancing at the two test tubes.

“Yes, and I think this is the key to finding the anti-venom. If I had a centrifuge, I could separate the blood cells, platelets and plasma. Normally, anti-venom is created by injecting low doses of venom into a donor animal whose body will begin to create antibodies to fight the venom. Those antibodies are then extracted from the plasma and used to create anti-venom.” I explained, looking down at the blood with a sigh.

“Tink is mulling over some ideas for a centrifuge using enchantments to spin it, but I don’t think it will be something we can manage anytime soon. In the meantime I will attempt it using a pedal operated version that Markion is working on.”

“Is there another way to make anti-venom?”

“No, the only other thing I can do is create something to treat the symptoms of the venom. This is a fantasy world, so maybe there is a potion that can act as an anti-venom.” I told him as I poured the blood into my disposal barrel and cleaned out the test tubes.

“I’ll leave it with you, then,” Darius said, glancing around the lab. “Have you packed up everything you intend to bring?”

“Yes, I’ve sorted out portions of everything here into jars to bring with me. What I’m leaving behind is only the stuff Taurie needs and what arrives while we are away. Taurie will be sorting and storing it all for me. I’ll also be bringing my scorchers as Taurie didn’t feel comfortable looking after them.”

“We’ll be leaving at four in the morning to line up for the portal.” The guild leader reminded me.

“I’ll be at the main doors at a quarter to four.” I promised, getting a nod in response from Darius who left the lab to go finish his own preparations for the trip.

Finally alone, I moved to the bench near the door where a leather pouch lay with a scrap of paper.

Kadia,

These are the darts I have finished working on. There are a hundred standard darts and twenty-five injectable darts. This pouch will recall all darts within a fifty-meter radius once activated and has been made to fit your belt. The outside of the pouch has six slots that can hold darts for easier access. I also placed a bracer inside the pouch which can hold another six darts. As we discussed, the fletcher’s have used white feathers with no dye and have supplied dyes separately so you can dye the feathers to match what you use the dart for.

Good luck in Valonia.

Tink

Setting the letter aside, I opened the small square pouch and tipped the darts into four separate baskets. The injectable darts I left in the pouch, as I wasn’t yet sure what I wanted to use in them. The dyes supplied by the fletchers were in powder form and only contained the three primary colors.

After mixing the yellow and red dye in water to make a shade of orange, I dipped the feathers of the first batch of darts into the dye. Those would be the darts I coated in the diluted scorcher venom, with the second basket of darts also getting the orange dye, but with the ends of the feathers dipped in black ink to mark them as having undiluted scorcher venom.

The next twenty-five darts were dyed a color I decided to call bile yellow and were dipped in a concentrated version of the paralysis poison which was one of the recipes Ge Hong claimed as his own, and was made using Viper vines.

When I first read the description of the Viper vine, it said the vines attacked with a corrosive poison, which, as I’d learnt from observing the live vines brought back by the two tengu, was not true at all.

The vines would attack with a pair of sharp thorns that resembled fangs, and those fangs secreted a substance that affected the body's nervous system; leaving the prey paralyzed.

Once the prey animal was paralyzed, the Viper vine’s roots would grow upwards through the earth where they pierced the prey and drained it of nutrients. This left the prey animal appearing like it had been eaten away, which it had been, just not by poison as the book claimed.

That meant I couldn’t trust the information I found in the books I’d acquired, as it was clear whomever wrote the plants and fungi book did not spend the appropriate amount of time observing the Viper vines.

The last twenty-five darts I dyed a pale blue and were for the poison I made in an attempt to create a cure for Scorcher venom.

When Yuki returned from her trip with twenty ice wisp cores, and a pouch full of exotic plants found on the mountains, I’d been ecstatic until they all wilted away to basically nothing. Only the snow flower seeds remained in the mush that had once been a bright blue and white version of a sunflower.

I wasn’t entirely sure why I thought grinding ice wisp cores into powder and mixing it with oil extracted from snow flower seeds would cure scorcher venom, perhaps it was the crow hovering over my shoulder directing me to create the icy poison.

The result had been a poison that would freeze a person or creature's blood and internal organs, killing them within minutes. However, the small amount coating the darts would only cause a painful chilling feeling to spread through the body which would last five minutes, before their body's natural warmth dispelled it.

Sadly, freezing ice wisps into poison had been a failed endeavor; even with Yuki boosting the ice wisps regeneration with her mana, we only manage to create normal ice wisps. Even placing the wisp cores in the poison made with the snow flower seeds didn’t work.

Hopefully, when Lena the Kitsune who’d created poison wisps was able to meet with me, she would be able to provide some insight into how her poison wisps were formed.

Once the last of the darts were finished, I attached two of each dart to the pouch and six of the orange tipped darts to the bracer I now wore around my wrist.

Each dart was held snugly in place with a loop, and I was protected from the tip, which was tucked beneath a flap of leather that ran around the bottom of the bracer.

After removing my dye-stained leather gloves, I tossed them into the bag attached to my thigh and pulled out my timepiece.

Just past midnight. Preparing all those darts took longer than I thought it would. Humming under my breath, I put the timepiece away and moved over to the tank holding my scorchers.

Removing the tank lid, I reached inside and gently removed both juvenile scorchers, placing them on the bench where they sat motionless while I poured some of the sand from the tank into a glass jar.

After transferring the sand, I placed both scorchers, who were just under an inch long, into the jar and covered the top with a piece of leather with air holes punched into it.

The leather wouldn’t stop the scorchers burning their way out of the jar if they wanted out, but with the bond I was able to ensure neither scorcher would escape the jar.

Securing the lab, I made my way through the empty forge and into the guild hall, which only had a handful of occupants sitting at the various tables.

Finding myself a seat, I pulled out one of the books I was translating for Noctus and flipped it open, intending to pass the remaining time until our departure by working on the vampire’s books.

A cacophony of chattering voices, neighing horses, along with various animals’ grunts and snorts filled the air, as hundreds of people streamed out of the western city gates towards two stone pillars located atop a small hill.

Holding tight to Arion’s reins, I did my best to keep my horse calm as we stood in the crowd, waiting for the portal to become active.

To my left Markion stood with his rhino Basher, who no longer wore his heavy metal armor.

The rhino now sported a fancy saddle with a maroon caparison that was embroidered with the guild’s insignia. My horse also wore a similar caparison, as did those being led by the hunting team.

Aside from Darius and Markion, the hunting team led by Roderick was also accompanying us.

“There are so many people.” I murmured, looking around at the crowd pressed around us.

Markion nodded in agreement. “A lot of people want to use the portals, it’s safer than traveling there by horse or foot. You should see the crowds for the other cities, they are three times as big. Valonia isn’t a popular city, as it is surrounded by desert and extremely hot.” My brother informed me, gesturing to his loincloth clad body. “Why do you think I’m not wearing any armor? I’ll roast in it the moment we cross over.”

He wasn’t the only one not wearing armor, though my brother was the only one wearing so little clothing. The rest of our group, myself included, wore loose trousers and long-sleeved hooded tunics made of light cotton. The exception was Roderick, who left off his tunic, leaving his red scaled torso bare.

I wonder if he is cold blooded? Thoughtfully, I eyed the gleaming red scales covering the hunting team leader's upper body.

“Caw.”

The low croaking call of a crow drew my attention away from the Draekin and I tilted my head to the side as Zosimos swooped down to land on my shoulder.

Something soft brushed across my cheek and a sharp floral scent filled the air.

Reaching up, I took the stem of flowers from the crow’s mouth, admiring the dozens of tiny orange and red bell-shaped blossoms dangling from the stem.

“What is that?” Markion asked, glancing down at me.

“Bells of Dawn, a flower which blooms only as the sun rises.” I murmured appreciatively.

Balancing the stem on Arion’s saddle, I plucked off a single blossom and crumbled it between my fingers, leaving them coated in a wet, sticky paste which I rolled into a tiny ball.

Covering the ball formed by the crushed petals and juices with my left hand, I allowed the heat of my inner fire to warm my palms, creating a miniature oven between my clasped hands.

Once I felt the stickiness of the ball dissipate, I removed the hand covering it and pinched the pill between my fingers, holding it up for my brother to see.

“Eating this is the equivalent of drinking five cups of coffee. Bells of Dawn are the main ingredient in my Hype juice. Processing them like this is necessary as they wilt an hour after dawn and lose all medicinal value.”

Dropping the pill into a vial, I repeated the process twenty more times with the remaining blossoms as we waited for the portal to be activated.

“What would happen if I swallowed all of those?” My brother asked, looking over my shoulder as I capped the vial with wax.

“Your heart would explode.” I told him bluntly, slipping the vial into my pouch, and offering the now-stripped stem to Arion who took it happily.

“Is it safe for him to eat that?” Dorian called out worriedly from behind me, and I glanced over my shoulder at the healer.

“It is fine, the stem lacks any of the natural caffeine. The stem tastes very sweet and many animals are drawn to the Bells of Dawn because of its taste. Sadly, this can result in death when animals consume the flowers along with the stem, which has led to the belief among many farmers that Bells of Dawn is a poisonous plant.” I explained, reciting what I’d read in my book on plants and fungi.

Dorian nodded and looked ready to ask another question, but a low humming filled the air, drawing everyone's attention to the two pillars atop the hill.

The air felt thick and for a brief moment I struggled to pull air into my lungs. The world around us fell silent, no one spoke, no animals cried out, the only sound to be heard was the humming coming from the stone pillars which began to glow brightly in the soft light of dawn.

Peering at the pillars, I could see nothing different about the space between them, but the line of people slowly began moving forwards up the hill.

As our group crested the hill, drawing nearer to the pillars, I was able to see the front of the line as people simply walked through the space between the pillars and down the winding path on the other side of the hill.

Except they weren’t, I realized as we got closer. The people walking through the pillars from our side, weren’t the same ones who walked down the far side of the hill, unless they somehow changed their appearance and clothing in under a second.

“Are those people on the other side from Valonia?” I asked in confusion, as I saw a blond woman walk through and morph into a man with a donkey who walked down the far side of the hill.

“Yeah, it’s a bit surreal, isn’t it? Almost like they are shape-shifting into different people.” Markion joked as we reached the pillars.

Without hesitation, Darius who was leading our group walked through the pillars, followed by Roderick and my brother.

Tightening my hold on Arion’s reins, I followed with Dorian close behind me.

Hot air blasted me in the face like a slap, and my steps faltered as I stared at the vastly changed world around me. Where I’d previously been standing on a grassy hill, I now stood on a raised platform built from smooth, red stone.

A hand gently pushing my shoulder propelled me forwards, and I moved quickly to catch up to my brother who was walking down an inclined ramp.

Sweat dripped down my neck as the sun blazed down on me and the air tasted dry, leaving a raw scratchy feeling in my throat.

The land around the raised platform was almost completely flat aside from some rocky outcroppings and what appeared to be a large wall in the some red stone. The wall spanned across the desert, disappearing into a wispy mirage on either side.

Pulling up the hood of my tunic for some extra protection against the sun, I grabbed my water flask, taking several large gulps.

“Don’t drink it all at once,” Dorian warned from behind me. “Even with a water mage with us, water isn’t an easy resource to attain in the desert. Conrad needs to pull water from a source, and if there are no rivers or lakes nearby, he pulls it from the air. As I’m sure you can feel, the air here is rather dry.”

Even with the cooling enchantments on my clothes this heat is unbearable, ugh, is it too late to go back? Lips pressing into a thin line, I reluctantly capped my flask. Whose dumb idea was this trip? Markion? Yeah, it was, wasn’t it. Through narrowed eyes I glowered at my brothers back.

As we reached the bottom of the ramp, I saw that the platform was actually the roof of a large, square building that reminded me of the temples built by ancient civilizations. Tents were set up along the sides of the building and groups of people were lining up in front of each tent.

Following Darius, our group headed towards one of the tents and gathered off to the side whilst the guild leader joined the line.

Unable to bear the sun blazing down on me, I pulled my wagasa from where it was strapped to Arion’s saddle and popped up the canopy.

“I wonder if I can create a balm with a cooling effect if I dilute the snow flower oil? The snow flower oil undiluted is cold enough that it can cause frostbite when coming into contact with the skin, but perhaps if I dilute it into a salve the effect will be less dangerous. Maybe add in some mint as well?” I suggested, looking at the crow who’d perched himself on Arion’s back.

“Caw.”

“Hmm,” I nodded humming thoughtfully. “We need the Muroosa bush to create a balm from the oil produced by the leaves. It has sun blocking properties, so perhaps that would work well as an additional additive.”

“Caw.”

“Lass, ya do know tha yer talking to a bird, right?” Bastian called from where he stood beside his own horse.

“I do know- and Zosimos is a better conversationalist than most.”

“Ay, and why is that?”

“Because he knows better than to state the obvious.” I informed the dwarf, getting a round of chuckles from the group.

From there the conversation moved on to complaints about the heat and the sand which was already creeping into boots.

As the men joked around, I returned my attention to Zosimos, murmuring to him softly. We’d worked out a system of one caw for yes and two for no, it worked well for us with Zosimos being able to get his point across through other means if the yes or no answers weren’t enough.

“Hey, boss man- everything good?” Looking up at the sound of Roderick’s booming voice, I saw Darius approaching the group with a scowl etched onto his face.

“Mount up, we’ll ride out and find somewhere to camp until dusk.” He ordered, taking the reins to his horse from Markion and mounting in a smooth motion.

“Camping? Aren’t we going to the city to—” I started, but the guild leader cut me off.

“We’ve been denied entry into the city as a group, they’ll allow one of us to enter to purchase supplies under escort for an hour only.” Darius informed us as we mounted our horses- or in Markion’s case- rhino. “We were already prepared not to purchase supplies from Valonia, however, I’d hoped to have a chance to collect some bounties and such from the guards to improve our reputation with the city lord.”

The guild leader glanced around the group, his eyes looking wary as he took us in.“They’ve offered us a single bounty, and it isn’t a good one.”

Roderick scowled, his arms crossed over his chest. “What’s the bounty?”

Darius sighed, his lips pressed into a thin line. “There’s a seven-headed Sand Hydra in the canyons south of the Tomb of Ra. It’s the same four-headed Hydra they were handing out a bounty on when our guild was kicked out of Valonia.”

“Seven? That thing’s got seven bloody heads now?” Bastian spluttered, looking aghast. His Scottish accent dropping away to reveal the posh British inflection that was his natural voice.

“That damned Hydra wiped three hunting teams in under ten minutes last we went at it.” Killian added.

“Right, and that was when it only had three heads. The fourth was thanks to Markion’s axe.” Roderick chimed in, giving my brother a scowl.

“How the fuck was I meant to know?” The Minotaur argued. “We didn’t know it was a Hydra back then, they called it a three-headed sand cobra.”

Mouth agape, I sat on my horse trying to build a mental image of the creature.

After another few minutes of arguing back and forth, it was decided we would bypass the city for now, with Roderick suggesting we return another time. Perhaps if we brought back some of the creatures that bounties were commonly issued for, the guards would be more willing to allow entry to our group.

As we rode, the hunting team complained about the unfairness of being barred from the city. I agreed with them in that regard, as I’d been looking forward to exploring the city which Markion claimed felt like walking through an ancient Egyptian city.

“I thought you said the guild was regaining reputation with the city,” I asked Darius as we continued slowly riding away from the portal and city.

“We have been, and I thought we were on better terms. The last hunting team to pass through said they were permitted entry under escort and I expected we would receive the same treatment. I do not know why they insisted on restricting us to one person, as Corvus’s team reported they’d encountered no issues during their visit to the city and parted with the guards on good terms.” The guild leader explained, looking up from the map he held.

“We should reach the outpost in an hour,” he called towards the group, receiving a few grunts in reply.

“What is at the outpost?”

“A small village made up of a few buildings occupied by members of the Kemet tribes who act as guides through the desert. The Kemet are a human race, whose culture resembles that of the ancient Egyptians. Their race specializes in necromantic and shamanistic magic.”

I shook my head, before correcting his misinformation. “Actually, Kemet is what the ancient Egyptians were called; well, Kemet is referring to Egypt. They called themselves People of Kemet.”

Darius nodded, looking amused. “Markion said the same thing when we first encountered the Kemet tribes.”

He did? Looking over my shoulder, I saw my brother looking at me with a big grin.

“It was right after you made me go with you to that Pharaohs exhibit at the virtual museum. You were talking about it for days and it kind of stuck with me. Just wait until we reach the pyramids, they are better than that virtual tour we took of the actual pyramids! Though, you need to be careful of the mummified creatures trying to kill you.” Markion said.

I don’t know if I should be horrified or excited by that news. Do I want to visit historically accurate pyramids? Yes. Do I want to see mummified creatures that are moving around trying to kill people? No. Is the chance to explore a pharaoh's tomb worth facing mummies? Maybe.

The sight of half a dozen buildings on the horizon filled me with such an overwhelming feeling of relief that I almost cried.

Please, please don’t be a mirage. I silently pleaded as Arion plodded along behind Darius’s gray mare who was leading the group.

“There’s the outpost.” Darius called, his voice muffled by the cloth covering the lower half of his face.

“Thank the gods.” Killian muttered from his place behind me.

Clutching my wagasa tightly, I squinted, trying to make out more of the buildings as we approached. This was the first thing other than sand and some sparse rocky outcroppings that I’d seen during our trek through the desert.

As we drew closer to the outpost, I saw several tents pitched near the few buildings. The buildings were made from a mixture of clay and small rocks, cracks could be seen on some of the walls, and the thatched roofs looked in need of replacement.

Near the center of the outpost, a group of camels, horses, donkeys, and large raptors were tied to wooden stakes under the shade of several palm trees.

As we rode past the buildings, a few people looked up, but did not verbally acknowledge us as we made our way to an open area where half a dozen tents were pitched.

“We’ll pitch our tents here until it cools, then move on.” Darius stated, bringing his mare to a halt.

Letting out a sigh of relief, I collapsed the canopy of my wagasa and dismounted, almost falling as my knees buckled.

Stumbling, I clutched at Arion’s saddle to steady myself.

“You okay, Kadia?” Darius asked, giving me a side glance as he pulled a rolled bundle of canvas from his saddle bag.

“Just need a minute.” I managed to rasp out through my dry, cracked lips.

“Drink some water and eat something.” He advised, moving to lay out the tent he carried.

Nodding, I reached into my bag, searching for one of the apples Bron had given me earlier in the morning.

The sweet, refreshing fruit was exactly what I needed to get the dirty taste of sand out of my mouth. Pulling a second apple from my bag, I cut off a small slice for Zosimos before offering the rest to Arion.

Once I’d finished with my apple, I gave Arion the core and, after seeing everyone diligently setting up tents, retrieved my tent token. Ripping the paper token in two, I watched as a cylindrical bag made of leather appeared at my feet.

Wasn’t it meant to be a tent? Damn, I should have realized it wasn’t going to magically put itself together.

Carrying the heavy leather bag, which looked more like a rolled up sleeping bag than a tent, over to an empty spot between Markion and Darius’s tents, I knelt to pull a roll of canvas out of the bag along with a wooden mallet and fourteen metal stakes.

Okay, now what? I stared down at the items on the ground. Shouldn’t there be instructions or something?

“What a rip off.” I grumbled to myself as I searched the bag for any instructions.

“Need a hand, sis?” Markion called, as he walked out of his own tent.

Looking at his already upright tent in jealousy, I nodded, and he came over to inspect my bundle of items.

“Right, the first step is unrolling the tent completely and laying out the guy ropes.”

“The what-ropes?” I asked, as we began unrolling the canvas.

“Guy ropes, they’re the ropes attached to the outside of your tent and are staked into the ground to keep the tent from being blown away.” My brother explained, lifting up a rope that was attached to one of the corners.“The trick with these kinds of tents is to fold the top rope in half and pull it out. Then mark the halfway point with your foot and stake the end there.”

Folding the rope over so it created a loop, Markion handed me the end of the rope then dragged the looped center of the rope across the sand, before waving for me to bring him the end along with the mallet and a stake.

“You don’t want to stretch the top ropes out fully, because they are attached to the roof and it won't go up all the way if they are too tight.” He said.

“Wouldn’t it be better to stake it down after we put the tent up? Isn’t that what they do in survival shows?” I asked as Markion hammered down the stake. “Shouldn’t there be poles?”

“They’re sown into the canvas; tent poles are made from a dried vine that is very flexible. Even the cheapest, basic level tents are constructed using the vine in place of metal or wood poles. Once we’ve staked down the roof, you need to crawl inside and undo the tether. The tether is holding the ‘poles’ down and once you release it the tent will pop up into shape.” Markion lectured as he continued hammering in stakes.

Once the stakes were hammered into place, Markion lifted the front section of the canvas where the door was and I crawled inside, searching for the tether my brother said would be there.

Getting inside the tent wasn’t easy, as the canvas was heavy and impeded my progress. Sweat beaded across my skin, while my head pounded and ached, the heat inside the collapsed tent was three times worse than being outside.

“Markion, I can't find the tether.” I called out, my voice muffled by the canvas.

“Can’t you?” My brother responded, letting out a booming laugh as a swoosh of air filled the tent, and the heavy weight of the canvas lifted off me, rising into the air. “Yo, sis, what are you doing lying around on the floor?”

Markion chortled, his eyes dancing with amusement as he ducked his head into the tent with a wide grin.

“You- what the hell Marcus.” I snapped, scrambling to my feet with a glare.

“Come on, Kads, you’re meant to be the smart one. You didn’t see me or the others crawling around in our tents, did you?” He mocked, waving a cord he held between his fingers at me.

“The tether is at the door, to pop the tent up you just undo the knot, to collapse the tent you pull it out like this.” He said, yanking the cord and pulling it out hand over hand.

“Stop!” Yelling at him in a high pitched shriek as the tent collapsed around me, I dashed towards the door only for my brother to release the cord which sprang from his hands, disappearing into a pocket sewn along the seams of the tent. Even though the Minotaur stopped collapsing the tent on top of me, I didn’t halt my charge.

Oomph. A gasp as the air left his lungs was the only reaction Markion gave as I rammed him with all my strength.

Seconds after impact, a big hand clamped around the back of my tunic, hoisting me up into the air. Held at eye level with the smug looking Minotaur, I let out a low growl, swiping at his muzzle with fiery claws.

“Fuck,” crying out in pain, Markion dropped me to the ground where I landed on my ass with a hard thump.

Instinct took over and in a flash I was on all fours with my teeth buried into the fleshy fetlock of the Minotaur’s leg. The metallic tang of blood coated my tongue, and I dug my teeth deeper into the leg as it lifted into the air.

“Let go, fuck, Kadia. Get off or you’re going to get hurt.” Markion yelled, his words barely penetrating past the rage fueled haze filling my mind.

Sharp teeth dug into the nape of my neck, and a low growl vibrated through me as I was yanked back by my scruff. Fear and anger coursed through me as the creature holding me shook my smaller body back and forth.

Burn him, burn him, burn him.

Fire exploded outwards from within me, racing from my core out to the tips of my fur and beyond in a wave of flame. The teeth clamped around my nape disappeared, and I fell to the sand, spinning around to see a large black wolf pawing at the singed fur of his muzzle.

“What is wrong with her?” A loud voice called out, and with a snarl, I spun to see two men rushing towards me.

“It’s heat rage, we need to cool her off.” The shorter of the two yelled, his curly blond hair identifying him as the group's healer.

Icy water poured over me in a wave, knocking me off my feet. Shaking the wetness from my fur, I turned in the direction the water came from and saw a slender, pointy-eared man standing with his hands outstretched.

Staring at the elven man, I allowed my inner fire to push out through my fur, causing the surrounding water to form clouds of steam. Using the steam clouds as cover, I crouched low, preparing to lunge at the elf when the wolf appeared again, batting me to the side with a large, black paw.

Before I could find my feet, the wolf's teeth once more found my nape, as it hoisted me up off the ground and ran across the hot sand with me held tightly in its jaws.

Suddenly I was flying through the air, my limbs flailing about aimlessly, before I landed in a shallow pool of water with a loud splash.

Shakily getting to my feet, I stared at the wolf who stood on the edge of the water, staring at me with fierce eyes. With a huff, I turned my back on the wolf, slumping down in the water so my entire body was submerged, only my ears and muzzle poking up out of the water.

“Looks like she be spending too much time with those crocs.” An accented voice said, but I ignored it as I soaked my heated body in the cool water.

“It’s my fault, this is her first time in the desert. As the group healer, I should have noticed she wasn’t handling the heat well.”

I’m not a child, I don’t need a babysitter. I sulked, trying to tune out the voices of the other guild members.

“At least she is small, remember when Calidus went nuts during our first days in the desert? Damned bear almost tore my arm off.” Roderick grumbled. I snorted, causing small ripples in the water.

“I thought she would handle the heat better, being so attuned to fire and all. Yuki didn’t seem bothered at all by the heat.” Markion said.

A pang of guilt shot through me at the sound of his voice, and I moved deeper into the water.

“Yuki already had her ice wisp at that stage and was using it to cool herself.” The gruff voice of the guild leader caused my ears to pin back against my head. An animalistic part of me wanting to cower before him, whilst another part was disgusted at the thought of submitting to the wolf.

“Leave her there for now, we need to finish pitching the tents. Let her cool off in the water and regain her senses.”

I already have, I’m just too embarrassed to get out or change back. I sighed with relief at the sound of their fading footsteps. Sitting up on my haunches, I glanced around at the trees surrounding the pool of water.

This must be the oasis we rode past, I mused as I paddled through the shallows towards the edge of the water.

Movement in the water to my left had me instinctively jerking back as a serpentine body struck towards me, skimming the front of my nose.

In a fear-fueled dash, I bounded out of the water towards the bank as the snake struck out towards me again. Reaching the sand, I ran up several steps before spinning around as the snake followed me.

Coiling itself up, the snake prepared another strike and as it did, I leapt to the side, lunging for the back of its wide flat head with my teeth. The snake writhed beneath me, its body twisting, trying to wrap around me as I held its head pinned in my jaws.

As the snake successfully got two coils around my torso and began to squeeze, I realized I’d screwed up. The snake was not dead, and no matter how hard I bit down I could not pierce through its scales with my teeth.

All I could do was hold the head in my jaws as it slowly tightened its hold on me. If I released it, the snake would bite me, if I stayed here holding it, the snake would surely crush my rib cage.

Ensuring I had a firm grip on the writhing snake, I slowly trudged back to the tents, the snake constricting with every strained breath I took.

Spotting the massive form of a Minotaur walking towards me, leading my horse and his rhino, I stopped walking and waited for him to notice me.

“What the- shit, Kadia. Crap, hold on.” Markion called out, dropping the reins of both mounts to grab his massive ax.

Get this thing off me. I growled low in my throat as the Minotaur approached with his ax.

“Markion, what’s going- oh shit!” Killian exclaimed as he appeared, leading another two mounts.

Reaching me, Markion gently placed his ax against the cobra’s neck, rubbing it back and forth along the scales.

I could feel through the snake's body when he severed the head and I began to wriggle my body free of the loosening coils, keeping a firm grip on the head. No way was I risking a bite if the snake had some kind of nerve reflex.

“You better hope that was a normal snake, and not a Hydra.” Killian joked as he walked past, leading the horses over to the oasis for a drink.

I scowled in the mans direction as magic covered my body, and my form shifted from having four legs to two.

Once back in my humanoid form, I said a softly muttered thanks to my brother and carried my trophy towards the tents as Markion led our mounts over to the water for a drink.

When my brother warned me that there was danger with every step taken in the desert, I thought he was joking. I inspected the cobra which had golden brown scales that darkened around the head and hood.

I should look through Barlow’s Bestiary to see if I can match it to any of the drawings of snakes, though it would be more helpful if the bestiary wasn’t so old. Most of the pages are so worn and faded it’s almost impossible to read. I sighed, frowning down at the snake. One would think a book gifted by a god would be a little more useful.

As I reached my tent, I saw that Markion had set my horses tack on the ground just outside the door flap.

Dropping the snake down onto the ground next to my saddle bags, I glanced around the empty space inside the tent with a frown.

“I should have just bought a plain tent, spending so much on an unfurnished tent was a scam. Then again, that entire situation was a scam.” I muttered, scuffing my boot across the thick canvas floor of the tent.

“You should have a token for the tent's furnishing crate,” a voice called out from behind me.

Startled, I spun to see the guild leader standing just inside the tent, arms folded over his chest.

“Darius, I-” I stuttered, feeling my cheeks start to burn. What does someone say after they go berserk, and attack everyone?

“Are you feeling better?” He asked, walking further into the tent.

I nodded, unable to meet his eyes. “I’m sorry.”

The words came out as a low whisper, but I knew with his canine ears he would hear it.

“Heat rage is something that occurs to everyone.” Darius explained. “We have all experienced it at one time or another. If you spend too much time in the desert and become overheated, you fall into a rage, attacking anything near you. That is why we travel when it is cooler and limit our exposure to the heat. We should have realized that at your lower power level, you would not be able to endure the heat as long as the rest of us can.”

Reaching out a hand, the guild leader pressed it to my forehead. I stiffened at the unexpected contact.

Darius frowned, pulling back his hand. “You’re still feeling hot and the temperature outside is only going to rise as the day continues on, it isn’t even noon yet, so this is still considered cool for the desert.”

“Cool? This is cool?” I asked, it gets worse?

“I know, hard to believe isn’t it?” The guild leader said with a chuckle, then pointed to the pouch on my belt. “Check your bag for a token, you should have an enchanted crate or chest for the tent’s furnishings.”

Staring at the transparent screen in front of me, I flicked through the dozens of paper tokens searching for crates. I did have a stack of tokens for a dozen enchanted storage chests, but I was pretty sure they weren’t what Darius was talking about.

Damn, I brought a lot of random crap. With a grimace as I flicked past a stack of tokens for glass vials and found the token with an image of a large wooden crate.

Removing the token from my bag, I tore the paper in half and only just missed getting my toes crushed by a wooden crate as it appeared in front of me.

“We’ll need to move it to the center of the room before you open it.” Darius instructed, coming over to help me drag the crate into the middle of the tent.

At the center of the room, I noticed that there was a very faint line on the floor creating a rectangle, which the crate fit perfectly into. Once the crate was in place, Darius lifted the lid, before walking backwards towards the door carrying the lid and gestured for me to exit the tent with him.

“The crate won’t unfold with any living creatures inside the tent, same goes for it folding back up.” The guild leader explained.

Just as Darius finished speaking, the sides of the crate collapsed to lay flat on the floor. Nothing happened for a moment, then the flattened crate began glowing, and started to spin in circles on the floor, spinning faster and faster. The spinning crate expanded in size, before with a loud clatter, it spread to cover the floor of the tent.

Blinking away the spots dancing before my eyes, I saw that my tent now looked just as it had in the images shown in the book. The floor of the tent was now a raised wooden platform, with the left side consisting of the workspace and the right side as living quarters.

The workspace was furnished with two benches that ran along the side wall and half of the rear wall, with a flat-topped stone furnace in the middle of the space, its chimney poking up through the central point of the pitched roof.

A curtain made of the same canvas material as the tent was stretched across the room, with a small flap near the front wall allowing for access into the living space.

Walking into the living space, it was split into two by the second curtain that was tied back. The front half of the living space contained a chabudai table with four pillows laid around it for seating and the second room was furnished with a plush looking futon.

The guild leader gestured around the room, his voice taking an informative tone as he explained some of the tent's features. “You can add additional furnishings by having them inscribed with a rune that binds them to the furnishing crate. Both the furniture piece, and the location it belongs in, are marked so the crate can place it in the correct location. However, I don’t recommend adding anything you want to remove from the tent, as the crate will not allow items to be taken outside. If I left with one of those pillows, the moment I stepped off the raised floor created by the crate, it would disappear back to its inscribed location. We have a similar enchantment in the guild hall for the furniture there, and other items we don’t want guild members or guests to remove.”

Magic really is amazing. How different would our lives be if we had magic on Earth. I pondered as I followed the guild leader out of the tent to carry my saddle bags inside.

“You should put your hair up, having it down like that is only going to make you feel hotter,” The guild leader advised with a light smile as we carried the bags inside.

“It comes undone when I change forms. I don’t understand why my hair is affected, but my clothes aren’t.” I complained.

“That’s because it’s magic,” Darius exclaimed, widening his eyes and spreading his hands dramatically.

The guild leader then pressed a hand to my shoulder to turn me away from him. Hesitantly I did as he directed, stiffening as he began gathering up my hair and started to braid it.

“You know how to braid hair?” I asked, not sure how to let him know how uncomfortable I was with the situation I suddenly found myself in.

“I used to help my sister with her hair each morning. We lost our parents when she was nine and I was eleven, our aunt worked two jobs so wasn’t home much. I was the one who looked after her most of the time.” Darius told me, and I could tell he cared deeply for her from the tone of his voice.

“Is your sister still around? Is she digital or-?” I let my voice trail off, wondering if I was being too intrusive.

“No, she isn’t.” He said, his voice becoming soft. “Becky and I lived in a low income area, and at the time there were a lot of financial incentives for those who volunteered for digitalization, as it was before the mandate was passed. After our aunt died, we decided to put all the money we inherited towards buying a digital life plan for the two of us. We chose a world called Farleigh as the one we would reside in to start. There were only three to choose from back then.”

“The mandatory digitization mandate has been in effect for almost forty years, so that makes you-” I started, trying to wrap my mind around this newfound information.

“I was twenty when I entered the capsule, and have been living virtually for forty-three years. Look pretty good for an old man, don’t I?” Darius chuckled, gently patting me on the back as he finished with my hair.

“Did Becky stay in another world?” I asked, looking at the guild leader who shook his head sadly.

“She did not enter the capsule at all. When I woke up in Farleigh, I was alone. Becky contacted me three days later and informed me she’d decided not to go through with the process. The company wasn’t willing to refund her life plan as it was purchased through the government incentive program, but they were willing to transfer it to me, upgrading my own plan. I found out through a friend who visited Farleigh as a player that Becks went to medical school to become a doctor, she’s a pediatrician now.”

It must have been hard to lose contact with his sister, I sighed. “Did she not contact you herself?” I asked tentatively, not sure if the subject was one that might be painful for him to discuss.

Digital citizens weren’t entirely cut off, all worlds came with functions to all communication with the outside world, even Kaledon had special rooms inside the banks which could be used to make phone calls.

“She didn’t.” Darius admitted, staring at me with an unreadable expression. “Becky wanted to focus on her life, not a virtual world.”

“Why are you telling me this?” I whispered, confused about why the guild leader felt the need to tell me about his sister all of a sudden.

“Because you remind me of Becky, and at times I can’t help imagining what it would have been like if she’d entered the capsule with me.” Darius grimaced, his expression becoming weary. “It was also recently brought to my attention that there have been some comments about our relationship spreading around the guild. While I’ve done my best to put a stop to them, I didn’t want you to hear something like that, and draw the wrong conclusions. I don’t want our friendship to be damaged by salacious rumors. I-”

Holding up a hand, I cut him off. “Er, Darius, don’t take this the wrong way or take offense, but even the thought of,” I scrunched up my nose, shaking my head. “It’s not that I don’t like you, but I don’t see you in a romantic way.” I only recently starting to see him as friend, the idea of him being anything else was… no, simply no.

“I understand, Kadia. I feel the same, which is why I wanted to make sure that I wasn’t unintentionally leading you on.”

“Thanks?” I rubbed a hand over the back of my neck, the awkwardness of the situation making my skin prickle with the sensation of a thousand ants crawling over me. “Uh, I have some things I wanted to do, so, er yeah.” I mumbled, glancing around the tent whilst hoping he would take the hint that I wanted to be left alone.

“Of course, if you need anything I will be in my tent.” Darius said, before exiting my tent, and leaving me alone with my thoughts.

Since when did my life become an episode of some shitty daytime soap opera? I grumbled silently to myself as I ran a knife down the center of the cobra’s stomach.

“Oh, you were a mommy. Sorry, Miss Cobra.” I said to the jar containing the snake's severed head as I squeezed several partially developed eggs into a bowl.

“Kads, can I come in?”

“Come in, Markion,” I called out reluctantly, keeping my attention on the snake I was skinning.

“I brought you some aloe vera. It grows near the oasis,” Markion said, plopping three large, spiky leaves onto the bench near where I was working. Each leaf was easily as long as my arm and as thick as my wrist.

“Thanks.” I muttered, still not looking up from my task.

“Darius said he talked to you and was worried he might have upset you.”

I sighed, putting down my knife and turning to the hulking Minotaur.

“Do you have any idea how weird this is?” I exclaimed, throwing my hands up in the air. “People are insinuating there is something going on between Darius and I. Plus, he clearly has some kind of weird pseudo-sibling fantasy about me being a stand-in for his sister. I thought we were becoming friends, but now-”

“Firstly,” Markion interrupted, holding up a hand. “Most people don’t believe the rumors. Everyone knows the only woman he is interested in is Yuki, and she’s got the poor bloke shoved so deep in the friend zone he’s drowning. Secondly, I think part of the thing with you, is due to him seeing what it would have been like his sister did enter the capsule with him, he misses her, and yeah, I guess he is probably projecting some of that on you. He considers you a friend, and like me, he is worried about you. Besides, is having another brother really that bad?”

“If he’s anything like you-” I eyed him up and down with a fake sneer. “Yes.”

“Ouch,” he grabbed his chest, letting out a whimper before becoming serious once more. “He isn’t going to be asking you to call him big bro, or some shit, Kads. Darius just wants to be your friend, and to be honest, you need friends.”

We were both silent for a long moment, before I let out a fake laugh, trying to change the subject. “Yuki, huh? I kind of thought she and Noctus had a thing.”

“They did back in Avalon.” Markion revealed conspiratorially, his bovine muzzle warping into a smirk.

“Oh wow, that’s—damn,” I muttered, shaking my head with sigh. Poor Darius. “Why’d they end things? I mean, they still seem friendly so I guess it wasn’t a bad break up or anything.”

“They weren’t dating, more of a friends with benefits kind of thing.” My brother said, meandering over to peer into the bowl with the snake eggs.

I snorted out a laugh at that. “Mustn’t have been very good benefits then.”

“What makes you say that?”

“Because if they were, she’d still be collecting them.” I quipped with a grin.

Markion guffawed, his large body slumping over as tears pressed at the corners of his eyes. “I’m using that line on Noctus next time I see him,” he wheezed, smacking a hand on his thigh. Once Markion managed to get his laughter under control, he left my tent while muttering about telling everyone about Noctus’s bad benefits.

Alone once more, I turned my attention back to the snake and finished removing the skin. It appeared the cobra contained three alchemic components, the first was easily identified as the snake's venom, while the second had been the eggs and the last was the snakeskin.

The Chinese used snakeskin to treat many skin conditions historically, and I think there was even someone who won a Nobel Prize in medicine using cobra venom as a treatment for Lou Gehrig’s disease. I discarded the snake meat into a bowl. I’m guessing the snake eggs are a component due to containing unhatched cobras. I don’t really have a way to store them, so I’ll discard them for now.

After carefully extracting the cobra’s venom, I added the head to the pile of remains for disposal and carried the bowl outside to find somewhere to bury it.

The moment I walked out of the tent, heat hit me like a wave and I staggered back a step, having been fooled into complacency by the cooler temperature inside the tent. Pulling my hood over my head, I quickly walked around to the back of my tent and began using the toe of my boot to dig a shallow hole.

Snake disposed of, I rushed back around to the front of my tent and practically dived inside, breathing a sigh of relief. The tent was still warm, as the effectiveness of the enchantments were lessened by the temperature outside, but it was far better inside than out.

“Caw.”

Turning at the sound of Zosimos’s call, I saw him push his way through the closed tent flap and hop up onto the raised wooden floor. With a second hop and a flutter of wings, the crow landed on the workbench where Markion left the aloe vera leaves.

“Caw.” Using his beak to pick up one of the leaves, the crow began to drag it across the bench to where I’d left the chopping board and knife.

“Zos, wait! I haven’t cleaned that yet.” I called out, rushing over to the chopping board and knife.

After cleaning them with a wet cloth and alcohol to sterilize it, I placed both back on the workbench. By that time, the annoying crow had dragged over the other two aloe vera leaves and was staring at me impatiently.

Grumbling under my breath about bossy birds, I grabbed a large bowl and set to work extracting the aloe vera.

Some mint oil should give it a cooling element, the consistency isn’t quite right for spreading over my skin, it looks and feels too sticky. Perhaps if I incorporate it into a mixture of beef tallow and beeswax I can create a more balm-like consistency. Humming softly, I used a pestle to mash up the aloe vera flesh into a smoother consistency.

Searching through my bag, I pulled out a large jar containing a mixture of beeswax and tallow, which I used as a base for making most of the basic salves.

Scooping out the premixed salve base into a metal bowl, I placed my hands on the side of the bowl, heating it until the solidified mixture softened, before scraping it into the bowl containing the aloe vera.

As I used my hand mixer to blend the mixture, the muscles in my arms began to ache and burn with the effort. Once the ingredients appeared to be fully incorporated, and had a nice smooth consistency, I poured in the last of the mint leaf oil that was left over from when I decided to make mouthwash earlier in the week.

It looks a little thin, but hopefully it will thicken as it cools.

With the quarter-sized measuring cup, I scooped out some of the balm, setting it into a second bowl. After retrieving the snow flower oil from my bag, I added a single drop into the mixture under the watchful gaze of Zosimos.

As I mixed in the snow flower oil, I could feel the coolness radiating from the bowl as condensation coated the outside. The balm thickened to a hardened mass, and I pressed my hands to the sides of the bowl, heating the mixture to soften it back to a mixable consistency.

It took longer to heat than the salve base had, but after a few minutes passed, I began to see the balm soften. Even after I removed my hands, the mixture no longer radiated with the same cool intensity.

Did heating it nullify the snow flower oil’s cooling properties? I wondered as I pulled my alchemical construct from my bag.

The construct I’d purchased with my settlement looked like the featureless wooden dolls used as drawing aids by artists who were practicing how to draw human figures. However, unlike those dolls, its body was covered in dozens of tiny runic circles, which I hadn’t been able to replicate even with Noctus’s aid.

The vampire theorized the construct was powered by a mix of enchantments and the magic circles which were something he’d not seen before, thus destroying any plans to recreate the construct to sell.

As I set the construct on the table, I sent a pulse of power into it, activating the enchantments. The wooden construct stiffened, then jerkily got to its feet, waiting for a command. Scooping a tiny bit of the balm onto the tip of a spoon, I placed it on the bench in front of the doll.

“Spread this over your body.” I ordered, watching as the doll reached out and touched the balm.

Obediently the doll began to spread the balm onto its arms and shoulders.

No immediate reaction, and no signs of the change in color that I noted during contact with undiluted snow flower oil. I noted down in my journal, as I continued to observe the doll.

Ten minutes later, after the doll continued to show no reaction, I reached out to touch a finger to the top of its head.

Closing my eyes, I pulled at the power within the doll and felt a cool soothing sensation ghosting across my skin. This was the best ability of the alchemical construct, as it allowed me to feel what the doll felt without placing myself in danger by testing directly on myself.

I continued observing the doll over the next hour while I flicked through Barlow’s Bestiary, searching for the cobra I’d slain with Markion’s help.

As the hour mark passed, I noted that the cool feeling began to fade, and by the second hour nothing could be felt from the construct.

Time to up the ratio of snow flower oil, I want to know how much I can mix into a quarter cup of the balm before it becomes dangerous. I should also mix up another batch and try spreading it on without heating it this time. I set to work adding another drop of snow flower oil to the already mixed balm.

Three hours later, I’d determined that three drops to a quarter cup of the balm was enough to make the construct cold enough that it caused the skin to prickle and its teeth to chatter. Any more than that and the construct showed signs of hypothermia.

I’d also discovered that not heating the balm resulted in signs of hypothermia and frostbite five minutes after application. In the end, I decided on using a one drop to one quarter cup ratio and began mixing snow flower oil into the larger bowl of balm, dividing it into small clay jars which could hold a quarter cup of balm.

I’ll let the group test out a sample on their wrists, to see the effects. Then I’ll let them know the cost. I decided with a grim smile as I stashed away three jars for my own personal use. I had a limited supply of the snow flower oil, so I needed to make sure the price reflected the rarity of the product.

* * *

After checking my brother's tent and finding it empty, I hesitantly approached the guild leader's tent.

Calling out, I waited for a response, and when none came, I moved to check the remaining three tents.

The hunting team did not have their own individual tents, instead sleeping in pairs. Checking each tent, I found they were all empty of my guild mates and was about to head back to my own tent, when the booming laugh of my brother caught my attention.

Following the sound, I found the men with a group of people I didn’t know gathered in the shade provided by the trees growing around the oasis.

At the center of the group, Bastian the dwarf was facing off against an unfamiliar male dwarf. Both men were shirtless and grappling with each other on the ground, with Bastian looking like he was close to being shoved out of a circle drawn in the sand.

“Come on, Baz, if I lose any money you’re sleeping outside.” Killian cat-called loudly.

Moving around the outer edges of the crowd, I was able to make my way to where my brother stood, calling out his own encouragement to the dwarf. I arrived at the Minotaur’s side just as Bastian got the upper hand, flipping his opponent around so they fell outside the circle.

Loud cheers mixed with some groans erupted from the crowd as a few copper and silver coins changed hands.

“Kads, finally braving the outdoors?” Markion asked with a grin when I poked him in the side to get his attention.

I nodded with a slight shrug, glancing at the crowd of people around us, searching for Darius. The guild leader was standing a little away from the group, speaking with a taller man who was clad in light colored robes.

Darius looked up from his conversation and noticed me staring before I had a chance to look away. Lifting a hand, the guild leader gestured towards me with a ‘come here’ motion and I contemplated ignoring him for half a second, before deciding that avoiding him would only worsen the awkward situation I’d found myself in.

“Kadia, this is Omar, a traveling merchant.” Darius introduced as I reached them.

He looks half starved. Trying to keep my expression void of any sign that I found his appearance off-putting, I shook the bony hand the man held out towards me.

When he took my hand to raise it to his lips, I almost yanked it from his grasp, but the gleam in the man's eye had me leaving my hand in his.

He is doing this to provoke a reaction. My lips curled with disgust, as the skeletal man pressed his dry, cracked lips to my knuckles.

“Such a pleasure to meet you, dear Kadia.” The man crooned in a low, rasping voice.

A chilly feeling crept over my skin, and it wasn’t the same pleasant chill caused by my cooling balm. This cold was dark and carried with it a feeling of power.

In response, I focused my inner fire to the point that my fingers were on the verge of bursting into flames, causing him to drop my hand in a flash. As he cradled his scolded fingers to his chest, I kept my smile fixed in place.

“Oh, I’m sorry about that. I was feeling a little chilly so decided to warm myself up a little.” I said sweetly, trailing my fingers over the feathers of the darts on my left bracer.

“Feisty little fox, isn’t she?” Omar rasped, ignoring me as he turned his attention to Darius.

“When she wants to be,” Darius said with a shrug, and the walking-corpse of a man let out a laugh that sounded like he was being choked.

“Omar here claims to have a cure for Scorcher venom for sale,” the guild leader drawled, crossing his arms over his chest.

A cure for scorcher venom? Really? Focusing my gaze on the man, I searched his body with my alchemic insight.

“I understand your doubts, my friend, which is why I am having a small demonstration in my tent for those who are interested in purchasing our product. However, I must warn you that my supply is limited.”

Not a single golden light shone from the man, which was strange, as even enchanted bags glowed if they contained items with Alchemic properties. Everyone carried even a basic tincture on them, yet this man held nothing of any alchemic value.

“When are you holding this demonstration?” I asked, feigning an interested expression.

“As soon as the interested parties have gathered. You are the last to receive my invitation.” Omar claimed, gesturing towards a large, opulent purple tent that was set up just beyond where our guild’s tents were pitched.

The purple tent hadn’t been present when we’d gotten to the outpost earlier in the day, so I could only assume he’d arrived after our group.

As I followed the so-called merchant and Darius towards the tent, I sent a mental command to the two Scorchers I’d released inside my tent. When we passed my tent, I slowed my stride enough for my two juvenile Scorchers to jump up onto my boot. From there, they scrambled up the back of my trouser leg and tunic until they reached my shoulder, where they slipped into my hood.

I wasn’t sure what Omar intended for his demonstration, but if he didn’t have a live scorcher in there to milk for venom while we all watched, then I would be more than happy to offer my own for the task.

As we arrived at the tent, the first thing I noticed was the man standing in front of the door. The dark-skinned, muscular man was the complete opposite of the frail Omar. A pair of curved blades were sheathed at the man's hips and he wore the same loose robes as the merchant. Omar waved his hand towards the man in a lazy gesture and in response he stepped aside, pulling open the tent flap.

The tent’s furnishings were so lavish, they looked out of place under the ownership of this skeletal merchant. This tent was better suited to one of the handsome desert princes written about in corny romance novels. Lush rugs covered the floor and two long tables ran parallel to each other along the room. Six people were seated on tasseled floor cushions, being served food and wine by a man who appeared to be from one of the canine Yōkai races.

His ears aren’t as pointed as mine, and are smaller. So, I’m guessing he is an Ōkami like Darius and not a Kitsune.

As Darius and I were directed towards a pair of empty cushions, the brunette Ōkami was quick to place a platter of fruits and wine on the table before us, which we both left untouched.

While we waited for Omar to finish his greetings to the other guests, I scanned the room with my alchemic sight and saw a few faint glows, but nothing which would indicate anything with a potent alchemic nature.

What a farce.

I didn’t even bother to hide my yawn as Omar stood between the two tables, delving into a speech about the effects of Scorcher venom. The man wasn’t even talking about the cure itself, just the venom.

“Enough prattling, either prove your antidote can do what you claim, or we leave.” A stocky woman with intricately braided hair growled from her seat on the opposite side of Darius.

“Then let us move on to our live demonstration,” Omar rasped, clapping his hands twice.

The Ōkami reappeared from behind a curtain then, carrying a glass tank with a single Scorcher inside. Its scales were the iridescent black of an adult scorcher, and it was nearing six inches in size. In comparison, my two juveniles were just over an inch, and still sported dull gray scales, though I had noted they were slowly darkening around their heads.

It doesn’t glow. I noticed with surprise as I gazed at the Scorcher the brunette Ōkami was presenting to each spectator in turn.

That can’t be right, a Scorcher is a creature able to produce five alchemic components. It should pulsate with light.

Propping my chin up on my hand, I watched as the Ōkami made his way around the room, noting that he never stopped moving. They only gave the illusion of allowing us to inspect the Scorcher, without truly doing so. Eyes locked on the tank, I observed the Scorcher’s movements.

Is it pacing? It keeps moving around in the tank. Scorch and Sting never move that much unless I’m making them or they are hunting bugs. Someone is clearly controlling it, which isn’t surprising as they would have bound it if they are using it for demonstrations.

“The Kemet are a human race, whose culture resembles that of the ancient Egyptians. Their race specializes in necromantic, and shamanistic magic.” The words Darius had spoken earlier in the day drifted to the forefront of my mind as I watched them place the tank on a stand in between the two tables.

It doesn’t glow, because any alchemic value this Scorcher has is gone. Dead Scorchers don’t produce venom, saliva, blood, or hemolymph. Those are the only four of the five alchemic components I’ve been able to identify, and none are viable from a corpse unless it’s a fresh one. As the Ōkami put his hand in the tank, I watched as the Scorcher struck at his hand and shook my head. Too slow, while the acting is good, he reacted too slowly. The venom burns the moment it comes into contact with the bloodstream.

“As you can see, poor Lucas has succumbed to the scorcher venom.” Omar yelled out over the Ōkami’s pained cries.

As one of my scorchers successfully reached the writhing Ōkami, I shifted my hand to cover my mouth in order to hide the smile that was fighting its way onto my lips. The brunette’s screams reached an ear-splitting level, and I almost felt sorry for him.

Don’t worry Lucas I’m sure Omar is going to give you the cure soon. I shook my head, pondering when I’d become so vicious that I was willing to use something as horrendous as Scorcher venom on someone?

When these scamming scumbags decided to trick people into buying their fake cure, that’s when. A cold voice responded within my head. How many people have gotten careless and been stung; thinking they didn’t have to worry because they had a cure? People like this who sell fraudulent or unsafe medicines are what mother fought so hard to stop. Is this any different to the time mom tricked a rival researcher into taking his own shitty drug and not the placebo as he’d planned? Mom didn’t so much as bat an eyelash when she heard the news of his fatal stroke, a side effect she was adamant the drug had, but he’d dismissed.

Watching Omar kneel next to his writhing companion and try to pour the contents of the vial into his mouth, I made a mental note to find an alternate delivery method for my future cure.

Lucas’s jaw was clenched shut, as his back arched and his limbs flailed about, almost hitting the vial out of the merchant’s hand.

Omar’s expression conveyed his surprise as he again attempted to force the Ōkami to consume his cure. The merchant eventually succeeded in forcing the potion down the writhing Ōkami’s mouth with help from the guard.

Shakily rising to his feet, Omar gave the group a wane smile as he gestured to the Ōkami whose screams were now muffled by the guard’s hand.

“In just a few moments, you will witness Lucas’s recovery from the venom.” The gaunt merchant declared, glancing back at the writhing Ōkami, his eyes widening in horror as Lucas' skin became covered in dark veins.

I watched with interest as the Ōkami’s screams faded and his body crumbled into ash. This was the first time I’d seen Scorcher venom on a human test subject, as I’d only used my construct and mice for my experiments.

Mom was right. Memories of sitting with a beautiful red-haired woman inside a church where a funeral was being held filled my mind.

“People like Dr. Newark deserve to suffer the same way the patients they’ve misled suffered, Kadia. They do not value other people's lives. So why should we value theirs? How many people died from a stroke they never would have had, if not for his medicine? Always remember: a true Pharmacologist should never release a product they themselves would not use.”

As the ash that was once Luca’s body blew away, I pushed up from my position on the floor, and began walking to the door. Darius followed me, as did most of the others who’d been sitting in the tent to watch the merchants' so-called demonstration.

“What'd you think?” Darius asked me.

“The cure is fake, as is the Scorcher in the tank. That thing is as dead as the merchant looks,” I informed him with a small shake of my head.

“He doesn’t look like he was faking it to me.” The Dwarven woman who’d been sitting on the other side of Darius declared.

“Oh, he wasn’t,” I told her, schooling my face into a look of boredom. “I wasn’t sure if they realized their dead scorcher wasn’t producing venom anymore, so I decided to help them out, with a little sting of my own.”

With a smile, I touched my right hand to my shoulder before moving it out in front of me. Perched on my fingers was Sting, tail curled over his back as he sat motionless on my hand. The reaction from the small group of people who’d just left the tent was a mixture of shock and fear as they caught sight of my tiny Scorcher. It was rather amusing how something so small could induce such a powerful reaction in people.

As the last of the group left the area in front of the merchant's tent, giving me and my Scorcher cautious glances over their shoulders, Darius looked down at Sting with a furrowed brow and asked “Didn’t you have two Scorchers?”

The sound of two fresh screams filling the air and the walls of the tent bursting into flames was all the answer Darius needed.

As Darius and I reached the area where our guild's tents were set up, the guild leader let out a piercing whistle that brought the others running over from the oasis.

“Start breaking down camp, we’re heading out early.” Darius instructed the group, who exchanged confused looks.

“Wouldn’t it be better to wait until-” Roderick started, but Darius cut him off, pointing a finger at the burning tent in the distance.

“No, we are leaving now.”

“Bloody hell, what happened?” Bastian asked.

“Kadia happened.” As the group continued with their questions, I snuck away into my tent to start packing my things.

After putting away my equipment and the jars containing the cobra parts, I did a quick walk around, making sure I had everything before exiting the tent. Dropping my saddle bags on the sand outside the tent, I knelt at the entrance and pressed my fingers to the line of script etched into the wood to activate the enchantment to fold up the furnishing crate.

Once the crate folded itself up, I removed the crate's lid from my saddle bags and went inside to place it on the crate. With the crate packed away into a saddle bag, I collapsed my tent and went to pull out the stakes securing the guy ropes.

“Kads, I’ll finish your tent. Go get Basher and Arion.” Markion offered as I struggled with pulling out the first stake.

“Thanks.” I smiled at my brother, then headed for the oasis where Killian was already untethering a pair of horses. Leading Arion and Basher over to the oasis, I let them drink deeply alongside the horses Killian was tending.

“Hey, Darius told us what happened in the tent. Do you really have a pair of Scorchers?” The archer asked as he finished checking his horses’ shoes.

“I do. They’re bound to me, so don’t worry, they won’t hurt anyone on the team.”

“I wasn’t worried about that. I was actually wondering if I could buy some Scorcher venom.”

“What do you want it for?” I narrowed my eyes. Fresh Scorcher venom was a very dangerous substance and I wasn’t going to sell it without good reason. Of course, if he wanted, Killian could always hunt Scorchers, but it wasn’t easy to safely extract venom from a dead Scorcher.

“I want to coat a few arrows in it, I normally use a poison made by boiling down Calacaza berries, but that isn’t as debilitating as Scorcher venom.”

“Are you just looking to debilitate someone? If so, I have a paralysis poison.”

“Nah, I’ve tried using a paralysis poison. That stuff only works if it is consumed, and it takes a whole vial to be effective.”

Huffing out a sigh, I pulled out one of my darts coated in paralysis poison and showed it to the archer. “If you brought it from Ge Hong, it was a diluted version. This dart is dipped in the poison, and is enough to paralyze someone my size for half a minute. That doesn’t sound like a lot of time, but that thirty seconds could mean the difference between life and death in a battle. An entire vial will leave you paralyzed for an hour.”

Killian’s lips curved upwards into a grin. “I heard about your conversation with Dorian regarding Ge Hong from Bastian. He bought most of Taurie’s supply of salves and tinctures yesterday to stock up for this trip.”

I nodded, having already heard from Taurie about the healer's purchase. The pretty dark-haired elf had officially been promoted to a guild apprentice by Darius before we left, while I’d been moved up a rank to craftsman. With her new rank, Taurie was given the choice of changing her profession from cook to potioneer, which she’d happily agreed to.

“What other potions do you have that I can use on my arrows?” Killian asked as we led the four mounts back to the tents, passing Dorian who was heading to collect another pair of horses.

“I have a poison that freezes a person's internal organs. The effect is lessened to about five minutes of chilly pain before it dissipates when used on a dart. I’ve also got some diluted Scorcher venom, which is cheaper than pure.”

“How much is the freezing poison?”

“A thousand gold,” I informed the archer whose eyes widened. The ingredients weren’t easily attained, which meant I needed to price it accordingly.

“Guild rate?” He questioned almost pleadingly.

“That is the guild rate, a thousand gold for a fifty-milliliter vial.”

“Damn, Kadia, that's cold.”

“Very.” I agreed, lips twitching. “However, as we are on the same hunting team, I will coat five arrows for you at the cost of a hundred gold. A single vial will coat thirty arrows.”

“How much is the Scorcher venom?”

“Ten gold per drop, which is half a milliliter.”

“Diluted?” Killian asked dejectedly.

“Eight hundred gold, or five arrows for eighty.”

“Dare I ask how much the paralysis poison is?”

“I’m undercutting Ge Hong, so five hundred gold a vial. I’ll do five arrows for fifty gold.”

“How about one arrow of each, as a try before I buy deal,” Killian implored as we reached the area where the others were packing away the last tent.

“I’ll let you test out three of my darts,” I offered, and the archer nodded.

After handing him the three darts, which he slid into a pouch, I turned my attention to saddling Arion. Basher would need to wait for my brother, as I wasn’t able to lift the Rhino’s heavy saddle.

Once everyone had their mounts tacked up and we’d visited the oasis one last time to restock our water supplies, we rode out from the outpost, leaving behind a smoldering merchant's tent.

The group’s riding formation was something Bastian called the squishy shield. With Darius riding point, Dorian, Conrad and I rode behind him in a diamond formation, with the healer to my left and the water mage holding the position of the rear point. That left Markion, Roderick, Bastian and Killian to ride in a square formation around us, with their front line riding just behind Darius.

As we rode, I was guided through different scenarios by Dorian, who gave detailed explanations of what my positioning should be. I’d never really worked with a team when questing with my brother in the past, so this was an unfamiliar experience for me.

“Don’t worry, so long as you stay away from the melee and don’t try to rush into the midst of battle, you’ll be fine. Just stay with me,” the healer said, giving me a gentle smile.

“Thanks,” I murmured, taking a sip of my water flask.

The sun dipped into the horizon, giving a slight abatement to the desert heat. I’d reapplied some of the cooling balm to my forehead, neck and shoulders, which was more than enough to keep me from feeling overheated.

I was right about the group being hesitant to buy the balm, and only sold a single jar to the hunting team who was sharing it amongst themselves. My brother, on the other hand, bought an entire jar for himself and ended up using almost half the jar, smoothing it over his fur-covered chest. I hadn’t thought about the application of the balm for people with fur, but my brother seemed happy and reported it worked well. Darius also purchased a jar, which he had sparingly spread over his neck and temples.

As I put my water flask away, a whistle from Darius had the square formation tightening around us, and I directed Arion to sidestep closer to Dorian's horse.

Tightening my hold on the reins, I scanned the area ahead of us, searching for what had caused Darius to order the formation to close in. In the distance, a dark splotch could be seen, and it seemed to be growing larger as we continued riding forward at a slow walk.

We were currently riding over a vast plain, following a series of stone pillars that marked routes through the desert. The newly discovered dungeon we were heading to was located in the mostly unexplored central part of the Sarin desert.

The nearest settlement to the dungeon was a place named Hathus, which was our current destination. According to Darius, it would take three days to reach Hathus, and another four from there to the dungeon’s location, if we didn’t get lost on the way that is.

“What is it?” I asked, glancing at Dorian as we continued riding towards the dark spot on the horizon.

“My guess is another group of travelers. Hopefully, we’ll pass each other with no issues. Depending on how long they’ve been in the desert, if they’re low on water and food, we may be in for a fight.”

“Why would we fight them if they asked for water?”

Laughing, Dorian shook his head. “They won’t ask, no one will give away or sell supplies in the desert unless they are a merchant caravan. Why bother asking when you already know the answer?”

Unable to think of a reply, I stayed silent, mulling over this new information. The desert was a harsh environment, and I could see the reasoning behind not offering a portion of our supplies to others. If we sold off our own supplies, we’d be without as well.

As it turned out, the thing approaching us wasn’t a group of travelers, as Dorian had thought, but an enormous beast that was plodding along the trail. I’d been worried as the creature grew larger and larger, but the others stayed calm, not showing the slightest bit of concern.

The true nature of the creature soon became clear, as we drew closer to the dark form. A chill crept down my spine, as I stared at the massive skeletal form of what was once an enormous elephant. Large tusks curved out from the skull, with a wooden plank stretched between them.

A robed figure sat cross legged on the plank, their face concealed by a hood. As it plodded past, I gazed up in awe at the animated skeleton, which was fitted out like a giant, walking wagon. The sides of the elephant were covered in a gray canvas, and I could see they’d used wood to create a floor inside the rib cage.

“Damn, I hate necromancers.” Dorian grumbled, rubbing his chest with a disgusted look on his face. “Their magic feels like I’m being stabbed in the heart with an icy knife.”

“Really? I didn’t feel that.” I said, looking over at him in concern. It did feel a bit chilly, but nothing like what the healer described.

“It’s because of my alignment, I’m a follower of Vēdiovis. He is a god of the light pantheon and the god of healing.” Dorian said.

I pondered that for a moment before responding. “How many gods are there? I only know of Celeste and Trismegistus.”

“No one really knows for sure, but there are several deities who are known. Celeste is the one who all digital citizens meet when they arrive in the virtual world, and oversees many different worlds. She’s one of two who can be found in almost every virtual world, and is a light aligned deity. I’m not sure who Trismegistus is, so I can’t say what his alignment is.”

“Trismegistus is the god of Alchemy, Astrology and Transmutation.” I said, thinking over the never found information.

“Never heard of him,” Dorian said, his brow furrowing. “I’ve not seen his name in the temple of light. Though, that doesn’t mean he is a dark god.”

“If anything, I would say Trismegistus should be considered neutral, Alchemy is neither light nor dark.” I said with a shrug.

“Correct my disciple, I’m of neither the light nor dark pantheons. My followers walk a path between light and dark. I see you have not yet made full use of your blessing. How disappointing.”

Startled, I yanked hard on Arion’s reins, causing the horse to whinny loudly and come to a jerking halt.

“Kadia? What’s wrong.”

Ignoring Dorian's worried question, I twisted around in my saddle looking for the old man, but I only saw the hunting group who’d closed in around me. Seeing my expression, the group began unsheathing weapons and scanning the nearby area with their eyes.

“Where are you, old man?” I demanded with a scowl.

“As above, so below.”

“As within, as without.” I responded, eyes narrowed. “What do you want?”

“I was merely curious what would place my name upon your tongue with such frequency.”

“I was gaining knowledge,” I said, relaxing ever so slightly.

“A worthy endeavor, though the source from which you seek knowledge is a shallow one.”

“Kadia? What is going on?” Darius asked, moving his horse alongside mine.

“I- can’t you hear him?” I glanced around the group who were staring at me in confusion.“I was speaking to Trismegistus. I didn’t realize I was the only one who could hear him.”

“We cannot hear him,” Dorian informed me, with an expression of awe and jealousy. “A god can speak directly into their followers' minds if they so choose. I’ve never heard Vēdiovis speak to me, it is a great blessing to be granted a god's words.”

Having confirmed that there was no danger nearby, Darius ordered the group to resume their previous formation.

“Are you still there?” I attempted to ask silently, getting a low chuckle in response. “You said I’m not using my blessing fully, what did you mean by that?”

“The Transmutation amulet, you have empowered it, yet have not even used it once.”

“Transmutation amulet? My necklace?” Reaching up, I touched the necklace I wore, feeling the soft thrum of power from within it.

“Indeed.”

“Well, how was I meant to know what it was or how to use it? You didn’t exactly leave any instructions behind.” I thought at him with a scowl.

No response sounded from the god, and I rolled my eyes in annoyance. “Even the worst teachers will at the very least explain the basics.”

“Transmutation is the magical art of modifying energy and matter. Your amulet is a focusing tool that contains the energy needed, you need only add the matter. Take a fistful of sand into your hand.”

Pulling on my reins, I brought Arion to a halt, and handed my wagasa to Dorian who’d stopped alongside me. This time, the others didn’t react, and simply watched in confusion as I slid down from my horse to pick up a fistful of sand.

“Good. This next part requires focus, so I advise closing your eyes. Imagine a glass vial in your hand, not a large one, as you only have a small fistful of sand. Put into your mind this vial, think upon how it must look, how it will feel in your hand. Now think upon how it shall be crafted, through heat and sand to form the glass.”

Closing my eyes, I did as instructed, picturing a simple glass vial just like the ones in my bag, trying to recall every detail I could about the item. Power pulsed around me, and the sand in my hand felt more solid than it had moments ago. Opening my eyes, I stared down at the glass vial I held. The glass was cloudy, and it looked a little misshapen, but it was easily identifiable as a vial.

“Congratulations, disciple. You made a common glass vial. That concludes our lesson on transmutation basics.”

“Thank you. I am grateful to have received your teachings.”

“One typically pays a tuition fee to their teachers.”

“I hereby offer this vial to Trismegistus, god of Alchemy, Astrology and Transmutation. May he treasure this keepsake of my first steps on the path of Transmutation.” I mentally narrated, trying to imbue my thoughts with as much sarcasm as possible.

“I accept.” Trismegistus said, sounding a mixture of annoyed and amused.

“Next time you should state the price up front.” I said silently, but got no response as the vial disappeared from my hand.

Remounting Arion, I took my wagasa back from Dorian, who gazed at me with an almost hungry gleam in his eyes.

“Are you done?” Darius asked, and I looked over to see him sitting on his horse not far from me.

“Yes, sorry for the hold up.” I told him giddily, my mind whirring with ideas for all the things I could make with this new ability.

“So we saw.” The guild leader said, inclining his head. “We’ll discuss this new trick of yours later. For now, we need to get moving.”

As we resumed our path towards the next trail marker, I inspected the amulet and noticed that the scripture for the magic, fire and earth symbols were faded. Pressing my finger to the center stone, I allowed a trickle of power to flow into it and watched as the symbol for magic regained its brighter color.

So, the amulet needs to be recharged? What happens if it doesn’t have enough ‘energy’ or matter for the item I am trying to make? Also, why did the vial look like that? That wasn’t how I pictured it.

Lost in thought, I barely noticed the passing of time as we continued our slow monotonous trek through the desert until a sharp cry from Zosimos broke me from my internal monologue and sent the group into high alert.

“Caw.”

Zosimos’s cry pierced the air again and he swooped down over a cluster of scraggily shrubs.

“Roderick, Killian.” Darius called out, gesturing to the spot Zosimos was flying over.

Nodding, the pair split away from the group, riding towards the shrubbery. They only made it a few meters away from the group, when a whistle rang out from somewhere to the right of us. As though conjured by magic, several figures rose from the ground and began rushing towards us.

“Raiders!” Markion bellowed as Basher charged towards a group of three attackers.

“Kadia, to me.” Dorian ordered.

I spun Arion around, shifting him alongside Dorian's horse so his head was positioned at the gelding's flank. “Keep circling, let me know if anyone goes down.”

Following Dorian's directions, I positioned my wagasa to cover my left side, and spun Arion to the right, circling behind the chestnut gelding, monitoring the battle. Markion had just downed two of his foes and appeared to be struggling with the third who was able to dodge his swinging ax. Bastian was off his horse, swinging his hammer at a taller opponent's knee, where it connected with a bone-shattering crunch.

Agonizing pain shot through my right shoulder, and I cried out, dropping my wagasa as I slumped over Arion’s neck. Turning my head, I saw the archer knocking another arrow, and was about to call a warning when an orange feathered dart buried itself in the archer's neck. Killian galloped his horse past, his hand raised as he flung a blue feathered dart towards the raider Conrad was fighting.

Well, at least he found something to test the poisons out on. Dazedly, I downed the contents of a pain-relieving tincture.

“Kadia, can you wait for healing til the battle is done?” Dorian asked, and I nodded with a grimace.

I feel so useless, I can’t use my darts because I can’t lift my right arm. I should have been practicing throwing with my left. They’re all so far away, I won’t be able to reach them with my fire.

As that thought crossed my mind, a raider broke through the group of fighters, rushing towards where Dorian and I still rode in tight circles. Raising my left hand, I went to fling a ball of fire towards him, but in a fast motion Dorian flung out his arm in a throwing gesture and a bolt of light shot from his hand, striking the man in the chest.

The raider let out a pained cry, faltering in his approach, which gave Killian enough time to send an arrow through his chest in the same spot the bolt of light had hit.

“What was that?” I wheezed, hand pressed to my shoulder.

While the tincture had dulled the pain I felt, it was still painful to the point that I was verging on tears.

“Luminous spear, a spell that conjures a spear of burning light that pierces the body without making any external wounds.” Dorian called out over his shoulder as he flung another spear towards an attacker creeping towards Conrad’s back.

Killian rode passed, sparring a brief glance in my direction as he shouted. “Don’t worry there’s only a few left!”

“Hurry the fuck up then.” I hissed, bringing Arion to a halt and allowing myself to fully slump over in the saddle.

“Killian,” Dorian shouted, causing the archer to circle back to our location. "Lay a canvas down and stand guard. I’ll get started removing the arrow from Kadia’s shoulder.”

The archer nodded, sliding off his horse. “Markion got hit too. Upper thigh. He’s snapped the shaft off, so it’s going to be fun digging it out.”

“Damn that bull,” Dorian groused, as he reached up to help me off Arion. “I’ve told him a thousand times not to snap them off.”

A pained whimper escaped my lips, my knees buckling as I hit the dirt. Dorian steadied me, helping me over to a stretch of cloth Killian had laid out on the sand.

“Hurts, fucking tincture. Not good enough, I need to make it better.” I rasped as the healer eased me to lay on the cloth.

Dorian chuckled. “I’m sure you will. The arrow hasn’t penetrated too deeply, so that’s good, I won’t need to push it through. It hit the shoulder blade, which stopped the arrow's head becoming fully embedded.”

Fucker, who laughs at a time like this?

“It didn’t break through the bone? What a shitty archer.” Killian scoffed, craning his head to peer back at where the archer was writhing on the ground.

“Orange dart, diluted. Only pain short time, then recovery.” I managed to get out through clenched teeth.

“I know.” The archer reassured, as Dorian pressed a strip of leather to my lips. “I left him alive so we can have a little chat about where their hideout is.”

Biting down hard on the leather, tears rolled down my cheeks in an endless wave, as pain washed over me. It felt like someone had shoved a burning hot poker into the wound, then poured acid over it.

“There we go,” Dorian soothed, rubbing a hand over my back as the pain lessened and dissipated.

Spitting out the leather strip, I tentatively moved my shoulder, feeling only a slight ache as opposed to the pain I was expecting. With Dorian’s help, I rose into a sitting position and looked up just in time to see Markion hobbling towards us, leaning on Basher for support.

“Kads, you okay?” He called out. I nodded, rubbing at my face with the sleeve of my tunic.

“Take a seat, Markion, I’ll get to you in a moment.” Dorian ordered, jerking his chin to the canvas laid out on the ground as he helped me stand. “Kadia, we need to clean the blood off and get you into a fresh tunic and bandeau. The scent of blood may attract predators. I’ll hold your wagasa up to give you some privacy.”

I grimaced, looking around at the others. Aside from Markion, who’d lowered himself to sit on the spread canvas, the rest of the group were searching the bodies of the raiders and dragging them into a pile off to the side. Turning so I was facing away from the group, I pulled a fresh bandeau and tunic from my bag as I waited for Dorian to fetch my wagasa from where I’d dropped it when I was shot.

“Are you okay with me helping you clean the blood off? You can keep your bandeau on if you feel more comfortable.”

“I’ll keep it on,” I mumbled, pulling off my tunic and laying it over the saddle.

Using a damp cloth, Dorian wiped the blood from my back and then helped me apply some cooling balm to my back before holding the wagasa up by the canopy to shield me whilst I stripped off my bandeau. As quickly as I could, I pulled on a new bandeau and tunic, letting out a relieved sigh once I was again fully clothed.

Grabbing the handle of the wagasa, I took it from Dorian with a grateful smile. “Thank you.”

“Take it easy for a while, try not to do anything to strain the shoulder for at least an hour,” Dorian said, giving me a smile before he moved back to where my brother sat.

After glancing over to where Dorian was digging around in my brother's leg with a pair of metal forceps, I went to see what the others were up to.

“Kadia,” Darius greeted as I approached. “How are you feeling?”

“I’m okay, Dorian said the arrow didn’t penetrate too deeply.”

“Yer lucky he didn’t poison his arrows,” Bastian grunted as he crouched over the body of a raider, searching their clothing. “Unusual thing that, though I suppose he dinnae have any left.”

I eyed the bandit the dwarf was searching with interest. “Any good loot?”

“Nuthin.” The dwarf sighed, shaking his head as he stood.

“Then they’ll have their stash close,” Darius concluded, eyes scanning the surrounding area. “Hopefully Roderick and Conrad find something when they search the bushes Zosimos keeps flying over.”

Hearing this, I turned around to see that my crow was indeed still flying in circles over the cluster of shrubs. Roderick and Conrad were nearing the location on horseback, and I watched as the red-scaled Draekin dismounted, walking the last of the way with his sword in hand.

A high-pitched whistle sung through the air from the direction of the pair searching the shrubs, and in response both Darius and Bastian quickly mounted their horses riding up to meet Roderick who was waving them over.

Remaining behind, I moved to where Killian was crouched down beside the archer who’d shot me.

“How are you doing?” The wood elf asked as I approached.

“Better than I was,” I quipped, eyeing the motionless raider. “The diluted scorcher venom wore off faster than I thought it would.”

“Nah, I killed him. Darius didn’t want to waste time interrogating him.” Killian said, standing up and revealing the bloodied dagger he held. “Doubtful he’d give up any decent info willingly.”

“Oh.”

“Don’t pity these sods, they would have done the same to us.”

“I wasn’t pitying him,” I denied, and held up a blue feathered dart. “I was going to jab him with this, so I could watch how the venom and poison interacted with each other.”

“They’re pretty effective for such a small weapon.” The archer said, passing me the orange feathered dart he’d retrieved from the dead archer's neck.

“The effects will be increased with an arrow, as there is a larger surface, more of the poison is delivered into the target's system.” I informed the archer as we walked away from the raiders body.

“Can I get fifty arrows with the freezing poison, a hundred with paralyzing, and ten with the diluted scorcher venom?”

“Sure, do you have un-dyed arrows? I noticed yours are dyed the same maroon color as our guild flag. If you have white fletched arrows, I can dye your arrows like my darts to mark which poison is used.”

“I’ve got plain arrows, just in case I need to be more discreet with who I’m shooting.” The archer said with a chuckle, patting the pouch at his waist. “I’ll give you the gold and arrows when we make camp next.”

“The gold can wait, I’ll keep a tab and you can pay me when we return.” I offered with a sweet smile. “I’m not foolish enough to take your gold now, what if I get killed and someone takes all my money?”

He laughed, nodding his head. “That's great, because I didn’t bring much gold on the trip.” Killian said as we walked back to where my brother was now on his feet, trying to clean the blood from his fur.

“Where are the others?” Markion asked, glancing up at us as we approached.

“They rode over to the shrubs over- they’re gone!” I gasped, staring at the riderless horses, searching the area for any signs of the four men.

After remounting our horses, and rhino, Dorian, Killian, Markion and I rode as a group towards the shrubs where the riderless mounts stood.

As we drew closer, Roderick’s upper body popped up out of the ground directly to our left, and curses filled the air, we all reacted to the sudden appearance of the Draekin.

“Shit!” With a startled yelp, I responded without thinking, pulling back on Arion’s reins, and flinging a yellow feathered dart at the Draekin, which bounced harmlessly off his scales.

Heart pounding, I stared wide eyed at the hunting team's leader.

“Nice reflexes,” Roderick said, brushing sand off his trousers after he crawled out of the now visible hole in the sand.

“Where the fuck did you come from, and where the fuck did you all go?” Markion demanded, moving Basher closer to the hole.

“One of the raiders must’ve been an earth mage, little shits got themselves an underground hideout. I reckon they would have spent a few weeks digging it out.” The Draekin explained, shifting a wooden cover into place and kicking sand over it.

“Once it’s covered like that, you wouldn’t even know it’s here.” Killian observed, sounding a little impressed.

Much to our disappointment, neither Markion nor I were allowed into the underground hideout, because we were recovering from an injury.

My protests that I felt fine fell on deaf ears, and I could only watch longingly as Killian disappeared into the tunnel with Roderick. Dorian also remained above ground as we rode the rest of the way to the shrubs where Roderick said the entrance to the hideout was located.

As we reached the shrubs, Zosimos flew down to land on my thigh, surprising me a little as he normally landed on my shoulder.

He must have seen me get hurt. I realized, as I stroked a hand over the bird's soft feathers.

“You did good, Zos, if not for your warning we would have been caught off guard.”

“Caw.”

Shoving a hand into the bag strapped to my thigh, I pulled out a leather pouch that was filled with dried meat and offered a piece to Zosimos who took it gently from my fingers.

“I see Bron gave you extra rations.” Markion commented with a chuckle.

I nodded with a soft smile. “He did, but this is Zosimos’s food. Bron made it with no salt or seasoning, so it’s safe for him to eat.”

The Orc in charge of the kitchens had pulled me aside before we departed and stuffed one of my saddle bags so full of food it would take me months to eat it all. I wouldn’t protest the extra food, it was comforting to know we had an abundance of supplies in case of emergency.

* * *

The raiders hideout turned out to be claimed land, so we couldn’t collapse the tunnels once the team finished looting everything they could find- which wasn’t a lot. Darius had concluded that the raiders must have a hidden room, which would only be accessible by the earth mage.

All in all, I was disappointed our encounter with the raiders hadn’t been more rewarding. On the upside, we now knew they were there, and could advise our guild members of their presence if they were going to be traveling in the area.

As the sun disappeared over the horizon, the temperature in the desert dropped and I contemplated pulling out a cloak from my bag.

Lanterns were hung from poles attached to our saddles, and I again reminded myself to find a way to create an alchemic source of light.

There was a recipe for something called a light potion among those I’d purchased, but the plants it required were unknown to me. With the recipes predating the cataclysm, I didn’t even know if a plant called spark moss grew on Salvia, as everyone I’d asked said they’d never come across anything like I’d described.

Night in the desert was strange, with the moon shining brightly in the sky we almost didn’t need the lanterns to light our path. The large stone pillars that marked the desert trail let off an eerie phosphorescent glow, and each pillar could be clearly seen in the distance.

No one in the group could tell me the source of the glow and inspecting one of the pillars gave no clues.

The wind died down and the sounds of various animal calls sent a tingle down my spine. We rode in a tighter formation then the one we used during the day and ate our evening meal without stopping for a break. The only time we stopped was to water the mounts, and only one person would dismount each time to set out water buckets.

During one water break, I scanned the surrounding area with tensed muscles, the sensation of being watched growing stronger.

Around us, the flat plains of earlier were slowly changing, with outcroppings of rock rising around us. Personally, I preferred the flat plains, as then we had a better visual of what was around.

Chewing on a strip of beef jerky, I glanced over to where Darius had moved his horse alongside Markion and Roderick. The three had their heads lowered and were talking softly, glancing at the area behind us. I’d also noticed Killian, who rode ahead and to the right of me, looking back as we rode and suspected something was following our group, though no one had outright said anything.

Ears twitching, I tried to focus on the conversation between the three, but only managed to catch a few words.

“At least four.”

“Canyon ahead.”

“Ambush.”

Ambush? Someone is going to ambush us? I gave up trying to pretend I wasn’t eavesdropping and stared at the three with a wide-eyed gaze.

Noticing where I was looking, Dorian leaned over to place a hand on my shoulder.

“Don’t worry, it’s just a couple of raptors. Killian spotted them stalking us about an hour ago.”

“How do you know?”

“Ah, that's right.” Dorian hummed, looking thoughtful. “I haven’t shown you the hand signals yet, have I? We can’t always communicate verbally, so we have a series of gestures used to communicate. These are used in conjunction with the whistles you’ve been learning.”

Holding up his index and middle finger, Dorian crooked them over to form a claw shape and flicked his wrist to mime attacking something with his clawed fingers.

“We have signals to identify the more common creatures we encounter, this is the one for raptors. Even though they change slightly depending on the location, they behave in much the same way, so we use the one sign for all species of raptor.”

“They’re talking about an ambush in a canyon.” I told the healer, glancing back at the group of guild commanders.

“A common tactic for raptors,” Killian chimed in, walking over with two buckets full of water for Arion and Dorian’s gelding. “They’re cowards, only attacking when they think they’ve got an advantage.”

Once the horses and Markion’s rhino had drunk their fill, Darius ordered a change in the riding formation. Dorian and I would still be riding in the center, though now the group would be riding bunched so closely together that I felt claustrophobic. Though Darius explained this formation was because raptors would first attack any stragglers, seeking to pick off someone separated from the group.

Riding through the canyon at a faster pace and in a tight formation meant there was a chance the raptors would forgo an attack in favor of waiting for easier prey. Thankfully, we made it through the five hundred meter long canyon without hindrance.

* * *

When the sky began to lighten into shades of soft pink and orange, I felt a sense of relief wash over me.

We had made it through the night with no issues, aside from the raider attack, and the raptors who were still stalking us.

Reaching one of the pillars, Darius turned to the left, leading our group away from the line of pillars we were following and towards a rocky outcropping barely visible in the distance.

“Killian, Baz, ride ahead.” The guild leader ordered, sending the elven archer and dwarven fighter to scout the potential camping area for danger.

Not long after, a low whistle rang out from the pair scouting, and we rode to join them.

“There’s a shaded overhang where we can leave the horses.” Killian called out, gesturing to the place where the built-up rocks created a small, sheltered area.

Dismounting Arion, I led him over to the shade and removed his tack while he drank from the water bucket the archer had placed down. Once he’d drunk his fill, I measured out three scoops of mixed grains into his feed bag and slipped the strap over his head to hold it in place.

With Arion happily chowing down on his breakfast, I left him in the shade where Killian was hammering a set of tall stakes into the ground.

Each stake came up to my waist, and had a metal ring on the top, which a thick rope would be strung through. It wouldn’t do much to deter the horses if they truly wanted to get out, but the horses and Basher were all fence trained, so wouldn’t break out without reason.

“Kads, toss your tent there and I’ll pitch it for you. Go help Con with breakfast.” Markion called out as I approached where he was staking his own tent into the ground.

Doing as my brother directed, I pulled the tent bag out and left it beside my saddlebags before heading over to where Conrad and Bastian were pitching their own tent.

“Markion said to come help with breakfast.” I said, in a way of greeting.

“I was planning on fruit for breakfast, as it won’t stay fresh for long.” The water mage said with a smile. I nodded, looking around at everyone working diligently to set up camp.

“Lass, do yer see the cacti over there? The Kemet desert tribes harvest those little yellow flowers and make a paste out of it, which they smother over wounds to treat infections. I got treated with it by a Kemet herbalist when I was last in the desert.” Bastian said, seeing my lost expression.

Looking in the direction the dwarf indicated, I saw a bright golden light shone from somewhere around the base of the cactus, flashing several times, and smaller fainter lights danced around the flowers that were on the green trunk of the cacti. Scattered around the cacti were scraggly bushes shining with a fainter alchemic light.

“Thank you, I’ll go take a look.” I told the dwarf, and headed in the direction of the cacti.

“Just be careful, lass, keep an eye out for snakes and the like.” Bastian cautioned, before turning back to finish helping Conrad with the tent.

As I reached the cacti, a sickly pungent scent filled my nose, and I quickly pulled the scarf around my neck up to cover my mouth and nose.

Small yellow flowers grew in clusters on the tops of the cactus trunk, and each trunk had multiple offshoots.

Eyeing the spikes protruding from the cactus, I pondered how I was going to pick the dozens of yellow flowers that were well out of my reach.

“Don’t suppose you want to fly up and pluck the flowers off for me?” I asked the crow, who was perched on my shoulder with his head buried under a wing.

In response, the crow peaked his head around to gaze at the cactus, before letting out a condescending caw, and flying back to where the tents were being set up.

“Some help you are.” I grumbled.

Snapping closed the canopy of my wagasa, I used it to knock loose some of the flowers with the bladed tip. After placing the few flowers I managed to retrieve into a clay container, I pulled out my shears and moved to the thorny bush growing in a cluster at the base of the largest cactus.

The bush didn’t have any leaves or flowers and was a mass of entangled branches. Cutting into a branch, the interior was fibrous with a sticky, white sap. Turning away from the bush, I checked the shears with my alchemic insight and saw a bright glow in the spots where the sap was stuck to the metal.

After pulling a leather sack from my bag, I set to work, cutting the thorny branches into manageable chunks. As I worked, I scanned the area with my insight ability, searching for the place where the brightest light had shone from.

I could have sworn something around here flashed several times, and it was brighter than the other lights. Only the faint glow of the cactus and thorny bush lit up my vision. Maybe it was an animal that got startled and ran away when I approached? Ah, I should let Scorch and Sting out. I can see webs in the branches of this bush, and the spines of the cactus. There must be some spiders living here that they can find and eat.

As Sting and Scorch scampered into the thorny bush, I packed away the bag containing the trimmed branches and got to my feet. I decided to leave the two Scorchers to bask in the sun and find themselves a meal before coming back to collect them later.

Humming softly under my breath, I headed back to camp where all the tents were pitched and set out in two rows facing each other. Markion and Roderick stood near one of the tents, doing something to the corner of the roof. By the time I reached the tents, their actions became clearer as a large piece of canvas was raised into the air, creating a roof which covered the space between the tents.

My tent was pitched between Darius and my brothers, and my saddle bags had been left by the door. Heading inside the tent with my furnishing crate, I set it in the center of the room and removed the lid, before moving back to the entrance.

When the crate had finished unfolding, I shoved the crate lid inside the largest saddle bag and shifted them inside the tent. Moving to the living quarters side of the tent, I filled a bowl with water and stripped off my sweat soaked clothing.

Cleaning myself with a limited amount of water and a cloth wasn’t anywhere close to the shower I so desperately wanted, but with the need to conserve our water it was the best I could do.

Once I was done washing, I pulled on a cotton singlet and shorts, along with my old starter kimono, which had been repurposed as a dressing robe. Carrying my bowl of dirty water to the workroom side of my tent, I was about to take it outside so someone could purify it when a thought struck me.

Could I purify it myself using magic? Conrad, Darius and Dorian can use a spell they call purify water. Conrad said it was a tier one spell, so it can’t be that hard to learn, can it?

Placing the bowl on the nearby work bench, I held my hand over the bowl in the same way I’d seen all three of the others do.

“Purify.” I commanded, staring into the bowl expectantly.

Nothing. With a groan, I smacked my forehead with the palm of my hand. Of course nothing happened, you fool. You need to do something more than speak the words. It is probably the same as when I made the vial. I need to push my power into it, while imagining the dirt being removed and the water becoming clean.

“Purify.”

This time, the water in the bowl swirled, and the amulet around my neck pulsed with power. As I watched the once murky water become clear, a clump of dirt rose from the bowl, landing beside it on the bench in a small pile.

“I did it, I purified water.” I exclaimed, clapping my hands together in excitement.

What else can be purified this way? Can I use this method to purify vodka into ethanol? What about other liquids? Can I purify a tincture or a potion to separate the ingredients?

Rushing over to my bags, I pulled out a jug of vodka, along with a vial containing a basic pain relieving tincture, and was about to return to my bench when Markion shoved his head into the tent.

“Kads, come out and get some food.”

“I’ll eat something later,” I told him, not wanting to wait even a second more to test out my theory.

“Are you seriously not going to have breakfast with me on my birthday?” Markion complained, and I stiffened, turning back towards him.

“What? No, it’s not your birthday, that's not until—”

“Today.” My brother interjected, lips curling up into a grin. “You forgot.”

“I didn’t,” I protested, shaking my head. “I even got you a present, well, two presents actually.”

“Really? What’d you get me?”

“Come inside and I’ll show you.” I told him, rushing over to place the jug and vial on my workbench.

Digging through the pouch containing my item tokens, I found the one I was looking for and pulled it out. The image on the token was of a large wagon, almost twice the size of the one I’d bought for myself.

“I got you a wagon,” I told my brother, showing him the token with the wagon's picture “I thought it would suit you because of how large it is, the roof can be raised higher and the sides of the wagon drop down. These metal poles strapped to the side fold out to support the lowered sides, and there are canvas walls to enclose it.” I explained, pointing to the different parts of the picture.

“Wow, Kads, I didn't expect something like this.” Markion admired, leaning down to look closer at the picture.

“We can’t redeem it here, because Darius said we can’t use wagons in the sand sea of the central desert and there won’t be anywhere safe to leave them.” I informed him, and he nodded.

“That's alright, I can wait.” He said, eyes lighting up as he looked at the wagon token. “This is great, I’ll be able to bring extra equipment on hunting trips and have a nicer place to sleep with a wagon of my own. We normally bring a canvas topped wagon, but I usually end up sleeping in my chariot with a canvas draped over the top or in my tent.”

“I also got you this,” I said, handing my brother a paper wrapped rectangle.

Unwrapping the paper, Markion let out a groan when he saw the book contained within.

“Every year.” He grumbled.

“I bought a book on advanced smithing techniques and copied it out into a leather journal. I suffered a lot of hand cramps working on this,” I scolded, reaching for the book. “But if you don’t want it, I’m sure there are other smiths in the guild who—”

“Don’t you fucking dare,” Markion growled, tucking the book under his arm.

Laughing, I followed my brother out of the tent to where the others were sitting on a woven rug that had been laid out in the shaded area between the tents.

Breakfast was a lively event, with Killian and Bastian keeping the group entertained with their usual banter. Once the fruit Conrad set out had been eaten, everyone made their way to their tents except for Roderick and Conrad who would take the first watch.

Entering my tent, I bypassed the workbench in favor of the futon in the second room of the living quarters. Flopping down onto the soft mattress, I buried my head into the pillow, allowing sleep to claim me, though it did not do so for long.

Jolting upright, I pressed a hand to my chest as a sense of wrongness filled me.

Did I have a nightmare?

My stomach churned, and I felt as though a part of me was missing, like I’d lost something important. The feeling increased as I sat there, and an image of two crushed Scorcher bodies flashed through my mind.

Sting, Scorch!

Leaping up from the futon, I jammed my feet into the red slippers I’d left beside it and rushed out of the tent, hastily wrapping my kimono around me. Running across the rocky ground towards the cluster of vegetation where I’d left my Scorchers, I ignored the questioning shout from Roderick and the suffocating heat, my focus solely on finding my two lizards.

“Sting, Scorch!” I called out as I reached the thorny bush, sending out a wave of power alongside my verbal summons.

I didn’t feel the responding tug of power from the two Scorchers, only that continuing sense of emptiness. The only signs that my Scorchers had been present was the bush that was now smoking and smoldering.

“Kadia, what’s going on? You shouldn’t be out here without protective clothing.” Roderick scolded, jogging towards me sword in hand.

“My Scorchers, something's happened to them.” I told the Draekin, peering into the bushes searching for any signs of Sting and Scorch.

“What do you mean?”

“I left them out here so they could sun bake, and just now I woke up feeling like something was wrong. I swear, for a moment I could see their bodies crushed into the dirt.”

“They’re dead then.” Roderick concluded.

I jerked my head up with a gasp. “What?”

“The feeling and vision you described happens when a bound creature dies.” The Draekin said, looking around the nearby area in confusion. “Whatever killed them should still be close by, writhing in pain from the venom.”

“There’s nothing here, though,” I observed, searching the area with my alchemic insight to check there was nothing in our proximity, as most creatures would have at the very least one use.

“No, there isn’t.” He confirmed, shaking his head with a frown. “Let's get you back to the tents, you can’t stay out here dressed like that. You’ll end up redder than me.”

Gently, the red-scaled Draekin pressed a hand to my shoulder to push me gently back in the direction of the tents.

Once we reached the tents, I allowed Roderick to guide me to where several floor cushions were still laid out from breakfast.

“Sit, I’ll bring you some water.”

Lowering myself to one of the cushions, I reached down to my thigh, intending to get some of my cooling balm to soothe my already burning skin, when I released I hadn’t brought it or my belt with the other pouches with me. I’d run out of the tent with nothing, dressed only in pajamas, a kimono and silk slippers.

Glancing around for the Draekin, I saw him leave the guild leader’s tent and groaned under my breath.

“Tattletale.” I hissed, scowling in the man's direction as he headed for the area where the horses were penned.

“I can already hear the lecture now.” I said with a sigh, staring down at my hands, which were covered in cuts from where I’d been pulling away branches of the thorny bush in my search for the Scorchers.

“Then I guess we can skip it this time.” Darius quipped, appearing from behind me and holding out a water flask.

“I didn’t mean to,” I sulked, taking the offered flask.

“I know, Roderick informed me the Scorchers were killed. I’ve seen Yuki respond in much the same way when her bound creatures have been killed, however, it is a response you need to control. Running off into the desert with no weapon, protective clothing or supplies is a fast way to die.”

“I’ll be more careful in the future.”

“That’s all I ask.” Darius said, inclining his head in the direction of the area my Scorchers had been.

“Roderick and Conrad are going to do a sweep of the area. It strikes me as strange that the Scorchers were killed, yet Roderick reports there were no signs of any people or animals in the area.”

“I was thinking about that actually, the only thing I can think of is that they were preyed on by a bird.”

“Perhaps, and if that were the case, we should find its body somewhere nearby.”

We didn’t talk much after that, and Darius left to walk the perimeter of our camp. I considered returning to my tent but decided to stay until Roderick and Conrad returned to see if they found anything. Though I did return to the tent briefly to change my clothes.

A quick search of my bag revealed two crystalline figurines of Scorchers. Relief surged through me as I saw the figurines which could be used to reform my lizards. Two medium-sized mana crystals later and my two Scorchers were safely tucked away inside my tent. I would need to be more careful with the pair in the future, as the cost of respawning them wasn’t exactly cheap, and my supply of mana crystals was limited.

When Roderick and Conrad returned an hour later, they brought back the bodies of five raptors, but reported no signs of anything suffering the effects of Scorcher venom.

The raptors had attempted an ambush on the pair while they searched, which obviously didn’t end well for the reptiles. These raptors were larger than the fully feathered Bambi raptors I’d encountered in the forests surrounding Curran and instead were covered in light brown scales with a few feathers protruding from the elbow joint of their short upper arms.

As Conrad skinned and rendered down the raptors, I observed his actions closely, trying to identify which two parts of the raptor my insight ability was indicating. I’d not had the chance to collect any of the Bambi raptors, as by the time I remembered to do so the bodies had disappeared, likely dragged off into the forest by their fellows to be eaten.

“Raptor meat isn’t the tastiest, but in a stew with the right spices, it’s edible.” Conrad informed me as he tossed chunks of raptor meat into a pot.

“Can I have the skin and fat?” I asked, pointing to the fatty bits of meat the mage was discarding into a bowl.

The raptors didn’t have a lot of fat on them, but the portions the mage was cutting gave off a faint glow.

I can render the fat into tallow, which can be used as a base for salves. I wonder if using raptor based tallow provides different benefits, will the type of animal used affect the product? These raptors live in the desert, so under that theory they are better adapted to living in this climate. Would using raptor tallow in the cooling balm be more beneficial than using beef tallow?

“You can have the fat. The skins you will need to ask Darius for, as they can be used to trade for supplies.” Conrad said as he poured water into the pot and set it over the metal camp stove he’d set up.

“Thanks.”

Taking the bowl of fat, I made my way into my tent to set up my own pot. I’d need to cook the fat over a low heat for several hours before straining out the impurities.

As I went to place the pot on the flat cooking surface of the furnace, I hesitated, staring down at the chunks of fat.

Could I just skip the entire cooking process and just transmute the fat into tallow? The same way I transmuted sand into glass?

Eyes closed, I tried to picture what I wanted, imagining the fat melting into liquid and the impurities straining away.

Excitement filled me as the amulet I wore began to pulse with power, and I opened my eyes to see the bowl was exactly as it had been when I closed them. Disappointment welled up within me, but I pushed it back down and focused on the pot again. I did feel something when I was trying to change the unprocessed fat, so I knew I’d been close.

After an hour of trying to transmute the fat into purified oil, I gave up and set the pot on the stove. Clearly, I was doing something wrong, but I didn’t know what that something was. Leaving the fat to render over a low heat, I moved to the workbench where I’d left the jug of vodka and pain-relieving tincture.

As I poured the vodka into a bowl, a tearing noise from the rear of the tent caught my attention. A quick search for the source of the noise revealed a small rip in the canvas at the bottom of the rear wall.

How did this happen? I wondered as I knelt to inspect the tear. It looked like someone had stabbed a hole through the canvas with a small blade.

The sound of something hitting the wooden floorboards behind me with a loud clatter had me spinning around to see a reddish blur rush across the tent towards the living area, while the glass jar containing my Scorchers rolled across the floor.

Lunging for the dagger I’d left on the nearby work bench, I held it out in front of me cautiously as I crouched to pick up the thankfully intact jar.

A quick glance into the jar showed both Scorch and Sting to be okay, though I suspected the lizards were a little shaken from the fall.

Placing the jar back on the workbench, I shifted my dagger into my left hand, and plucked an orange dart from my bracer. With the dart ready to be thrown at a moment's notice, I crept towards the living area of my tent.

After a glance under the table revealed nothing, I moved to the second area where my futon sat, still rumpled from my earlier nap. Shifting my grip on the dagger, I slid the blade under the blanket and attempted to flip it up.

The blanket didn’t flip back as I’d intended, but it was enough to send the creature hiding beneath it darting out.

As the red creature appeared from beneath the blanket, I flung the orange feathered dart at it and missed.

It’s some kind of lizard. I noted as I chased it back through the living area of the tent, throwing a second dart at it.

This time the dart hit, embedding itself into the red lizard's side. To my shock, the creature didn’t immediately stop its frantic dash towards the low table.

No sounds of pain could be heard and, as I approached the table, the lizard ran out from under it. As the lizard headed for the curtain that separated the living area from the lab, I could see the orange dart still lodged firmly in its side.

The venom isn’t affecting it.

This observation spurred me into action, and I ran after the lizard, determined to catch this creature who didn’t seem to be bothered in the slightest by the fact I’d dosed it with the same Scorcher venom that would have a person screaming in agony.

As the lizard bolted for the rip in the rear wall of the tent, I let instinct take over and my human form melted away into that of a small, red fox.

Bursting through the hole in the canvas, I dashed across the rocky ground, following the fleeing lizard. In that moment, nothing mattered, not the heat, or the growing distance between myself and the camp. The only thing I cared about was catching my prey.

We ran for what felt like miles, the lizard always keeping just out of reach. We darted through vegetation, in and around rocky outcroppings in a seemingly endless game of cat and mouse.

At one point, the lizard spun around in an attempt to attack or perhaps frighten me, as it hissed and revealed a frill that fanned out from its neck.

I lunged at the lizard, undeterred by this display, and we went rolling across the dirt, biting and clawing at each other. It was during this altercation that I learned that the lizard also had some rather sharp teeth when it bit down on the side of my neck. As soon as I’d shaken the lizard off, the little creature was once more dashing across the rocky desert.

Up ahead, the red lizard raced towards a large rock protruding from the ground, and I followed, reaching it just in time to see the lizard disappear into a crevice.

Stalking closer, I could see the golden eyes of the lizard staring back at me, and I let out a low, condescending yip as I saw it had trapped itself. Laying down in front of the crevices opening, I rested my head on my front paws, my sides heaving with exertion as I took advantage of the lizard's predicament to recover some of my waning strength.

I’m never going to hear the end of this. I grumbled silently to myself as I huddled alongside the trembling form of the red lizard.

A dark irised eye peered at us from outside the crevice, and I wondered if this was how the lizard next to me felt when I’d been peering at him in the same manner not so long ago.

After trapping the red lizard inside the crevice, I had been exhausted to a point where I hadn’t noticed the larger creature stalking me until it was almost too late, and the only escape was scrambling into the hiding hole with my prey.

The creature outside was another reptile, this one reminiscent of the Komodo dragons I’d seen in virtual zoos and on nature documentaries.

Sounds of scratching and sandy debris falling into the crevice alerted me to the predator resuming his attempts to widen the entry point with its sharp claws.

Letting out a high-pitched yip, I shot a small flicker of flame through the crack and the sound of digging stopped briefly before resuming.

This is all your fault. I silently told the trembling creature who was pressed tightly against my side. Maybe if I toss it outside, the Komodo dragon will be distracted long enough for me to make my own escape.

As though sensing my thoughts, the red scaled lizard twisted around and somehow maneuvered itself beneath me, where it cowered, using my body as a shield. That evil little shit, if I’m on top I’ll get eaten first for sure.

Craning my head to stare down at the lizard, I saw it gazing up at me with wide, fear-filled eyes, as though pleading with me to protect it from the predator trying to claw its way inside.

It actually looked kind of cute, if it wasn’t for the scales I’d easily mistake it for a kitten rather than a lizard. I mused as I stared down at the little beast.

Don’t worry, I’m not going to let the Komodo eat you. That would be a waste after all the effort I’ve gone through to catch you. Though, we can’t just sit here waiting to be eaten. I silently grumbled, sending another flicker of fire through the narrow opening.

The eye appeared again, and I sent out a wave of fire towards it. I was hoping it would burn the eye staring at us, but the predator ignored my attempt to burn it in favor of continuing to widen the opening.

Digging my own claws into the ground, I contemplated trying to tunnel out of the crevice, but we were surrounded by rock and my claws only scraped against it uselessly.

But maybe there is another way. Tris said transmutation is the magical art of modifying energy and matter, this rock is matter, so let's modify it. First, let's make this gap smaller. I decided, staring at the narrow opening with determination.

Focusing on the rock with all my strength, I pictured it shifting and melding together, closing the opening. The fur on my chest felt warm and I could sense that, even though it was not visible, my amulet was still hanging around my neck.

Slowly, inch by inch, the opening shrunk until only a sliver of light could be seen from the now inch-wide crack in the stone.

Relief washed over me and I slumped to the ground, almost crushing the lizard laying beneath me. We didn’t have to worry about the Komodo dragon’s clawed paws reaching us, so I could finally relax my stiff posture. The scrabbling sound of claws digging into rock grew more frantic, and I saw a pale, forked tongue flick in through the crevice.

Tiredly, I shot a flicker of fire at the tongue, causing it to retreat. Sitting up on my haunches, I gazed around at the rock which I’d just entombed myself in.

Should I try tunneling down and see if I can pop up somewhere far enough away from the Komodo that I can make an escape? No, I don’t think that will work. Just closing the opening was almost more than I could manage and tunneling might be dangerous as the tunnel could collapse on top of me. Maybe the Komodo dragon will give up trying to dig us out if we wait long enough?

Sadly, it seemed the predator outside was determined to make a meal out of us, as it continued digging without any signs of tiring.

After some experimenting, I found that if I gently coaxed the earth to shift around us it used less power than trying to force a change. By moving the rock behind us and creating space opposite the opening, the lizard and I could move further away from the Komodo dragon.

The Komodo dragon continued digging its way in through the front, whilst I slowly worked on burrowing further back into the rock. Soon we reached the back of the rock, and creating an eye sized opening, I peered out to check for signs of the predator outside. Not seeing anything, I contemplated fleeing, but the thought of running around lost in the desert was even less appealing than staying entombed in the rock.

Didn’t Markion say if I got lost in the desert to find a shaded place to bunker down and wait? If I keep moving around, it will be harder for them to find me.

Contemplating my options, I decided staying in the rock was better as it wasn’t as hot in here as it was outside. Darius said many of the Kemet tribes lived in homes dug into the ground and the tents they pitched over the entrance were only used as a gathering space when guests were visiting. It’s a good thing I’ve got my belt and personal bags with me, there’s enough food for about two weeks in my thigh bag if I ration it. But I need to get rid of the Komodo before I try to fortify a safe place to stay. The only way I can do that is by risking a confrontation with it. Which means I need to change back so I can dart it with Scorcher venom.

With a plan of action, I turned my focus to the rock beside me, progressively opening the hole until it was just large enough that the red lizard could fit inside.

Leaning down, I nudged the lizard with my muzzle, pushing it towards the hole and once it obediently scrambled inside, I closed the entrance.

I left a hole just large enough to allow air to flow into the tiny rock prison, but not enough that the creature could escape. A soft whine sounded from the air hole, while a tiny golden eye peered out at me with a look of so much sadness and betrayal that I felt a pang of regret.

Sorry little thing, but I don’t trust you not to run off while I’m trying to take out the Komodo. I promise if I die, I’ll come back and find you. I told the lizard silently, before turning my attention to the gap in the rear side of the rock, and using more transmutation to enlarge it.

Once the crack was large enough for my slender, canine body to squeeze through, I pushed out of the crevice and immediately shifted back into my human form.

Yanking an orange and black tipped dart from my bracer, I checked to the left and right of me for any signs of the Komodo dragon. Seeing nothing and hearing the faint scratching sounds coming from the other side of the rock, I was about to start creeping around the rock when an idea came to me.

Attacking the Komodo dragon head-on would be dangerous, as I was sure it could quickly close the distance between us. I had left both my dagger and wagasa in the tent, so I was left with only my darts to use for defense.

Sliding the dart back into my bracer, I turned my attention to the big rock behind me and began climbing, shifting the rock to create footholds to make it easier to climb. The more I worked at manipulating the earth, the easier it became, though I was quickly tiring. Hunger gnawed at my stomach and the sweltering heat of the desert was quickly sapping my energy.

Even with the thin leather gloves I wore, my hands felt scalded by the burning surface of the rock, as did the entire front half of my body, which was pressed against it as I climbed.

I’m surprised the Komodo dragon hasn’t noticed me yet. I scrambled over the top of the rock, but saw no sign of the large predator that had been clawing at the far side of the rock.

Where did it go? I know it was still there when I started climbing, I could hear it digging.

My ears twitched, and the renewed sound of claws digging into stone had me twisting my head to the side. Eye wide, I saw the Komodo dragon staring up at me from the spot where I’d begun my ascent.

As I watched, the large lizard stretched up on its hind legs, and started to scramble up the rock.

Oh fuck, it can climb.

A pale tongue flickered out of the big lizard's mouth as the Komodo dragon dug its claws into the rock, gaining another few inches of height before it slid down after losing its footing.

Taking advantage of this, I flung an orange dart at the lizard and cheered when the lizard gave a shudder as the dart embedded into the predator's back. The Komodo dragon shook its head, looking disoriented, but after a second it appeared to recover.

Two more darts followed the first, each dyed a pale blue, and this time the lizard staggered backwards. When the fourth dart, with its orange and black feathers, pierced the lizard's side, it let out a pained hiss, collapsing to the ground.

Just to be sure, I flung a second dart with undiluted Scorcher venom and another with diluted venom at it.

As the Komodo dragon began writhing on the ground, I slid down the side of the rock, and shoved a hand into my pouch. Pulling out three strips of beef jerky, along with a bowl which I filled with a small amount of water, I slid the items through the crevice in the wall.

Then I searched through my bag again until I found a three-inch long clay cylinder. Moving a few steps away from the large rock, and keeping a cautious eye on the Komodo dragon, I dug the bottom half of the cylinder into the ground and lit the fuse.

Jogging back to the crevice, I shifted back into the form of a red fox and retreated into the rock as plumes of white smoke rose into the air.

Hopefully the others will see the smoke bomb and come find me.

As I lapped at the water in the bowl, I monitored the Komodo dragon which I could see rolling around on the ground outside my hideaway.

A scratching noise from the rock beside me brought my attention to the spot where I’d trapped the lizard that had gotten me into this mess. Widening the hole I’d left in the rock to allow for air flow, I watched as the red scaled lizard scrambled out and rushed towards the bowl.

It really looks like a small cat, just with scales and not fur. The tongue isn’t forked like the Komodo dragon, and it moves with its body raised off the ground, not like the Scorchers who move with their bodies dragging along the ground. It also has sharp teeth that resemble those of a carnivorous mammal, while lizards typically have smaller teeth along their jaw. I chewed on a piece of jerky, concealing a second piece under my paw and leaving the third for the red lizard. The frill is almost like a mane.

The mix of reptilian, and feline aspects gave the little creature an appearance that resembled a scaled lion.

After I finished with my meal, I shrunk the opening down to an inch-wide gap that was just large enough to ensure fresh air would flow into the cave, while being small enough that nothing could get in- or in the little lizard's case- out. With a wide yawn, I laid down with my head resting on my paws, deciding to take a nap while I waited for someone to come find me.

* * *

“There’s nothing here, just some blood. I’d say she was killed by a predator that was attracted by the smoke bomb.”

The sound of voices woke me from a deep sleep, and I sat up on my haunches about to let out a soft yip to alert the others to my location, when their words penetrated my sleep-fogged brain.

“Yo, Killian, you owe me two gold. Lil Foxy didn’t last two days,” the boisterous sound of the dwarven fighter called out.

Shuffling closer to the gap in the rock, I peered out to see the archer crouch down in the spot where the Komodo dragon had been hours earlier. I’d already skinned the lizard and harvested the usable parts, before burying the remains so it didn’t attract any predators.

Laughing, the archer tossed two coins towards the dwarf who caught them with a grin.

“I’m surprised she made it through the first night, I thought for sure we’d lose her during the raider ambush.”

“Nah, Dorian was watching her like a hawk. He bet on three days, so the little bastard was doing his damnedest to keep her alive till then.”

Slowly, I backed away from the gap in the stone, lowering my head as the pair continued talking. They were betting about how long it would take before I died?

“Let’s head back to the others, she’s probably already revived.” Killian said, his voice further away.

I didn’t move as the sound of the pair riding away grew fainter; my stomach was twisted into knots as the men's words reverberated through my head. Anger and hurt coursed through me, while a small part of me understood their doubts about my survivability. I was weak, I couldn’t fight and knew very little about this world I was living in.

All I’ve done since I got here is stay in my lab or follow other people around. The one time I went out alone I got myself killed, and the first thing I did was go running to my brother for help. I can’t always depend on Markion or other people to help me out all the time.

A soft nudge at my side shook me from my thoughts, and I peered down at the feline lizard nuzzling its head against me. The sight of the little creature reminded me of the other animals who’d been left behind at the camp, along with my tent.

I suppose my tent and bound items will return to me, eventually. The same with Arion, if I revoke permission for the others to interact with him, then Arion should revert to a token, based on what I was told at the bank. I’m sure Zosimos will show up on his own, and Markion will look after my Scorchers or kill them, so they revert to tokens once enough time passes without me returning. I can’t stay here in the middle of the desert. Once it gets darker I’ll need to find a trail marker. It should be easy enough with how bright they glow, from there, I can decide what I’ll do.

Once the light shining through the crevice faded away, I stood and picked Leonidas up by the scruff of his neck. I had chosen the name purely based on the creature's resemblance to a lion, despite its lack of fur.

Using my transmutation ability to widen the crevice enough for me to fit through, I slipped out of my hiding place.

Peering around, I searched for any signs of a trail marker and after walking around to the far side of the rock I saw a blurry splotch in the distance which looked like one of the glowing pillars.

Placing the still-unidentified creature on the ground, I gave it a nudge toward the distant pillar.

That's our goal, Leo. I yipped, jogging forward a few steps and glancing back to see if it would follow me.

I hadn’t bound the creature using a dominance bond as I did with the Scorchers, the spark of intelligence in Leo’s golden eyes made me forgo any attempts at a forced bond.

Instead, I wanted to form a mutual bond with the creature, like the one Yuki had with most of her tamed creatures. The first steps had already been taken with my providing food and a name, now it would be up to Leonidas to either follow or leave.

Leo stared at me unmoving for what felt like an eternity, before something seemed to click into place between us and the lizard-like creature bounded forwards to rub its head up under my neck.

When we reached the pillar, I stared up at the two words etched into it with arrows pointing west to a place called Ain, and north to Hathus.

North or West? I mused, as I knelt next to the pillar in my human form, and poured some water into a bowl for Leo.

After giving the lizard-like creature a small chunk of beef jerky, I grabbed an apple for myself, which I ate with quick bites.

Do I split off completely and go my own way, or do I continue on to Hathus to rejoin the others? With a sigh, I packed away the empty bowl and shifted back into my four legged form.

Leo and I ran through the night, encountering no one aside from a rather angry cobra that proved no match for the two of us. Leo had quickly devoured the snake after we’d killed it, though not until after he’d ‘offered’ the prey to me first. I wasn’t so desperate for food that I was willing to eat a snake, and happily left it for my companion.

Surprisingly, Leo ate the entire snake, leaving not a single piece behind. This had worried me at first, as I closely monitored him for any signs that the venom from the cobras head which he’d eaten first was affecting him. Just as with the Scorcher venom, the little reptilian cat showed no signs of being affected by the venom. I almost stopped right then, wanting to examine Leo and test his apparent immunity further.

Even after dawn bathed the desert in a soft warm glow, we continued to run through the desert, until the heat became too much to endure.

Stopping beside one of the large stone pillars, I stared down at the ground, pushing the rock hardened earth aside to create a tunnel that went down with a slight decline. I continued tunneling down under the earth until I felt the ground under my paws begin to cool. After taking a brief break to recover my depleted power, I continued tunneling downwards, planning to dig a little deeper before widening the tunnel to create a space where Leo and I could nap.

As I burrowed deeper into the earth with my magic, the ground beneath my paws started to crumble and shift. Panic filled me as the floor of my tunnel fell away, and I tried to scramble backwards, but was impeded by Leo who’d been following behind me as I dug.

With a high-pitched yelp, I fell through the air several feet before landing with a hard thud and was then crushed by Leo who landed on top of me. Letting out a low whine of pain, I staggered to my feet, knocking the lizard off my back as I did so.

Darkness surrounded me, and even with my current form's natural dark vision, I could not see anything in the surrounding space.

Conjuring a ball of flame which I held in place over my head, I scanned my surroundings and, after turning in a slow circle, concluded I’d fallen into a much larger tunnel than the one I’d been digging. The sides of the tunnel were smooth, and shaped in a half circle, with the bottom of the tunnel flatten out.

It looks like a subway tunnel, just without the tracks.

A low clattering noise echoing down the tunnel sent me rushing to a prone Leo’s side where I grabbed him by the scruff and darted to the side wall.

Pushing at the earth with my magic, I created a hole just large enough for the two of us to hide in and put out the flames I was using for light.

A glow appeared somewhere further in the tunnel to our right, and as the light drew closer, I worked frantically to close the opening to our hiding place.

The clattering grew louder and soon hooves clomping rhythmically along the ground accompanied it. Peering out of the small hole I left in the wall, I watched as several pairs of horse legs trotted past, followed by wooden wheels.

One, two, three… six… nine, twenty-three. I counted as each wagon passed our hiding place and concluded I must be inside a tunnel used to transport goods through the desert.

I’d been curious why we didn’t see more people traveling through the desert, and now I know why.

We didn’t see people traveling through the desert, because they were traveling under it. The question I have now, though, is why didn’t we use the tunnel? Is there some restriction on who can enter?

Once the sound of the wagon faded, I crept out from my hiding spot and recalled my flame. Leo seemed a little disoriented, but grew steadier as he trudged after me. Those wagons were headed in the direction I came from, so I’m guessing they must be going to Valonia if they were carrying trade goods. Should I try to dig my way back up to the surface, or do I see where this tunnel leads? I pondered, turning in the direction the wagon had come from.

Well, nothing ventured, nothing gained, right? I yipped, glancing down at Leo with a false sense of brevity.

Picking Leo up by his scruff, I began running down the tunnel, whilst silently hoping I wasn’t making a big mistake.

Soon I discovered the wagons weren’t the only travelers in the tunnel, and I was forced into hiding three more times as groups of horses rode by at a fast pace.

On one occasion, I’d come to a section of the tunnel that opened out in a large chamber, which appeared to be a resting area of sorts where a group of people had stopped to give their mounts water.

After we carefully passed by the resting chamber, we came across a group of people who were walking through the tunnel. Seeing the group, I decided to stop hiding and simply passed them to see how they would react.

When they walked past with only a joking comment about wishing they had four legs to speed up their own journey, I concluded that the tunnel must be for public use.

Reaching a second large chamber that was empty of occupants, I retook my human form and checked my pouch to see if Arion’s token was there. Seeing that my horse was indeed present, along with my tent and other items, I breathed a sigh of relief. The only thing that appeared to be missing were my Scorchers, which I hoped Markion was looking after.

After reforming Arion and his tack, I made a startling discovery. All the items I’d had packed in the saddle bags were gone, with the exception of the items that were bound to me. I’d lost all my extra food, wagasa and most of my alchemy supplies along with all the other items I’d kept in the bags.

“Hopefully the saddle bag just spat it all out, and the others were able to pick it up.” I mumbled as I slung the saddle bags over Arion’s back and secured them.

Leaning down, I scooped up Leonidas and held him up for Arion to see.

“Arion, meet Leo,” I said to the horse, who let out a loud snort in response.

Introductions finished, I placed Leo on top of the saddle bags, before mounting the horse. Once I was settled, I reached back and grabbed the little reptilian feline, depositing him on my lap.

“Now, let's see where this tunnel leads shall we?”

The flow of time was difficult to track when traveling through the tunnels, the only context I had was the timepiece in my pocket. Within the darkened tunnel, I rode for an entire day and into the next night, passing three intersections on my journey, each one leaving me with a decision of what path I should take.

Did I continue riding towards Hathus or explore one of the other unknown locations? In the end, I continued following the markings towards Hathus. I needed to find my brother, not only to let him know I was okay, but also to retrieve my things.

According to the last set of markings, Hathus was only another two miles away, and I was looking forward to getting out of this horrid tunnel.

The air down here smelt stale, like horse manure, which was trampled into the tunnel floor, but that was nothing compared to the stench wafting from my own body. Days without bathing, and the humid environment of the tunnel, had me smelling fouler than anything I’d ever experienced in my life- digital or otherwise.

Even with the stench, I still preferred riding in the tunnel over riding through the desert. Plus, I’d found some really interesting plants growing in some of the resting chambers and along the walls of the tunnel. The mushrooms were of particular interest with their pink luminescent glow.

I’d given up trying to hold the squirming Leonidas in my lap barely ten minutes into the ride and, after crawling all over the saddle, the feline lizard had curled up on top of the saddle bags to nap. During a break to feed and water Arion, I’d pulled a woven basket from the bag at my thigh and, after unfolding the basket, I strapped it to my saddlebags with one of my tunics as bedding.

As I got closer to Hathus, the tunnel became filled with more people. From the conversations flowing around me, most of these people had traveled to Hathus from other locations, seeking to trek across the desert to visit the newly located dungeon.

“Team of four looking for Archer, or long ranged damage dealer!” A loud voice called, and a few others joined it, shouting out their own requests.

I shook my head with amusement as I led Arion past the caller.

And it’s nighttime. I grumbled, as I got my first glimpse of the world outside the tunnel. A glimpse of the sun would have been nice after so long in the dark.

As I passed a shorter line of people who were preparing to enter the tunnel, I noticed they were paying gold to a guard standing near the entrance.

So, there’s a toll for using the tunnel, which I apparently bypassed when I dug my way in. Oh well, I doubt I’m the first person to cheat the system like that. Is the toll why we didn’t use the tunnel? No, I doubt that is the case. Then again, if the tunnel only opens up in towns, then I’m guessing the entrance for the tunnel was somewhere in Valonia. That must be why we didn’t use the tunnel-we couldn’t access it due to the guilds poor reputation with the city.

Seeing the group I’d been following dismounting their horses, and the group ahead of them also off their horses, I did the same. As I walked away from the tunnel area, the sound of lively music filled the air, and the scent of food teased across my senses.

Hathus wasn’t anything like I’d been expecting, there were no buildings made of stone, wood or any other resource typically used to build homes. Instead, I was surrounded by rows of colorful tents, in all shapes and sizes. Ornate braziers atop carved stone pillars were set at varying intervals, the dancing flames casting the town in a warm orange glow.

“We should pay for a campsite before we explore.” A girl from the group ahead of me told her friends, and I decided to continue following them, as it seemed like they knew where they were going.

The group approached a man wearing light brown robes standing behind a wooden counter in an open-sided tent. A flag hanging from the roof of the tent identified the man as a town official. Listening to the conversation going on inside, I learned that camping sites could be rented starting at five silvers a night for a basic campsite. The most expensive was ten gold a night for a campsite with a perimeter alert enchantment, shared access to a well, and an animal shelter, which meant not having to use the town's stable.

As the group left, arguing amongst themselves about which was the best option. I moved into the tent and paid thirty gold for three nights in one of the larger sites. Receiving a wooden tag from the man which announced my campsite to be fifty-seven B, I returned to Arion and headed in the direction the man had indicated.

Leading Arion away from the rows of tents, I skirted around the outside of the town to the left and soon found myself in an area with hundreds of wooden posts. After several minutes, I reached the large camping sites whose numbers appeared to start at hundred. Working my way along the rows of tents, I finally found the one marked fifty-seven and let out a sigh of relief.

The shared site was marked by a thick rope running around the perimeter and at the rear of the campsite there were two pens with a canvas roof covering half the space. A line of stones ran down the center of the camp site, separating the area into two sections.

With Arion settled into the pen with his muzzle buried in a feed bag, I put his saddle and tack away into the saddlebags before carrying them out of the pen along with the woven basket containing Leo.

Once I’d used a high-grade mana crystal to restore my tent, and another high grade stone on the furnishing crate, I rolled out the tent on the ground.

I’ve only got a few high-grade stone left. That concerning thought plagued my mind as I pushed the stakes into the ground, not bothering with the mallet as I shifted the earth around the stake.

I need to be careful and not lose any of my items again, otherwise I won’t be able to reform them. I should have been smarter and brought more from the settlement, but I didn’t think I’d be needing so many. Darius said mana crystals could be collected in dungeons, so maybe I should go with the others into the dungeon. Who cares what that stupid dwarf and elf think, they can go screw themselves.

Tent pitched and furnishing crate unpacked, I carried my saddle bags and Leo’s basket into the tent, depositing both in the dining room section of my living quarters. Lifting the lid of the basket, I found the little feline reptile still gnawing at the roasted lamb shank I’d bought from one of the stalls I passed on the way to the administrator’s tent.

Deciding to leave Leo to finish his dinner in peace, I made my way out of the tent in search of the well and noticed that the previously empty site next to me was now occupied by the group I’d been following earlier.

I guess they decided to get the more expensive site after all, I wonder how much the stable fee was? The Orc in their group seemed to think stabling the horses would be cheaper than paying for a site with its own pen, yet here they are with all three horses.

“Ask her,” a female voice hissed. My ears twitched, perking up and twisting in the direction of the voice.

“You ask her, it was your idea.” Another snapped back.

“I’ll ask her.” A third voice sighed.

As I lowered a bucket into the stone well, the sound of footsteps approaching confirmed my suspicions that I was the subject of their conversion. I looked up to see a blue-skinned girl with pale white hair and pointed elven ears walking towards me with a determined stride that faltered when she noticed me watching her.

“Hi, I’m Viv.” The girl said, shoving her hand towards me with a bright smile.

“Kadia.” I responded, shaking her hand.

“Sorry to be rude, but my friends and I were wondering if you only had the one horse?”

“Why?” I asked, narrowing my eyes at the girl suspiciously.

“It’s just we have three horses, and the pens are small. So, we were wondering if maybe we could put one of our horses with yours for the night? We’d pay you, of course,” the girl said, her words coming out in a rush.

Glancing over to the pen where the other two were unsaddling their mounts, I saw that the horses did look rather squashed together, especially considering one was a Clydesdale.

“So long as it isn’t the Clydesdale, you can pen one with Arion. Don’t worry about paying.” I told the girl, waving away her hand as she went to reach for a pouch on her belt.

“Arion? From the Greek myth?” The girl asked, looking over at where my stallion stood.

“You know, you’re the first person who knows that without me telling them.” I said, with a smile.

“History was my favorite subject in school, I flunked just about everything except for that and gym.”

“It was the opposite for me, gym was my Achilles heel.” I admitted with a grimace as horrid memories of being forced to run laps around an oval while a pudgy old man yelled from the sidelines filled my head.

“Would you like to join us for dinner? To repay for letting us pen our horse in with yours, I mean, if you want to that is.”

I hesitated for a second, glancing over at the girl's friends who were watching us intently. Shouldn’t she ask her friends before just inviting someone to eat with them?

“I’m good,” I told her with a polite smile. “I bought some food from a stall earlier which I’m planning to eat.”

“Oh, well, if you change your mind feel free to pop over.” Viv said. I nodded, keeping my smile fixed in place as I headed back to my tent with the bucket of water.

After another two trips to the well, I’d refilled my water flask, the three water bladders stored in my bag and my two largest pots. It was as I was filling the pots, that I remembered the raptor fat I’d been rendering when I left my tent to chase after Leo.

I wonder what happened to it?

Filing that away as a question for later, I put both pots on the flat top of the furnace and yet again discovered something I was missing.

My Firestone! It was in the furnace, which means it's either with the others or lost completely. With a groan of annoyance, I conjured a ball of fire, sending it to hover in the furnace to heat my water.

Once the water reached a temperature I was happy with, I proceeded to do my best to clean away the layer of grime coating my skin, and ended up needing to make a second trip to fill a third pot with water to wash my hair.

As I worked soap into my hair, I vowed to find some way to install a bath or shower into my tent.

Clean and feeling a thousand times better than I had since my crazed run through the desert chasing Leo, I headed out to the horse pen to remove Arion’s feed bag. Reaching the pen, I found the blue-skinned girl named Viv and her Orc friend leading a gray horse towards the pen.

“Hi, Kadia, this is Nim and this is my horse Chiron.” Viv called out.

“Thank you for allowing us to pen Chiron over here,” Nim said by way of greeting. I shrugged with what I hoped was a friendly smile.

“It's no bother, I’m sure Arion will enjoy the company.” I assured her as they led Chiron into the pen with Arion.

After the horses were settled, and I’d removed Arion’s feed bag, the girls moved back to their own tent. Before they left, Viv repeated her offer of dinner, which I politely declined.

Returning to my own tent, I made my way into the living area and sat down to eat the lamb kebab I’d bought from the same stall that sold me the shank I gave to Leo.

I hope Markion isn’t too worried about me, and that Zosimos is okay. I sighed, shoving away the pang of regret I felt. Leaving like I did had been foolish, but the time alone felt nice after having spent the past weeks constantly surrounded by people.

Finished with my dinner, I scooped a fat-bellied Leo out of his basket, smiling when he let out a soft sound of annoyance at being moved. Carrying him with me to the sleeping area, I crawled onto the futon and curled up with the sleepy kittenish lizard under my arm.

Upon further observation, I have deduced that both Leosaur blood and saliva contain properties which break down the toxins in the Scorcher and Cobra venom. Experiment Leo-S9 has shown that a direct injection of saliva into the site of the sting has slowed the effect of the venom, extending survival by several minutes. Experiment Leo-C2 shows the cobra venom has been completely nullified by the injection of saliva.

A loud crash from behind me disrupted my train of thought, as a red blur ran across the wooden floor of the tent, chasing after a ball I’d created by transmuting a scrap of leather into a spherical shape.

According to Barlow's Bestiary, the red-scaled kittenish reptile was a creature called a Leosaur, which appeared to be a feline with reptilian aspects.

The Leosaur’s, from what I could decipher from the aged script, were very similar to lions in behavior and lived in matriarchal prides. Female Leosaur’s were pictured with brown scales that lightened to a sandy color along the Leosaur's underside. The males were red and, as I’d observed with Leonidas, possessed a frill that could be flared out like a mane.

The pictures of grown Leosaur’s showed them to have armored scales lining their backs, similar to a crocodile, and an examination of Leonidas showed signs of osteoderms developing along his back.

I also discovered that when pressing on the pads of his paws to force him to extend his claws, that his claws had a groove running along the inside similar to a house cat. Unlike a domestic cat or a normal lion, this groove would fill with liquid when his paw pads were compressed.

Testing of this fluid showed it to produce a slight burning sensation, which led me to hypothesize the nature of the fluid may be connected to the Leosaur’s consumption of Scorcher venom. Barlows Bestiary mentioned poisonous claws, but the information was difficult to decipher with how worn and old the text was.

I wasn’t sure why Leo had been alone in the desert, but concluded I’d either accidentally stolen him from his pride, or he’d been run out of his pride’s territory by his sire.

Laying down my pen, I stood, stretching my arms up over my head to ease the slight ache from sitting hunched over the bench.

After checking that the ink was dry in the journal, I placed it inside my bag. I had learned my lesson about leaving books out unattended when Leo was around. The little reptilian feline seemed to take great delight in shredding anything he could get his claws into.

“Leo, come.” I called out as I headed for the door, causing the cub to abandon his chase and rush across the room towards me.

As we left the tent, I noticed Viv was tending her horse, Chiron, and that her two friends were also in the opposite pen with their own mounts.

“Morning, Kadia,” Viv called out when she noticed my approach.

Is it morning still? I pondered as I returned the greeting and checked on Arion’s water.

“Are you heading out?” I queried, noticing the saddle Viv had placed on her horse.

“We’re going to ride out to a nearby oasis, we heard people gather there during the day, figured it would be the best place to find a replacement for Damian and Gemma.” The girl explained.

Over the past few days, I’d gotten to know my campsite neighbors and learned that the three girls originally traveled with two other people, who’d left because of an argument. Apparently, the three girls got annoyed with Damian and Gemma endangering the group because of their relationship.

The couple had been favoring each other during fights and leaving the others without support, which resulted in the argument that caused the group to split. While they could still enter the dungeon as a team of three, it was recommended not to enter without a team of four or more. Because of this, they’d spent a few extra days in Hathus to find a fourth before heading to the dungeon.

“I hope you find someone.” I consoled.

Viv’s dark blue lower lip jutted out in a pout. “Are you sure you won’t consider joining us?”

“It isn’t that I haven’t considered it, Viv, it’s that I can’t say I would be of any use to you. You’d probably be better off without a fourth than with me.”

“You’re underestimating yourself, Kadia.” Viv said, giving me a pleading look. “I think you should come with us, we’re only going into the dungeon for fun, so it doesn’t matter if you’re not good at fighting.”

“I need to wait for my brother,” I told her, though a part of me wanted to go with them.

It had been three days since I’d arrived in Hathus, and despite going into the main areas of the town daily to ask if anyone had seen a group matching the description of my guild members, there were still no signs of their arrival.

Leaving the way I did had been foolish, and when the group continued not to show up, I started to worry they might still be searching for me near where we’d been camping. I shouldn’t have let my hurt feelings override my common sense. When I didn’t revive, they surely would have returned to the rock where they thought I’d died, I could have left something there to let them know I’d gone off on my own.

“You can leave a note with the camp site administrator, if your brother shows up he’ll need to speak to him to hire a campsite. Please, Kadia, it’ll be fun, I promise. I’d rather you come with us than some random person we might find.” Viv coaxed.

“I don’t know,” I hesitated.

“Do you really want to spend all your time following your brother around?” She asked, crossing her arms over her chest.

“No, but-”

“Then come with us,” the dark elf coaxed. “You said you wanted to split off from your brother's group anyway, just leave him a note that you’re okay and let's go. Who knows when they’ll show up, you could wait here for weeks…”

Biting my lip, I looked at the elven girl and then over to her friends. Should I go to the dungeon with them? They seem nice enough, and I enjoyed their company the past few days.

“Alright, I’ll come.” I agreed.

Viv let out a little squeal as she rushed forwards to pull me into a hug.

“I’ll go tell Nim and Amara we don’t need to look for anyone. We’ll leave as soon as we’ve got everything packed.” She exclaimed, leaving her horse behind as she ran over to speak with the two girls.

As I walked back to my tent, I began to reconsider my decision to join Viv and her friends. It wasn’t that I didn’t like the girls, they seemed friendly enough, but the thought of leaving without speaking to Markion left me feeling guilty.

I had ditched my brother without so much as a word, and the fact they still hadn’t arrived in Hathus made me feel even worse. I was a horrible sister for just running off and would have been better off just confronting the hunting team about how hurtful I found their bet.

“Are you sure we should do this?”

Ears perking at the sound of Amara’s voice, I hovered just inside the doorway of my tent, focusing on the conversation. If the girls also had doubts about me joining them, then I could use that to back out of going.

“Of course, just look at her tent, and that horse. She clearly has a lot of gold,” Viv responded. I stiffened, the girl's words were filled with derision, a vast shift from her normally friendly tone.

“But wasn’t she traveling with a large group? What if she tells them what happened and they come after us? We should find someone else.” Amara said, her voice weary.

“Oh please, they obviously ditched her. How is she going to find them in the desert with no money or supplies? Even if she did find them, we’ll be long gone.” Nim scoffed.

No money or supplies? But I have plenty of- wait, Amara said, “what if she tells them what happened and they come after us.” What is going to happen? Are they planning to rob me?

“Don’t worry so much, Amara, it’ll be fine.” Viv said her voice growing fainter.

The girls continued talking among themselves, but they’d moved further away and the sounds of them dismantling their tent made it harder to make out what was being said. Not that I needed to hear more than I had.

Leaning against my work bench, I considered my options. I could simply tell the girls I’d changed my mind, and hope they left me alone, but the idea didn’t sit well with me.

Somehow, I don’t think they split from their former team members over an argument about their relationship like Viv said. They’ve clearly done this kind of thing before. I’m betting they’ll wait until we’re away from Hathus in the midst of the sand sea and then attack me as a group.

Letting out a low laugh, I shook my head, remembering a story my brother once told me about how he’d been lured into a dungeon by a pretty girl, and how she’d gotten him killed in order to loot his corpse. She wasn’t strong enough to directly attack and kill him, so was using high level mobs in dungeons to do her dirty work for her.

Once I’d finished packing away the few tools I’d left out, I grabbed a single piece of paper from my bag and a pen to write a brief note to my brother.

Markion,

If you’re reading this you’ve arrived in Hathus, and I haven’t returned before your arrival. I’m sorry for leaving on my own, I needed some time alone to work through some things.

After arriving in Hathus, I met a group who asked me to join their team in the dungeon. They’re just so friendly, I can’t help but be ‘lured’ in. I’m hoping to do some experimenting with my new friends before returning to Hathus to meet up with you.

Hope to see you soon,

Kadia.

P.S Tell Bastian to give Killian back his two gold, because they were wrong about me dying.

When the ink was dry, I rolled up the letter and sealed it with wax, using my guild token as a stamp. With the letter safely tucked away in my bag, I continued packing up my tent. I’d visit the administrator’s tent before leaving Hathus with my new friends to give the letter to him along with a sizable bribe to ensure it was given to Markion if the group showed up after I left.

As I rode out of Hathus with the three girls, I was grateful for the cloth mask covering the lower half of my face, as it hid my wide smile. I’d been considering the need for live test subjects for an experiment I wanted to conduct with the Scorcher venom and was planning on finding some small animals to use. Now a set of fortunate circumstances gave me an orc, dark elf and a human to test out my theories on.

* * *

They really haven’t thought this through. I mused as we rode in the sweltering midday heat.

The ground beneath Arion’s hooves was soft sand, which slowed our travel significantly. I’d intended to wait for the girls to show signs of preparing to attack me, but I was tempted to take them out now so I could get out of this heat. Darius was right about traveling at night, it was far better than being scorched under the vicious desert sun.

As I began toying with the idea of just darting them all and extracting the blood I needed for my experiment, Amara, the only human in our group, tumbled from her horse dramatically. Playing along, I dismounted Arion, and rushed to her side.

Crouching down beside Amara, who looked like she’d fainted, I kept my head down and quickly jabbed the girl with a hypodermic dart I’d filled with the paralyzing poison. Sensing the fast approach of someone behind me, I dove to the side, twisting around to fling a second dart at the orc whose sword was mid-swing towards my back. The orc’s body stiffened and the momentum of her swing sent her tumbling to the ground next to Amara.

Seeing this, Viv let out an angry yell and slammed her wooden staff down onto the sand. I tilted my head in confusion as she shouted the word “Fireball.”

Laughter bubbled up from deep inside me as a fist-sized ball of fire shot towards me. With a lazy flick of my wrist I sent the fireball careening into the sand.

“Did you just throw a fireball at a Kitsune?” I asked, lips twitching as I rolled a dart between my fingers.

“You- ah, fire blast.” Viv screamed out. Smirking, I raised a brow as a wave of fire flew towards me.

Does she not realize that as a Kitsune I’m naturally attuned to fire? As amusing as this is, the paralyzing effect of my darts will wear off soon, so I need to end this.

With an exaggerated yawn, I allowed the wave of fire to flow over me. It felt hot, but I knew it wouldn’t burn me, as I’d directed it to split and move around my body.

Stepping past the fire, I flung the dart at Viv, and rolled my eyes in annoyance when she avoided being hit by leaping to the side. Though, she couldn’t dodge my second dart, as I softened the sand she stood on so that her feet sunk down to the ankle, impeding her movements.

I’m really starting to like this transmutation stuff, I smiled happily as I strolled over to check on the fallen Viv.

“You’ve barely scratched the surface, disciple. What you are doing is simply manipulating the surrounding matter, 'tis little more than a parlor trick.”

“If you keep spying on me, I’m going to think you’re some kind of pervert.” I responded to the god whose voice sounded within my head.

“I am here to warn you from the path you’re about to partake in. Torture such as that which you intend to indulge in is not permitted in Kaledon. The non-citizen Amara has called out to the gods that she is being held captive against her will, and thus your actions are being observed. You are yet to move beyond combat, thus no punishment shall be dealt.”

“How did you know I wanted to experiment on them?”

“It is a natural step in one's path to gain knowledge.”

“How would I be punished?” I asked curiously, as this information was new to me.

“As a citizen, torture and false imprisonment would result in your being fined or placed into a digital prison for a set amount of time dependent on the severity of your crimes.”

I pondered that before asking my next question. “And players?”

“A monetary fine or removal from Kaledon for a set period.”

That was a little disproportionate, wasn’t it?

“The consequences for players seem rather unequal, we get prison, they just have to spend time out of Kaledon.” I said to the god, twirling a dart between my fingers as I scowled down at my three victims.

“Time removed from Kaledon is double the time imprisoned within, most non-citizens elect to serve their sentence in a digital prison for the reduced amount of time.” The god replied in a bored tone.

“Can I dart them with Scorcher venom, give them an injection and then extract their blood?” How exactly was torture determined in a world such as this?

“Subjecting them to the venom would be allowed in the context of combat, your other actions would be deemed forced experimentation and thus not permitted.”

Letting out a sigh of disappointment that I wouldn’t be able to conduct repeated testing of Leo’s saliva on live subjects, I put my dart away.

It would seem I’d have to return to my original plan of finding a suitable animal to conduct my experiments on. Unless- “What if someone volunteered, could I do it then?”

“If consent is not gained through forceful means.”

I nodded, filling away that bit of information as I knelt next to Amara. The woman’s body was slowly regaining some movement, and she’d managed to turn her head in my direction. Her eyes were wide with fear as she watched me pull a vial from my pouch, and I smiled at her, patting her cheek lightly.

“I hope you learned something from this experience,” I told the girl as I forced her mouth open, pouring the contents of the vial down her throat.

Hearing a muffled groaning, I turned my head to see Nim, who was also recovering from the paralyzing effect of the dart.

It seems the effect of the paralyzing poison in the hypodermic darts Tink made could only keep them down for a few minutes. It's better than the few seconds the darts dipped in the poison provides, but I should see if there is a way to make the poison more effective with a lower dose.

After feeding the orc the same poison I’d given Amara, I stood and walked over to where I’d left Viv. Tilting my head, I stared down at the girl for several long moments, counting down the time it took for her to show signs of recovery.

Crouching next to the girl, I poured a third vial of paralyzing poison down her throat, then removed her belt with its pouches, and the few pieces of jewelry she wore.

Once I was sure I’d removed anything that could be used as a bag of holding or weapon, I dragged the girl over to where the horses were and unsaddled Chiron. It took a bit of effort, but I was finally able to drag the girl up and across her horses back.

After tying her hands and feet together under his stomach, I gave the horse a hard smack to his hindquarters, sending him cantering away with the girl.

“I didn’t torture her or hold her captive.” I shouted, looking up at the sky, but got no response.

With a shrug, I returned to the other two girls and stripped them of their possessions before tying them to their horses or, in the orc’s case, behind her horse. I hadn’t been able to drag the larger girl over the horse, even with the help of some ropes, so resorted to tying a rope around the Clydesdale in a makeshift harness and making Nim into an orc sled.

Deciding to leave sorting through my loot until later, I draped the three extra saddle bags over Arion’s back and took a moment to check on Leo who was safely tucked away in his basket. Seeing the Leosaur cub curled up contentedly, I took Arion’s reins to begin leading him back to Hathus.

As we walked, I kept my focus on the soft sand beneath our feet, hardening the sand just enough to make it easier to walk on.

* * *

By the time I reached Hathus, it was nearing dusk, and I was beyond exhausted.

As I trudged through the city heading towards the camp site administrator, a familiar voice booming over the crowd caught my ear.

“What does she mean give Killian back his gold? Betting on her? Someone better fucking explain this shit to me right now.”

Markion. Pushing through the crowds, I tried to locate my brother's voice.

As I got closer to the source of the shouting, the crowd grew thicker as people gathered to see what was happening. Shoving my way through the crowd with low growls and bursts of flame towards those who refused to make way for me. I reached the front of the crowd just in time to see my brother swing his ax in an attempt to remove Bastian’s head from his shoulders.

That's a little bit of an overreaction. I mean, I was going to hit them with a diluted poison, but killing our own guild members is going a bit too far. I cringed when I finally caught sight of my raging brother. His muzzle was pulled back in a snarl, spittle dripping from his lips. He’s literally frothing at the mouth, did he catch rabies or something?

Markion raised his ax ready to swing it towards Roderick who’d lunged in front of the dwarf, holding up his shield defensively, only for the Minotaur to stiffen as a yellow feathered dart imbedded itself into his left butt cheek, the loin cloth he wore offering no protection against the sharp needle.

With a loud thud, my brother fell to the ground, sending up a cloud of dust which momentarily blocked my vision of the group.

When the dust cleared, I strode forwards, one hand on Arion’s reins and my second holding another dart.

“Kadia,” Darius called, stepping away from the group.

The look of relief on his face sent pangs of guilt shooting through me.

“Hello.” I said after a few seconds of trying to find something suitable to respond with.

“Hello? That’s all you’ve got to say? You just up and disappear, an all ya got to say is ‘ello?” The dwarf, who was lucky he still had his head, shouted, coming out from behind the Draekin.

In response, I flung the dart I held at him and he joined my brother on the ground. Tossing a second dart at the down dwarf, I watched in satisfaction as his body began to shudder as the diluted venom worked its way through his body.

“Killian,” I called, grabbing another dart. “You may as well come out and get yours.”

“Er, can I ask why you want to dart me?” The archer said, glancing down at his fallen friend.

I sneered, my ears pinned back against my head. “I didn’t die from predators attracted to my smoke bomb, the blood was from something I’d killed. I was napping inside a crevice in the rock when you showed up with the dwarf and started talking shit about me.”

A look of realization and possibly guilt crossed the archers face.

“Somebody explain what the fuck is going on.” Darius demanded, a look of growing anger on his face.

“I think we should talk somewhere else,” Dorian interjected, his eyes darting around the crowd. “The town guards are approaching.”

I narrowed my eyes at the healer. I hadn’t forgotten Bastian and Killian’s mention of his own part in their little bet.

* * *

Half an hour later, after having bribed the guards and paid the camping fee for a night in a double camp site, I found myself standing across from Darius and Roderick inside the guild leader’s tent.

The others were left to settle the mounts and pitch their tents, but I’d told them to leave Arion alone, as I wasn’t entirely sure I’d be staying with the group. This comment had caused a tense atmosphere to creep over the group and I was thankful that Markion was sleeping off the effects of the paralyzing poison.

After the pair had finished tearing into me over my crazed dash through the desert, I was finally given the chance to explain why I hadn’t waited for rescue and instead went off on my own.

“Kadia, I assure you, my men weren’t trying to be cruel or hurtful. I can see how you may have seen it that way, but I promise you, it was not their intent.” Roderick claimed, rubbing a hand over the horned ridges that ran along his forehead. “Bets like that are common among the guild and hunting groups, they weren’t just betting on you. They’ve likely got bets running on each other as well, how long each one will last in the dungeon, which of them will die first, and how they’ll die. It’s all done in good humor.”

The Draekin looked over at Darius who gave a nod in agreement.

“Roderick is telling the truth, Kadia; however, normally such betting is done with the full knowledge of those being bet upon. Bets like this typically take place during meals, an act of camaraderie, if you will.” Darius added, reaching out to place a hand on my shoulder. “No one here thinks you are weak, Kadia, no one is looking down on you. We’ve all been where you are now, and it’ll only be a matter of time before you catch up to the rest of us.”

I nodded, not meeting either man's eyes as I stared at the ground, feeling even more ashamed of my actions after hearing what the guild leader and commander had said.

“I understand,” I murmured.

“We’ll leave it at that then, and next time, I expect you to come to me with any issues you may have, opposed to running off on your own.”

“I will.” I agreed.

“Now, tell me about these new friends you mentioned in your note.” Darius asked, holding up the note and giving it a little wave.

Brushing a hand over my eyes, I looked up at the pair with a teary grin as I began telling them about my trip into the desert with the wannabe thieves.

Seated on a plush floor cushion with the others as we ate dinner, I did my best to keep a straight face as my brother filled me in on their trip to Hathus.

According to Markion, they’d tracked me using Darius as a makeshift bloodhound, following my scent to the pillar where I’d fallen into the tunnel which ran beneath the desert.

When Darius lost my scent, the team concluded I must have hitched a ride with another group of travelers, and based on the direction I’d been traveling, guessed I was making my way to Hathus.

Unfortunately, their journey to Hathus was nowhere near as smooth as mine had been, as they’d been ambushed by a pride of Leosaur’s near the pillar where I’d disappeared.

During the attack Dorian, Bastian and Conrad had been killed, which meant the group was delayed waiting for them to revive. They’d then suffered through two fights with other travelers and gotten caught in a sandstorm.

Hearing the tale of the other trip, I began feeling grateful for my discovery of the tunnel, because it meant I’d been able to avoid a disastrous journey. My thoughts on our avoidance of the tunnel were proven true, when Darius explained the guild weren’t able to access the Valonia entrance due to our low reputation with the city.

“Now we know why the pride was so aggressive,” Darius commented, eyeing the Leosaur cub who was sprawled out on my lap.

“In my defense, I didn’t know what Leo was, other than that he appeared to be immune to Scorcher venom.”

“I suppose that is why so many Leosaur inhabit the canyons where the fire drakes and Scorchers nest,” Dorian supplied.

I nodded in response to his words but didn’t speak or look at the healer.

Even with the explanation about the bet and their apologies, I still had some mixed emotions about the hunting team. They seemed genuinely apologetic, and were doing their best to act friendly, but I felt like I didn’t fit into the group's dynamic.

The group flowed together, everyone had their job and knew what to do, while I just skimmed around the edges feeling lost, and useless.

After the meal, my brother and the hunting team headed into Hathus to explore the market. Though I didn’t believe the market was their actual destination. It was clear they would be going straight to the town's entertainment district, as I’d overheard Bastian coaxing my brother into joining them to properly celebrate being eighteen, and his newly unlocked access to previously restricted adult interactions.

This left only myself and Darius at the campsite, as the guild leader had declined the invitation to go with the group. I hadn’t been invited, which wasn’t surprising considering where they intended to go, but it would have been nice if they’d at least extended the courtesy of an invitation.

Being left behind only made me feel more isolated and filled me with the desire to find a group of my own. I had always been so focused on my studies, and aside from Markion, never really put much effort into making or maintaining friendships.

As Darius and I sat in the living area of my tent sorting through the items I’d taken from the three girls, I told him about my desire to leave, along with the reasons behind it. I expected him to respond negatively to my request and had been mentally preparing arguments why I needed to leave, but Darius actually seemed relieved.

“I was actually hoping that spending time with the team in the dungeon and hunting fire drakes might spur you to stop hiding away in the lab.”

“I haven’t been hiding,” I retorted, and was forced to look away from him as he raised a brow with a disbelieving expression.

“Okay, so maybe I’ve been a little insular, but I’ve realized that I can’t just stay in my lab. If I’d not come with you on this trip, I wouldn’t have achieved the same level of progress on the Scorcher venom cure, or my transmutation magic. Nor would I have created my luminous orbs with the mushrooms I found in the tunnels,” I told him, gesturing to the glass ball Leo was batting across the floor.

The ball glowed a bright pink, and was filled with a liquid which sloshed about, causing it to roll jerkily as the cub played with it.

“Should he be playing with that?”

“It should be fine, I made the glass with one of my drained mana crystals and sand. I remembered you said that was how most glass here is made, because of its durability.”

“It is,” Darius agreed, tossing an ornate looking dagger onto the pile of weapons to his left.

“You’ve improved your transmutation magic a lot, though you seem to go about it in an unusual way.”

“What do you mean?”

“You aren’t using incantations. The few transmuters I’ve encountered all use a verbal incantation.”

“Oh, that’s because they are using a transmutation spell, well sort of, it's more of a ritual. I met a transmuter in the market who was selling his dungeon loot and we spoke a bit about transmutation. I told him about Tris, and in exchange, Nadir told me what he knew about transmutation. The transmutation spells are kind of like a pre-set ritual which can be invoked using a drawn transmutation circle; once the component is added, you invoke the activation phrase.” I explained, pulling out a piece of paper from my bag.

“Here, this is a circle Nadir taught me to draw called ‘create water'. It was his repayment for guiding him in gaining a blessing from Trismegistus. Once I add a drop of water to the circle, and invoke it, I can transmute the air around the circle into water.”

“I see,” Darius murmured, looking at the circle with interest.

“Nadir also said I can carve the circles into other materials and depending on the material used it can be activated multiple times. This paper circle is only empowered with enough mana for one use.”

“I take it that the circle is empowered at the time that it is drawn?”

“Exactly, this means that so long as we have enough circles, we can keep transmuting. Nadir said that it's like the talismans enchanters, and shamans can create. Though, unlike them, we can transmute without a drawn circle, it just uses more mana and requires a lot of mental focus. The reason transmuters use circles more frequently is because if our focus is broken, so is the transmutation process.”

“Did he teach you any other circles?”

“No,” I grumbled, crossing my arms with a sigh. “He said that knowledge of circles is only available to students of a magical academy and he isn’t able to reveal it.”

“We should have picked some transmutation books when buying things with the settlement money.” Darius sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose.

“I didn’t plan on learning transmutation back then, don’t worry about it though. I’ve already got a way to learn more circles.”

“Oh? How’s that?”

“Trismegistus,” I declared, spreading my hands wide. “Nadir gave Tris a necromancy spell scroll he found in the dungeon as an offering. In return, Trismegistus gave him a scroll with the water circle, which he shared with me. So, when I got back to my tent, I offered Tris the potioneer’s guide Markion gave me. In return, he gave me this.” I said, holding up a single piece of paper.

“Create your own or give better offerings.” Darius read, and shook his head with a laugh.

“Yup, so now I know I can create my own transmutation circles, I just need to work out how.”

“You say that like it’s a simple thing, but I can assure you it won’t be.”

“I know, but if I can find things to offer Tris, I can get more guidance.”

Darius nodded, and together we looked over the loot we’d piled up. The girls had a decent amount of weapons, armor, clothing, jewelry, gold, and traveling supplies on them, but I was surprised there wasn’t more. Though, Darius said they’d likely already sold off most of the high value items in Hathus.

“I recommend keeping the jewelry and getting them appraised for enchantments, other than that, I suggest we sell off everything except for the supplies.”

“I’m good with that,” I agreed, and started to pack everything back into the bags. “Should we sell it in Hathus?”

“No, you’ll find more profit selling weapons and such at the oasis near the dungeon. A small settlement is popping up there with everyone coming to the area for the dungeon, so items like these will be sought after because of the distance from larger settlements.”

I nodded, biting my lip as I tried to work out how to tell Darius that I didn’t want to go with them to the dungeon.

“Once we reach the settlement, I’ll introduce you to a few of the teams that Corvus and the newly promoted captains are running through the dungeon. One of the teams recently lost a member, who wasn’t accepted into the guild after his probationary period ended.” The guild leader said.

I narrowed my eyes, the name he’d spoken causing a flicker of annoyance to shoot through me.

“Corvus, Corvus,” I mumbled, tapping a finger against my bottom lip.

Throwing his head back, Darius started laughing so hard tears pressed at the corners of his eyes. “You don’t remember him do you?”

“The name sounds kind of familiar, but some of you changed your names. Noctus was called Striker in Avalon.” I defended, still trying to pretend that I didn’t know who he was talking about.

“Corvus is one of the senior guild commanders and is in charge of the hunting teams. He was a lion beast-man in Avalon, and funnily enough is a lion Bakeneko in Kaledon. You once threw a dead rat at him, which you’d found in the guild hall’s cellar and told him he was a bad kitty who couldn’t do his job.”

“He used to leave dead rats outside my workshop.” I grumbled, scowling at the memory of the various dead creatures the lion would dump outside my workshop.

“To which you retaliated by coating his armor in an itching powder and telling everyone he had fleas.” Darius chuckled, giving a slight shake of his head.

Once the last of the loot had been packed away, Darius left my tent after assuring me that if I didn’t feel like I fit well with any of the guild teams I could leave and travel on my own after the fire drake hunt.

With a sigh, I turned my attention to the pile of items stacked up in my workspace. Various containers, linen bags, vials, and other items were laid out on the benches, overflowing onto the floor. I’d been correct that my bound bags had- as Markion put it- vomited out my items before returning to me.

Luckily, my brother had enough room in his bags to store my things. He’d also brought Sting and Scorch along in their jar, which I’d need to reinforce if I reformed the two Scorchers. Leonidas had gotten into the Scorcher’s jar whilst I was pitching my tent, and I’d been mere seconds too slow to prevent him from eating the two lizards. I wasn’t sure what I was going to do about Leo’s obsession with eating my Scorchers and wondered how Yuki dealt with predatory behavior among her tamed creatures.

I either need to create a jar Leo can’t get into, or teach him they aren’t food. I can’t keep reforming them, it’ll cost me a fortune in mana crystals.

As though summoned by my thoughts, the little reptilian lion came barreling into the room and began curling around my ankles.

The glowing pink fluid coated his face and paws, letting me know he’d broken the glass ball, which I’d thought would be almost impossible to break. I’d thrown that thing onto the ground from over my head and all it did was create a small dent in the wood floorboards. Yet, here was proof that even the durable Arcanium glass was no match for a determined Leosaur.

* * *

The sound of laughter and drunken rambling alerted me to the return of the men who’d gone into town. Letting out an annoyed huff at the disruption to my peaceful working environment, I examined the branches of the thorny bush I’d harvested the day I first met Leo.

I’m so glad Markion was able to get all my herbs and other alchemic components. I’ve only been able to work with the few things I could harvest in the tunnel and buy at the market these past few days.

“I wonder where Zosimos is.” I mused as I tossed the branches into the furnace.

The branches had dried and the sticky sap I’d encountered when first harvesting them was hardened. Now the branches no longer glowed to my alchemic sight, which meant the plant had lost its value.

The sap must only be useful when fresh. Next time I find the bush, I’ll need to harvest and store the sap properly. At least the flowers I picked are meant to be dried according to the old lady in the market. First, she said I need to boil the flowers in the goat's milk, then incorporate it into pure honey and tallow. According to the old healer, this concoction will fight any bacteria in an infected wound, so I’m guessing the flowers, which she called ‘Prickly pears,’ have antibiotic properties. She also said the dried flowers could be steeped in hot water to create a tea that is good for treating a variety of illnesses.

Eyeing the few flowers I had, I forwent making the salve as it wouldn’t be needed with Dorian’s ability to heal wounds. It still struck me as strange that with people capable of magical healing there was a need for so many potions and salves with healing benefits.

Though, I suppose that was because of the limited number of people who could use healing magic. Dorian claimed himself to be one of only a few hundred people able to use healing magic, and in a virtual world of almost two million inhabitants, that was a tiny number.

Presently, Kaledon was only open to those holding platinum and gold life plans, or those who were offered a relocation deal by Gaia corp, like the guild was. Those who could currently access Kaledon were, as my brother called it, ‘the first wave’ who acted as a test population before the world opened up to full public access.

It was speculated that Gaia would allow greater access to Kaledon once the barrier fell and those of us already in the world started migrating off the starter continent. This made sense to me, as Salvia wasn’t an overly large continent; according to Markion, it was said to take a month to ride across it. Many People were already getting frustrated with the inability to explore further into the world, so I doubted it would be long before the barrier fell. With Kaledon entering its eighth month of being live, I suspected the barrier would fall somewhere around the year mark.

Despite there being close to two million people, there is so little advancement in alchemy. There are a dozen ‘potioneers’ in Hathus that I found, but none of them have even tried to make adjustments to the recipe other than to water it down. In Caruan, I could find a potioneer on almost every street, yet so very few move beyond that first step in the profession. Even some of those who claim themselves to be alchemists, like Ge Hong, are nothing more than potioneers themselves who only follow the recipes others create and make no advancements of their own. What was it that the potioneer said to me on my first day here?

Furrowing my brow, I tried to recall my conversation with the potioneer I’d met in the market shortly after leaving the temple of new beginnings. “Anyone can be a potioneer, but only the most dedicated can become an alchemist.”

I don’t think it is a lack of dedication, but lack of passion and desire to further their knowledge. They don’t want to know why the tincture works as it does, only that it works. That isn’t necessarily a bad thing, if I was to compare this to the real world, these potioneers are the equivalent of a pharmacist, preparing and selling medicines. While Alchemists are the pharmaceutical scientists creating the medicines to be made and sold by pharmacists.

As I placed four of the prickly pears into my retort with a small amount of water and set it onto the stand, I felt like I was on the verge of success. There was something there, just out of reach in my mind.

“Alchemists are the pharmaceutical scientists creating the medicines to be made and sold by pharmacists.” I murmured softly, staring down at the retort. “But they can’t make the medicines an alchemist creates if all the alchemists hoard their recipes.”

As those words left my lips, warmth filled my body; I felt like I’d been wandering around in a fog and the sun had just broken through the gloom, lighting up the bleary world around me. Fueled by this sensation, I pulled a leather-bound book from my bag and cleared off a section of my work bench. When pen met paper, I became lost to the world around me as I filled page after page.

Starting with the tinctures and salves that could be found in the book A Potioneer’s guide to basic Salves and Tinctures that all the potioneers seemed to have a copy of, I wrote out my improved versions of the recipes.

Then, I wrote out the recipes for the herbal tea blends I’d created, along with my cooling balm and even the hangover pills Zosimos had me make the first night we met. As I wrote each recipe, I included notes on the ingredients and other information which the potioneer’s guide lacked.

Once I’d finished adding the recipes I wanted to include, I listed off each ingredient used in all the recipes along with a page detailing everything I felt was important to know about each ingredient, such as how it should be stored and where it grew. After some thought, I added a suggested retail price for each concoction.

There was no set price for alchemic creations that I knew of, aside from the basic tinctures and salves made from the recipes in the potioneer’s guide, and even those prices changed depending on who made the tincture. Though, I had my doubts Ge Hong was actually making those items himself, and was just using his ‘name’ to boost sales. So far, I’d just been pricing my concoctions based on what I felt they should be worth, but if I added a recommended retail price to my recipes, I could balance the fluctuating price of the basic tinctures and salves.

What should I call it? I really need to come up with some kind of system to denote ownership over my creations. I already use the Eternia insignia on all my containers, but that isn’t enough. Then again, Egenor Barothlas named all his potions after himself, and that didn’t stop Ge Hong from stealing them. Now instead of being Barothlas Daylight salve, it’s called Ge’s Daylight salve. What I need is a brand name and insignia. Tapping the end of my pen against the cover of the book, I needed a name, not only for the book, but what would be my future brand.

As my pen hit the cover for the hundredth time, a soft golden glow lit up the book; when it faded, a golden circle had been embossed onto the cover of the book.

“Trismegistus?” I called, getting not response.

Furrowing my brows, I turned my attention back to the book.

In the center of the circle was a purple-eyed nine-tailed fox, with its tails spread in a circle. Around the Kitsune, placed at the tip of each tail, were the symbols that represented earth, wind, fire, water, sun, moon, life, death and magic. The symbol for magic laid directly above the Kitsune’s head.

Written above the insignia were the words, Basic Salves and Tinctures for the everyday potioneer.

“Well, I guess that works.” I muttered.

Examining the insignia closely, it looked like liquid gold had been pressed into the leather. There was no mention of an author anywhere on the cover, but I didn’t mind that as I was contemplating using a pseudonym. If I forgo using a name at all, and just use this symbol, it should grant me some anonymity.

A second flash of gold beside me had me turning my head to see a scroll and a small gold signet ring appear on the bench beside me.

Picking up the ring, I saw it was engraved with the same symbol as the book, with tiny purple jewels for the fox’s eyes and, after a moment's hesitation, I slid it onto my right pinky finger.

The scroll showed the image of a transmutation circle, and the text above it stated that the circle could replicate any non-magical text onto a supplied surface.

Smiling, I pulled three leather journals from my bag, making sure they weren't any of the ones I’d purchased from Gaia corp’s settlement. I’d need to buy many more in order to properly distribute my book, but for now these three would serve to test this new transmutation circle.

After several attempts at drawing out the circle, I finally succeeded in creating one which flashed blue upon completion, signifying it was a working circle.

Placing the piece of parchment with the circle on top of the blank books cover, I placed the completed book on top of it, sandwiching the circle between the two.

Hand pressed to the top book, I intoned the activation phrase of “replicate text” and saw a glow surrounding both books.

When the light faded, I removed the top book and saw that the parchment had disintegrated during the process, just as it did when I used the created water circle. The formerly blank book was now a perfect copy of the one I’d written, except for the insignia which had not been transferred in gold, but instead was a faint silver.

The circle said it would transfer any non-magical text, but it did not transfer the insignia fully. A quick search inside the book showed that the few sketches I’d drawn of different tools and plants had been transferred.

“Does that mean the insignia is magical?” I muttered, tracing my fingers over the insignia.

“It is indeed, disciple,” The voice of the Alchemy god said, his voice following into my mind. “I have seen how you despise the act of stealing another’s work for one's own, so have gifted you this signet ring. Anything you create that is marked with your symbol cannot be claimed by any other. If one should copy out a recipe marked with your insignia, a silver version of your insignia shall appear upon the paper on which it is written. When a marked recipe is used to create an alchemical concoction, your insignia shall appear on the container in which it is stored.”

“What if the recipe is not originally mine, but one I have improved?” I asked aloud.

“An improved recipe is no longer the original recipe, as the resulting concoction has been altered, so long as you are the first to create the recipe in the ‘current’ age it shall be considered your creation.”

“Thank you, great teacher, this lays to rest many of the concerns plaguing my mind. I give you this book, the first written by my hand in offering.”

“May it be the first of many,” The god said, as the original copy of Basic Salves and Tinctures for the everyday potioneer disappeared in a flash of golden light.

“I’m sure it will be.” I responded, already working on drawing the next circle. I would need to perfect the circle on paper before attempting to inscribe it onto leather so I could use it more times before needing to recreate it.

The remainder of my night, and most of the following day, was spent copying out my book. I also made a brief trip into Hathus and purchased every leather-bound book I could find. While using vellum was an option, I decided against it, wanting to have my books be more durable and of a higher quality than the vellum-bound journals.

While I was in town, I visited each of the potioneers I’d met during my few days there, and even located two more. Showing them my book, without revealing it was my own, I was able to sell each of the potioneers a copy at a very low price while pretending not to know the real value of a book containing this kind of information.

That wasn’t the only book I sold either, and it took everything in me not to cackle with malicious glee as I handed the last potioneer a copy of my second book, though this book lacked the golden Kitsune insignia.

After searching through all the recipes I bought, I picked out twenty-seven that had been created by Egenor Barothlas. Out of the hundred and sixty-four recipes, there were thirty-nine the master alchemist was credited with creating, but only the twenty-seven I selected were ones I deemed suitable for distribution.

The remaining twelve were incredibly complex, and even I struggled to understand some of the concepts written within the recipes. Using the copying circle, I carefully copied each recipe page by page into a leather-bound journal to ensure the book’s text was in the same flowing script of the old alchemist and not my own.

Once completed, I titled it The works of Egenor Barothlas, Master Alchemist of Calisium and proceeded to make several copies, which I sold to the potioneers. I also dropped a few copies of each book in various places around the settlement.

I decided that for these books, I would not sell the first several copies for more than what someone was willing to pay. I needed to build up the book's reputation, to have people know its value before I could expect anyone to pay the same several thousand gold that was paid for the potioneers guide.

Even then, the idea of selling my book for several thousand gold seemed wrong. The economy in Kaledon was driven by supply and demand, with books being high demand with little supply. I had a feeling that would change as time went on, and people either began writing new books as I had or making more copies of pre-existing ones.

I hadn’t told Darius about either book yet, as I was worried how the guild leader would react to me distributing the recipes. Hopefully, he would understand my reasons, and not be overly angry with me.

When Markion told me about traveling in the sand sea of the central desert, he’d spun tales of massive sand whales that swam through the dunes, giant snakes that would swallow a horse whole, and elementals that would rise from the sand- destroying all in their path.

In the end, I had been left disappointed as what we’d encountered on our journey from Hathus was sand, sun and more sand.

Though, I doubted any of those traveling with us shared my disappointment. I’d been surprised to discover on our departure from Hathus that we would not travel to the dungeon with just our own small group, and instead joined a much larger group of almost fifty others who were all heading to the dungeon. I’d been uncertain about being around so many strangers, but there’d been no issues as everyone kept to themselves while traveling.

As the soft light of dawn crept over the horizon, we were greeted with the sight of an oasis and hundreds of tents. Several of the riders ahead of our group let out cheers and began riding towards the encampment, forcing their exhausted mounts into a gallop.

“Idiots,” Dorian grumbled, shaking his head in disgust.

“Those poor horses,” I added, reaching down to give Arion’s neck a gentle pat.

When we reached the oasis, I was in awe at the sight of the numerous tents. If I hadn’t known this wasn’t an official settlement, I’d have thought we’d arrived in a town.

Riding through rows of tents, I could hear people calling out to one another, offering items for sale and looking for people to join their group to travel into the dungeon.

Many of the tents were set out in a disorderly fashion, but I noticed several areas where tents were neatly grouped together with guild banners on display. Spotting the Eternia Guild’s flag up ahead, I saw dozens of tents set up within a roped off area. Two poles with our guilds banner marked the entrance to the encampment, and as we approached, a man walked out to meet us.

“I see our illustrious guild leader has finally arrived,” the golden-haired man called out, spreading his arms wide.

“Corvus,” Darius responded, his voice sounding raspy as he greeted the guild commander.

That's what Corvus looks like now? He obviously spent way too much time playing with the beauty settings. I eyed the pair of feline ears atop his head, and slender tail swishing behind him. Here kitty kitty.

As we all dismounted, I dug through my pouch, searching for the gift my Leosaur had brought me the day before. Walking closer to where Darius stood talking to Corvus, I waited for Darius to notice me, while keeping my hand hidden behind my back.

“Corvus, I’m sure you remember Markion’s sister Kadia.” Darius said, gesturing towards me.

Chuckling, the golden-haired commander looked at me, inclining his head. A muscular body, and high cheekbones paired with his golden curls gave Corvus an appearance many women would find attractive, so long as he didn’t open his mouth and ruin it.

“The feisty fairy returns.” The lion quipped, getting an amused laugh from my brother and Darius in response.

“She’s more of a vicious vixen now,” Markion interjected, reaching out and yanking my hood down to reveal my pointed, red-furred ears.

Letting out an annoyed huff, I narrowed my eyes at the lion who stared back at me in amusement, his slender tail flicking back and forth behind him.

“It’s good to see you again, Kadi-” The commander's words were cut off abruptly as he caught the corpse of the small mammal I’d flung at his chest.

“Darius said the encampment was low on food supplies, and I know you’re bad at hunting, so I brought you this.” I told the lion with a beaming smile as he held the desert hopping mouse up by its tail.

We stared at each other in silence for several long moments before Corvus tilted his head back and dropped the mouse into his mouth, swallowing it whole.

“Thanks,” he drawled, lips curling up into a smirk and revealing a pair of sharp upper canines.

“That's disgusting,” I sneered, crossing my arms over my chest. “Forget fleas, you’re riddled with intestinal worms.”

“If I’ve got fleas, you’ve got em too, foxy. All that fluffy red fur, the fleas will be lovin’ that.” Corvus purred, causing me to pin my ears back and snarl at him.

“Enough, both of you.” Darius growled, holding up a hand. “Kadia, Corvus is a guild commander, you need to show him-”

“To a bath?” I cut in, causing my brother to snicker and Darius to let out a weary sigh.

“I was going to say respect, but that won't happen, will it?”

“Nope.” I said cheerily.

“Can you be polite to each other in public at least? Keep the snide remarks and insults to somewhere more private.” The guild leader said.

“Like I’d go anywhere private with that walking STD,” I scoffed.

In response, Darius let out a low growl, the sound vibrating out from his throat and making my skin prickle.

Ears pressed flat to my head, and with an expression that made it clear that I didn’t mean a word I said, I reluctantly agreed to act polite around the lion in public. It was not that I didn’t like Corvus, or vice versa, it was just that we both got more enjoyment out of insulting and annoying each other than in having a traditional friendship.

As Corvus guided our group through the encampment, the temptation to set the tuft of fur at the tip of his tail on fire was almost unbearable. Only the glare of the guild leader, whose expression showed he knew exactly what I was thinking about, kept me from acting on the urge. For now, at least.

The guild camp was split into different areas, with the hunting team tents along the perimeter, and the command tents in the center of the camp. However, Roderick chose to stay with his team for now, temporarily forgoing a tent in the commander’s area of the encampment. Normally, a hunting team’s leader was only at the rank of a captain, but in Roderick’s case, he was a raid commander which meant that along with his own team, he would often be in charge of an encampment similar to the one we were at now.

Which was the reason Roderick’s team had accompanied us. Soon, the Draekin commander would take charge of the guild’s encampment here, while Corvus and Darius departed.

Over the next weeks, more teams would arrive to take their turn in the dungeon, and to my horror, Corvus would bring the teams who were currently training in the dungeon to partake in the firedrake hunt.

As Darius and Corvus spoke in the lion's tent, I helped Markion with pitching his tent while I waited to find out which team I would be assigned to. Well, to say I helped would be an exaggeration. All I did was stand around watching him while holding a squirming Leonidas.

“Kadia,” Darius called.

I turned to see him leaving the tent with a smiling Corvus. Seeing the look on Corvus’s face, my stomach clenched with nerves. His expression made it clear he was plotting something.

As I walked over to where Darius stood at the tent entrance, Corvus moved away to call over a nearby man who took off running shortly after the commander spoke to him.

“Corvus is summoning two of the team captains whose teams you might join. One team recently lost a member, and I was going to slot you in with them, but Corvus believes you would be better suited to a different team. The issue we have is that Devon’s team needs a fifth member, as they are currently running the dungeon with a member borrowed from Victoria’s team.”

“What does that mean?” I asked the guild leader with a furrowed brow.

“We’re going to recommend Freya transfer to Devon’s team permanently, and have you fill her spot on Victoria’s team. However, this will only be if all parties agree. I won’t transfer Freya if she doesn’t want to change teams or either captain refuses the swap.”

“Okay.” Hesitantly, I glanced between the two men, and was about to ask more about the two teams when a figure striding towards us caught my eye.

“Ah, there’s Vicky. Prompt as always.”

Corvus’s voice barely penetrated my mind as I took in the woman’s appearance. At first glance, I would have mistaken her for a red-skinned Orc, if not for the pair of horns protruding from her forehead. Wearing only a pair of loose trousers, and a scrap of cloth wrapped around her prominent bust, the woman’s tall, muscular figure cut a rather intimidating image.

“Uh, what race is Vicky?” I stammered, a wide-eyed gaze still fixed on the approaching woman.

“A member of the Oni Yōkai race, she is called a Kijo, which is the term used to refer to a female Oni.” Darius informed me. I nodded, staying silent as the woman came to a stop in front of us.

“Guild Leader Darius, Commander Corvus.” Victoria greeted, eyes flicking to me briefly before settling on Corvus.

“Captain Victoria, you’re the first to arrive.” Corvus commented, glancing behind her. “We are just waiting on Devon and Freya.”

“Devon’s group left camp with Freya for the dungeon this morning and haven’t returned yet.” The Kijo responded.

Corvus frowned. “They are not scheduled for a dungeon run today,” he said, crossing his arms over his chest.

The red skinned woman nodded. “Devon took Zane’s place in the dungeon, as their archer was injured and needed time to heal.”

“Regardless, I should have been informed of the roster change.” Corvus snapped, looking less than happy at hearing this information.

“Let's take this inside,” Darius instructed, gesturing to the lion's tent.

As we entered the tent, I was surprised at how sparsely furnished it was, though I suspected this was not Corvus’s private tent, but one set up for the guild’s captains and commanders to gather in.

A long table took up much of the space and it was covered in various bits of paper, several looking like maps of a maze. The two guild officers sat on one side of the table, leaving Victoria and myself to sit opposite them, with me sitting two seats down from my potential team captain.

“I’m going to cut to the chase,” Corvus stated the moment we sat down. “I want to transfer Freya off your team.”

Victoria narrowed her eyes, focusing on me for a moment before turning back to Corvus.

“This fox is who you're replacing her with, then?” Victoria asked, jerking her thumb at me.

This fox has a name. I scowled, examining the woman in the same manner as she did me.

“If you're willing to accept the swap, yes.” Corvus agreed.

The Kijo turned to me, raising a bushy white brow. “What’s your deal?”

“My deal?” Confused, I looked at Darius, but he gestured at Victoria without saying anything.

"What do you mean?" I asked, looking back at the team captain.

“Weapons, fighting style, all that.” Victoria said gruffly “You a tamer?”

She jerked her chin downwards to the Leosaur still clutched in my arms. Following her gaze, I saw Leo staring up at the woman with wide, fearful eyes, his body stiff as it pressed against my stomach.

“Kadia is an alchemist, and is currently using darts for ranged combat.” Darius interjected, seeing I wasn’t responding to the woman’s questions.

“You want me to trade an archer for a dart throwing fox?” Victoria scoffed.

I sat a little straighter in my seat, opening my mouth to speak, but Corvus responded before I could. “No, we want you to trade an archer for an alchemist. Kadia’s skills as an alchemist are far more versatile than those provided by an archer.”

“How?” The red skinned woman rolled her eyes, expression scornful. “By handing out tinctures? Every member of my team can already make that crap.”

Cheeks flushed with heat, I slipped a hand into the pouch at my waist.

“Like this,” I snapped, tossing a gray-colored sphere onto the table, its fuse already burning.

In seconds plumes of smoke filled the tent, and I strolled out with Darius, who pulled up his mask when he saw me toss the smoke bomb.

We left Corvus and Victoria writhing on the floor, choking and coughing, with tears streaming down their faces.

“Talk didn’t go well?” Markion asked as we approached where he’d finished pitching his tent.

Giving my brother a head shake in response, I moved to where Arion stood alongside Basher, and lifted a sneezing Leo into the basket tied to the saddle bags.

“It went fine, Kadia will join Victoria’s team.” Darius responded.

I looked up from where I was wiping Leo’s face with a cloth, to stare at the guild leader with wide eyes. “Joining her team? I just set off the equivalent to tear gas in her face, she will not want me on her team now.”

Laughing, Darius patted me on the back. “That’s exactly why she will want you. Victoria will be impressed you took her and Corvus down like that.”

The Kijo stumbled out of the tent, face buried in the crook of her elbow. Once she’d regained her breath, and wiped away the tears from her cheeks, the red-skinned woman stormed over to me with a fierce look.

“How many of those do you have left?” She demanded, arms crossed.

“Uh, two? I sold most of them to Roderick.” I replied, taking a step back as her face darkened.

Her face deepened into a scowl, her lips pressed into a tight line. “How many more can you make?”

“Er,” after doing some quick calculations I replied. “I have enough supplies to make another two batches, which is twenty smoke bombs.”

“You have other things you can make like that?”

“Yes, I do.” I told the red-skinned woman with a slight nod.

Turning away from me, Victoria’s face split into a wide grin as she turned to Darius. “I just have to kick Freya out and I can have her?”

“If Freya and Devon agree to the transfer then-” Darius said, lips twitching as he took in my wide-eyed expression.

“He can’t have the fox, let him keep Freya, she’s a shitty archer, anyway.” Victoria retorted, as she moved in front of me, holding out an arm in a protective gesture.

“Alright, you can have Kadia, but-” I didn’t hear the rest of what Darius had to say, as Victoria scooped me up under her arm like a football and began striding away.

* * *

Despite my protests, the Kijo didn’t let me go until we’d reached a far corner of the encampment where two tents were pitched.

“Fox, this is our camp. Freya shared a tent with me, so once we move her shit out, you can stay there.” Victoria said, setting me on the ground in front of the tent.

“I have a tent.” I mumbled, straightening out my clothing now that I had been placed back on my feet.

The Kijo made a noise that sounded like a cross between a grunt and huff, as she looked down at me. “It’s better to sleep in pairs, less danger when traveling.”

“But we’re in the guild’s encampment right now, so isn’t it safe here? Plus, my tent is set up as a lab, so it’s better to stay there for my work.” I explained, glancing over to Arion who’d followed as the captain carried me away.

“You can use it for now, but we stay in pairs when not camped with the guild.” Victoria agreed, following my gaze to the horse. “Yours?”

“Yes, his name is Arion.”

“Expensive breed.” The Kijo commented, eyeing Arion.

I nodded in agreement but said nothing in response to the woman’s mention of Arion’s monetary value. After a moment's silence, Victoria gestured towards the tents and suggested I pitch mine on the opposite side of the corner, which would create an L-shape with the other two tents.

As the team captain helped me set up my tent, she explained that the other members of the team were currently purchasing supplies and selling off items looted in the dungeon in the market area of the settlement. Victoria’s team was comprised of three other team members, a Faun named Pia, a Dwarf called Kip, and Rainy who was a Dryad.

Once my tent was set up, I gave the captain a quick tour before she showed me to a fenced off area where the guild’s mounts were being kept.

To my surprise, the paddock was covered in ankle-high grass where dozens of horses, donkeys and my brother's rhino were all grazing happily.

“Rainy and Carmen use magic to sprout oat fodder daily for the mounts.” Victoria explained when I asked where the grass had come from, informing me that Carmen was an Elven druid, while Rainy’s racial abilities gave her control over plant life in addition to her practicing druidic magic.

After releasing Arion into the paddock, where he dashed over to graze alongside Basher, I followed Victoria back through the encampment.

As we walked, Victoria asked about the different items I could make. I answered her questions as best I could, not mentioning any of the things Darius had deemed confidential.

When we reached the tents, I noticed a group of people huddled near the entrance of my tent and, based on their appearance, guessed these were the other members of my new team.

At the front of the group, with his head poked inside my tent, was a short man with brunette hair. Pressed up against the dwarf, and doing her best to peer past him into the tent, was a girl with the lower half of a deer. If not for Victoria’s earlier explanation about Satyr’s who were half goat, and the Faun’s who were half deer, I’d be hard pressed to identify any difference between this girl and the Satyr who often guarded the guild hall in Caruan.

Though, the one who stood out the most among the three, and the first to notice our arrival, was a beautiful woman with pink hair and pale green skin.

Kip, Pia and Rainy. I recited silently, recalling their names just as Victoria’s voice boomed out from beside me.

“Get your noses out of Foxy’s shit.” The Kijo scolded. I grimaced as the woman’s voice caused my ears to ring.

Hearing their captain, Pia and Kip spun around, looking a little embarrassed as they shuffled away from my tent.

“We were just curious about who’d pitched their tent so close to ours,” the dwarf claimed, and Victoria let out a grunt in response.

Before the red-skinned woman could say anything further, the Faun pranced forwards, holding out her hand towards me.

“Hi, I’m Pia. I like your tent.” The Faun beamed up at me, and I took a moment to examine her short spiky hair that had been dyed to match our guild colors of maroon, and gold.

“Thanks,” I said, taking her hand. “I’m Kadia.”

“Is she joining us?” A soft voice asked. I looked up to see the pink haired girl walking towards us.

As she drew closer, I noticed that her hair had tiny, blooming flowers in it, and a sweet scent filled the air. The strapless dress she wore appeared to be made of leaves, as did her thigh-high boots. Even without being told she was a Dryad, I would have guessed her to be some kind of Fae-like creature.

Seeing Victoria’s nod, Pia let out a little cheer, and I blinked in surprise at the girls' apparent excitement.

“You got Commander Corvus to let you trade out Freya?” Kip asked, coming to stand beside Rainy.

“Didn’t need to,” was the captain's reply.

“Did Freya ask to swap out herself then?” Pia asked, widening her doe-like eyes, which, when paired with freckled cheeks, gave her a childlike appearance.

“The guild leader said we could have the Fox if we got rid of Freya,” Victoria said. I cringed, both her continual reference to me as fox and her explanation of how I joined her team.

“That’s not quite what happened,” I interjected. “I was going to potentially join another team who’d lost a member, but Corvus suggested this team would be a better fit for me. It was supposed to be a mutual agreement that I join this team, if Freya agreed, but she wasn’t here and -” I hesitated, unsure how to explain the whole Victoria carrying me off like a war trophy thing.

“She would have agreed anyway, everyone knows she’s screwing Devon.” Pia said before I spoke again.

This got a grunt from Victoria, and a sigh from Rainy, while Kip just shook his head with a disgusted look on his face.

“I’m Rainy. Kadia, was it?” The pink hair girl said, holding out a slender hand for me to shake.

“Yes, it is. Do you mind me asking what kind of flowers those are?” I asked, eyes drawn to the pink flowers in her hair.

“Peach blossoms, my mother tree is a peach tree.” Rainy explained with a soft smile, reaching up to pluck a blossom from her hair.

I stiffened as the Dryad moved closer to me. I thought she was going to hand me the flower in her hand, but instead she pressed it to my forehead, right between my brows.

A tingling sensation swept through me as the blossom made contact with my skin.

“What did you just do?” I asked, reaching up to touch the skin between my brows, and feeling only bare skin.

“A Druidic blessing of protection, it will prevent you from being affected by the Necromantic disease. It is caused by being around the undead creatures in the dungeon. The blessing will last three days,” Rainy told me, her lips curling into a gentle smile.

“Oh, er- thank you?” I responded, my mind drifting to the man I’d overheard as we rode through the settlement on the way to encampment.

He’d been shouting about selling blessings, with a hundred gold being the fee for a blessing lasting a day. Based on that, Rainy had essentially given me a blessing worth three hundred gold.

After a moment's hesitation, I opened the bag strapped to my thigh. Sticking my hand into the bag, I mentally flicked through the inventory screen until I found a fist-sized glowing orb. The orbs were something I created by extracting the essence from the luminous pink mushrooms I found in the tunnels.

The orbs produced little light of their own, but they were pretty to look at. The orb didn’t cost anything for me to make, using only a few drops of luminous liquid mixed with water, and a handful of sand to form the glass. This orb, unlike the one I’d made for Leo which was made using Arcanium crystal fragments, was only made with sand to form normal glass.

“Here,” I said, holding out the orb to the Dryad.

“I do not need any payment for the blessing, it is something I do for all our team.” Rainy said, though her eyes never left the glowing ball.

“It’s so pretty, what is it?” Pia asked, bounding forwards and pressing her face so close to my hand that I could feel her breath against my fingers.

“I call it a luminous orb, it does nothing aside from produce a pretty and entrancing light, so is purely ornamental.” I told the Faun who gently pried the orb from my hand.

I let her take it, and she rolled it around in her hands, staring at it in fascination as the liquid swirled around inside the orb.

As Pia and Rainy continued to admire the orb, the dwarf strode forwards hand outstretched.

“Kip Kirkland,” the dwarf introduced, shaking my hand then jerking a thumb over his shoulder to my tent. “What’s your craft?”

“Alchemist,” I responded, and the dwarf narrowed his eyes in response.

“That’s a bold claim,” he replied, twirling one side of his braided mustache around a finger. “Lots claim to be alchemists, but ain’t nothing more than potioneers who think calling themselves an alchemist will bring in more profit.”

“It’s true that anyone can claim to be an alchemist.” I agreed, inclining my head.

“Did you make the orb yourself, then?” Kip asked, looking at the two females who were still entranced by the pink ball.

“I did.”

“They’re rather taken with it,” the dwarf commented, raising a brow.

“There is a small entrancing effect when someone looks into the light, similar to the way a moth is attracted to a light source at night. It is easily broken though,” I told him reassuringly. To prove my words, I snapped my fingers a few times, which caused both girls to look up in our direction.

“Interesting.” Kip murmured, stroking his beard, and walking over to inspect the orb.

“Kadia, do you have any more orbs?” An excited Pia asked, rushing over to clasp my hands and peer at me with pleading eyes.

Glancing past the Faun, I saw that despite her initial refusal, Rainy was cradling the pink orb to her chest in a possessive manner as Kip tried to coax her into letting him hold it.

“I don’t, but I can make you one.” I offered, unable to refuse when faced with the wide-eyed gaze of the Faun.

“Yes, yes,” Pia cheered, her excitement waning slightly as Victoria reached out and flicked one of the Faun’s floppy brown ears.

“Oh, right, ah. I can’t do blessings like Rainy, but I’m good at leather-working. So, I can make you something in exchange.” Pia said, clasping her hands together in front of her chest.

“I don’t need anything made,” I told the Faun, whose face fell into a sad pout. “But I’ll trade you the orb for the alchemic components you’ve got in your bag.”

“The what?”

“Alchemic components. Any plants, animal or creature parts you may have collected.” I said, eyeing the satchel slung over her shoulder which pulsed with a golden glow.

Furrowing her brows, Pia reached for her satchel and I watched as her eyes focused on something I couldn’t see. After several seconds, her attention returned to me and she sadly shook her head.

“I don’t have any plants or animal body parts. I have some scarab carapaces though,” she said.

I nodded, concluding that those may be causing the glow. “May I see them?”

When Pia pulled out a leather pouch from her satchel, I was able to confirm it was the main source of the glowing light.

Taking the pouch from her, I opened the drawstring and plucked out one of the scarab carapaces, holding it at eye level to examine it. The scarab carapace was an iridescent black, the colors shifting as I tilted the scarab back and forth.

Placing it back in the pouch, I used a finger to shuffle the beetles around, counting them before retying the drawstring.

“Do we have a trade? An orb for the scarabs?” Pia prompted anxiously.

“Sure, I need a few minutes to make it. Did you want to wait out here or come inside?” I asked, pointing to my tent.

“It’s hot out here.” Victoria said gruffly in reply to my question.

Moments later, I was standing in front of my work bench, with Victoria, Pia and Kip gathered around watching as I worked on Pia’s orb.

Rainy, upon seeing Leo, who’d come out of the living quarters to investigate why there were so many people in the tent, had become instantly enamored with the reptilian lion cub.

The Dryad was soon seated on the floor, using her magic to make several pink blossoms dance through the air for Leo to chase.

“Can you make smaller orbs? Shape the glass into other forms than a sphere?” Kip asked as I poured a luminous pink liquid into a glass jar, mixing it with water to dilute it.

“I can make the glass anything I can conjure a clear mental image of, but the smaller it is, the less light it produces.”

“Will they still enthrall a person?” The dwarf asked.

I nodded in response. “Even a drop can draw someone's attention,” I told the dwarf, not really paying attention to his questions as I began reshaping the glass jar into a sphere.

“Kadia, my dear fox,” The dwarf crooned, rubbing his hands together with a greedy gleam in his eyes. “How would you like to make your weight in gold.”

“I’m under orders not to sell anything outside the guild unless I speak to Darius first. You’ll need to talk to the guild leader if you want to sell the orbs.” I informed him.

I had already guessed from his mercantile attitude that he wanted to make a deal to merchandize the orbs, as it would be easy to sell them with their entrancing nature. If it wasn’t for the fact that actually going out to sell the orbs would be time consuming, and mean I’d need to interact with dozens of strangers, I would have sold them at the market in Hathus.

Darius had decided that I was not allowed to sell any alchemic creations, recipes, or any items other than loot without speaking to him first, thanks to my stunt with the books. The guild leader had been thoroughly unimpressed when he’d come across one of my books in Hathus and made the mistake of buying it with the thought I’d find it useful, only for me to later inform him the books were my creation.

It wasn’t the fact that I’d released the books he was angry with, it was that he’d spent so much gold on something I gave away. Not that he wouldn’t recoup that loss when he re-sold that book, and the thirty other copies I’d created of each book.

The guild leader had shipped the books back to Noctus so the vampire could put them up for auction and distribute some through the Whispers guild. He’d even paid extra to ensure the parcel reached Caruan within two days, as opposed to the week the postmaster originally said it would take.

By now, my books and word of their contents should spread through the potioneer and alchemic community. Then, once we returned, I’d release the next book I was working on, along with several more copies of the two I’d already created. That would give enough time for the contents of my books to be verified by those making the recipes, and for the value of the books to rise significantly.

“I can’t just go talking to the guild leader,” Kip spluttered.

“Why not?” I asked, handing Pia her newly created orb.

“He’s the guild leader.” The dwarf said, emphasizing Darius’s title.

“So?”

What’s wrong with talking to Darius? I furrowed my brows as the Dwarf gave me a look that clearly said I was missing something.

As it turned out, we didn’t need to go find the guild leader, as Darius arrived at our team's campsite shortly after I finished explaining to my team that I was Markion’s sister. With my brother being a senior commander, and a founding member, I was familiar with most of the higher ranked guild members through him.

Darius was quick to agree that the orbs and other items using the luminous fluid could be sold, provided all items were marked with the guild insignia and my own personal insignia. We also agreed that I could sell the products made from the recipes already made public.

I had been correct in identifying the dwarf’s mercantile nature, it was clear Kip had a mind for business, as he demonstrated with his idea to set up a stall in the market to sell the orbs and improved tinctures.

Kip also had several ideas for things I should try to work on, in particular something which could cause widespread fire damage. According to the dwarf, the undead in the dungeon were weak to fire, and at the moment one of the main tactics for those lacking a mage who could produce fire was to throw Molotov cocktails using clay jars filled with vodka, oil, or grease at the mummies.

After we finished our conversation about the things I should work on, the guild leader went outside to speak privately with Victoria, while Kip went to see about setting up a stall.

Pia and Rainy appeared to have taken over the living area of my tent, both lounging around the table playing with Leo. I wasn’t entirely sure how I felt about the girls’ presence, but decided to ignore them in favor of focusing on my work. I didn’t want to seem rude by asking them to leave.

Flicking through my recipes, I searched for any that would produce the kind of effect I was looking for and came up with three different options.

Who comes up with these names? Narg’s balls of fire, Light em up baby? At least Bottled Inferno sounds somewhat sensible. Reading over each recipe, I fought the urge to smash my head against my work bench in frustration.

Of course, it couldn’t be that simple. I don’t have the needed components for the recipes, let alone know where to find them. I have the fire berries mentioned in the light em up baby recipe, but I don’t have any Russula mushrooms.

The sound of giggling from the living area had me craning my neck to see Leo jumping up into the air, trying to catch a floating peach blossom.

Seeing the Leosaur reminded me of my Scorchers, and I pondered if that could be a way to create an alchemical fire weapon. Scorcher saliva was extremely flammable, and they would curl their tails in front of their mouths, spitting a fine mist of saliva which ignited when it came into contact with their venom.

I can’t produce high volumes of Scorcher saliva, its harvest rate is even lower than the venom.

Discarding that idea, and the recipe for Light em up baby, I moved onto the next recipe, Narg’s balls of fire which required very few ingredients and only one which I did not possess.

Drakus Flower? Where have I heard that before? Pulling the book Plants and Fungi of Salvia’ closer to me, I flipped it open, searching through the plants listed under D for any mention of Drakus Flower.

Drakus Flower - found in both temperate and warm environments, this green and red petaled flower is favored by travelers for its ability to ignite with the application of friction. The petal’s ignition creates small sparks with which one can light fires and create warmth on the coldest of nights.

Book in hand, I stood and walked over to where Rainy sat with Pia, hoping that the Dryad, being a creature connected to nature, would be more likely to pay attention to what local flora could be found.

“Rainy, have you possibly come across this plant in the desert? Is it commonly found?”

“Drakus Flower? No, I don’t think I’ve encountered a plant called that, but the description sounds a little like spark petals.”

“Spark petals?” I queried, fighting back my disappointment.

“It’s a red flower, and like what it says here, you can either rub it between your fingers or with a stick to light a fire. They’re very common, most people use them instead of flint.” The Dryad explained, slipping her fingers into a pouch and pulling out a single seed.

In seconds, the seed sprouted growing larger and soon the Dryad held a long-stemmed plant in her hand which burst into bloom, its flowers spreading out like a floral firework display. The flowers were tiny, delicate things, with red, outer edges and a faint green center.

Each stem was tipped with a formation of flowers, which formed an umbrella shape, and as I watched, the flowers darkened, losing their green tinge to become a deep red. Then the flower head curved inwards, resembling a bird's nest as it formed a seed head. Dozens of seeds fell to the table as the plant curled up in Rainy’s palms, its life cycle ending with the seeds now shed.

“That was amazing,” I whispered, getting a giggle from both Pia and Rainy in response.

I should harvest seeds from the plants and herbs I use most if Rainy can grow plants like this. It will greatly help with keeping a steady supply of ingredients. Rainy called this spark petals, but it is clearly the Drakus flower; this makes some sense, as different regions will have different names for plants. Many plants often have a scientific name and a more common name, which is likely the case here.

“I think this plant is the Drakus Flower I’m looking for,” I told Rainy, explaining my reasoning, and she seemed to agree with my line of thought, offering to sprout the fallen seeds so I could harvest the flowers.

“Kadia, may I borrow your book? I’ve got a book called Flowers of the forest which has many plants in it, but your book appears to have many more plants, and from different environments.” Rainy asked once we’d finished filling a basket full of Drakus flowers.

I hesitated for a moment before responding. “How about a trade? I can copy non-magical texts into a blank book, so if you let me make a copy of your book, I’ll let you copy mine.”

“Oh, I couldn’t ask you to spend so much time writing out a copy for me. I’d be happy if you just let me read it.”

I laughed, giving the girl a smile as I pulled out a roll of leather and a blank book.

Now it’s my turn to show off. I thought with pride as I placed the leather inscribed with the transmutation circle onto the front cover of a blank book and set the Plants and Fungi of Salvia on top of it.

“Replicate text.” I declared, adding a little dramatic flair to my voice as I did so.

As expected, both girls let out little awe-filled gasps as the book glowed, and once the light faded, I handed Rainy the newly made copy of Plants and Fungi of Salvia.

Tail wagging excitedly behind me, I waited as Rainy searched for her own book, and when she set it on the table, I made a copy of it as well.

The tent fell into silence after that, with both Rainy and myself becoming absorbed in our new books, and Pia amusing herself by jiggling a strip of leather around for Leo.

Our peaceful solitude was soon disturbed, as Victoria returned. Seeing the expression on my new captain's face, I had a sinking feeling in my stomach.

“Foxy, come here.” The captain ordered.

Despite my annoyance at both the name and being ordered around, I stood, moving over to stand in front of Victoria.

“The guild leader tells me you have a tendency to run off alone,” the captain said gruffly.

I grimaced, opening my mouth to respond, but the Kijo raised a hand in a gesture for silence.

“He’s already explained the circumstances, and even though I have some understanding of the situation. I’m going to let you know now, that if there is a repeat of that kind of incident, you will be punished.” Victoria said sternly.

“It wasn’t intentional.” I defended, getting a disbelieving grunt in response.

“Going off alone in the desert, which you know little about with limited supplies, was stupid.” The captain said bluntly. “The guild leader may be willing to go easy on you, but I won’t. What you did endangered not only yourself, but the entire group you were traveling with. If they’d known about the Leosaur cub you found, then they would have been on guard for a potential attack by its pride. Your actions caused three deaths!”

I stiffened, eyes going wide. I had known Dorian, Bastian and Conrad died during the attack by what might have been Leo’s pride. I hadn’t even considered just what those deaths had cost them, aside from the time traveling. Waves of guilt swept through me, and I lowered my head in shame.

They all apologized to me for the bets, and hurting my feelings, but did I apologize to any of them aside from my brother for leaving like I did? No. No, I didn’t. Kadia, you, are an ‘A’ grade bitch. I thought miserably, shoulders slumping.

“Freya’s back.” Called a voice from the entrance to my tent, and I glanced over to see Kip with his head poked through the tent flap.

Hearing this, Victoria strode out of the tent, and was quickly followed by the two girls. Seeing his new friends leaving the tent, Leo chased them out, and I reluctantly went out after him.

I wasn’t interested in watching whatever drama might unfold with the newly transferred team member, but I couldn’t trust Leo not to get into mischief running around outside alone.

As I exited my tent, and caught Leo before he got too far away, I saw a pretty, blond girl standing in front of Victoria.

With her hands on her hips she spoke to the team leader in a tone I knew well, it was the same stuck up, entitled way my stepmother used when addressing our household staff.

“I’m here to let you know I've decided to join Devon's team permanently.” She said, waving a hand at the tent she shared with the Kijo. “I’ll be gone once I’ve got my things.”

“I take it you haven’t spoken to Commander Corvus yet,” Victoria said, lips pulling back to reveal a pair of large lower canines.

“Devon is speaking to him now to arrange my transfer, it’s just so exhausting going between two teams.” Freya said, dramatically pressing a hand to her forehead. “And his team lost several days of time they could have spent in the dungeon when Kellan got kicked out of the guild, so they need to make up for lost time. You’ve had lots of time in the dungeon, so it won’t hurt for you to give up a few rostered spots until you’ve got a fifth.”

Not waiting for a response, the elven woman turned to walk into the tent she previously shared with Victoria.

Victoria chuckled, moving to block Freya’s path. “And why would we be missing any roster spots in the dungeon?”

“Guild rules,” Freya sneered, giving an exaggerated eye roll. “Only full teams are permitted in the dungeon, that’s why I was sent to sub for Devon's team, remember?”

“I have a full team,” the captain replied, her grin widening.

She huffed, trying to move around Victoria, who continued to block her path. “Uh, are you stupid? I just told you I’m transferring to Devon’s team.”

“And Commander Corvus removed you from my team hours ago. If you’re looking for your shit, the guild leader has it.” Victoria informed the girl, who stared at her mouth agape.

“What?”

“If you’d been here, as you were meant to be,” Victoria began, her voice a low growl. “Then you would have been aware that Commander Corvus summoned Captain Devon, yourself, and I to discuss the matter of team rosters this morning, offering both teams a chance to take on a very special new member. With the losing team being left with you.”

That's not what happened, I silently yelled at the captain who was yet again explaining the events of the morning completely wrong. Though, I suspected she was doing so now on purpose, as she pretty much just said Freya was the equivalent to week-old leftovers that no one wanted to eat.

“Hand over your team ring, and leave.” The captain said coldly, holding out a hand.

Freya didn’t say anything after that, and after throwing something silver onto the ground the blond girl stormed away.

“Wasn’t that a bit harsh?” I asked softly, as Pia started snickering at the elf’s retreating back.

“Nah, didn’t you hear what she said? That bitch and Devon were totally trying to screw us out of our rostered spot in the dungeon.” The Faun scoffed.

Rainy snorted, her arms crossed over her chest. “We’ve already missed two runs this week because Freya was too tired.” Rainy’s voice took on a nasal tone as she tried to mimic the other girl's voice.

“Plus,” Kip chimed in from Pia’s left. “I heard Devon’s team is close to reaching the Pharaoh’s room. There’s a big reward for the first team to take out the boss.”

The dwarf looked at me with a smirk. “But we have Kadia, so there’s no way we won’t be first into the boss room.”

I stiffened eyes going wide. “Er, I’m not actually great at fighting,” I admitted as my face grew heated.

Kip laughed, gesturing me up, and down. “Course you're not, you don’t even carry a proper weapon. I’m talking about your in with the commanders,” he said, leaning in close. “The higher ranked teams have already reached the boss room and know all about how to defeat him. I’m sure if you asked-”

The dwarf trailed off, waggling his eyebrows at me as he did so.

“If I ask, they’ll know exactly why I’m doing it.” I told him, shaking my head.

“Right, but I reckon you’ll be able to get at least one of them to give you some hints for how to find it in the maze. Perhaps from your brother?”

I laughed at that. “Markion would be more likely to tell me something completely false, purely for his own amusement.”

“Why would he do something so dangerous? One wrong turn in the dungeon could get you killed.” Rainy said.

True, but I would revive. “Because it’s what I’d do to him if I was in his shoes, or as it were, hooves.” I told her, already thinking of ways I might get additional information on the dungeon out of my brother.

The idea of going into the dungeon completely unprepared already had me nervous, but Kip was correct that I could potentially get a bit of a heads up through my brother or the other higher ranked guild members I was friendly with. If I went about it the right way of course.

“Kadia.”

Glancing away from the dwarf, I saw Victoria approaching, and seeing she had my attention, the captain held out her hand. “This is a team ring, it allows the team members to keep track of each other during combat.”

Nodding, I took the ring from her, having already been told about the rings by Dorian who’d shown me his own ring.

My brother also had a ring, which was connected to one Darius wore as the two were a team with Corvus, Yuki and Noctus. Sliding the ring onto my left middle finger, which was where I’d noticed everyone wore their team rings, I felt the metal warm against my skin and shrink to fit my finger.

“Focus on Pia,” Victoria ordered, and I looked at the faun, but she grabbed my chin, turning my head to face her.

“In your mind.” She prompted, letting go of my chin.

Doing as she instructed, I focused on thoughts of the faun, picturing her in my mind and as I did so, I had this innate feeling that Pia was safe and unharmed. Then, following the captain's instructions, I shifted to thinking of Rainy, and then Kip.

“Well done,” Victoria praised, patting me on the head when I confirmed I could feel each team member.

I fought the urge to growl at the captain, but restrained myself, not wanting to come off as bitchy to my new team.

As the group started chatting about Freya, and the rumors about Devon’s team being close to finding the boss room, I slipped into my tent, an idea forming as to how I might get some insider information about the dungeon.

* * *

“Caw.”

As I walked through the encampment towards where my brother had pitched his tent, a familiar croaking cry pierced the air.

In response to the sound, I tilted my head to the side in an automatic gesture to avoid being smacked in the face by a dark feathered wing, as Zosimos landed on my left shoulder.

“Hello, Zosimos, finally decided to show up?” I asked, twisting my head around to look at the crow.

“Caw.”

Zosimos let out another low cry, giving my ear a reprimanding nip in response to my sarcastic tone. I briefly considered knocking him off my shoulder, but instead stroked a hand over his feathers.

As annoying as Zosimos could be, I’d missed the bird. I was worried when Markion told me he’d disappeared during a fight on their journey, and feared he’d been killed.

“Did you get lost trying to find me?” I queried.

“Caw.”

“I’m sorry, Zosimos, I didn’t mean to leave you.” I said, getting a much gentler nip to my ear in response.

Reaching my brother's tent, I was surprised to see he’d set up a work area beside his tent which was covered by a canvas roof.

Markion sat before a grindstone, his foot pumping the pedal to spin the stone at a fast pace as he sharpened his ax.

“Hey, little bro.” I called out teasingly, the endearment being my new favorite considering my brother's much larger form.

“Sup, Kads,” Markion grunted, not looking up from his work.

“When are you heading into the dungeon?” I asked, feigning casualness as I moved to lean against a wooden work bench.

“Soon, why?”

“My team isn’t rostered to go in again until tomorrow afternoon, so I was wondering if you could bring me back some of the black moss growing in the maze? Rainy, one of my team members, mentioned it.” Pulling a pouch off my belt, I held it out to Markion, giving him a sweet smile as I did so. “I’ve packed some jars and linen bags for storing the plants.”

“Alright, I’ll see what I can gather for you.” Markion said, taking the bag.

Moving closer to my brother, I wrapped my arms around his shoulders, giving him a light hug as I thanked him.

This was where I messed up with my scheme. If I hadn’t gotten excited that my plan was working and hugged him, my brother probably wouldn’t have noticed anything suspicious about my request.

“Alright, fess up,” Markion demanded, his foot shifting off the grindstone pedal.

“What do you mean?” I asked, widening my eyes and feigning a look of innocence.

“What’s in the bag?” My brother asked, opening the pouch and flicking through the inventory screen.

“I told you, bags and jars.”

“And, your self-updating map.” He scoffed, pulling the map out and tossing it onto the ground.

“You weren’t supposed to open the pouch until after you reached the maze.” I mumbled sourly, picking up the map.

Chuckling, Markion reached up and tugged on my right ear affectionately. “It wouldn’t have worked, anyway. Enchanted mapping devices don’t work in the dungeons. Dungeon maps have to be drawn by memory.”

“And how would a loving, older sister gain one of these dungeon maps?”

“By exploring the dungeon and drawing her own.”

“Fine.” Shoulder’s slumping, I put my map away before pointing at the pouch. “At least bring me back some moss and mushrooms.”

“I’ll see what I can find,” he agreed, putting the pouch down on a nearby workbench where his armor was sitting.

On my return to my team's camp site, I found Rainy sitting in my tent reading the book I’d copied for her. Smiling in greeting, the dryad informed me that the others had gone to rest, as they’d gotten into the habit of sleeping during the hottest hours of the day.

“I hope you don’t mind, it’s just that Kip snores loud enough to wake the dead, and Victoria’s no better.” The pink-haired girl informed me with a laugh.

“It’s fine,” I told the dryad, my lips twisting into a wry smile. “My brother snores as well, so I completely understand.”

After moving back into my workspace, I dug through my saddle bags until I found Zosimos’s perch and set it up in the corner.

Leaving Zosimos on his perch, I filled his water and food bowls before clipping it onto the side of the perch. Picking up Leo’s bowls from the ground, I refilled his water and put some raw meat I’d gotten from the encampment’s cooks into his food bowl.

Hearing his bowl being placed on the floor, Leo strolled out of my sleeping quarters which was where he spent most of his time. Crouching next to the Leosaur, I picked him up before he could reach his bowl, and ignoring his mew of protest as I carried him over to where Zosimos was perched.

“Zosimos, this is Leonidas. Leo, this is Zosimos,” I introduced, then turned the cub to face me, holding him up so I could stare sternly into his golden eyes.

“No trying to eat Zosimos,” I ordered, and in response Leo let out an innocent sounding mew. “I mean it, Leo, you’re not allowed to attack Zos, if you do, then you’ll be in big trouble.”

Warning given, I set Leo down on the ground where he scampered over to his food bowl, devouring the meat. Zosimos stared at the cub for a long moment before turning his attention to me, tilting his head and letting out a croaking caw.

“He is immune to Scorcher venom,” I told the crow, and speaking in soft tones so as not to be overheard by Rainy, told him about what I’d learned about Leo.

Zosimos didn’t seem overly interested, focusing his attention on preening his feathers, but speaking to him about what I’d discovered helped me organize my thoughts, even bringing to light something I’d overlooked during my initial experiments.

When I first began testing Leo’s saliva and blood with the Scorcher venom, I had only done so with the fluids extracted when Leo was in a normal state.

Anti-venom was created by drawing blood from animals who were fighting off the effects of venom, so the antibodies created by their body could be harvested. Perhaps the key to finding the cure for Scorcher venom was to extract Leo’s blood after he’d consumed the venom and his body was actively working to break down the venom in his system.

However, the idea of reforming Sting and Scorch just so Leo could eat them didn’t sit right with me, but perhaps there was another way. I’d noticed Leo had a very strong liking to my darts dipped in Scorcher venom, so much so that I’d been forced to remove them from my bracer and the holder on the outside of the dart pouch to stop him from licking them.

I shouldn’t risk using undiluted venom. I’ve only got a limited supply, and until I can reform the Scorchers safely, I won’t be able to harvest more. Contemplating potential methods for a Leosaur-proof tank, I retrieved one of the glass jars I’d stored the diluted Scorcher venom in.

I wonder if he will eat the tallow mixed with Scorcher venom like this, or if I’ll need to conceal it in something. This question was quickly answered, as the moment I opened the jar Leo practically flew across the room and tried to claw his way up my trousers.

Picking up a mewling Leo, I set him on the table, and the moment he could reach it, he shoved his head into the bowl which I’d placed a large dollop of the mixture in.

As Leo licked up the semi-solid lump of venom and tallow, he began purring loudly, his tiny body vibrating as the sounds thrummed through him.

* * *

“I should have thought this through more.” I complained twenty minutes later, as Rainy and I chased a hyped-up Leonidas around the tent.

My tent now had several large rips in the canvas walls from Leo clawing his way up them, while both Rainy and I sported claw marks of our own from attempts to stop Leo’s reign of terror. I was unsure what may have triggered Leo’s behavior, when he’d eaten Scorch and Sting in Hathus, he had lazed around on the futon, napping through most of the night and following day. This was the first time I had seen him behave this way.

Nothing we tried seemed to work to settle Leo. Not even Rainy, using her ability to soothe beings around her with her blossoms' scent, was able to calm him.

Our shouting and crashing must have woken the rest of the team, as Victoria came charging into my tent. Seeing us diving after the crazed Leosaur cub, the kijo let out a bellow which had Leonidas freezing in place as she strode forward, plucking him up by the scruff.

“Thanks,” I exclaimed breathlessly, placing a hand to my stomach where the cub had clawed me.

The wound on my stomach was the worst I’d sustained, with my arms and legs only suffering light scratches compared to the deeper furrows in my stomach. I felt like my stomach was on fire, and when I lifted up my shirt, I saw that the wound was inflamed with a reddish hue around the claw marks.

“What happened?” Victoria demanded, still keeping a tight grip on Leo despite his low whimpers.

“I, ah, gave him something, and he reacted badly to it.” I told the Kijo as I downed a pain-relieving tincture, handing a second vial to Rainy.

“No shit,” Pia chimed in, looking around the trashed tent. “Good thing Rainy knows how to sew and can fix up those rips.”

Glancing over at the ripped walls, I grimaced and mentally waved goodbye to my last high-grade mana crystal.

“The tent is enchanted and bound to me. I can repair it through the durability enchantments.” I told Pia. Kip, who was standing by the door, let out a low whistle.

“Damn, Foxy, that would have cost you a heavy pouch. Though, you’re an alchemist, so it’s no surprise you’ve got coins to spend. I heard Ge Hong’s latest potion sells at thirty thousand a vial.” The dwarf commented.

Ge Hong! I snarled in response to the name, stalking over to the dwarf who stared at me in surprise as I loomed over him.

“What potion is that plagiarist claiming as his own now?” I asked, my voice coming out in a low, rumbling growl.

“Plagiarist? Foxy, Ge Hong is the-” Slamming my hand over the dwarf’s mouth, I glared down at him threateningly.

“Do not sing Ge Hong's praises in front of me unless you want to die a very painful death.” I told the dwarf coldly.

“Wow, you really don’t like him, huh?” Pia asked from behind me, as a large, red hand grabbed my wrist, yanking me back from the dwarf.

“Ge Hong is scum, he sells watered down potions at exorbitant prices and claims the work of others as his own.” I spat, while trying to yank my arm out from Victoria’s grasp.

“That’s a shitty way to do business,” Kip stated, raising a brow at me. "But it doesn’t explain why you’re flying off the handle at the mere mention of his name. Sounds like there’s something more personal there.”

I stilled, no longer struggling against the kijo’s firm hold, and stared at the dwarf, my mind not seeing him, but another person in his place.

A beautiful red-haired woman knelt in front of me, her lips curled up in a soft smile.

“I’ll be back in a few days. When I return, how about you help me translate Ge Hong’s Baopuzi for the upcoming Paleo-pharmacology exhibit?”

“Ge Hong’s Ba-zi-pozi? That’s a silly name, mama.” I told her. She laughed, flicking my nose gently.

“Boazpuzi,” she repeated, sounding the word out slowly. “It is the most well-known piece of writing by Ge Hong, famed historical alchemist. I’ll be meeting with an associate of mine on the way to the conference who has a copy of the text.”

“Kadia? Are you okay?”

Blinking rapidly, I stared at the pink-haired girl who stood in front of me, her hands gently cupping my cheeks, which were wet with tears. A sweet smell filled the air, and as I breathed in the floral scent the blossoms in her hair produced.

She never came back. The memories of the last time I saw my mother swirled through my mind, sending a fresh wave of hatred towards the pretender who soiled the name of a man I spent so much of my time researching after her death.

“What’s wrong?” Rainy coaxed.

“Ge Hong is the name of a historical alchemist, one my mother was researching right before she died. Ge Hong, the true Ge Hong, was a man worthy of my mother’s respect and this false version of him is destroying his name. That bastard is associating the name of Ge Hong with plagiarism and watered-down filth.” I whispered, trembling with both rage and sadness, as I breathed in more of the cloying floral scent of the dryad.

“If it means that much to you, then we’ll find this bastard, and kill him until his core shatters.” Victoria declared firmly.

I choked on a laugh seeing the woman’s determined expression.

“Nothing would make me happier than to kill the bastard who is destroying something my mother loved.” I told the kijo, who nodded.

“It’s settled then,” Pia chimed in, clapping her hands together. “We hunt down this bastard who made our Foxy cry and kill him on repeat until he begs Celeste to bestow him a new life.”

The next hour was spent sitting around the table in my living quarters, with everyone coming up with different ideas for how to kill the false Ge Hong in the most painful way possible.

My tears of sadness changed to ones brought by laughter, as Kip spoke of tying Ge Hong up in a horned rabbit warren, where he would be stabbed to death by the low-leveled rabbits.

According to the dwarf, death by horned rabbit was a common sentence in the Dwarven court for thieves and it was deemed to be one of the most humiliating ways to die.

The potion recipe, Narg’s balls of fire, was surprisingly easy to create, though I doubted it would be so for an alchemist who lacked the ability to combine transmutation with alchemy. The recipe clearly expected the alchemist following the instructions to possess the necessary transmutation skills, or to use an orb formation circle. Sadly, Narg didn’t have the foresight to add a copy of said orb formation circle into his recipe.

The Drakus flower petals, when rubbed together, produced an oily substance which upon contact with air, ignited. A single petal only contained a tiny amount of the flammable substance; enough to produce a few sparks. Extracting the oil was also rather difficult, as the distilling process needed to be done in such a way that the Drakus oil was not exposed to air.

Narg’s recipe required filling a clay or glass orb with Drakus flowers, being careful not to press them down too tightly and accidentally press out any oil from the flowers. Then, I needed to fill the orb with ethanol, ensuring the liquid was filled to the very top, and there were no air pockets in the orb. This was crucial to the final stage, as once I placed the orbs into the furnace, if any air bubbles were present inside the orb when the alcohol boiled and broke down the petals, it could explode.

I’d decided to start with glass orbs, as I had the most practice with forming glass. Focusing intently, I created a tennis ball-sized sphere, with an opening at the top shaped like a funnel, just as Narg’s sketch showed. After filling the orb with the Drakus flower and ethanol, I carefully sealed the orb, smoothing the glass over the opening at the base of the funnel before removing the excess glass.

Holding the orb up at eye level, I twisted it around, giving the liquid a light shake to ensure there were no air pockets. My muscles were tense with nerves as I stared at the red Drakus flowers swirling around inside the sphere. Images of my tent, the encampment, and settlement consumed by a fiery inferno filled my mind.

“I can’t do this here,” I mumbled, glancing around at the canvas walls of the tent. “I’d never hear the end of it if something happened.” Poor Tink is still getting crap about burning down one of the guild halls.

Rhythmically tapping my fingers on the workbench, I pondered my options. I could go out into the desert and do it there, but I’d need to take my tent, plus I’m not sure Darius or Victoria will let me go out there alone. I need somewhere to work that isn’t as flammable as a tent. If I was in my lab in Caruan I wouldn’t have this issue, as the lab has stone walls. That's it! That’s what I need: stone walls.

Smacking my hand down onto the tabletop, I shot to my feet, and after carefully placing the orb into my bag. I left the tent.

Once outside I took a moment to breathe in the cool night air. The sound of laughter, and friendly banter rang out from the surrounding tents where other teams were camped. In comparison, the tents my teammates occupied were much quieter, though I could hear the faint murmurs of conversation from the tent directly opposite mine.

After picking a spot next to the tent flap, I knelt on the ground and pressing my hands to the sand, I closed my eyes to focus on shifting the sand away to create a sloping tunnel, and hardening it into sandstone.

It was slow going, and I needed to take frequent breaks to recover my waning mana reserves, but eventually I tunneled deep enough that I felt an explosion would not affect the encampment above.

I worked through most of the night, expanding my underground lab, shaping the sandstone into benches, and digging out shelving space. Once I was finished with the room, I headed back up the sloping tunnel, reforming the sandstone into stairs as I went.

Back outside, I moved around to the back of my tent, and shifted into my smaller four-legged form to begin tunneling down again, creating a smaller tunnel which would serve as a chimney for my furnace.

The furnace I built, based on sketches in Narg’s recipe, was similar to a kiln, with the fire being lit in a lower compartment, separated from the orbs which would be baked in the upper compartment at medium heat.

As the sun broke over the horizon, I lit the firestone in the lower section of the furnace, and once the furnace had warmed up, placed my first “Narg’s ball of fire” in the upper compartment.

Dashing away from the kiln to hide on the stairs, I spent an anxious thirty minutes watching for any signs of explosion as the liquid inside the orb was heated.

When no explosion came, I cautiously shuffled back to the furnace where I peered inside at the glass orb. The liquid within had turned a bright orange, and I could no longer see any tinges of red in the sphere. I extinguished the firestone and while I waited for the glass orb to cool, I began forming more glass spheres.

I’ll wait until after I’ve tested the first orb before I fill these. I decided as I finished with my tenth orb, and set it onto the work bench where I’d created a series of dome-shaped hollows to hold the glass orbs.

Another twenty spheres later, and my first Drakus orb- as I’d decided to call them- had cooled enough that I could hold it. There’s no way I’m going round calling these Narg’s balls of fire, it’s borderline lewd .

Drakus orb cradled tightly to my chest, I headed out of my lab, and saw Kip standing at the entrance to the tunnel peering down.

“Ah, well, now that explains it.” He exclaimed upon seeing me.

“Explains what?” I asked, reaching the top of the stairs.

“Where this tunnel came from, of course. You’ve been studying up on earth magic I take it?”

“Transmutation.” I corrected, squinting as my eyes adjusted to the bright light of the midday sun.

“Really? You can do this kind of thing with transmutation?”

“Transmutation is the art of manipulating physical matter. I simply manipulated the sand to move and compress into sandstone.”

“Ain’t nothing simple about it.” Kip snorted, eyeing the tunnel. “What were you doing down there, anyway?”

“I needed a safe, non-flammable place to work.”

“Mind if I take a peek below?”

“You can look, but please don’t touch anything. It is also best that you always check with me before entering my workspace, as many things I work with can be dangerous.” I told him, and gestured for him to follow as I turned to walk back down the stairs.

“Understandable.” He agreed.

After a very brief tour of the room I’d built, we returned above ground, this time finding Pia near the tunnel entrance. The faun had been sent by Victoria to find out why Kip was taking so long to fetch me for the morning meal, and once Pia found out about the lab, she also wanted a tour, as did Victoria and Rainy.

“This is so cool,” Pia admired, running her hands over the sandstone walls.

“I didn’t want to accidentally set my tent on fire.” I told her, feeling both proud and a little embarrassed by all the praise the team was giving me over the lab.

I didn’t think it was that impressive, the raiders we encountered on my first night in the desert had dug out a large hideout with dozens of different tunnels. This was rather basic in comparison.

“Speaking of fire,” Kip drawled, rubbing his hands together with a grin. “Let's find somewhere to test Foxy’s burning balls.”

“I’ll give you burning balls if you keep calling it that.” I snapped, glaring at the dwarf. They were Drakus orbs, not Nargs balls, or burning balls. I was alchemist, I made potions, not lewd puns.

“Ooh, Foxy, how d'you know I liked-”

“Kip.” Victoria growled, causing the dwarf to snap his mouth shut with a look of feigned innocence.

* * *

Twenty minutes later, we reached a spot far enough away from the settlement that I felt it was safe to test the Drakus orb.

The recipe didn’t really go into detail about the effectiveness of the orbs, so I wasn’t willing to risk the chance of things going awry.

Pia suggested waiting to test the orb in the dungeon, but if the orb did work, then I wanted the rest of the day to create more before we entered the dungeon this afternoon.

“Can I throw it? Can I, can I?” Pia begged as Kip finished setting up our target, which was a wooden stake wearing a set of the dwarf’s old clothes, stuffed with dried leaves that Rainy provided.

The dwarf had insisted we make a proper target to burn, as simply throwing the orb at the sand was unlikely to achieve a proper result.

“Go ahead,” I said with a shrug.

I’d been going to suggest Victoria throw it, as the target was a good distance away, and while I was sure I could hit it with a dart, throwing a weighted glass orb would be a lot more difficult. At least if one of them threw it, I wouldn’t be embarrassing myself by throwing short of the target.

Taking a few steps back, Pia swung her arm around a few times and narrowed her eyes as she stared at the target.

“Get on with it.” Kip goaded, crossing his arms over his chest.

The orange-colored orb went flying, impacting right into the scarecrow's chest. The thin glass of the orb shattered, and flames burst to life in a bright flash. The fire was explosive- and disappointingly short-lived.

Mr. Scarecrow would survive it seemed, as the ball of fire only left him suffering from some minor burn marks.

“Well, that was,” Pia murmured, staring at the scarecrow in disappointment.

“Damn, Foxy, with how antsy and cautious you were acting, I was expecting something a little more exciting. Victoria’s curry burns hotter then that did.” Kip said, shaking his head.

Cheeks burning with embarrassment, I flung a hand towards the scarecrow, sending one of my own fireballs to slam against its chest. I kept my focus on the fire, fueling it with my mana until it consumed the scarecrow in a raging tower of flames.

“That's more like it.” Pia cheered, pumping a fist in the air.

Once I felt the scarecrow was at a point that it would keep burning on its own, I pulled back my connection to the fire, and stared at the flames in front of me in silence.

“Are you alright, Kadia?” Rainy asked softly.

I nodded, only half paying attention, as I pondered the possibility of incorporating sulfur into the Drakus orbs.

“Kip wasn’t trying to be mean with what he said, he just doesn’t realize the things he says can be hurtful.”

“Huh?” As those words penetrated my mind, I turned to look at the dryad who was giving me a gentle smile. The other three members of the team were all crowding around the scarecrow, holding sticks into the fire with white globs on the end.

“I wasn’t offended, and he was right about Victoria’s curry. I was worried it would burn a hole in my tongue last night.” I assured the pink-haired woman, who didn’t look convinced. “I’m not upset, I was just lost in thought. I’m trying to come up with a way to improve the orbs. Trust me, if I was upset, he’d be the one burning.”

“Good,” Rainy said with a smile. “If he gives you any grief, you just need to kick him around a little. It’s the only way he learns.”

“I know the type.” I informed her, lips twitching at the corners.

“Rainy, Kadia!” Pia shouted, waving her arms over her head. “Get your butts over here or you’ll miss out on the s’mores.”

I titled my head, staring at the sticks the three gather around the fire. Where did they get marshmallows in the desert?

* * *

When I finally made it back to the underground lab, I paced in front of the bench where I’d placed the basket of Drakus flowers.

So much potential, but how to harness it? I don’t have a lot of Saltpeter, so using that isn’t a viable option, and I only brought one jar of Sulfur.

“What to add?” I mused, picking up the fire potion recipes again. I discarded Nargs recipe, and turned to the second.

The recipe light em up baby, used a mixture of Russula mushrooms, fire berries, sugar, oil and sulfur to create what it described as an adhesive fluid, that was packed into a clay canister with a fuse.

When the fuse burnt down and the liquid ignited, it would explode, covering everything in a three-foot radius with the burning fluid.

“Strange that it uses fire berries,” I mused, tracing my finger down the page to where it spoke about preparing the fire berries.

Fire berries were Kaledon’s version of ghost peppers and one of the main components in my smoke bomb, which had been my attempt at recreating tear gas.

“Isn’t this just jam?” I grumbled, as the recipe instructed to cook the fire berries and sugar in a pot until it thickened.

Clicking my tongue in annoyance, I continued reading over the recipe, and found that the Russula mushrooms had to be dried and ground into a powder before being added to the jam. According to the notes, the Russula mushrooms would give the fluid a sticky consistency.

“So, I can remove the Russula mushrooms from the recipe, and use something else or simply forgo it.” I concluded, setting aside the recipe.

A search through my bags showed that my supply of the fire berries was limited, and I only had dried berries left. Though, with my budding new friendship with a dryad, I hoped that my dwindling supply of ingredients could be replenished. The fire berries, with their deceptive strawberry-like appearance, had dozens of small black seeds dotting its skin, seeds which Rainy could hopefully grow into more berries.

Once I’d carefully removed the seeds from a dozen fire berries, I headed out of my lab in search of Rainy. After checking our camping area, and not finding the dryad, I went to my tent, intending to search through my saddle bags to see if I had any fresher berries and found Rainy in the living area of my tent, Leo curled up in her lap as she sat reading.

Hearing my approach, the pink-haired dryad looked up from her book with a smile.

After showing Rainy the seeds and explaining that I needed the berries for an experiment, she was thrilled to help grow the flame berries. She also explained that if we planted the seeds she could grow the bush and place it into a flowering cycle, the bush would bear fruit every three days, as opposed to the six months it would take to do so naturally.

“Does speeding a plant's growth like that affect them in any way? On Earth, artificially grown vegetables contain less nutritional value than those grown traditionally.” I said, watching the dryad closely as she planted the seeds into the large sandstone pot I created for bushes to grow in.

“I’m not sure to be honest,” Rainy said, chewing on lower lip as she stared down at the pot.

Luckily, the dryad had brought a few sacks of soil with her to the desert, as the sand wasn’t the best environment for growing plants. Whilst dryads could sprout seeds without the need for soil, it would only live for as long as she continued feeding it her mana; once she cut the connection, the plant would wither and die. Sprouting plants in soil used less mana and allowed the plant to sustain itself from the nutrients in the soil once the dryad broke off her connection to the plant.

Pink eyebrows creased delicately as the dryad trailed her fingers over the soil in the pot. “A flowering cycle has a detrimental effect on a plant's life span, but I don’t know if it affects the plant in other ways. For example, a plant such as this, which would naturally flower every six months and do so for five to six years before dying, will wither and die within a month due to the strain of a magically induced flowering cycle.”

“I see,” I hummed thoughtfully as I watched as Rainy sprouted the fire berries. “Will multiple flowerings drain the soil of nutrients? Do we need to fertilize it or is that something you can compensate for with magic.”

“I will imbue the soil with magic to provide the nutrients needed to sustain the plant's growth. However, different plants have different needs, and some cannot be grown as simply as these.”

“Have you grown Viper vines before?” I asked. Rainy glanced up at me with a curious expression on her face.

“Viper vines?”

As we began picking fire berries from the first four bushes the dryad grew, I told her about the Viper vines and the paralyzing poison I created by distilling the toxin secreted by the Viper vines' fang-like thorns.

“Have you any of these vines on you?” Rainy asked, her eyes taking on an almost hungry gleam as she stared at the pouches I wore strapped to my belt.

“Not fresh ones, I’ve got some toxin stored and two dried vines I was planning to grind into powder for an experiment. They don’t reproduce through seeds, but by sending out shoots.” I explained.

“May I see the dried vines? I might be able to revive it,” the dryad asked.

I nodded with a smile. If she could revive the dried Viper vines it would be extremely beneficial, as I’d sold a lot of the paralyzing poison to Killian for his arrows.

Leaving my basket of berries on the floor, I moved to where I’d left my saddle bags, searching through the inventory screen until I found the container marked as Viper vines.

Returning to Rainy, I handed her the container, and watched as she picked one up with a soft, almost reverent smile.

Holding the vine coiled up in her cupped hands, Rainy closed her eyes, and I watched in fascination as her hair moved as though blown by a non-existent wind. The pink blossoms that decorated her hair raised up into the air, swirling around the dryad as her green skin glowed faintly.

A sweet scent permeated the air, and I quickly pulled up the scarf I wore to cover my face, the enchanted cloth filtering out the intoxicating scent the dryad produced.

The vine in Rainy’s hands twitched and shuddered. Then, like a snake shedding its skin, a healthy green Viper vine slithered across her palms, leaving behind a dried, brown husk.

“Hello, beautiful,” Rainy crooned, opening her eyes and smiling down at the vine curling around her wrists.

The dryad appeared rather taken with the newly revived vine, stroking her fingers over the vine’s length, cooing softly to it in the same way one would a treasured pet.

“May I keep this vine? The second has no traces of life left, and cannot be revived, but if I bond with this vine, I can create more.” Rainy said, stroking her fingers over the Viper vine curled around her arm.

“Bond with the vine?” I asked.

The dryad nodded, her eyes never leaving the vine as she spoke. “As a dryad, I can bond with plants that have a strong magical essence. It will allow me to use this plant as a conduit for druidic magic.”

“How do you use it?” I questioned, wanting to learn more about my new teammate’s magical abilities.

“Well, I am bonded to a type of vine already, which is called a grasping vine.” Rainy said, lifting a finger to touch what I thought was a necklace styled to look like a vine, but as it moved, I saw it was a live plant.

The vine curled around her free hand, and she raised it up for me to see.

“Because of this bond, I can do things like this.”

Quick as a flash, dozens of vines shot out from the one Rainy held and landed on the floor in front of me.

“I can conjure and control any plant I am bound to,” Rainy said, looking at the fire ball I’d reflexively conjured in amusement.

The vines twisted together, coiling tighter around each other to form a single large vine at one end, while staying separated at the other. As I watched, the vines, looking reminiscent of a multi-headed serpent, slithered over to the fire berry bushes and plucked the remaining berries, placing them into the half-filled baskets on the floor.

“That's a neat trick,” I mumbled, watching the vines picking berries with a feeling of surrealism.

“They are covered in tiny hairs which let them ‘grasp’ onto different surfaces. They’re useful for restraining foes. Though, I feel that the Viper vine will be much better equipped for the latter task.”

“You can have the vine, but I’d appreciate it if you let me milk the venomous fluid from the vines under your control.” I said as memories of the struggle I’d had with the vines when first attempting to milk them came to the forefront of my mind.

If the dryad could make the task easier by controlling the vines, then I was all for it.

“Thank you,” Rainy said, a wicked-looking smile curling across her lips. “You know, Kadia, I think we’re going to get along great.”

“Grow me lots of plants and we’ll be the best of friends.” I joked, getting a laugh from the dryad in response.

“Help me find lots of strong, dangerous plants and that’s certainly a given.”

Back in my lab, I filled a medium-sized caldron with fire berries, and after setting it on a stand, conjured a flame beneath it. Yuki, the other Kitsune in our guild, had told me the best way to strengthen my fire was to use it as much as possible, and I’d found using my own flames when working in the lab helped my ability to control the element a lot.

While the berries simmered, I filled a glass orb with Drakus flowers and ethanol, then added ten grams of sulfur to the mix. Sealing the orb, I moved to a second, this time adding both sulfur and saltpeter.

Let’s try some Scorcher saliva in this one and in the next I’ll substitute the ethanol for diluted Scorcher venom.

Once the berry jam had reached a suitable consistency, I used a pair of tongs to stir an ice wisp core through the mixture to cool it before portioning it out into several jars. I left just enough mixture in the caldron for one orb which I filled with Drakus flowers, sulfur and the fire berry jam.

“There’s still a little bit of jam left,” I mused, and decided to pour some ethanol into the caldron to mix with the jam coating the sides before adding the mixture to another Drakus orb.

Carrying the first orb over to the kiln, I placed it inside the top compartment. Then, I focused my mana through the stone, picturing the stone enclosing the orb within a box. I repeated this with each of the orbs, placing them inside one by one, and sealing them inside their own little stone blast box. With the orbs all secured, I lit the fire and waited for several moments for the kiln to heat up, before sealing the opening, as an extra precaution.

That should keep any explosions contained.

It was as that thought entered my head, that a thunderous noise filled the air, as the kiln exploded in a wave of rock and fire.

Thrown back by the force, I slammed against the far wall of the lab as a swirling inferno overtook the room.

Dazed, I staggered to my feet, hand outstretched, I pushed at the fire, attempting to keep it from overwhelming me.

Put it out! I need to put it out! The fire licked at the entrance of the tunnel leading out of my lab, still burning though it lacked anything to fuel it.

Air, fire needs air. Starve it. Seal the lab, better to die than wipe out the encampment.

Briefly taking my focus away from pushing back the flames, I turned my attention to the stone tunnel and flung my mana out towards it, an image of it collapsing and fusing together at the forefront of my mind as the fiery inferno closed in around me.

How long has it been? I had lost track of time as I sat within the fiery inferno. The flames continued to burn with no signs that they would cease, despite the lack of fuel.

After collapsing the tunnel, and sending out a wave of power to thicken the sandstone walls of the lab in an attempt to prevent a cave in, my body reverted to my true form, my mana core drained to the point that I could no longer sustain my human guise.

Surprisingly, the flames did not consume me. In my vulpine form I felt no heat from th fires fury and was able to move freely around the lab.

What was more shocking was the power contained in the flames, power which I’d been able to absorb. My depleted mana reserves had already recovered, and slowly, I began working to absorb as much additional power as I could, expanding my core.

I felt like I’d just eaten a twelve-course meal, and now I was trying to force myself to finish a thirteenth. I didn’t let that stop me though, as this opportunity was one I hadn’t thought I would receive before reaching the dungeon.

Yuki said that to create my first wisp core, I needed to flood my core with power, to push it to a point that it was full to bursting. I needed to push as much power into my core as possible, until my core rejected the additional power that it couldn’t handle, and my body compensated by forming a secondary core.

The method Yuki used was by killing as many foes as she could in the glacial dungeon they’d been farming at that time. Upon death, a being's mana would be released from their core, and could be absorbed by those in the vicinity. This was why a body needed so long to reform after death, as it took time for our cores to naturally gather enough power to restore our physical form.

Power could also be absorbed from mana crystals, or even directly from the world around us, but the latter was difficult if someone wasn’t in a location with a high mana density. Places like the magical academies or the four main cities were all mana-dense areas. However, the location where someone could absorb the most amount of mana was within the dungeons.

It had been my intention to use my time in the dungeon to gather the needed power to form my first wisp core, but with the power swirling around me, I’d be a fool not to absorb as much as I could.

Eyes closed, I sat on my haunches, tail swishing in slow, rhythmic arcs that matched my breathing.

As I sat in meditation, drawing in power with each inhale, a burning sensation built within my chest. It felt as though I had swallowed a flaming ember and now it was being forced back up through my body.

I shuddered, letting out a whimper of pain as the burning sensation reached my throat. I hunched over, choking and wheezing as my airway became blocked by something solid.

As I continued heaving, the thing jammed in my throat dislodged, and with one final hacking cough, I spat out a small marble onto the sandstone floor of the lab.

That damned fennec fox didn’t tell me I’d vomit the core up, I stared down at the white orb laying beside my front paw. Finally! Now I can continue my wisp experiment, I want to see what happens if I put a pure wisp core into something like a healing potion.

Tail wagging, I admired my very first wisp core, and as I looked closely, I noticed the white color of the core start to change.

It’s absorbing the fire mana! Panic fueled me as I tried to cover the core with my front paws in a vain attempt to stop it from absorbing any of the fiery element that surrounded us.

In my clumsy attempts to shield the core, I ended up batting it away into the flames. As I attempted to catch the rolling core, the flames surrounding me grew more chaotic and swirled around my wisp core like a fiery hurricane, being sucked into the orb as though it were a tiny vacuum.

In a matter of seconds, the underground laboratory that was once consumed by a blazing inferno was empty of any flames, aside from a small ball of fire which now surrounded the wisp core.

Throwing my head back, I let out a yowling howl of aguish as all my plans for the wisp core went up in literal flames. I didn’t want a fire wisp!

I slumped to the ground, glaring at the ball of fire that was my new wisp.

Why is it so chubby? I stared at the fire wisp, which looked nothing like the wisps I’d seen Yuki summon.

Yuki’s wisps were all slender looking creatures that looked almost like a tiny person made from the elements. This wisp looked like a fat blob with arms and legs, nothing at all like the pretty wisps the other Kitsune had.

As I stared at the wisp, two big wide eyes slowly opened within the flames.

A pair of stubby legs appeared from within the blob of fire, and hesitantly the wisp stood. With a slight wobble, the fiery blob closed the distance between us, stumbling and falling as it made its way towards me.

Why is it walking? Yuki’s wisps all float around- is… is it too fat to fly? My upper lip curled back, a soft snarl piercing the air as the fat wisp reached me. You ate all that fire, and now look at you… I should call you fatty!

Reaching out with a paw, I shoved at the wisp, expecting it to fall, but its body jiggled from the impact, wobbling like a plate of jello.

How intriguing. A second nudge sent the little wisp jiggling again.

As I sat back on my haunches, my vulpine form shifted back into that of a human. Cautiously, I stretched a hand towards the wisp, hovering it just above the flames.

When the fire did not burn me, and instead gave off the same familiar heat I felt when interacting with my inner fire, I poked the wisp with my index finger.

“It feels gelatinous.” I mused, pulling back my finger.

During my examination, the little wisp simply sat staring up at me with big, wide eyes which looked far more expressive than what I’d seen Yuki’s wisps display. Though, perhaps I was biased where my wisp was concerned, it was mine after all.

Narrowing my eyes at the wisp, I tried to order it away, imagining it dissipating into thin air as Yuki’s wisps did when she de-summoned them.

In response, it looked up at me blinking rapidly for several moments before clumsily taking a few wobbly steps. Tilting my head, I watched the wisp as it wobbled around me and leapt onto my tail where it vanished. Wide eyed, I jumped to my feet, grabbing my tail and pulling it around in front of my thigh.

As I inspected the fur for any signs of the wisp, the little ball of fire reappeared, clinging to the bushy white tip of my tail. After mentally sending the wisp away again caused it to sink into the fur of my tail, I concluded that I’d need to have a long chat with Yuki about this whole wisp thing.

With the wisp sent away for now, I walked around the ruined lab, admiring the glossy walls.

The fiery inferno had changed the sandstone walls and workbenches, fusing the sand into glass. Where the furnace had been, large jagged shards of glass rose up from the floor, with smaller melted clumps of sandstone turned glass scattered around.

“Damn it, that was my last fire stone.” I grumbled after a search of the area where the furnace had been showed the stone was no more.

Moving to the collapsed tunnel entrance, I pressed a hand to the jagged glass that formed over the crumbled stone and pushed at it with my mana, focusing on reforming the tunnel.

Power flowed through me and the glass melted away, molding itself back into the tunnel it once had been. As I worked on excavating the tunnel, I relished in the increased strength and power that filled my core after the time spent absorbing the fiery mana.

As I broke through the last section of the collapsed tunnel, the scent of smoke filled my nose as bright sunlight glared blindingly into my eyes. My ears twitched in response to the sound of loud voices to my left, and with a hand raised to shield my eyes, I turned to face a large crowd of people gathered around the tunnel entrance.

“Kadia!” Hearing the loud, angry voice of the guild leader, I briefly considered a retreat back into my lab, but the black-haired Okami reached me before the thought of fleeing had fully formed in my mind.

“Er, hi.” I mumbled, as I took in the site of three piles of sand, two of which had small plumes of smoke drifting off them.

Oh, shit. I looked around, but relaxed somewhat as I saw dozens of tents nearby that looked perfectly fine with no signs of the all-consuming fire that had blazed through my lab.

“Start explaining.” Darius growled, towering over me with his arms crossed.

“Umm, I had an accident in the lab.” I said hesitantly, not entirely sure why he was so mad.

The encampment seemed fine, aside from a few smoking piles of sand. Sand, which was piled up where my tent, and those of my teammates had been I realized suddenly.

Biting my lip, I scanned the crowd for any sign of my team, and when I saw all four of them pushing through the crowd, I felt a wave of relief wash over me.

“No shit.” The guild leader snapped. “You set three tents on fire. A fire which doubled in size the moment we tried to douse it with water. It almost spread to the entire encampment. We had to smother the tents in sand to put it out.”

“I’m sorry, I thought I’d contained the fire inside the lab when I collapsed in the tunnel.” I explained, staring at the pile of sand that my tent was apparently buried beneath. I rubbed the back of my neck with a grimace. “At least you managed to put it out before it spread.”

“How did you survive if your lab was on fire?” Pia asked, as she and the team reached us in time to overhear what I’d told the guild leader.

“She’s a Kitsune, Pia, they’re immune to fire.” Rainy told the faun, before giving me a reassuring look. “I got Zosimos and Leo out of the tent as soon as the back wall caught on fire. I was also able to save your saddle bags, but that was all I could carry.”

“The back wall?” I groaned, shoulders slumping. “Ah- right, the chimney.”

“What happened, Foxy?” Victoria asked, her tone stern, but lacking the anger of Darius’s.

Taking a deep breath, I told them briefly about how I’d been working on a few ideas for improving the Drakus orbs, and explained how I had taken precautions against an explosion, but they’d failed.

“I collapsed the tunnel trying to prevent the fire spreading above ground, but I forgot I’d dug out an air vent for the furnace. I’m so sorry,” I told my team, eyes burning with tears of shame and guilt at the knowledge I had caused my team to lose their tents along with any possessions within them.

Teams were assigned tents by the guild, who purchased them for their members' use. The tents were given on loan, with the understanding that if the tents were destroyed the team would need to pay off the cost of the tent through contributions. They weren’t cheap, and not something my team should have to pay for when it was my blunder that saw them destroyed.

“I’ll pay for the tents,” I said, looking at Darius who inclined his head.

“I’ll have Noctus deduct it from your book royalties.” The guild leader said, then looked at the pile of sand which was my destroyed tent. “We don’t have any spare tents, so once yours has been reformed, I see no reason why you can’t share with your team until new tents can be allocated to them.”

“I don’t suppose you have a spare high grade mana crystal on you?” I asked Darius hesitantly.

He sighed, shaking his head. “No,” he said, pinching the bridge of his nose. “I take it you have none left?”

“I have one, but it’s been partially used so won’t be enough to reform my tent or the furnishing crate.”

“Ohh, I have an idea.” Pia chimed in. I glanced over to see her pointing to the tunnel entrance.“Kadia can dig us an underground house until we can get some mana crystals in the dungeon.”

“Kadia?” Darius queried, raising a questioning brow.

I nodded in response. “I can do that, for now we can sleep in the lab while I dig out some more rooms.”

“Good, you can also clean up the damaged tents, seeing as it’s your mess.” The guild leader said, waving a hand to indicate the piles of sand. Without another word Darius turned on his heel and left, shouting for the gawking crowd to disperse as he went.

“The guild leader was really worried when we couldn’t find you.” Pia said, watching the guild leader’s retreating back. “We knew you weren’t hurt because of the team rings, but he was still worried you’d been trapped in a cave in, and unable to get out. We were about to start digging.”

I nodded, and the group fell into an awkward silence that was soon broken by Kip.

“Well, do you at least remember what you did?” Kip demanded, looking at me expectantly.

“What I did?” I raised a brow with a quizzical expression.

“To make the fire,” the dwarf exclaimed, waving a hand at the smoldering sand. “That stuff is exactly what we need.” He said cheerily, though his delighted expression quickly disappeared as a red fist collided with his head.

* * *

After some debate, we decided to leave digging out the burnt tents until morning, so they had time too cool and because there was only two hours left until we needed to leave for the dungeon.

As the team moved our salvaged belongings into the lab, I spent some time smoothing out the jagged glass to make things a little more habitable.

When I finished making the lab less spiky, Kip left to find bedding to replace what was destroyed, and the three women of my team took advantage of the dwarf's absence to change into their armor. I also changed, as my clothing had been scorched by the fire, and was heavily scented with the unique rotten egg smell produced by sulfur.

“Zosimos, I’m going to close the entrance of the tunnel so Leo doesn’t go off causing mischief. Do you want to go out?” I asked the crow as the team readied to leave.

“Caw.”

Leaping off the perch I’d formed for him on the wall, Zosimos took off for the tunnel. I wasn’t surprised by his desire to leave, if I was him, I wouldn’t want to be left with the kitten unsupervised either. Leo’s tendency to destroy anything he could get his claws on was why I created a sealed storage room for the personal items we weren’t taking with us.

All I left out for the Leosaur cub was his basket, a bundle of blankets to nap on, full food bowls, and his leather ball, which was nearly falling apart with deep bite marks over its surface. I wouldn’t risk bringing Leo into the dungeon, or any combat situations, until he grew larger and could show proper behavior. The last thing I wanted was for him to go running off while we were inside the tomb, which had been described as a trap-filled maze.

After double checking I had everything, I turned to observe my team who were finishing their own preparations.

Seeing Victoria’s two massive tower shields, I was yet again taken aback by the sheer size. Both, when set on the ground, were taller than me, with three large spikes on the front of each. When I offered to coat the spikes in poison for the kijo, she’d laughingly informed me her foes would be dead before any poison would affect them.

Both Pia and Kip had taken me up on my offer, not surprising considering I’d offered to do it for free as a way to apologize for the whole burning down the tents thing.

Pia’s weapon was a spear with a jagged blade, which she gleefully informed me was designed that way to tear open her foes when she yanked the spear back out after stabbing them. Kip was a little less aggressive with his choice of weaponry and used a pair of broad daggers that looked more like short swords when wielded by the dwarf.

Rainy on the other hand, didn’t appear to have any weapons, and when I’d questioned the lack of weaponry, she’d simply given me a sweet smile while informing me that she was the weapon.

As we left the underground lab, I sealed the entrance leaving only a few holes in the stone door to allow for air to flow through.

“Aren’t we going to get our horses?” I asked as Victoria led the group through the encampment in the opposite direction of the animal pens.

“Don’t need ‘em.” The kijo grunted, carrying one of her heavy shields on her left arm, while the other was strapped to her back.

I frowned. “Isn’t the dungeon almost an hour’s ride away?”

“Don’t worry, Kadia, we have a ride.” Rainy said, as Pia and Kip exchanged grins.

The expressions on the faun and dwarf’s faces had me narrowing my eyes at the pair, who just grinned wider in response.

As we walked through the encampment, we passed the commanders’ tents, and seeing Darius standing with Corvus, I asked Victoria to wait a moment so I could speak with the guild leader.

“Darius,” I called, bounding over to my fellow beast Yōkai with a smile.

“Kadia, heading out?” The guild leader asked, seeing the others standing behind me.

“Yup, I just wanted to give you this before I left.” I told the guild leader, giving him a jar filled with red jam.

“Jam?”

I nodded, giving him a sweet smile as I pulled out a second jar, which I handed to Corvus who stared at the jar with a narrow eyed gaze filled with suspicion.

“I wanted to apologize for what happened earlier. Both the fire and throwing a smoke bomb at you, Corvus.” I said, giving the lion Bakeneko a look of false innocence.

Corvus’s expression made it clear he wasn’t buying into the act and he proved it by swapping his jar with the one I handed Darius, while giving me a suspicious glare.

“They’re both the same,” I told him with a giggle as he swapped them for a second time when I showed no reaction to the first exchange.

“You done, Foxy?” Victoria called, and I gave both guild officers a bright smile before skipping away to rejoin my team, tail wagging happily as I imagined the expression Corvus would make if he dared try the jam.

I wasn’t worried about Darius. The guild leader was a spice addict and I’d once seen him eating fire berries as though they really were the strawberries they appeared to be. He’d even been adding the fire berry powder I’d ground to use for my smoke bombs to his meals during our trip through the sand sea.

If anyone would appreciate a jar of the fire berry jam, it would be Darius, and if Corvus was fooled into trying it by the guild leader’s lack of adverse reaction, all the better.

“What was in the jars?” Pia asked, glancing back at the guild leader and commander who were watching us leave.

“Just some berry jam. I felt bad about the fire,” I said, twisting my words to ensure my statement was completely truthful on the off chance the officers could still hear us.

As we reached the encampment's exit, I saw my brother trudging towards us with a bedraggled-looking hunting team following along behind him. Well, half a hunting team- they appeared to be missing Roderick, Bastian and Dorian.

“Hey, little bro, looking a bit rough there.” I called out, getting a grunt in response.

“Want a tincture?” I asked, wiggling a vial at him as he grunted at me again. “Words, brother.”

“Need more than a vial, gonna take a damn jug to feel better.” He grumbled, snatching the vial.

“What happened?” Pia asked, eyes roving over the group with interest.

“Got run over by a boulder.”

“Did you get my plants?” I asked, eyeing the pouch at his waist.

“I’m beat to the point I can barely move and you’re asking about plants?” Markion complained, handing me the pouch.

“Oh please, if you were really hurt you’d be sulking more. You’re a whiny brat when you get hurt or sick.” I scoffed, taking my pouch, and tossing him a second vial of pain-relieving tincture along with a jar of wound salve.

“Rub that on, it’ll help heal any bruising.” I informed him, then gave a vial of tincture to Killian and Conrad who were giving me pleading looks.

“Let's get out of here before these pointy-eared mooches con our alchemist out of any more freebies.” Kip interjected as the elves downed their tinctures.

This earned the dwarf a pair of glares and a cuff over the back of the head from our team captain.

Bidding the two elves and my brother goodbye, we continued through the settlement.

As I walked away, Kip turned to me with a scowl. “You shouldn’t just be handing stuff like that out on a whim Kadia, you need to take the cost of production into account at the very least.” The dwarf lectured.

I rolled my eyes.

“I’m not stupid, Kip.” I snapped defensively, pulling my accounting book out of my bag and waving it at the dwarf. “They’re all on a tab, if they don’t pay up it’ll be deducted from their guild stipend.”

“Ah, well, that’s good then.” Kip coughed, looking a little embarrassed.

I shook my head with a sigh. “I may not have any interest in going out to sell my products, but it doesn’t mean I’m ignorant of how it works.”

“I apologize, Kadia, based on our earlier conversation with the guild leader regarding the sale of your items, I thought you’d been handing them out for free until now.” The dwarf said, his eyes avoiding my gaze as I glowered at him.

“For free? I’ve been at the guild hall in Caruan since I got to Kaledon. You think I’d be able to just hand things out for free while in the vicinity of Noctus? Darius meant I wasn’t interested in directly being involved in the sale of products. I don’t have time for half the things I want to research, let alone dealing with all that other stuff.” I clarified, even the thought of spending my time dealing with all the things that would come with having to market and sell my work made me feel exhausted.

“I see your point.” Kip admitted, giving me a broad grin. “As I told the guild leader, I’ll happily help with this, for a cut of course.”

“That's not my decision to make, it’s between you and the guild leader.” I said, not wanting to get involved in whatever agreement Darius was working out with the dwarf regarding his potential position as my sales manager.

I had already signed an agreement with the guild that I would get a cut from all sales for alchemic concoctions I made, and from what was made by other guild members using my recipes that weren’t publicly released.

“I’ll be taking ten percent of profits, with the chance for more at a later date.” He grinned, looking pleased with the deal he’d brokered with the guild.

“Ten percent isn’t bad. Before handing the task of making basic tinctures and salves to Taurie, I was making five thousand gold a week just through selling to the guild.”

Letting out a chuckle, the dwarf gave me a broad grin. “My dear fox, that is a mere pittance compared to what we’ll be making from those pretty little orbs.”

“Like I said before, I’ll make the glass, but you can do the rest. I’m not going to stand around making orb after orb for you.”

“That's why we’ll make a production line out of it. You make the orbs, the girls will help fill, and then you jump around to seal 'em shut. We can easily get a few hundred done that way.”

“We’re not filling anything without pay, shortie.” Pia chimed in.

The dwarf narrowed his eyes at the faun. “You’ll get paid in accordance with the services rendered.”

As Pia and Kip argued over whether they should get a percentage cut or set fee for helping with the orb production, we arrived at the outskirts of the settlement.

A line of people could be seen trudging across the sand, some on horseback, but many traveled on foot. In the distance, more tents could be seen at the location of the newly discovered dungeon which was under the control of the Whispers guild.

Having been the ones to discover its location, the Whispers guild had sent a contingent of guild fighters to the dungeon who guarded the entrance. For those not in a guild that held an agreement with the Whispers, they would need to pay a percentage-based fee on the calculated value of items looted in the dungeon.

Luckily, Eternia was on good terms with the Whispers guild, having been allied with them in Avalon. Eternia, along with the Whispers guild and the Silver Arrow guild, once shared a guild city, working together to defend it from other guilds in the former world, and as far as I knew, the alliance between our three guilds was still as strong as it once was.

There had been a saying in Avalon, one which I suspected would still prove true here in Kaledon.

Need someone killed? Speak to the Arrows. Need information? Ask the Whispers. Want something made? Commission Eternia’s crafters.

The guild had once been known for having the best craft masters of every profession in Avalon, a title I knew the guild was working hard to reclaim. Some Eternia members were purely fighters, but the guild encouraged all its members to also work on a profession.

“So, how are we getting to the dungeon? You said we have a ride, but I’m not seeing any horses.” I complained, not keen on the idea of walking to the dungeon.

“Does Foxy not like walkies?” Pia coo’d with a giggle.

I shook my head. “Not particularly.”

As I spoke, Victoria released the shield she was holding and, to my surprise, the large tower shield began floating in place. When the kijo lifted the second shield from her back, it began floating on the red-skinned woman’s other side. Seeing my expression Victoria winked at me, punching a fist in the air.

Whoosh.

The shield floating on the Oni’s right shot forwards through the air in response to her motion, and when Victoria shifted her arm into an uppercut, it shifted direction, flipping over to fly upwards. The woman brought her arm back to her side, and the shield returned to float next to her.

When it floated closer, I was able to see the glowing scripture covering the inside of the shield.

“That was amazing,” I breathed, kind of wishing I had a magic shield of my own. I wonder if Noctus can enchant my wagasa to fly? I could be like the Nanny from that old twentieth century movie. What was it called again? Macy Popper? Marie Popkins?

Chuckles from my gathered team broke through my drifting thoughts, pushing away the imaginings of flying with my umbrella, and Victoria gave me a knowing smile as her shields flipped over so they were horizontal with the ground, spiked fronts facing down.

“Get on,” she ordered.

“Choo, choo, all aboard the slaughter express!” Pia cried out, jumping up onto the closest shield followed by Kip and Rainy.

“Foxy, you're with me.” The captain said, poking my shoulder when I didn’t move.

“Er- is it safe?” I asked as I shuffled towards the shield. “Eek!”

I let out a startled squeak when the kijo picked me up and deposited me onto the shield.

“Safe enough,” Victoria grunted. “Sit like Pia does.”

Glancing at the shield the other three were on, I saw Pia kneeling at the front of the shield, one hand clasped around the shield's handle, the other holding her spear. Behind her, Kip knelt with a hand on Pia’s shoulder, and Rainy sat with her back to Kips as she faced the rear, legs hanging over the edge of the shield.

After kneeling, and grabbing onto the handles with both hands, I felt the shield dip slightly as Victoria stepped up behind me and knelt with a hand on my shoulder.

“The slaughter express is now leaving the station, next stop, dungeon central. We kindly ask that you stay seated, keeping your arms and legs inside the vehicle at all times- unless killing someone. ” Pia shouted, her words ending with a gleeful cackle as the shields shot forwards across the sand.

The wind tugged at my hair while sand created dust clouds behind us as we streaked across the desert at a pace that could only be matched by a galloping horse.

Our flight across the desert attracted more than a few double takes, and even glares from those who were making the trek on foot.

As we reached the dungeons location, I was surprised to see half a dozen sandstone buildings and a larger dome roofed building behind a few scattered tents.

Lines of people stood in front of different tents, queued up for at least half a mile leading to the dome shaped building. We didn’t get off at the end of the line as I expected, but flew slowly past it to a second, shorter queue, the entrance to which was guarded by a stern-faced man.

Jumping down from the shield, Victoria walked up to the man, showing him her guild token. Noticing Pia, Kip and Rainy hopping down from their shield, I also got down, brushing sand off my clothing as we headed to join the line.

“Is this like a V.I.P queue or something?” I asked jokingly, a little surprised when Kip nodded.

“Our guild has priority entry for our teams.” The dwarf explained, as we shuffled forwards towards the sandstone buildings.

“I heard in the other line it can take hours to reach the dungeon entrance.” Pia exclaimed, looking horrified at the thought of having to wait that long.

I glanced at the longer line, feeling a tinge of pity for those towards the end. “Why does it take so long?”

“Only seven groups can go in at a time,” Rainy chimed in.

“Stops things from being too crowded,” Kip added.

“There’s other people in there with us?” I asked glancing at the group who gave nods. The few dungeons I’d been in with my brother in the previous virtual world had been ones where only our group would be inside the dungeon.

“There’s no instanced dungeons in Kaledon, well, none that anyone has found.” Kip informed me.

Furrowing my brow, I tried to wrap my head around the idea of being inside a dungeon with other people. Wouldn’t that mean if others went in first, there’d be nothing left to kill depending on mob respawn rates? And what about the mana crystals? They gathered mana over time, so if they were all mined by other groups in the dungeon, there would be none left for us.

Rainy turned to me with an amused smile as I released my torrent of questions upon the group. “Everything respawns pretty quickly. You hit a dead end in one hall, and by the time you’ve doubled back to the intersection, the pack of mummified dogs you just killed are already back on their feet. This faster respawn of dungeon creatures is explained as an effect of dungeons forming in mana-dense locations called mana wells. Dungeons like this one, which form in Kemet tombs, are because of the ancient rituals performed which cause an artificial mana well, or so the lore says.”

As Rainy stopped speaking, Kip gestured to the front of the line. “The Whisper’s guild has people in the first section of the dungeon to push everyone into the different entrances and prevent fights. Once a group has entered, the dungeon shuts the path behind them and doesn’t reopen until the group has passed a certain point. Though, entering the maze from different paths doesn’t mean we won’t cross over with other teams, or catch up to those who entered hours earlier.”

“That's why our guild tries not to let hunting teams enter dungeons together- we all keep killing each other.” Pia commented with a smirk. “Few weeks back we found Devon’s team who’d entered two hours ahead of us. You should have heard him whining to Commander Corvus about how we killed them.”

They all exchanged grins, and low chuckles at the mention of the other hunting team.

“Why’d you kill them? If the guild doesn’t approve of you doing it, wouldn’t you be punished?”

“They attacked us first.” Kip said with a shrug. “It was their word against ours, and there was no evidence to say who started it. That's why the commander put us on separate days. It’s also the reason he gave them Freya to fix their low numbers, it was meant to be part of our punishment.”

“Oh.” I nodded, then asked another question as a thought occurred to me. “Why not just stay inside the dungeons long term? I mean, it’s meant to be the best place to absorb mana, so what’s stopping someone from just hunkering down inside and meditating for days on end?”

“Devon’s team tried that once,” Pia snickered. “The dungeon opened up a hole in the ground and they fell into a spike trap, which killed them all. Dungeons are sentient, they feed off the mana produced by our deaths within them so will actively work to kill you. We kill things inside to absorb their mana, and it kills us to absorb ours. It’s a two-way street.”

“Staying in one place for too long in a dungeon is a bad idea.” Rainy agreed.

“That little prick is always looking for the easy way to crawl his scrawny ass up the rankings.” Victoria snorted, arms crossed over her chest.

“So, I’m guessing we don’t like Devon's group?” I asked, glancing around as they all nodded.

“All hunting teams have something of friendly competition going on” Kip chuckled. “Devon has a tendency to play dirty, and then has the gall to whine if someone does the same back.”

Is that so? I’m kind of interested to meet this Devon everyone keeps mentioning. Especially considering Darius was initially going to put me on his team before Corvus suggested this team instead.

After half an hour of waiting, we were the next in line to enter the domed building, and as we did a final check our equipment, I glanced curiously over at the line next to ours. Three people standing in the line near the front caught my eye, and I stared in shock at the girls standing with two men.

“Looks like the thieves found new victims.” I mumbled, eyes narrowed as I took in the armor and weapons the girls had.

“What was that?” Rainy asked, leaning her face closer to mine as she tried to follow my gaze.

“See that orc, dark elf, and human in the second group? I met them in Hathus,” I said to Rainy, keeping my voice low as I told the dryad about my encounter with the trio.

“Ooh, let's see if we can catch up to them in the dungeon. If they take the far left entrance and we get the center, then we can catch them at the intersection.” Pia suggested, rubbing her hands together and glancing at Victoria who was looking at the girls with a scowl.

“Kip, slip ahead and speak with the guards at the entrance.” The captain ordered.

“Wait,” I called out to Kip who was about to duck out of line.

“Take this.” I said, handing the dwarf a silver coin. “I was given this by Noctus, it’s from Van, the Whispers guild leader.”

“Foxy, do you know what this is?” Kip asked, eyes wide as he looked at the coin.

“Yeah,” I nodded with a light shrug. “It’s a request token. I did the Whisper’s guild a favor and got this to redeem one in return.”

“You don’t go wasting a favor from the Whispers guild on a couple of thieves.” Victoria growled, her expression fierce as she looked down at me. “Kip, give her back the coin and just pay off the guards.”

I put the coin away as the kijo scowled down at me, grumbling under her breath about careless foxes who didn’t understand the value of favors. I didn’t bother to correct her, or mention that I had other ways to get favors from the Whispers guild, as they’d already tried recruiting me away from Eternia, much to Darius’s ire.

Kip wasn’t gone for long, and on his return he gave Victoria a nod, which I guessed indicated he’d bribed the guards to arrange for my old friends to end up on a path that would cross with our own.

As the guards waved for us to enter the domed building, one of them inclined his head in Kip’s direction. Just before we entered, I glanced over at the other line to see that all three of the girls were glaring in my direction, having finally noticed my presence.

Smiling, I gave the trio of girls a finger wave, complete with fiery claws.

The interior of the dome building was empty aside from an ominous-looking tunnel that descended into the ground. Three cloaked people stood around the entrance, all bearing the crest of the Whispers guild on their cloaks.

Burning torches lit up the tunnel, and our group didn’t speak as we descended. As we neared the bottom, I could hear more footsteps on the stairs behind us and guessed it was another group coming down.

The tunnel opened up into a large, cavernous room and another seven cloaked figures stood in front of carved archways leading from the room. Without hesitation, Victoria led our group to the center-most archway, stopping in front of the cloaked guard.

“This is our entry point.” She declared, getting a nod in response.

Turning so I faced the tunnel leading into the room, I watched as a group of four people entered, and after glancing around the room, they moved to an opening on the right.

Next came the three girls, followed by the men who were probably their new victims.

Viv came first, barreling into the room at a run, her staff held out in front of her. The other two were right on her heels, each looking ready to fight. Seeing me, the trio charged across the room with enraged cries.

“Thunderous retribution!” Viv screamed, slamming her staff onto the ground. In response, a spiked tower shield flew out to intercept the streak of lightning that shot out of the dark elf’s staff.

“Cease!” A loud voice called out as half a dozen armored guards materialized from the shadows, and within seconds, Viv and her friends had been restrained. The girls were shouting as the guards held them back, yelling to guards that I was a thief who stole their possessions.

“And what does that have to do with the Whispers guild?” One guard asked with a sneer. “You want to fight? Do it in the dungeon!”

With those parting words, the guards shoved the girls through a doorway to the left of us, and the two men they were with rushed to follow.

I could see Viv hovering just inside the entrance, glaring back at me, and in response I blew the elven girl a kiss. Beside me Pia let out a snorting laugh, as she made kissy sounds towards the girls.

During the commotion, the remaining groups that would be entering the dungeon descended the stairs. and seeing the large grouping of guards, quickly picked their entrances with no squabbling or fussing over who entered where.

The guard in front of our entrance stepped aside, addressing us in a low voice as we passed. “Have fun.”

“Oh, we will.” Rainy crooned, a smile curling over her lips as she glanced over her shoulder at the guard with a wink.

Once we’d walked a few meters into the tunnel, the sound of grinding stone reached our ears, and the dim light filling the hallway disappeared as a heavy stone door dropped from the ceiling to block off the entrance.

In response to the darkness, I conjured up a ball of fire to hover over my head and saw Kip lighting a lamp.

“Well, I guess we don’t need this.” The dwarf said, glancing up at my fire.

“You can use it if you want,” I said with a shrug.

“Kip, put the lamp away. Foxy, can you send a second light ahead of us?” Victoria asked.

I nodded, and was about to conjure a second ball of fire when I remembered my wisp. Calling for the wisp to appear, I twisted around to see it clinging to my tail and tried to mentally order it to hover in the air like Yuki’s wisps did.

Sluggishly, the wisp rose in the air, bobbing around clumsily as it came to float over my head alongside the ball of fire.

“What’s that?” Pia asked, seeing the wisp appear.

“A wisp.”

“Are you sure? It doesn’t look like a wisp.” The faun commented, as the others all peered up at the softball-sized blob of fire hovering over my head.

“I’m sure,” I told her, cheeks flushing at the skeptical looks they were giving my wisp.

“Is it meant to be round like that?” Pia asked.

“Don’t fat shame the wisp.” Rainy scolded, looking up at the flaming blob with a smile. “It’s cute.”

“Enough chatter, we need to move.” The captain said suddenly, pointing down the hallway.

After sending my conjured ball of fire to float in the air a meter ahead of us, we began walking cautiously down the tunnel.

Kip led the group, checking for any signs of the traps the first stages of the maze contained. Victoria followed behind the dwarf, one of her shields floating on her left side and the second shield was positioned behind Rainy, who brought up the rear of the group. This left Pia and myself to walk directly behind Victoria, the faun holding her spear aloft, while I held my wagasa over one shoulder with its canopy closed.

As she walked beside me, Pia made little jabbing motions with her spear, demonstrating ways to better handle my weapon. The faun tried to convince me that my wagasa would be better exchanged for a real spear, but I’d grown fond of my umbrella weapon. Though, it was mostly because of the protection it offered from the hot desert sun, rather than its use as a weapon.

Clink.

“Ah, shit. Down!” Kip shouted.

I dove to the ground alongside Pia and then let out a pained gasp when Rainy landed on top of us. I wasn't sure why the dryad chose to pile on us at first, but glancing ahead, I saw that Victoria and Kip were covered by one of the woman’s shields, so I guessed the second one must be covering us. Only Victoria’s boots could be seen, and I was a little shocked she’d fit under the shield, which only reached just below her shoulders.

Chink, chink, chink.

Arrows littered the surrounding floor, and I burrowed a little closer to the others, phantom pains shooting through my shoulder at the sight of the arrows. I really didn’t want to get shot again, especially not when our team didn’t have a healer, and would need to rely on basic first aid training to deal with any injuries.

When the sound of arrows hitting the shields faded, Kip scrambled out from under the shield he hid beneath, and after a check of the surrounding area, he gave the all clear for the rest of us to get up.

As we continued heading down the hall, I could feel the group's growing excitement as we rounded a bend and the hallway opened up into a large room.

The walls of the room were covered in hieroglyphic carvings, and seeing the layout of the room, I knew we’d arrived in a burial vault. This was confirmed, as slabs of stone fell down with a loud crash, revealing the mummified remains which stood in vertical tombs.

The sight of the mummified corpses caused my skin to prickle and break out into a cold sweat.

“Burn them to the ground, Foxy.” Victoria ordered as the mummies jerkily walked towards us. She needn’t have bothered; three fireballs were already flying towards the nearest mummies.

* * *

Crouched down in a hallway leading into a four-way intersection, I waited impatiently for Kip to return from scouting the hallway to our left, which the trio of thieves were expected to appear from.

According to Pia, the path the girls were on would lead to this intersection in a straight line from the entrance, unlike our own path, which offered two intersections we’d needed to navigate through to reach this point.

My team had been in the desert for weeks before my arrival, and in that time became very familiar with the layout of the first three levels of the maze, which was rumored to be four levels deep.

None of the bronze-ranked hunting teams had discovered the fourth level yet, which was where the Pharaoh’s tomb and the boss of the dungeon would be found.

It was the goal of every team to be the first to not only find the entrance to the fourth level, but also to defeat the boss. The team who succeeded in that task would be promoted from the rank of bronze to a silver.

I never paid much attention to team rankings in the past, beyond knowing they were ranked as either bronze, silver, gold or platinum, with their ranking increasing based on their guild contributions.

Killing a boss-level mob would give a team two hundred and fifty contribution points, which was the minimum needed to reach silver rank, with the points required for the following rank calculated at ten times that of the previous. Personally I found it a little outrageous, as at that rate, we’d need to accumulate almost three hundred thousand contribution points to reach platinum rank.

This left the newer teams formed after the guild transferred to Kaledon at a disadvantage when compared to the teams who’d come from Avalon. Though, the guild bumped the previously platinum ranked teams down to gold, in order to balance things out and give those teams some motivation to train more. In the seven months since the guild transferred to Kaledon, Roderick’s team, which was one of the best, had only gathered half the points needed for their gold to platinum promotion.

This showed just how difficult gathering the needed contribution points was, and they’d need only half the amount my own team would have to reach that rank. Taking into consideration the state of said best team on their return from the dungeon, I seriously doubted my team's ability to defeat the dungeon's final boss and gain the needed points for the silver rank promotion.

The sound of light footsteps in the hallway alerted me to Kip's presence mere seconds before he ducked around the corner to join us.

“They’re dead.” Kip said, shaking his head in disgust.

Pia let out a scoff, a pout forming on her lips. “Seriously?”

The dwarf nodded. “Fell into the furnace.”

“What’s the furnace?” I asked curiously, getting a wicked grin in response from the dwarf.

“It’s a pit trap. Once you fall in, the floor closes back up, and you’re trapped in a dark room. So, of course the first thing you're going to do is try to relight your torch or lamp, and that’s when-” Kip’s explanation was abruptly cut off by Pia, who threw her hands in the air.

“Whoosh! The whole room goes up in flames.” Pia exclaimed loudly with a broad grin.

“Gas or liquid?” I asked with interest, getting blank looks from the faun and dwarf in response.

“The walls are coated in a sticky substance, so liquid.” Rainy said.

I nodded, glancing down the hall with interest. I wonder what flammable substance the dungeon is using? If we come across another trap like that, I should take a sample.

“We’ll get them another time then.” Victoria declared, straightening and jerking her chin at the intersection. “Let's get moving.”

We progressed swiftly through the first level of the dungeon with Kip in the lead deactivating traps and me burning every mummified corpse we came across.

Victoria had decided I needed to practice for combat situations, and the group would dart around the room weakly hitting the mummies, as I flung fireballs at them while doing my best not to hit my team as they pretended to fight.

The first level contained a mixture of mummified creatures, among which were rats, dogs, and large cats.

When the first plague of mummified rats had come pouring out of holes in the walls of the corridor, I entered a frantic state where I mindlessly flung fire ball after fire ball at the swarming, mummified vermin. Normal rats wouldn’t have been so bad, but skeletal bandage wrapped rats with glowing red eyes was a big nope on my part.

* * *

“Alright, remember the first level boss is a Lich, so don’t look in his eyes, and don’t let him touch you.” Kip warned as Victoria led the way into the room, her shields circling around her.

“And don’t step inside the circle,” Pia added.

I was about to say something in confirmation to the pair's warning, but the scene inside the room shocked me into silence.

Seeing the bodies of three women hanging over the circle, blood dripping from their slit necks onto the runic scripture engraved onto the floor had my stomach churning, and bile fighting its way up my throat.

A skeletal figure in dark robes stood at the center of the runic circle, seemingly unaware of our presence as it read from a book, its voice deep and echoing across the room as it spoke in an unfamiliar language.

Dashing forward, Kip leapt at Victoria’s shield, clinging to the back of it with one hand around the handle and his feet pressed against the heavy wood.

As Victoria punched the air to send her first shield flying across the room towards the Lich, she sent the second one Kip was riding towards the hanging women.

As the dwarf worked to cut down the first woman, and weaken the Lich’s circle of power, Pia bolted across the room towards a smaller glowing circle in which a mummified creature shaped like a large dog had appeared.

Three more circles formed around the room, each with their own mummified canines, and I conjured a trio of fire balls sending them towards each circle.

I stayed where I was, flinging fireballs at the three canines who began rushing in my direction with guttural snarls.

When the first one drew within five meters of me, vines shot across the ground, coiling around the mummified canine which yelped and writhed in their hold. The other two quickly suffered the same fate, and with the canines now easy prey, I ended them with more fire.

Finished with our three foes, I glanced over to see Pia had also finished her fight and was running towards Victoria. Kip was on the second woman now, and I couldn’t help but feel a pang of pity for them. Even though I knew they were only constructs created by the dungeon to set a scene.

The women were dead, and according to my team no one who entered the room had ever seen those used as sacrifices alive. There were rumors that those strung up to fill the Lich’s spell were the bodies of those who’d died in the dungeon. Some even claimed to have seen their friends in the room after having died in the earlier parts of the maze.

As that thought crossed my mind, I took a second look at the bodies hanging over the circle. Wondering if it was Viv and her friends, but they all looked to be normal human women wearing leather armor. As the second woman’s body was cut free, the Lich who was being knocked around by Victoria’s flying shield let out a loud shout, and I quickly ran to press my back to Victorias as I’d been instructed to do.

As I waited for the next wave of enemies, I conjured up three balls of flame to hover in front of me.

A red circle came into existence to my left, and I sent a fireball towards it without even waiting for the mummy to fully form. Six more circles appeared in the room and I felt my heart rate pick up while my palms grew sweaty as I sensed my core reaching its limit.

I had already learned in an early encounter with the mummified creatures that none of my poison darts were effective, and the dart itself did so little damage it was laughable. Hands clenching around my wagasa, I prepared to face the nearest mummy as I directed my last fireball at the creature. Only realizing at the last minute that what I’d sent flying at the creature had been my wisp and not a fireball.

The spherical wisp slammed into the mummy that had been charging in my direction and I watched, mouth agape, as the wisp engulfed a jackal-headed mummy in a fiery inferno.

As another mummy drew close, I ordered my wisp to attack it and that creature also became consumed by fire. In less than a minute, my wisp had destroyed all but one mummy, the last having been killed by Rainy and Pia.

“Damn, Kadia, why weren’t you doing that before?” Pia asked as she bounded towards me, Rainy close on her heels.

“I didn’t know I could.” I said, staring wide eyed at the wisp who hovered in front of me.

The places where the jackal-headed mummies had been were still burning, but I couldn’t see any sign of the creatures among the flames anymore.

“Throw it at the Lich.” Victoria shouted.

I nodded, glancing at Kip who was about to cut the third body free. As the third body fell, my wisp slammed into the Lich’s head and the robed, skeletal figure let out an ear-piercing screech that had my fur standing on end.

“Wow,” Pia breathed out. “I’ve never seen it do that before.”

Leaning against her spear, the faun grinned as we watched the Lich rolling around the floor as flames covered every inch of its body.

As the Lich rolled across the ground, every section of the floor it touched began burning just as the Lich did.

Mentally calling the wisp back to me, I watched as the chubby ball of flames sluggishly flew back and landed on my outstretched palm.

Ignoring the still-burning Lich, I lifted my wisp up to my face, staring at its form, which was so unlike that of Yuki’s fire wisp.

“You’re not a normal fire wisp, are you?” I thought at the wisp, who just blinked its eyes at me in response.

The wisps' body was more solid than Yuki’s fire and air wisps. Though, the other Kitsune’s ice wisp did have a more solid form, with shards of icicles growing out of it like an icy porcupine. Each type of wisp looked different, their bodies resembling the element they were attuned too. Yet, while my wisp burnt like a fire wisp, its appearance on close inspection reminded me of the squishy stress balls my old math teacher liked to keep on his desk.

With my free hand, I pinched the jelly like substance that made up the wisps body beneath the flames. To my surprise a small portion of the gel-like substance came away from its body. Flames coated my fingers, yet did not burn me, just as the wisp itself did not burn me.

I rolled the gel-like substance between my fingers, staring at it in fascination. So many questions filled my mind, and at that moment I wanted nothing more than to be back in my laboratory so I could investigate these new discoveries further.

Hearing Victoria impatiently call my name, or my new nickname as it were, I pressed the burning piece of jello to the wisp's body and watched it absorb back into wisp.

Descending the stairs to the second level of the dungeon with my team, a slow smile curled over my lips as I stroked the wisp sitting in the palm of my right hand, the flames coating its body curling playfully around my fingers as I did so.

At the bottom of the stairs, I entered a wide hallway and finding my team already engaged in battle, I flung my wisp into the fray to decimate our foes.

“Damn, Foxy, you’re on fire.” Pia chortled as we burnt our way through a wave of mummified rats.

“Literally,” Kip added, glancing down at my boots, which I’d coated in flames to ward off the vermin.

I let out an annoyed sigh in response to the pair's lame joke as I sent my wisp, Pyr, zooming towards another mummified rat. While some might think using the Ancient Greek word for fire as a name for a fire wisp was cliche or silly, I felt the name fit the little wisp.

The Byzantine empire’s incendiary weapon, known as Greek Fire, was said to be one of the most destructive forces of that age. Historical writings spoke of Greek Fire as a sticky substance that stuck to and burned everything it came into contact with, just as Pyr did. It also could not be doused with water, and Darius had told me that trying to douse the fire with water only caused it to grow larger.

There were too many similarities between my wisp and the famed Greek Fire for me to ignore. Although, I didn’t think that I’d somehow recreated the real Greek Fire, considering I used elements not found on Earth.

As we continued through the dungeon, I couldn’t help feeling impatient and a little annoyed as time drew on. I wanted—no, needed—to return to my lab so I could begin working on the ideas flowing through my mind.

* * *

The second dungeon boss was a scarab swarm, which had been controlled by a scantily clad priestess. I had expected to be a little more dangerous, but a blast of fire had easily dealt with the beetles and Victoria quickly crushed the priestess, sandwiching the woman between her shields.

We walked through the third level for what felt like hours, with no sign of a boss room or way down to the next level.

Kip shuffled through a book, his brows creased as he read through his notes. “If I’ve got our location correct, then we’ve gone straight and to the right off this intersection, but haven’t gone left yet.” The dwarf informed us, marking something in the book.

“Left it is then.” Victoria said.

Kip nodded, putting away his notebook. The dwarf moved slowly down the hallway, crouching down to check for traps and on occasion using a line of glowing pink liquid to mark sections of the floor he wanted us to avoid treading on. I had suggested using the luminescent liquid after seeing the dwarf marking the ground with chalk, which wasn’t always visible in the dark and dusty maze.

Walking behind Victoria, I tossed Pyr from hand to hand while mulling over different ideas for not only the fire orbs, but other products; such as making luminescent cosmetics for Jezebel, and other women who enjoyed that sort of thing.

So many ideas. I wish I could split myself in two or even three so I could work on multiple things at once. The sound of fighting pulled me from my thoughts, and I looked up to see Victoria bashing a golden feline-headed statue into rubble.

I wonder how the statues work? Is it an enchantment or some other form of magic? I pondered as I stepped over the shattered remains of the statue and continued down the hall.

As we reached another intersection, I sent a ball of fire down each and we scanned the paths for danger before Victoria declared we would take the left path. We walked for several minutes before coming to a dead end, and after backtracking we found that the right path also led to a dead end.

Once Kip finished disabling the trip wire stretched across the last path, we proceeded into the hallway, and as Rainy entered behind me bringing up the rear, a stone wall slammed down into place behind us.

Spotting large spikes protruded from the wall, I stared at them with an ominous feeling curling through my stomach, half expecting the spiked wall to move forwards, and impale our bodies against the wall ahead of us.

We left this hallway for last, as we were able to clearly see the wall blocking the path from the intersection. Though, after a thorough examination showed there was no secret way to get past the other two blocked paths, we decided to check this final path before backtracking further through the maze.

“I thought you disabled the trap.” Rainy snapped, giving Kip an unhappy look as she moved further away from the wall.

“I disabled the trip wire, that was the only trap I could find.” The dwarf said, holding his hands up defensively.

“Hey, come look at this.” Pia called, bringing our attention to where she stood in front of the wall further down the path.

I have a bed but I do not sleep.

I have a mouth but I don't eat.

You hear me whisper, but I never talk.

You can see me run, yet I never walk.

What am I?

Tilting my head, I stared at the riddle as I rolled Pyr back and forth between my palms. I have a bed, but I do not sleep.

“Great, a damned riddle.” Victoria grumbled, crossing her arms over her prominent chest.

“What do you think happens if we get the answer wrong?” Rainy asked, glancing back at the spiked wall.

“My guess is that thing will begin moving forwards, giving us only a short amount of time to answer the riddle.” Kip said.

As the last word passed his lips, a grinding noise sounded in the hall as the spiked wall moved towards us.

“Kip!” Rainy and Pia yelled, their voices echoing through the hall.

“I didn’t do anything!”

Spinning around, Victoria sent her shields flying towards the wall, where they slammed up against it with a loud clang as she tried to force it back.

A bed, but does not sleep? Runs, and never walks? A River!

“River,” I yelled, staring at the wall expectantly.

In response to my shout, the spiked wall stopped moving, and the one in front of us crumbled into rubble.

“Woo-hoo, Foxy for the win!” Pia whooped, skipping past the pile of rubble.

Giving me a thumbs up, Kip ran past me to catch up to the faun before she set off a trap.

As I watched them start to argue further down the hall, a hand settled on my head.

“Good job, Foxy.” Victoria said, patting my head twice before moving to join the arguing dwarf and faun, whose own heads she smacked so hard they were almost knocked off their feet.

“Thanks, Kadia,” Rainy said, stepping up to my side as we made our way down the hall to catch up to the others. “I would’ve been pissed if those spikes caused holes in my clothing, I just made this outfit.” The dryad murmured, smoothing her hands over the tight-fitting pink dress she wore in place of armor. The material of her dress was made from a plant whose fibers had the durability of leather while being as thin, and soft as cotton.

The sound of rushing water cut off any response I may have given, as did the cries of our team ahead of us. Wide-eyed, I stared in shock at the literal wall of water that rushed through the hall, carrying Pia, Kip, and Victoria with it. I didn’t have time to think or react as the fast-flowing water reached me and I was swept off my feet.

My body tumbled and rolled about, while I struggled against the current for a few brief moments before sharp spikes pierced me as my body slammed against the spiked wall. A heavy body crashed into mine and I let out a gurgling scream as the spikes impaling me were pushed deeper.

The pain grew as the water continued to pummel us, and I struggled to breathe as I felt myself weakening.

Darkness crept across my vision, bringing with it a feeling of relief, and the knowledge the pain would soon end.

When I woke, it was in an unfamiliar tent, and sitting up, I looked around, searching for my team or anything that would tell me where I’d revived.

My ears twitched, the soft sound of shuffling papers, and a light shining from behind a canvas wall letting me know I wasn’t alone in the tent.

Standing, I walked around the canvas divider to see Darius sitting at a desk reading over a stack of papers.

That's right, Darius, Markion and I are all bound to the same revival token. Darius must have placed the token in his tent to set the revival point.

“How far did you get?” The guild leader asked, laying down the pen he was using to make notes.

“The riddle with the spiked wall on the third level.” I told Darius as I moved to sit in the chair opposite his desk and began doing a quick inventory of my things to make sure I'd not lost anything.

I lost my wagasa again. I let out a sigh, remembering I’d had the weapon strapped to my back.

“I’m surprised you weren’t able to solve the riddle, it’s simple enough.”

“I solved the riddle,” I grumbled as I checked to see if Pyr was still with me. “It was the torrent of water that came after it, that was the issue. I got impaled on the spikes, and then pushed onto them even further when someone crashed into me.”

“Ouch.” Darius gave a sympathetic wince before raising a brow at the sight of the orange blob clinging to my tail.

“Pick up a new pet did you?”

“No, this is my wisp.” I told him, scooping up Pyr and holding it out so the Ōkami could see the wisp more clearly.

“I’m tempted to think fire wisp, but the shape is closer to a water wisp.” He said, scratching his beard with a thoughtful gaze as he examined the wisp.

“To be honest, I’m not sure what he is,” I admitted, explaining how Pyr came to be and what I’d discovered so far about his nature.

“An alchemical fire wisp,” Darius said with a chuckle. “Only you, Kadia, only you.”

I scowled at him, dispelling Pyr back into my tail. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“It means I’m interested to see what other wisps you end up with.” The guild leader said with a smile as he stood, gesturing for me to follow him. “Get changed into something without holes, and then let's go see if your teammates have also revived. They’ll be worried if they don’t find you at the revival altar.”

“They haven’t revived yet, I can feel through the team ring that they’re all dead.” I said with a sigh, rubbing the ring I wore.

“Ah, well, if they weren’t impaled, then they probably drowned trying to find the exit.”

“And how do we find the exit?”

“By getting around the corner before the water pours in or being strong enough to swim against the current.” The guild leader said, mussing a hand over my hair.

“What is with people and touching my head?” I exclaimed in annoyance, shoving his hand away.

“It’s the ears,” Darius said with a chuckle. “They make you look deceptively adorable.”

* * *

Dressed a fresh set of leather armor, I followed the guild leader out of the guild’s encampment and into the dungeon settlement. The area was lit up by torches, as night had fallen in the hours since my team entered the dungeon.

“Why here and not closer to the dungeon?” I asked, as we weaved around tents, and crowds of people on our way to the revival altar built in the midst of the settlement.

“Safety,” Darius said, glancing over at me with a brief flash of white teeth. “If they allowed people to set their revival point to an altar within their encampment at the dungeon, what’s stopping a group of raiders binding to it in the guise of being dungeon divers and then killing themselves so they revive inside the encampment to launch a surprise attack from within?”

“Wouldn’t the same be true for a city if someone wanted to attack?” I asked.

He nodded. “That is why the public altars are inside temples, which can be locked down. The other way to prevent it would be to destroy the altar or control who binds there.”

“What if a guild that has a hall in the city secretly allowed fighters to bind to their guild altar, then used it to sneak forces inside the city.”

“There aren’t any restrictions on guild owned altars,” Darius commented, not fully answering my question.

“We’re going to need to fix that if we plan on building our own city. If priests can create altars anywhere, then-” I sighed.

“Creating an altar requires permission from the landowner, and we will be strict on who creates altars on our land.” The guild leader explained.

Even so; people could build one near the city or use revival tokens in a strategic location. I mused, as we reached a section of the settlement where banners showing the Whispers guild crest were displayed.

The Whispers crest was a white skull with its jaws slightly open, biting down on a gold coin. It was meant to convey that the Whispers only opened their mouths for coin.

As we entered the roped-off area, I could feel eyes on us as we moved closer to a pavilion with an altar made of sandstone in the center.

“Guildmaster Darius,” a robe figure called out, coming over and bowing low in front of us. “I was about to send a messenger to request an audience.”

“Is that so?” Darius asked, inclining his head. “I came to collect some of my guild who will be reviving.”

“If you will permit, I will assign someone to wait for your guild members.”

“No need,” Darius said, gesturing to me. “She can wait here for them while we speak.”

“Guildmaster Darius, the matter we must discuss pertains to the red-haired Kitsune by the name of Kadia.”

“And what matter is that?” I asked, interest peaked. Did the Whispers guild have something to report regarding my books or the Dreadmere guild?

“A bounty request was recently given to our guild to pass to our allies, the Silver Arrows.” The black-robed man said, bowing his head.

“A bounty? On who?” I questioned, wondering who in our guild could have angered someone enough to have a bounty placed on them.

“You, obviously.” Darius groaned, pinching the bridge of his nose. “I’m surprised it’s taken this long.”

That's a bit harsh, isn’t it? I haven’t really done anything that might merit a bounty being placed on me, have I?

Following Darius into a sandstone building that the Whispers guildsman led us to, I peered over the guild leaders shoulder at the scroll containing the bounty information.

“Seriously? That’s all they offered?” I exclaimed, feeling more than a little offended at the meager bounty placed on my head. “Do the Silver Arrows even take such small bounties?”

Darius shook his head, lips twitching in amusement.

“Fifty fucking gold,” I huffed, crossing my arms over my chest and scowling at the robed man who stood opposite us.

Darius laughed at that, running a hand through his shaggy black hair. “You’d rather it be higher?”

“Yes.” Ears and tail drooping sadly, I turned my attention to the guild leader. “When people put bounties on Markion it’s never less than six figures.”

“Kadia, your brother is a high ranked player. Both here and in Avalon he has always been amongst the top hundred.”

“Exactly, my brother is supposed to be some big, badass barbarian. Shouldn’t I have a high bounty on account of people being scared Markion will come after them for killing me?” I complained, staring at the bounty contract the Darius set down on the table in front of us.

Seeing the bounty contract, an idea formed in my mind and I let out a little laugh as I refocused my attention on the robed man.

“I’d like to place a bounty.” I declared, ignoring the choked sound from the guild leader.

The robed Whisper bowed his head as he spoke. “Whom would you like to place a bounty on, and how much will you be offering for the service?”

“Ca—oomph.” My words were abruptly cut off as a hand clamped itself over my mouth, and I was yanked back into a hard chest.

“Do you really think I’m going to let you put a bounty on yourself? Damnit, Markion pulling that shit to increase his reputation was bad enough, I don’t need you doing it as well.”

Rolling my eyes, I jammed my elbow backwards into the guild leader's stomach and yanked his hand away from my mouth.

“Can I,” I began, while emphasizing the first word so Darius knew I hadn’t been about to say my own name. “Place a bounty on three people?”

“You may place a bounty on whomever you wish, provided you have the coin.” The Whispers guild representative replied, his voice the same stoic and cool tone it had been throughout our interaction.

“I want to place a two hundred gold bounty on the three girls who placed one on me, with a thousand gold limit for each.” I said cheerily, pulling out thirty gold bars and placing them on the counter.

“Very well,” the Whispers representative murmured, retrieving three sheets of paper. “Two hundred gold per death, capped at a thousand gold per target.”

“Correct.” I confirmed, watching as the robed man wrote out my bounty request. “Add a note in there, that if the Arrow taking the bounty is Lena, additional rewards can be claimed directly from myself.”

“You wish for the co-leader of the Silver Arrows guild to take this bounty?” The man asked, looking at me, then Darius as though silently asking the guild leader if I was serious.

“Not if she doesn’t want to, but like I said, add to the bounty that there is a special reward claimable directly from me if she’s the one killing them.”

“And what reward would that be? Co-leader Lena will not take a request with an unspecified payment.” The robed man said, his voice holding a note of derision.

“She’ll know what it is, just make sure they know it’s me setting the bounty, and she’ll know.” I said, getting annoyed by the man's skepticism.

Lena had already told Yuki she’d considering visiting me so we could talk about her wisps in exchange for my assisting her with some things she wanted made, and with Pyr’s strange nature, my desire to see the Kitsune assassin’s poison wisps increased. I knew if Lena was going to meet with me anytime soon, then I needed to gain her interest.

Viv and her friends setting a bounty against me gave me the idea for how I could go about contacting the other Kitsune without needing Yuki to act as my go-between. While I hadn’t created an explosive pellet, I had succeeded in creating a few different smoke bombs that produced poisonous smoke. In my eyes, a silent smoke bomb was a lot better than an explosive pellet.

Then again, perhaps I could make an exploding pellet using the Drakus flowers as a catalyst. Though, I’d need to speak with Lena to know exactly what effect she wanted the pellet to achieve in order to best meet her expectations.

If I could impress Lena and get the Silver Arrows guild as clients, it would greatly boost not only the guild’s income, but my own as well.

After finalizing my bounty request, Darius and I left the tent, heading to the altar where we’d been informed my newly revived team was waiting.

As we walked, I glanced up at the guild leader, who appeared to be lost in thought. “Do you think Lena will take my request?”

“I think you will have garnered her interest with it, whether it is enough to bring her here, I do not know.” the guild leader replied.

“Kadia,” Pia’s loud voice cut off any further conversation with the guild leader as the faun raced towards us.

“I’m so glad to see you here.” Pia exclaimed, flinging her arms around me.

“We thought you might have been revived in Hathus.” Rainy said as she caught up to the faun. “Can you imagine if we’d gone all the way to Hathus to find you, and you weren’t even there?”

Extracting myself from the faun’s hold, I did my best not to show how much I disliked being hugged, especially by someone I’d known for only two days. I knew Pia was only trying to be friendly, and I was doing my best to act more sociable, but I’d never been one for displays of physical affection.

“It’s a good thing you were bound to the altar here, it would've been a pain to fetch you from Hathus.” Kip added.

“I’m bound to a revival token actually,” I said, my attention not on the dwarf, but the tall red-skinned woman who was staring at the ground with slumped shoulders.

“Something you should have known,” Darius said, arms crossed over his chest. “Captain Victoria, why did you not confirm the revival point for all your team members before entering the dungeon?”

“I forgot, sir,” Victoria responded, straightening her shoulders and looking directly at the guild leader. “I will not make the same mistake again.”

“See that you don’t.” Darius growled.

I flinched, ears instinctively pressing flat to my head in response to the Ōkami’s scolding growl, even though it wasn’t directed at me.

No one spoke on our way back to the encampment, and I heard some of my team let out audible sighs when Darius split off from our group, heading for his own tent.

“So,” I began awkwardly. “Were you all impaled too, or did you drown?”

“I was impaled,” Kip grumbled, rubbing at his sternum.

“Drowned.” Pia said, as did Rainy.

“Both.” Victoria grunted, looking just as unhappy about her death as the others did.

“Well,” I began giving the group a bright smile. “I now know how to avoid getting impaled or drowned next time.” When they all turned to face me, I passed on the information Darius told me about the trap.

“So, it’s Pia and Kips fault we died, if they hadn’t been screwing around we’d have made it out before the hallway flooded.” Rainy speculated, giving the two an annoyed glare.

As Rainy, Pia, and Kip began arguing over who’d caused the mishap in the dungeon, I felt a hand touch my shoulder.

Glancing back, I saw Victoria looking down at me, her expression unreadable.

“I want to apologize to you, Foxy.” The tall woman said, her voice low.

“Apologize for what?”

“I should have taken you to set your revival point. I only realized that I had failed to do so after we revived, and I saw you weren’t with us.”

“It’s my fault as well, I should have mentioned I was bound to Darius’s revival token.” I told her, feeling a little guilty that she’d been scolded by the guild leader because of me.

She nodded, but didn’t say anything further on the matter.

“Speaking of revival tokens,” I said, frowning as a thought occurred to me. “Why are you bound to the altar in the settlement and not a revival token? Aren’t they given out to hunting teams?”

“They’re given to gold ranked teams and above, Foxy.” Kip called out, looking back at me over his shoulder.

“I wish you would all stop calling me that, my name is Kadia.” I complained, receiving four broad grins in response.

Tail flicking back and forth in annoyance, I pressed my hand to the stone covering the entrance to the tunnel leading to my underground lab and our temporary living quarters.

As the stone shifted, melting away to fuse with the stone lining the walls of the tunnel, a strange scent filled the air, mixing with the smells of dirt and smoke left by the fire.

Hesitating on the top step, I tilted my head as I drew in a deep breath through my nose, trying to place the unfamiliar scent which was causing me to feel on edge.

“Is something wrong?” Victoria asked softly, placing a hand on my shoulder as she ducked down to fit behind me in the tunnel.

“There’s something, but I don’t know what." I murmured, shuffling slowly down a few more steps.

“Kip,” the captain called, her voice low as she squeezed my shoulder, pulling me back so the dwarf could slip past me, his daggers drawn.

Pia followed him, her spear at the ready as they crept around the corner. It was only then that I realized Victoria was missing her shields. Deciding that now wasn’t the best time to question the kijo about her missing weaponry, I moved down the stairs with Victoria and Rainy close behind me.

“Foxy, come look at this.” Kip called out, I hurried down the last few steps to join him, and Pia.

Reaching the bottom step, I exited the tunnel into the lab, and stared mouth agape at the dead snakes littering the floor.

There were at least a dozen cobras that appeared mostly intact aside from the deep wounds littering their bodies, and a few more that were half eaten.

Spotting Leo curled up in the corner on his blankets, I rushed over, checking him for any signs of injury. The Leosaur cub seemed blissfully unaware of my worried state as he gave a wide yawn and snuggled into my arms. Standing with a fat-bellied Leo in my arms, I once more examined the mess in my lab.

“How do you reckon so many snakes got in? I mean, it’s not uncommon for one to slip into someone's tent on occasion, but this-” Pia waved her hand around the room.

“Is clearly a dumb lion’s idea of a joke.” I growled, shoving Leo towards Rainy who gently took him into her arms,

“What?” The faun asked, at the same time Victoria spoke.

“Where are you going, Foxy?” The team captain asked.

“To turn the bastard who did this to ash.” I declared as I left the lab with a determined stride.

If Leo hadn’t been immune to Cobra venom, those snakes could have easily overwhelmed and killed him. There was also the matter of it being my lab that the stupid lion put those snakes in.

What if I’d left an experiment out and the snakes damaged it or my lab equipment? Corvus would have had no way of knowing I’d put everything away to avoid Leo destroying anything.

Reaching the command tent, I considered burning it, but in the end decided burning down more tents probably wasn’t a good idea.

Instead, I stormed inside, and seeing Corvus seated at the table with Darius, Roderick and my brother, flung an orange feathered dart directly at the lion’s face.

“Kadia!” Darius shouted, as Corvus dove to the side, dodging the dart I’d thrown.

“He filled my lab with snakes!” I shouted back at the guild leader as I flung dart after dart at Corvus who kept ducking out of the way. “Stop moving, you flea-ridden scumbag.”

“Enough.” Darius shouted, as Markion dove towards me, wrapping me in a tight hug and pinning my arms to my sides.

“He could have killed Leo and destroyed my lab. What if I’d left something dangerous out and the snakes knocked it over? You stupid fucking lion.”

“What snakes?” Corvus roared back at me.

I snarled at him in return. “The ones you shoved through the hole in the door to my lab.”

“Calm down.” Darius shouted, moving over to stand in front of where Markion held me. “I may let you off on a lot of things Kadia, but this is crossing the line.”

“He crossed the line first.” I snapped, glaring at the guild leader.

“Explain.” He demanded, briefly looking over his shoulder at Corvus.

“It was just a little paint.” The lion said, raising his hands defensively.

I frowned at him. What paint?

“She seems pissed about snakes, not paint.” Roderick interjected, and I nodded.

“Someone filled Foxy’s underground lab with cobras, sirs.” Hearing Victoria’s voice, I turned my head to see the red-skinned woman ducking into the tent.

“Corvus, did you put snakes in Kadia’s lab?” Darius asked, turning to face the lion fully now.

“No,” shaking his head, Corvus looked at me, his face earnest as he spoke. “Kadia, I’d never mess with your lab, not after the last time. I painted your horse, and that’s all I did.”

“Then who the fuck put the snakes in my lab?” I demanded, slumping back into Markion’s hold as he loosened his grip on me ever so slightly.

Darius groaned. “First a bounty and now someone’s filling your lab with snakes. You’re on a roll today, aren’t you, Kads?”

I scowled at him, pushing out of Markion’s hold.

“What bounty?” Pia asked loudly as she entered the tent followed by Kip and Rainy.

“The one Viv and her friends set on me,” I told her, rolling my eyes at the mention of the stupid bounty.

“How much is it worth?” Kip asked, eyeing me up and down.

“Fifty gold.” Ears drooping, I lowered my head in embarrassment as the tent filled with raucous laughter.

“Fifty,” my brother choked out between laughs, smacking his hand on his thigh.

“You’ll have everyone in Kaledon hunting you down for a fortune such as that.” Kip mocked.

Pouting, I stormed over to the nearby table and slumped down onto a chair as everyone began adding their own quips into the mix.

I hope Lena kills those stupid bitches in a lot of really painful ways. I seethed as I waited for the mocking laughter to die down.

“So who’d you piss off?” Corvus asked, raising a brow at me with a smirk.

“I haven’t pissed anyone off,” I snapped defensively. “The only people I’ve interacted with from the encampment are my team and you.”

“It could have been the girls who set the bounty,” Pia chimed in, drawing everyone's attention. “I mean, our campsite is near the fence and it’s not exactly hard to slip past a bit of rope.”

“But how would they know where Kadia was camping, or that the tunnel led to her lab?” Roderick questioned, shaking his head dismissively.

“Is it possible the snakes just found their way in on their own?” My brother asked.

“No,” I shook my head. “Leo ate most of them, but from the remains I could tell it was over a dozen cobras in there.”

“Which brings us back to the question of who Kadia’s pissed off enough to fill her lab with snakes.” Darius said with a sigh.

“Why does it have to be me?” I whined and pointed at my team. “It could have easily been someone they pissed off.”

“Foxy has a point.” Victoria agreed, turning her head to look at Pia and Kip.

“We haven’t pissed anyone off, recently.” Kip defended quickly, and Pia nodded along with him.

After ten minutes of debate, we were still left with no leads on who could have put the snakes in my lab. Not only would they need to go out and catch the snakes, but they’d need to insert them one by one into the small air hole I’d left in the tunnel's door, or down the air shaft.

The teams who were camped nearby claimed to have seen no-one in the area when questioned by Corvus, which I found a little suspicious. It would have taken time to get those snakes into my lab and strangers in our camp should have been noticed.

That left the possibility of it being a guild member, but the only one who’d be inclined to something like this would be Corvus. Though, I changed my mind about him doing such a thing. For one, he wouldn’t lie to Darius about it; and second, he knew I would react badly to having my personal space messed with in that way.

In the previous virtual world the guild lived in, Corvus once snuck into Markion’s house in the capital city and into the basement laboratory my brother had set up for me. The lion had flooded the entire basement with water, even bringing in some fish he’d caught.

When I’d logged into the world that weekend, ready to spend some time grinding up alchemy levels, I’d been horrified to find my lab flooded. My high-grade alchemy pot, which I saved up hundreds of gold to buy, had been ruined by being submerged in the water, and it had taken the entire weekend to drain the lab.

I had been devastated, and furious when my brother carried my ruined alchemy pot out of the lab. After that incident, Corvus promised he’d never mess with my lab again, and we’d both agreed that each other's belongings were off limits in our pranks.

Though, that agreement hadn’t stopped him from painting Arion to look like an overgrown Zebra.

“Kadia, remain behind for a moment.” The guild leader said, dismissing everyone else from the tent.

As the tent emptied, with only Darius and myself remaining, an awkward silence filled the air.

Shifting in my seat, I peered at the guild leader from the corner of my eye. His face was void of any identifiable expression as he stood and moved to a table set up along the back wall where he poured the contents of a jug into two ceramic mugs.

Placing a mug in front of me, the guild leader retook his seat. Giving the mug a cautious sniff, I found it was filled with Bron’s home brewed honeyed mead and took a sip.

“I’ve been extremely lenient with you over these past few weeks in consideration to your circumstances, and to be honest, if you were anyone else, your actions earlier would have resulted in a demotion of your rank, or removal from the guild.” Darius said.

I lowered my head, staring silently into my mug, no response coming to mind as the guild leader continued speaking.

“Have you been praying to Celeste?” The guild leader enquired.

“Celeste?” I asked, furrowing my brows. Why would I be praying to her?

“Yes, Celeste.” He said. “The goddess of new beginnings, mental health, and harmony.”

“I know who she is, I’m just confused why you think I should be praying to her. My patron god is Trismegistus.”

“Your patron may be Trismegistus, but that doesn’t mean you can’t pray to Celeste. She is the goddess of mental health, and as such, she acts as a psychiatrist of sorts to us digital citizens. There is also the option of visiting her temples, where you can speak with her clergy if you prefer to speak to a digital citizen, or player as opposed to an artificial being.”

“So, you’re telling me I need therapy?” I scoffed, tightening my hold on the mug.

“I suggest that you consider it, yes.”

“And if I refuse?”

“I won’t force you, Kadia. I’m simply worried about you,” Darius said, his voice thick with concern.

I wanted to scream at him, to yell that there was nothing wrong with me, that I was perfectly fine, but I knew it would be a lie.

“I’ll think about it,” I whispered.

“That's all I ask.”

Leaving the command tent, I decided not to return to the lab right away. I wanted some time alone with my thoughts, and whilst I was enjoying the companionship of the team, I found them draining to be around.

As I reached the entrance to the encampment, I glanced at the small tent set up as a makeshift guard hut and saw a woman clad in leather armor sitting inside.

Seeing I was looking in her direction, the woman on guard duty gave me a slight nod, before returning her attention to the people walking back and forth past our encampment.

What’s the point of having a guard at the entrance if we’ve only got a rope fence separating us from the settlement. I scoffed, turning to walk along the perimeter of the encampment.

There was a clear path around the camp, with everyone's tents being pitched at least two feet off the fence line.

As I walked, I passed another leather clad guard, who I presumed must be the patrol Corvus mentioned would walk the perimeter at sporadic intervals.

Darius had instructed Corvus to increase the patrols, but I doubted that would do much to help secure the encampment.

What we need is a wall. Like what the Whispers guild has around their own encampment here and at the dungeon. Why didn’t the guild hire the Whispers to construct a wall around our encampment for us? Was it a financial issue? Darius is sinking a lot of guild funds into preparing for when the barrier falls, so perhaps he didn’t want to waste money on a wall.

Reaching the guard tent, I stood at the entrance of the encampment, staring along the rope that marked the perimeter. Should I attempt to wall off the encampment myself? It would likely take me hours to form a wall around the encampment. However, if it meant protecting my lab, I was more than willing to put the effort in.

How high should I make it? I mused as I began walking around the encampment again, surveying the area more closely this time.

On my third pass, I began raising and hardening the sand near the entrance in an upwards slope.

Once I’d raised the sand up half a meter, I continued walking, raising the sand up in front of my feet. I decided to raise the wall in increments and to build it wide enough that the guards could walk around on top of the wall for their patrols.

As I walked around the encampment, I cleared my mind of all thoughts beyond raising the sand directly ahead of me. Again and again I walked around the camp, paying no mind to the guards staring at me as I walked down a set of newly formed sandstone stairs next to their tent, before ascending a second set of stairs opposite it to begin my next lap around the encampment.

My transmutation amulet felt hot against my collarbone, as I continuously fed my mana into it to power the transmutation of sand into sandstone beneath my feet.

Hours later, I sat atop a newly formed wall, and stared out across the desert at the dungeon in the distance as the lightning sky revealed the dome-shaped building on the horizon.

Feet dangling over the side of the wall, I admired the pink, and orange streaked sky as the sun continued its ascent over the horizon.

Staring out over the desert, I allowed my thoughts to drift over the past weeks in Kaledon, and the incident that brought me here.

Something was wrong, I was more distracted since coming to this world, I found it increasingly difficult to focus on one thing, and became overly focused on smaller insignificant things, overlooking greater issues until it was too late.

“It’s quite the view.” The sound of a low voice broke me from my thoughts and I glanced up to see Corvus walking along the top of the wall towards me.

I inclined my head in his direction but didn’t verbally respond as he dropped to sit beside me.

“You attracted a lot of attention with this little wall of yours.” The lion continued.

My ears twitched in his direction as I heard the clinking of metal against glass, and I glanced over to see Corvus dipping a spoon into a half full jar of fire berry jam.

Seeing he had my attention, the lion Bakeneko smirked as he shoved a spoon full of the jam into his mouth.

“You’re as much of a freak as Darius is,” I muttered, seeing him eat the spicy jam without even flinching.

“I’m not even half the freak our illustrious leader is.” Corvus joked. “If you think I am, then you haven’t seen him eat cereal.”

“What's wrong with the way he eats cereal?”

“He puts the milk in first.” The lion whispered conspiratorially.

“Blasphemy,” I hissed in reply, ears pinned back against my head.

We sat in silence for a while after that, Corvus spreading spoonfuls of spicy jam on bits of bread, while I ate the last of the fruit from my bag.

“I suspect we might be getting a few requests for your wall building services.” Corvus said after a while, glancing down at a group of people walking along the outside of the wall below us.

“Aren’t there earth mages around?” I said, gesturing to the dome-shaped building in the distance.

“There were, but they’ve long since departed back to the Almer mountains.”

“The Almer mountains? Why there?”

“That is the home of the Dwarves, they are the race most proficient in earthen magics.”

“I guess that makes sense if they’re a stereotypical Dwarven race and live inside mountains.”

“They are, and they do.” Corvus confirmed.

“I don’t have time to go around building walls for others, I only built this one on a whim.” I told Corvus who inclined his head.

“I’m not suggesting you build walls for everyone who comes calling, but should an allied guild make a request.”

I sighed. “If one of Eternia’s allies asks for a wall, and provides suitable compensation, I will do it.”

“How much would you say is suitable compensation?”

Tilting my head to the side, I contemplated for several moments. Gold wasn’t something I was worried about, as I’d easily be able to make gold through selling things I created. Even with the guild taking their cut, I didn’t think I’d ever be short on gold.

“I want high-grade mana crystals.” I concluded.

I had been disappointed to discover only a small cluster of Arcanium crystal in the dungeon, and none of it had a mana density stronger than a low-grade crystal.

Throwing his head back, Corvus laughed, a low husky sound that sounded almost like a feline purring. “I’d forgotten what expensive taste you had.”

“Are high-grade mana crystals worth a lot?” I asked, confused, and a little offended by his words.

“High-grade mana crystals are something one might rarely find in a dungeon's boss room, which is the location with the highest density of mana in a dungeon. Typically, only low or mid-grade crystals are found in dungeons because they are harvested before reaching a higher density. If you have control over a dungeon and prevent anyone from entering it for a set amount of time, then it is possible to mine higher grade crystals. Outside of a dungeon, they’re almost impossible to find, and any places they can be found are heavily guarded.”

“That means with the high volume of people entering the dungeon here, the chances of me finding any high-grade crystals inside is basically nil.”

“Unless you discover an area that no one else has been in,” Corvus said suggestively. I sighed, ears drooping in disappointment.

“Then I need to get my crystals via other means.” I mumbled, patting a hand on the wall beneath me. “Three high-grade crystals for a wall this size, more if they want me to dig out underground living quarters.”

“And if we asked you to do that for the guild?” He asked, raising a brow.

“I’ve already built the wall, can’t exactly charge for it after the fact now can I?” I grumbled.

“I meant the underground living quarters, or above ground housing if it’s easier for you.”

“Under would be cooler during the day,” I informed him, as I glanced behind me at the encampment. “I don’t really want to spend a lot of time digging out housing that will only be used short term, I’ve got other projects to work on.”

“When the guild moves on, we’ll sell our current encampment to another guild for a high price tag. But, that won’t be for a long time. This settlement will likely form into a small town, as most areas near a dungeon do. If you build an underground encampment, we’ll claim the land here and when we sell it, it’ll be at thrice the cost of buying the land token.” the lion explained.

“How big is the encampment?”

“Almost two acres.”

I was a little surprised at that, I’d thought it was much smaller. Then again, with almost forty tents set up and fourteen hunting teams currently occupying the encampment it made sense that the area we occupied was that large.

“Draw up plans for what you want built, and I’ll tell you if I can do it. I won’t know how long it’ll take or what I’d want as payment until I see the plans.” I said reluctantly, knowing I was about to lose out on a lot of time in my laboratory over the coming days.

What happened to my lab? Standing on the last step leading down into the lab, I stared in shock at the room.

The first thing I noticed was the tree that had somehow sprouted up along one wall, its branches stretching out across the room. Next, I noticed the floor, which was covered in a layer of spongy green moss and entwined vines which formed a couch where the dryad responsible for the greenery sat with Leo curled up in her lap.

“Kadia, you’re back.” Pia called out. I glanced up to see her peering down at me from a hammock hanging from a branch high in the tree.

Four more hammocks hung from the branches above my head, and I felt a sense of childlike excitement at the thought of sleeping in a tree.

“Finished with your Great Wall of Eternia?” Kip joked, appearing from behind the trunk of the tree.

I nodded, still just trying to take in everything in front of me.

“I hope you don’t mind.” Rainy said softly, setting her book down and moving to where I stood gaping at the greenhouse that had once been an alchemy lab. “I thought the plants would help with the air quality and mask the smell of sulfur.”

Taking a deep breath, I agreed that the air quality had improved, as had the smell.

As I walked into the room, I noticed more plants growing along the walls, and among them were four fire berry bushes.

“Where’s Victoria?” I asked.

“She went to a captains’ training session with Commander Roderick.”

I looked around the room at the walls, which were covered in flowering vines, with all the vines in the way I couldn’t see the marking I’d carved into the wall. “Do you remember which section of wall I hid our stuff behind?”

“It’s behind the tree trunk,” Rainy said, gesturing to the tree. “I left that section of the wall bare.”

The rear of the tree’s trunk had a ladder made of vines hanging down from a branch, and peering up into the tree I noticed Zosimos perched on one of the branches.

Ignoring the crow for now, I turned to the stone wall that was marked with a very slight indentation, which only my team and I knew indicated it was the location of our hidden items. Placing a hand to the stone, I pictured it shifting away to merge with the stone of the walls, but, the stone resisted.

What’s happening?

“Something wrong, Kadia?” Rainy asked as I pulled my hand away from the unchanged stone.

“I can’t change it.” I mumbled, staring wide eyed at the wall in front of me.

The previous times I’d manipulated the sand, my power sunk into it, and merged with it to bring about the changes I wanted to make. This time, it felt like I was trying to pour water into a sealed container. There was no opening for the water to pour into, so it flowed over the edges uselessly.

“Well, they jumped on that pretty quick.” Kip replied with a chuckle.

“What?” I frowned, looking over at the dwarf in confusion.

“Earth magic can’t be used on claimed land without permission from the landowner, I’d say it’s the same for transmuting earth as well.” He reminded me.

“Corvus said they would claim the land, but I didn’t think they’d do it so quickly.” I murmured, tail twitching in annoyance as I moved back around the tree, and left the underground room.

Finding both Corvus and Darius in the command tent huddled over a piece of paper, I cleared my throat to get their attention.

“Come in, Kads, we were just planning out how much land we should claim.” Darius called out, glancing up to see me near the tent flap.

They were what now? “Didn’t you already claim the land?” I asked hesitantly.

“Not yet,” Corvus said, marking something on the paper. “Dungeon settlements have become very popular towns, so if we want to make some good coin we need to plan things out properly.”

“Er, well- it’s just- I tried to move a wall in my lab and couldn’t.” I informed the pair, causing both to stiffen.

“Are you out of mana?” Darius asked, a serious expression on his face.

I shook my head, and Corvus swore under his breath before letting out a bellowing roar. The sound of the lion's roar sent my heart racing and my fur fluffing out like I’d jammed my finger into an electrical socket.

“Someone else claimed the land out from under us, didn’t they?” I asked, shifting away from the lion Bakeneko as he paced around the room.

In response, a snarling Corvus grabbed one of the wooden chairs and flung it at the canvas wall of the tent.

“Calm yourself, Corvus, we’ll deal with this.” Darius coaxed, holding up a hand. “We need to find out who claimed the land. In the meantime, give out orders for everyone to pack up camp as fast as possible.”

Corvus nodded, spinning on his heels and leaving the tent without a response.

“Why wasn’t the land claimed before?” I asked, scowling at the guild leader who sighed.

“We weren’t planning on this location being our permanent encampment, we were only staying until we scouted a new location. When you built the wall, we decided to use the land to make some extra money.”

“Oh, er, sorry. I should have asked before just building the wall,” I murmured, cheeks flushing as I realized I was the reason we were losing not only our camping spot, but probably a lot of money.

“You’d best go pack, I doubt whoever claims this land will be willing to allow us much time to vacate. I’m sure they were intending to take us by surprise and evict us without allowing us to properly gather our things.”

“I can’t.” I said, biting my lip. “I hid my team's things behind a wall in the lab, and now I can’t move the wall.”

“Fuck.” Groaning, Darius scrubbed a hand over his face. “How thick is the wall?”

“Not very, it was only to keep Leo out.”

“Right, clear your team out of the lab, and blow up the wall with the thing you’re not allowed to let Tink have.”

“Just the one in the lab, or?”

“Or.” He said, staring at me with a firm look. “I’m not letting the fucks who took this place from us have a free wall.”

“A rival guild?” I questioned, wondering who would dare claim land out form under a guild as big as Eternia.

“Likely.” Darius grunted, looking up as three people ran into the tent and began frantically packing.

“Go now.” The guild leader ordered.

I nodded, spinning on my heel to run through the encampment back to my team.Victoria was already in the lab when I returned, bellowing orders for them to get packed and fetch the horses.

“Foxy, is there anything you can do to get our stuff out?” The captain asked, pointing to the wall hidden behind the tree.

“Yes, you all need to leave the lab though.” I said, plucking Leo up off the ground and giving him to Pia who was about to leave. “Zosimos, out.”

“Caw.” With a sharp avian cry, and a disparaging look in my direction, the crow took off for the tunnel.

“Why do we need to leave, we should fight!” Kip said, as he scrambled out of the tree with the hammocks slung over a shoulder.

“Guild leader's orders.” I said firmly, as I scanned the room for anything not packed.

In minutes, the lab was cleared of my team.

Moving behind the tree trunk, I took a deep breath before kneeling in front of the wall. Pulling a finger sized tube made of vellum out of my bag, I coated one side of it with a sticky adhesive liquid and pressed it against the wall.

Backing out of the lab and up the tunnel, I slowly unwound a long cotton fuse until I reached the top of the stairs.

Kneeling outside the tunnel entrance, I glanced over at the nearby teams who were working to pack away their tents as fast as possible. Covering my ears as best I could, I lit the cotton fuse and waited anxiously as I watched the burning light of the fuse disappear through the tunnel.

The ground shook, and a loud sound filled the air as the explosive detonated.

Several people froze in place, glancing around in confusion for a few moments before quickly returning to their tasks.

Jumping to my feet, I dashed through the tunnel to inspect the damage in the lab.

Chunks of stone littered the moss-covered floor, but it appeared Rainy’s tree and vines had helped keep the lab from collapsing completely.

Navigating through the debris, I made my way to the tree whose trunk looked like Victoria had been bashing her shields against it. Unfortunately, the room we’d stored our bags in collapsed, and I was left digging through heavy chunks of stone to retrieve them.

“Foxy, you okay down there?” Victoria shouted down the tunnel.

“Come help me get our bags, the rocks are too heavy.” I yelled back as I struggled to move one of the larger hunks of rock.

“Damn, Foxy, how’d you do this?” Kip asked as he and Victoria came into the lab.

“Don’t ask questions I can’t answer.” I grunted as the rock I was tugging on refused to move.

“Out of the way.” Victoria ordered.

Relieved, I quickly gave up my position in front of the crumbled wall to the muscular woman.

In minutes, Victoria had cleared away the debris, and the three of us were rushing back up the tunnel. As we reached the top step, I turned to glance back at the lab.

Pyr. I mentally called, bringing forth my wisp and sending him down into the lab to wait in the tunnel until I gave him more orders.

Seeing Rainy and Pia nearby with four horses, I moved to sling my bags over Arion’s back, ignoring the white paint decorating his fur in a striped pattern as I did so.

“Can you lead Arion out for me? I have something to do.” I asked Victoria who gave me a questioning look.

“And what’s that?”

“I have orders from the guild leader. I’ll meet up with you all later.” I informed the team captain, before running to the nearest section of the wall.

At the wall, I set to work, partially burying a dozen vellum tubes that were thrice the size of the one I’d used in the lab at regular intervals.

Finished with my task, I found Darius and our guild commanders facing off with an armored man at the entrance. Slipping into the group of commanders, I stood partially hidden behind my brother as I eavesdropped on the conversation.

Eye narrowed, and ears pinned, I listened to the man in front of Darius who was mocking our guild's stupidity and thanking us for fortifying his guild's new encampment for them.

Darius didn’t bother responding to the man, as he watched the last of our guild leave the walled off area.

“Is that everyone?” He asked, seeing a guard running over.

“Yes, sir.” She said.

He nodded, glancing over at me where I stood with Markion. “You done, Kads?”

“Yep.” I confirmed, peering around my brother's bulky form to give the guild leader a thumbs up.

“Let's go.” Darius ordered, not giving the large group of land thieves so much as a backwards glance as he led us out of the encampment.

“Do it.” Darius instructed once we were a few feet away.

I nodded, and mentally focusing on Pyr who was still inside the tunnel, I directed him to burn the plants inside the lab, hoping the smoke would make the land thieves rush inside, which it did.

I watched with a smirk as the armored group, who I assumed must’ve been the rival guild’s guards sent to evict us, went rushing into the encampment. The moment I lost sight of them, I ordered Pyr to leave the lab and had him fly a lap around the wall as fast as possible, burning everything around him.

The ground beneath our feet shook as an explosive sound reminiscent of thunder filled the air and the horses being led by our guild members let out fear-filled whinnies.

More explosions sounded in quick succession and the wall surrounding our former encampment crumbled to the ground.

* * *

The group of commanders around me began moving quickly through the settlement as a large cloud of dust filled the air behind us.

“Damn, sis, when did you make dynamite?” My brother asked as we jogged to catch up to our departing guild members.

“It’s not dynamite.” I informed him with a broad grin.

“What is it then?”

“Just something I mixed up in the lab.” I said evasively, grimacing slightly as I remembered the fire that had swept through my lab and consumed my last fire stone, leaving nothing behind.

Such a waste.

The explosives I used had been created during my experiments with the fragmented remains of a Firestone. I’d been trying to break up one of the stones with a hammer, having had the idea to make smaller stones that I could use like Bunsen burners.

When I slammed my brothers forging hammer down onto the Firestone, it exploded with such force that I died before I could even comprehend what was happening.

After reviving, I gathered up all the fragments, and found that inside the Firestone were smaller crystals which had formed in the hollowed center of the stone. The crystals were fragile, and crumbled easily with the slightest bit of pressure, leaving behind a fine, red powder.

This powder was extremely volatile and I almost killed myself again when trying to ignite it with the fire poker. Any contact with mana would cause the powder to explode, as would contact with heat or fire. Mixing this Firestone powder with charcoal, saltpeter, and sulfur resulted in a working black powder mixture, though it was an extremely volatile one.

Our guild's departure through the settlement was subject to more than a few wide-eyed looks, but we kept our heads high as we left behind a pile of rubble.

“I reckon we’ll be seeing a bit of trouble from the Primordial Brotherhood from here on out.” Roderick commented as we strode past the line of gathered guild members to the front of the group.

Spotting my team amongst the gathered guild members, I moved to join them, but Darius shook his head, gesturing for me to remain with the commanders.

“Is that who those guys were? That’s an interesting name they’ve chosen for themselves.” Markion snorted, glancing back towards the settlement.

Corvus made a sound, somewhere between a snort, and a huff. “They’re a newly formed guild of only players who’ve been getting a strong reputation as swords for hire.”

“I was kind of hoping I’d kill a few of them in the explosion, but I guess they survived.” I said with a sigh, ears drooping as I thought about all the power I could have gotten from killing those men.

“I’m sure you killed most, if not all of them.” The lion assured me in a low murmur, as Darius moved to stand in front of the gathered crowd.

I shook my head. “I didn’t feel the rush of power I normally do when I kill something.”

“That could be due to two factors, which would be your distance from them when they died, or that it was an indirect kill.” Corvus responded.

I nodded, not verbally responding as Darius began addressing the gathered guild.

So, bombing a building or city won’t give me a mega power boost. Good to know. I mentally noted, crossing that off from my list of ways to increase my strength in the fastest and easiest way possible.

Why did Darius want me standing here with the commanders? I’m only a craftsman, which is the equivalent to a knight when compared to those of the fighter ranks. I’m nowhere near the point where I should be standing here. I edged slightly behind my brother's large form while Darius spoke about claiming land outside the settlement.

Once Darius finished addressing the gathered guild members, he called for Conrad to join us. After speaking with the water mage in a low voice for a few moments, we began a long trek across the desert.

For almost half an hour we walked in the dungeon's direction, before Darius turned to the left and led us in that direction for another ten minutes.

“Here,” Conrad said, and Darius stopped walking.

“How far down?” The guild leader asked.

“A thousand feet give or take.”

“Kads, can you dig that far?” Darius asked, looking over at me. I shrugged, having absolutely no idea what either of them was talking about.

“Maybe if I know why, and what I’m meant to be digging.” I grumbled in annoyance, feeling frustrated by the heat of the desert and the fact that I hadn’t been able to ride Arion, as he’d been turned into a pack horse carrying bags of supplies.

“The aquifer that feeds the oasis is a thousand feet below us,” Conrad explained, pointing a finger down at the ground. “I’ve been scouting the area around the settlement, and beyond this point the aquifer is much further down.”

“What about closer to the settlement and the oasis? Wouldn’t it be closer to the surface there?”

“It’s about the same, the oasis was artificially made by the dwarven earth mages and a druid the Whispers hired.” The water mage explained.

Staring down at the dirt beneath my feet, I thought about how deep he said the water source was.

“It’ll take me weeks to dig that deep,” I said with a sigh. “Just building the wall took me all night.”

“The wall only took you two hours,” Corvus corrected. “Most of the time you were just sitting around waiting for your core to refill.”

“It still took me all night because I can only use my transmutation magic for about ten minutes before I drain my core. I’m only able to last that long due to it being a basic level transmutation, which is changing the stone to something it’s already close to on a molecular level.”

“If we were feeding you, could you do it faster?” Darius asked, and I sent a questioning look in his direction.

“How is eating going to make my core refill faster? Bron said he hasn't discovered any food that gives buffs.” I responded skeptically.

“He means feeding you mana, Kads.” Markion said with a chuckle.

“Explain.”

The high elf water mage smiled, patting his chest. “Mages like myself can feed each other mana, similar to how you would absorb mana from a slain foe, but in this scenario you would be absorbing mana we’ve willingly released from our core.”

“Think of it like a magical battery pack,” My brother added. “You use the other mage's mana to fuel your spells, and when they run low, swap 'em out for a fresh one.”

“I didn’t need you to dumb it down for me,” I grumbled, annoyed that he’d guessed that I’d been struggling to understand what Conrad was saying.

“How many mages do we have that can keep Kadia going?” Roderick asked, looking at Corvus.

“We’ve got twelve,” The lion answered. “If we time it right, we can have enough time for the first to recover by the time she burns through the last.”

“Can we put some tents up before we continue this conversation?” I whined, undoing my water flask as the commanders began talking about what order to set the mages up in.“I’m sure everyone else is hot as well.”

Holding up my flask, I gestured over my shoulder to the large group of people staring at us, waiting for orders from the officers.

As Darius gave the order for tents to be pitched, and the commanders split up to oversee the setting up of the new encampment, I headed to find my team.

“Kip, time to earn your keep.” I called out as I spotted my team heading towards me.

Pia’s face lit up with glee as she bounded forwards to meet me. “Oh! Are we pimping him out for coin? Cause I know a few chicks who’d be interested, so long as we gag him first. He ruins his good looks the moment he opens his mouth.” Pia said, pulling a strange-looking ball with leather straps attached from the pouch at her waist and waving it around in the air.

“What? No,” I spluttered, at the same time Victoria smacked Pia over the back of the head, almost sending the faun face first into the sand.

“What’d you need, Foxy?” Kip asked, sending a glare towards the faun before turning his attention to me.

“I need you to help me broker payment,” I informed the dwarf, who looked like I’d just told him he’d won the lottery.

“Payment you say?” Kip drawled, twisting his braided mustache around a finger. “I might be able to assist with such a task.”

“Consider this a test. Do well, and I’ll give you a few things to sell that even Darius isn’t aware of yet.”

“Jeez, Foxy, don’t say stuff like that to him in public. He’s about to cream his, oomph, ow, Vicky.” Pia whined, rubbing her head with a pout.

“Cream his, what? Oh, that’s gross, Pia.” I exclaimed, my already sunburnt face burning even more when I realized what the faun had been insinuating.

“It’s best to just ignore her when she’s like this.” Rainy said with a sigh.

“Right, well, my brother said we can bunk in his tent until we’ve got somewhere else to sleep.” I told them, moving to take Arion’s reins from Victoria.

After leading my team to where Markion was pitching his tent, I re-introduced them to my brother. Once the tent was pitched, and we’d set our bags inside, Rainy, Victoria and Pia left to take the horses to where a pen was being set up.

This left Kip, Markion and myself to work out the sleeping arrangements in my brother's tent, which was difficult considering Markion and Victoria were both larger than a normal person. Though Victoria's six-foot-eight frame wasn’t quite as large as my brother, who was just over eight feet, not counting the horns.

As I argued with Markion over who would sleep where, and tersely informed him I’d be smothering him in his sleep if he snored as loudly here as he did in the real world, someone called out from the entrance of the tent.

“Excuse me,” called a leather clad woman who I vaguely recognize.

“Craftmaster Kadia?” She asked.

I blinked in surprise. “Er, it’s Craftsman actually.”

The woman returned my surprised look with one of her own. “The guild leader requests your presence in the command tent.”

In response, I looked at Kip who stood from where he’d been kneeling in front of a saddle bag. Smoothing out his shirt, and running a hand over his hair, the dwarf nodded to himself before striding over to me.

“Let's go get ourselves some gold, shall we?” He asked, a broad grin on his face.

“Mana crystals.” I corrected.

He chuckled, giving me a wink. “No reason we can’t have both.”

“I don’t want the guild’s gold Kip, it’s needed to prepare for future endeavors. We’ll make gold elsewhere,” I told him as we left the tent.

“Ah, fine, but don’t tell them that. Let them think they’re getting a good deal giving you the crystals and not gold.” Kip coached in a low voice as we followed the female guard to the command tent.

Reaching the tent, I saw Darius, Corvus and Roderick already inside. I wasn’t surprised Markion wouldn’t be joining the meeting. Even though he was a guild commander, and one of its founding members, my brother preferred to stay away from the administrative side of things.

“Guild Leader Darius, commanders.” I greeted formally, as I entered with Kip following just behind me.

“Craftmaster Kadia,” Darius responded, looking a little amused by the formal greeting. His amusement only grew when I was unable to conceal my surprise at his using a much higher rank to address me.

Since when did I get promoted to Craftmaster? And what happened to the Journeyman rank in-between Craftsman and Master?

“This is Kip Kirkland, my financial advisor.” I informed them, gesturing to Kip who gave a little half bow.

“Good day to you officers,” Kip greeted as he rose from his bow. “Shall we get down to business?”

It didn’t take Kip long to prove himself a skilled negotiator; the look on Darius’s face when the dwarf declared we’d be charging a medium-grade mana stone per hour of work was priceless.

“We can hire an earth mage for less than what that would equal in gold.” Corvus announced, with a frown.

“You could,” Kip agreed, inclining his head. “And an earth mage would get the job done in half the time Kadia will take.”

“Are we done here, then? I’ve got some experiments to work on.” I said, feigning impatience as I pushed my chair back from the table.

“No, we’re not.” Darius interjected, giving me a stern look, and I shrugged.

I’d made it clear that I didn’t want to do any of the work the officers showed me on their plans for the encampment, and I certainly wasn’t building the tunnel they wanted.

According to Corvus, the buildings we saw on the surface of the Whispers guild encampment was nothing compared to the extensive compound they’d built below the settlement and near the dungeon. The Whispers even had a large tunnel connecting their two encampments, which the lion hinted would be useful for our own guild.

The two earth mages hired by the other guild took three days to construct both encampments and the tunnel. This was an awe-inspiring feat, if the underground encampments were as extensive as Corvus claimed.

From what I learned during this meeting, many of the Whispers guild were vampires, with the guild leader Van having turned most of his guild upon their joining to grant them the ability to move through shadows. Considering the guild prided themselves on being information collectors and thieves, I could see how they’d find such abilities useful even with the drawback of being affected by sunlight.

“Hiring outside mages isn’t an option,” the guild leader continued, softening his expression as he looked at me. “Kadia, we can’t afford to offer you that many mana stones. We also want to avoid bringing in outside mages. Having non-guild mages work on the encampment puts us at risk of details about our encampment being sold to others.”

“This is too much,” I complained, shoving the piece of paper containing the proposed layout of the encampment at Darius. “I won’t have any time for my own work if I have to do all this. What do you need a room that large for, anyway?”

Darius looked away from me, shifting his gaze to stare at Kip for several long moments.

“You joined from the feeder guild, did you not?” The guild leader asked.

Kip nodded.

“I did,” the dwarf confirmed. “If you're concerned about my loyalty, don’t be. I’m on a Medi-pod, and all my savings went to pay for my digital life plan. Without Eternia bringing me over to Kaledon on their guild membership plan, I would never have been able to make the transfer.”

“I’d like you to leave while I discuss confidential matters with Kadia,” Darius said, his tone polite, but firm.

“You good, Foxy?” Kip queried.

I nodded, not taking my eyes off the guild leader as Kip left the tent.

“What’s the room for?” I demanded the moment the tent was empty.

“The Sarin desert wasn’t always a desert.” The guild leader began, gesturing to Corvus who pulled a map out of his bag.

“The sand sea, as we call it, was once an inland sea, connected to the ocean through a narrow channel.” Darius said, pointing out a section of the map that was covered in water.

“And the sea dried up when the barrier was put in place.” I theorized, staring at the marker on the map which marked our current location, that was once covered by water.

“Exactly,” Darius said with a smile, pushing the encampment plans back towards me. “The Whispers guild also have a room like this in their encampment, as do the Arrows in their own encampment closer to the coast.”

“You’re planning to build ships secretly underground, hoping when the barrier falls this region will once more become flooded with water.” I concluded, the reason for the room being so large making a lot more sense. “How are you planning to get the ships out?”

“An earth mage will need to open up the roof and raise the stone beneath it to lift the ship up. Or we can allow the room to flood, lifting the ship that way. That is why the workshop is so close to the surface.” Corvus explained.

“We have two guild members training as earth mages in the mages academy in Airus, but they only began training two weeks ago.” Darius added, a grimace forming on his lips.

“I’m surprised you haven’t recruited or had an existing guild member train as an earth mage before now.” I muttered, chewing on my thumbnail as I looked over the plans for the encampment with more seriousness now that I knew it wasn’t something being built on a whim, but would serve a greater purpose to the guild.

“We did,” Roderick said, his voice dark and angry. “All four of our earth mages were poached by various other factions.”

“Not surprising, I’m guessing with their ability to build through magic, earth mages are in high demand.” I sighed, leaning back in my chair.

“Correct, in addition, becoming an earth mage isn’t easy. As with all magic classes, it requires study and training, for earth mages this involves an in-depth study of soil composition.” Corvus said, making quotation marks in the air as he spoke the last part.

“Soil composition? As in inorganic minerals, organic matter, water, and air? I guess that makes sense, different regions would have different soil compositions because of the environmental factors.”

“Right, and all that studying isn’t something most people are interested in, unless they’re like you.” The golden-haired commander quipped. I glared at him in response.

“We planned on waiting a few months until our mages had gotten some more training and were able to leave the academy to build this encampment.” Darius said, leaning back in his chair with a sigh. “But with our previous encampment gone, we’ve had to move our plans forward.”

“Well, if you never intended to stay there anyway,” I said airily in an attempt to gloss over the fact I’d been the reason we’d lost ownership of the encampment.

“It was our intention to sell that encampment to fund the building of this one. That land will be worth a lot of gold once more people arrive and the settlement grows into a town.” Corvus hissed.

I ignored him and the pang of guilt building in my gut in favor of looking at the encampment plans. “Why such a large encampment? I mean, if this area gets flooded, so does all this. It’s a waste to build something this big.”

“We’ll be moving the majority of the guild crafters here, leaving only those needed in the cities. The Whispers plan on constructing a tunnel from here to Hathus once the settlement grows, with fees for use of course. Once the area floods, we’ll be on the ships ready to sail.”

“Is this the secret third guild hall you wouldn’t tell me about?” I asked, raising a brow.

“You remember that, huh?” Darius asked with a chuckle, and shook his head. “No, we have a location near the coast where we’ve been working on ship plans. However, that area is merely a decoy where our shipbuilders have been practicing their craft in preparation for the real thing.”

“What if there is no flood when the barrier falls?”

“We make one.” Corvus said with a grin. “Plan B is to use earth mages to open up the ground in order to flood the area using the aquifer beneath us and deepen the channel from the ocean. We’re only two days from the coast, and our allies also have ships being built in this region. We’ll join together to ensure we get our ships out.”

“Are we joining the Arrows and Whispers to build a city wherever we end up then?” I asked, snatching a pen off the table to make some changes to the encampment plans.

“We’re discussing it,” Darius confirmed, lips twitching as he saw what I’d added to the encampment. “I’m not paying for that.”

“That’s fine,” I agreed, not expecting to be paid for building my own lab. “I’ll build the wall, stock yard and these sections of the encampment, which should provide enough living space for everyone here. The ship room, and other living quarters can be finished by the earth mages.”

“You might want to add the forge to that,” Darius said as I pushed the blueprints back across the table.

“If Markion wants a forge, he can negotiate with me personally.” I said with a wicked smirk, which got a round of amused chuckles in response.

“Shall we bring your little friend back to continue discussing labor cost, then?” The guild leader asked, but I shook my head.

“I’ve already told you what I want.”

Darius sighed. “We can’t afford to give you that many mana crystals, and you’re refusing gold. What else would you accept? Are there any alchemy components we can send people to find?”

I pondered that, trying to think of something I wanted aside from mana crystals. I didn’t want weapons, or armor, and any items I wanted I’d already gotten. I’d also written out an extensive list of plants and creature parts I wanted, which I had posted on the guilds quest board before leaving for the desert.

“Transmutation circles, books and anything related to that class of magic.” I said.

Darius nodded, looking thoughtful.

“We can see if the Whispers have knowledge of any transmutation circles,” the guild leader began, his words trailing off as Corvus tossed a leather journal onto the table.

“I looted this off some shit-head transmuter in the dungeon a week ago, I figured Noctus would have some interest in it.” Corvus said.

I flipped open the book with interest, my eyes going wide as I did so.

“This is Nadir’s,” I exclaimed, seeing the familiar name scrawled on the inner page of the journal.

“Nadir? Why is that name familiar?” Darius asked, as I looked through the book.

“He’s the transmuter I met in Hathus, the one who taught me the water circle.” I reminded the guild leader, frowning as I saw most of the pages in the journal looked blurred.

“This is damaged,” I declared with a scowl, throwing it back at the lion.

“It’s not damaged, it’s protected. This enchantment on the cover is used by the magic academies. It’s used to prevent the spread of academy knowledge to those who aren’t academy mages.” The lion said scornfully, as he caught the book and put it down in front of himself.

“What a stupid fucking system,” I growled, crossing my arms over my chest. “How are people meant to learn if knowledge is hoarded by these academies with their excessive fees? Nadir said a month's tuition is five thousand gold. The reason he was at the dungeon was to try and raise money for his next month's tuition.”

Darius rubbed a hand across his chin, his expression thoughtful. “Noctus has been working on a way to break the enchantments, as have many other enchanters. He has reached a point where he can weaken the enchantment to where the text can be read for a brief interval.”

“How brief?”

“A little over thirty seconds.” The guild leader said.

I scoffed at that, crossing my arms over my chest in annoyance. They wanted me to slave away for days building the encampment, in exchange for a book that I could only read for thirty seconds at a time?

“I also have these.” Corvus said tauntingly, placing a leather pouch on the table.

My ears twitched in response to the sound of something crinkling and rustling in the pouch as it hit the table.

“Are those transmutation packets?” I queried, remembering the paper packets Nadir had shown me.

“If transmutation packets are little bits of paper, with what looks like different enchantments drawn on them, then yes.”

“Gimme.” I demanded, making a grabbing motion with my hand outstretched towards the bag.

Opening the bag, Corvus slid one of the paper packets across the table towards me, and I snatched it up in a quick motion. The packet was square, no bigger than two inches, and consisted of a folded over bit of paper which had been glued together with something solid sealed within the paper.

The fool actually put the activation phrase onto the front. I thought with glee, as I saw the words Fire Strike written on the paper.

“Are they all different?” I asked, as I ran my fingers over the words.

Nadir told me that because the circles needed a catalyst to activate, battle transmuters would make these paper packets with the catalyst inside. Thus, there was no need to go digging through pouches during fights looking for things like feathers, stones, or whatever it was the circle they were using required.

“There are six different types,” Corvus said, placing a hand protectively over the pouch when he saw me looking at it. “I thought they were some kind of enchanted talisman, but I couldn’t get them to activate by saying the phrase or pushing mana into them. I opened one, it was filled with sand, and there are symbols drawn over the inside of the paper.”

“Circles need the correct type of mana to activate them, which requires a transmutation amulet. The amulets allow a transmuter to change their mana to the correct alignment. When I transmute sand, I use mana that is aligned with the earth element; when I make glass, I use earth and fire.” I explained, reaching for my own amulet and lifting it up for the lion to see.

“So, all we need is a necklace like yours and we could use these?” Corvus asked, eyeing the amulet I wore with interest.

“According to Nadir, a transmutation amulet is crafted by each transmuter, and is something taught to only the best ranked students. It is attuned to their core and can only be used by the one who made it.” I explained, releasing my amulet.

“Then how did you come by yours?” Roderick questioned.

I looked at the red scaled Draekin in surprise, having forgotten he was there. Glancing at Darius who gave a nod of his head, I answered his question. “Trismegistus, the god of Alchemy, Astrology and Transmutation bestowed it after I gave him a grimoire in offering.”

“We’re getting off track,” Darius said, cutting off Corvus who was about to ask another question. “Kadia, will you accept the book and these transmutation packets as payment?”

I hesitated, before shaking my head.

“It’s tempting, as I really want to learn more circles, but-” I trailed off, eyeing the lion in anticipation, waiting to see if he had anything else to offer.

Come on, flea bag, I’m sure Nadir had more on him than that. He’s an adept level transmuter from what he told me, so he surely had more than just a journal and those single use packets.

“That's all there was,” Corvus said, crossing his arms over his chest and staring at me with an unblinking gaze.

Meeting the lion's stare with one of my own, I re-crossed my own arms, determined not to leave this tent without every scrap of loot he’d taken from Nadir. I had been contemplating killing the other transmuter in Hathus, even scouting out the location of his tent with plans to sneak inside and hit him with a poison dart, but in the end decided against it.

Nadir hadn’t needed to give me the information he did, and he’d shared the water circle with me after being given it by Trismegistus. I wanted to keep a good relationship with my fellow transmuter, something I wouldn’t be able to do if I killed him and looted all his stuff.

Ten minutes later, I left the command tent, carrying a book and two pouches. The first pouch was filled with dozens of square paper packets, the second contained flat stone discs, each with a transmutation circle on the outside and what I presumed would be a catalyst hidden inside.

“So, how badly did they screw you?”

“Huh?” Confused, I looked up from the stone I was admiring to see Kip approaching.

“They got rid of me so they could talk you down on cost, what’d you agree to? You stuck to our plan, right? Nothing less than ten medium grade crystals.”

“Er, not exactly.” I said, biting my lower lip.

“How many mana crystals did you agree on then?”

“Well, that, er, none.” I mumbled, looking away from the dwarf who was gaping at me with a mixture of shock and horror.

“Damn, I knew I shouldn’t have left.” The dwarf moaned, pressing a hand to his forehead. “I thought you’d be able to handle them, you seemed so determined. I didn’t think they’d be able to break you down so easily.”

“They didn’t break me down,” I exclaimed indignantly, holding up the transmutation stone for him to see. “I got this, see, much better than a mana crystal.”

“An enchanted rock?” The dwarf asked unenthusiastically.

“No, no, it’s a transmutation stone.” I informed the dwarf, who snorted.

“Enchanted, transmuted, it's still just a magic rock, and not the kind you were meant to be getting. I swear, if you start selling potions for beans instead of gold, I’ll have me a brand new fox fur coat.”

Why would I sell something in exchange for beans? Well, maybe I would if they’ve got alchemic properties. I mused, as we headed towards my brother's tent.

“Trismegistus, this lowly disciple prays to thee, oh grand teacher of natural philosophy.”

Left hand clasping my transmutation amulet, and the building plans held in my right, I knelt on the ground outside the newly claimed land of our guild encampment.

On the suggestion of Dorian who followed the light god, I decided to attempt a prayer to Trismegistus, and ask his blessing over my upcoming use of transmutation magic. According to the cleric, his patron god Vēdiovis could halve the amount of mana required for healing if he prayed to him, and I was hoping my own patron would be willing to grant a similar benefit.

“What puts such flowery words on your tongue, my troublesome disciple?” The god spoke into my mind, a hint of amusement coloring his voice.

“Grand teacher, I ask for your guidance and blessing for the task before me.” I replied, infusing a tone of reverence into my voice as I spoke.

“Oh? Decided to play at becoming an earthen mage, have we? Such is beneath you, and a waste of the blessings you have already received.”

“Grand teacher, if transmutation is truly a greater magic than earth magic, then why can I not achieve that which the earthen mages do? Such a task for me, which shall take days, where an earthen mage can achieve in only a few hours,” I said provocatively.

“A skilled transmuter can achieve such a task in minutes with the appropriate preparations.” He said, mockery dripping from each word.

“Grand teacher, this disciple is one who believes in only what she can herself see. How does this disciple know her teacher does not speak exaggerations?” I goaded, part of me wondering if provoking a god, albeit an artificial one, was a good idea.

“You think I cannot see what you attempt, my vulpine disciple?"

“So, you do exaggerate! For if not, why hesitate to show all here the grandness of transmutation? Surely, in the face of such a feat, many would flock to learn from thee!”

Trismegistus was silent for a several heart beats, and for a moment I thought he’d served the mental connection, but then he spoke again, his voice reverberating through my head. “I shall bestow upon you this grand feat you request, disciple, but you shall complete one in return. Fifty disciples, sworn to the path of natural philosophy within the next month, or blessed no longer shall you be.”

The amulet I held grew hot in my hand, and I let out a scream of pain, while trying to open my clenched fist, but my body would not respond.

Clawing at my left hand, which was still closed around the amulet, a second scream tore its way out of my throat.

A wave of power beyond anything I could fully comprehend rushed through me and into the amulet I held, bringing with it insurmountable pain as my core struggled to contain it.

“Learn this lesson well, disciple: for this is the power of a GOD!”

Trismegistus’s voice echoed through my mind, as wave after wave of agonizing power flowing through me into the burning hot amulet still clasped tightly in my hand.

Mind lost to the pain, I continued screaming until my throat became too raw to emit sound. My eyes were open, but I could not see the world around me, all that revealed itself was a large golden circle made up of runic scripture and geometric symbols.

As the golden circle grew brighter, I feared it would sear itself into my brain, just as the amulet seared itself into the flesh of my palm. I did not know how long it lasted. All I could feel was pain, and all I could see was the golden circle.

When the pain finally faded, I wept in relief as darkness consumed the golden circle, and my mind with it.

* * *

It was the cold that woke me, and feeling the hard stone beneath my prone body, my first thought was that I’d died. But, this dark room wasn’t the tent where Darius kept the revival token, nor was it the altar back at our guild hall in Caruan.

As I conjured a ball of fire to light the room, I discovered my core was severely depleted. The ball of fire hovered just in front of my face now, only a third the size of those I could previously conjure.

The stone slab I was sitting on lacked any of the scripture the revival altar at our guild hall contained and was tucked up against a wall. Looking around, there appeared to be shelving along one wall and on the opposite wall was an opening that led into a dark hall.

The walls of the room were glossy, and the light from my fire reflected off them in a way that made me think of the glass walls in my former lab. Touching the smooth wall only added to my thoughts that it was the same kind glass the wall of my lab had been after the fiery inferno swept through it.

As I drew my hand back from the wall, I noticed something strange about the palm of my left hand, and flipped it over.

The amulet. Memories of scalding hot metal burning into the flesh of my palm swam to the forefront of my mind as I stared down at my hand.

Pressed into the flesh at the base of my thumb was the golden amulet. Tentatively running my fingers over the amulet, I found it had fused with my skin, and even when I attempted to dig it out with my fingers, I could not separate skin from metal.

After opening and closing my hand a few times, I discovered that the amulet did not impair my use of the hand.

The once-metal amulet didn’t feel hard to the touch and could be mistaken for a tattoo if not for the small, purple stone that protruded from the center of the circle.

The purple gem was the only part of the amulet that did not sit flush with my skin, but I was unable to pry it from my hand with my nails or teeth. All I’d managed with my attempts was to break the skin of my palm, causing it to bleed.

Will I still be able to use the amulet like this? Is this Trismegistus’s way of punishing me for trying to trick him? I wondered as I stared down at the purple jewel embedded in my hand.

“Consider it an upgrade, if you will, disciple. Many great transmuters of the past wore their amulets in such a way. In its previous form, the amulet was unable to process my great power. I have bestowed upon you the grand feat you requested, now go forth and spread word of me.”

“Bestowed on me the grand feat I requested? What does that mean? And where am I?” I called out mentally but got no verbal response from the god.

A flash of light appeared beside me, and something clattered onto the stone slab I sat on. Glancing down, I saw an ornate hourglass, golden sand slowly trickling into the lower chamber.

Gold metal twisted around the two glass chambers, and around the top of the hourglass I saw the words, Fifty disciples, sworn to the path of natural philosophy which was followed by the words or blessed no longer shall you be, encircling the lower half. Along the middle where the two chambers were joined was a small plaque with the number zero.

So, I have until the sand runs out to gather disciples for Trismegistus or he takes away the blessing he gave me? Does that mean I’ll lose Zosimos, my amulet, and alchemic sight, or only one of the three? Placing the hourglass into one of my belt pouches, I summoned Pyr. The wisp was much larger than the minuscule flame I could currently conjure and better suited to act as my torch.

Holding Pyr in the palm of my right hand, I gave the plain-looking room a second cursory glance, before making my way to the arched opening.

The hallway was only a few feet long, and soon I exited into a large rectangular room. My heart began pounding rapidly as I took in the sight before me, one which had previous been a half formed concept within my mind.

Floor to ceiling shelving was embedded into one wall, with several sections of shelving covered by glass, forming the specimen tanks I had wanted to add to my previous lab. The opposite wall was broken up into sections with half a dozen furnaces set along the wall, and work benches between each one.

In the center of the room were more work benches, and on the far wall was another archway leading out of the lab. I was in no rush to leave though and spent several long minutes admiring the workspace.

Leaving the laboratory, I found myself in a wide hallway leading up at a slight incline, with archways leading into rooms every few feet. There were twelve rooms in total, each exactly the same: work benches along two walls and shelving on the remaining wall. The workshops were half the size of my lab, and none of them had a second room attached, as mine did.

At the end of the hallway, I entered a large rectangular room, with a high, arched ceiling and six long stone benches that ran the length of the room. Looking around the room, I recalled a similar room on the plans I’d been shown that had been at the center of the encampment’s layout.

If Tris followed the plans the guild drew up, the hallway to my left will lead to the kitchen and some living quarters. Turning to the left, I entered another hall and found it did indeed lead to a spacious kitchen thrice the size of the one in our guild hall at Caruan. Descending the stairs at the back of the kitchen, I found two rooms with shelving built into the walls.

Ah, these are the storage rooms for the kitchen. Confident in my guess, I headed back up the stairs to the kitchen, taking a moment to admire the three massive stone ovens before leaving.

The remaining rooms, twenty-five in total, were very similar to the one I had awoken in, with shelving along one wall, and a stone slab at the back which I guessed must be intended as a bed.

At the end of the hall was a set of stairs that curled around into a second hall that ran beneath the one above it with the same number of rooms. The rooms on this level were larger and contained four stone slabs, showing them to be rooms meant for multiple occupants.

This layout repeated two times, and after reaching a dead end, I trekked back up to the gathering room.

Selecting the hallway next to the one that led to the kitchens, I found several rooms that looked to be set up like offices, with a stone desk set near the far wall and shelving behind them. Each room also contained an arched opening that led into a small space set up similar to the workshops I’d seen in the hall leading up from my alchemy lab.

The guild officers' living quarters should be below this hall. According to the encampment's building plan, the guild commanders would have their personal quarters in a hallway beneath their offices.

Reaching the end of the hall, I found a large room with a stone table in the center. I grinned at the sight of a massive wolf statue made of dark stone sitting on the far side of the room, wondering what Darius would think when he saw it. It had amused me greatly when I first realized that the guild leader, who’d formerly been a half-orc, was now a living embodiment of our guild insignia.

It was behind this wolf statue that I found the hallway leading down to the commanders’ quarters, which were much bigger than those for the other guild members. Each room had a stone slab, and shelving, but there was also a stone bench along one wall and the stone slabs were larger in size.

Even with the stone beds being larger here, I don’t think my brother will fit on any of them, I mused as I left the commander's hall and reentered the main gathering room. At least all the hallways are wide and have high ceilings, so the taller members of the guild won’t have any issues getting around.

The next hallway led to more workspaces and at the end of the hall I found six that contained a furnace and stone anvil. The final room at the end of the hall opened up into a forge that was much larger than the other six.

A large furnace sat in the center of the room and shelves with stone mannequins were built into one wall, with weapon racks along another. Spotting an opening on the far side of the room, I found a Minotaur-sized stone bed, along with a Minotaur-sized mannequin built into the wall, which I assumed would be for my brother to store his armor on.

I guess Markion must’ve planned to sleep in his forge, I concluded, as I once more backtracked to the gathering room.

There were three more hallways left to explore, and after a quick look into one showed it to be a second hallway of sleeping quarters, I picked the second to last hallway.

Rounding a corner, I found myself in a cavernous room that was so large, Pyr’s light couldn’t reach the roof or far wall.

A stone stairway ran up the side of the wall beside me and glancing up I saw it flattened out into a narrow walkway that ran along the wall above me.

My footsteps echoed through the room as I walked to the far side and found a second set of stairs which I ascended. Reaching the top of the stairs, I was now able to make out the roof high above me. The walkway ran around the entire room, and I could only assume it was meant to aid in the ship's construction.

Back in the gathering hall, I walked to the last hallway and headed upwards. As I walked up, the stair-lined hallway curved back around above the gathering hall, and I found myself in another room. It was smaller than the one beneath it but still big enough for two tables that looked like they could each seat half a dozen people.

Leading off this room were two halls, one containing more rooms with beds, and the other a small kitchen.

Finished with my inspection of the rooms, I continued upwards, finding another two rooms that appeared to serve as landings or points where guards could be stationed. At the end of the hall, I exited into a final room, and looked around for a door, but found nothing. It was just an empty square room, though unlike the rooms below, the walls of this room were sandstone, in contrast to the glass of the rest of the base.

As I gazed around the room, contemplating where to go next, the palm of my left hand tingled and the purple jewel imbedded in the flesh below my thumb started to glow.

The golden circle with its five elemental symbols grew warm, and I braced myself to feel the searing pain I’d previously felt. But no pain came as the wall in front of me melted away, forming an arched opening.

Hand shielding my eyes against the harsh sunlight, I found myself standing in the center of an oasis. Light glinted off the blue water surrounding the tiny island the building was on, and a dozen large stones were positioned in the water to act as a bridge.

Glancing behind me at the building I’d just exited, I saw it was made of beautifully carved sandstone, with a massive statue of a howling wolf sitting before a pair of crossed swords situated atop the building's roof.

“Craftmaster Kadia! She’s back!”

“Guild leader! The Kitsune is back!”

As I walked across the stones away from the entrance to the underground encampment, the sound of loud shouts rang out from dozens of people who’d been near the edge of the water. Lush greenery surrounded the shallow lake, and I saw a few fire berry bushes growing in rows beside a cobblestone path.

Is this even the same place as before? I stared around in confusion as I turned onto a second path that was bordered by blooming Drakus flowers. None of these buildings or plants were a part of the encampment plans.

Directly in front of me was a large pavilion where I could see the form of a big Minotaur leaning against one of the columns.

As I got closer, someone went rushing into the pavilion, and in response Markion jerked around, turning towards me.

“Kads,” seeing me, my brother ran out of the pavilion and I stopped walking as he approached at high speed.

“Hey.” I croaked out, my voice coming out raspy and my throat aching from even that short word.

“Where the fuck have you been? You’ve been gone for days!” Markion yelled, plucking me up into a tight hug before setting me back on my feet.

Days? I’d thought hours maybe, but not days. Oh, I hope Pia isn’t too upset that we missed our rostered spot in the dungeon.

“I was in the encampment.” I responded, searching through the inventory screen of my pouch for a vial of pain-relieving tincture that was mixed with honey. If it works to help soothe a sore throat after inhaling the toxic fumes of a choke bomb, then it should be able to help with my scream ravaged throat.

“We looked through the encampment and checked the revival altar at the settlement. We even sent a message to Noctus through the Whispers guild to see if you’d revived there. You weren’t anywhere,” Markion said, and in response I pointed at the ground.

“I was in the underground part of the encampment. My team ring should have told you I was alive.” I told him, after downing the vial of the honeyed mixture.

“Kadia.”

Looking away from Markion, I saw Darius approaching with Corvus right on his heels. Behind the two of them, Victoria was close to overtaking the guild leader as she ran towards me with the rest of my team in tow.

It took a while for everyone to stop talking over each other with their demands to know where I’d been, and if I was unharmed. Eventually, after a roar from Corvus silenced the group, I was able to explain my side of what had occurred.

Once I was finished with my explanation, Darius, Corvus and Markion all left to investigate the underground encampment, while I decided to explore the changes aboveground.

Though, I suspected the only reason my brother left with the other two was because I mentioned the large forge when telling the commanders about the completed encampment.

“So, all this was your patron? Damn, Foxy, sign me up.” Kip said, looking around with an excited look on his face. “I could make a fortune building places like this!”

I considered that for a moment, remembering my task to recruit disciples.

“If you’re serious, then I can teach you the few transmutation circles I know.” I informed the dwarf whose expression changed to one of surprise, before becoming more thoughtful.

“It’d be handy, making glass orbs and the like, I could make other things with it as well.” He murmured, stroking his mustache.

“Are you sure you’re alright, Kadia?” Rainy asked, her face showing concern and her arms full of a squirming Leonidas.

“You were screaming so loud it sounded like someone was jamming a spear up your rear.” Pia added, her lips twitching into a grin as she let out a cackling giggle. “Get it? Spear, rear- it rhymes.”

I scrunched my nose up in disgust at the mental image the faun's words conjured up. Taking Leo from Rainy, I stroked and cuddled the whining cub as he tried to burrow himself into my arms.

“You lit up like a firefly and started screaming bloody murder.” Kip added, after giving Pia a look of pained amusement. “We thought for sure a mage had attacked you and were searching for the offender when poof, you disappeared. Then this glowing circle rose from the ground, and as it rose higher, the wall and buildings rose up with it.”

I nodded, listening in silence as my team spoke about what had occurred during my absence.

“Where are the horses?” I asked, as we walked past a pavilion where there was a sword fighting lesson being held under the supervision of Roderick.

“The mounts are at the rear of the encampment.” Rainy explained, pointing to a wall that blocked off part of the encampment.

The wall wasn’t as high as the one surrounding the encampment, but it was high enough that I was unable to see over it.

Following the sandstone path that led to the wall, we walked through a wide archway and I saw an open area filled with the same grassy fodder as the pens at the old encampment. Horses were spread out through the open space, and along the far wall in the distance I saw several buildings which Rainy informed me were stables.

“Over there is where Carmen and I are improving the soil to grow more vegetation. Most of what we’ve grown around the oasis is already found in this region, so there wasn’t much that needed to be done to grow those plants.” The dryad explained. I nodded before allowing the team to lead the way back through the archway.

“Can we go look underground now?” Pia whined impatiently, glancing towards the center of the oasis where the towering statue of our guild's insignia could be seen.

“Nothing was stopping you from going ahead without me,” I told the faun with amusement, who looked tempted to go running for the entrance, but in the end stayed walking along with the rest of us as we toured around the encampment before circling back towards the central building.

As we reached the water's edge, I saw a large crowd had gathered and were talking in low voices as they stared at the building at the center of the shallow lake.

The water didn’t look like it would reach beyond my knees, but I didn’t feel inclined to walk through it when I could stay dry by walking across the stone path.

“No one goes in, guild leader's orders.” A tawny-haired man who was standing in front of the stone bridge said as I approached.

Brows furrowed, I tilted my head in confusion. Why would Darius refuse to let anyone inside?

Several minutes later and I was done waiting for Darius to show up so I could go inside to further explore my new laboratory.

“Come on,” I murmured to my team, turning away from the path that led to the front entrance of the underground encampment.

“This sucks,” Pia complained, crossing her arms over her chest. “We should have gone with the commanders when they went, I doubt they would have stopped us going in then.”

“Patience, Bambi, we’ll be allowed in soon enough.” Kip said, getting a dark glare from Pia in response to his nickname.

“Or we could go in now.” I said as I led the group out of the entrance and walked along the wall towards the back of the encampment from the outside.

“Secret entrance?” Victoria asked.

I nodded. “Exit actually, it was drawn into the plans so Tris should have added it.”

“Guild leader won’t like you showing us,” the red skinned kijo commented.

I hesitated for a moment, considering that before stopping.

“I guess you’re right.” I mumbled, turning back the way we’d come with a sigh.

Finding an empty pavilion, I sat on one of the stone benches and attempted to set Leo on the ground, but he dug his claws into my tunic, refusing to let go.

“He was really upset when you disappeared,” Rainy said, smiling at the clingy Leosaur I held. “He kept running around the encampment, letting out the cutest little squeaky roars trying to find you. Only once Markion gave him one of the shirts out of your saddlebags did he settle slightly.”

“Is Zosimos around?” I asked, not having seen the crow.

“I haven’t seen him since you sent him away from the lab at the settlement.” The dryad said. I nodded, not overly concerned.

The crow was gifted by a god, after all, and was a creature who did as he pleased ninety percent of the time.

By the time Darius and Corvus appeared nearly two hours had passed, which had me in a less than pleasant mood. In those two hours I could have set up my lab and started working on my next attempt at creating a fire orb or continuing my experiments with Scorcher venom.

“I understand that, Kadia, but I did not want anyone down there until Corvus and I finished our inspection.” Darius explained in response to my complaints as he took a seat on the stone bench next to me.

“Can we go in now, then?” Pia asked, looking impatient.

“Corvus will be addressing the guild to assign tasks and groups will be led inside one by one to be shown the layout of the encampment. Those assigned to guard duties will be entering first.” The guild leader explained, before informing my team to make their way to the center pavilion where Corvus would be addressing the guild.

I stayed behind with Darius, and once my team left, the guild leader turned to me with a look of concern in his eyes.

“Are you suffering any ill effects?”

“My core is depleted, and feels different somehow, but other than that I’ve only got a sore throat from the screaming.” I informed him.

Darius nodded, reaching out to touch the back of my left hand where it sat on Leo’s back.

“May I see?” He asked.

Raising my hand, I allowed him to inspect my palm.

“I’ve seen mages with enchantments carved into their skin, Noctus among them, but nothing like this.” Darius murmured, tracing a finger over the gold lines and purple gem.

“Tris called it an upgrade.” I said, repeating the rest of what the god told me as Darius released my hand.

“We have guild members who are not sworn to a god, I will ask them to-” the guild leader began, but I cut him off.

“No, I don’t think Trismegistus will accept false followers, and I don’t want to do it that way either. I’m not sure what I’ll do, but I will think of something.”

“I’m sure you will,” Darius agreed with a smile. “But if you need help, all you need to do is ask.”

I inclined my head, looking towards the wolf statue that marked the entrance to the underground encampment. Lines of people were now entering the building, and I fought the urge to rush over to join them.

“Go on then,” Darius said, letting out a chuckle as he saw where I was looking.

When the first word left the guild leader's lips, I leapt to my feet, dashing out of the pavilion.

* * *

Before returning to my lab, I detoured to retrieve my saddlebags from Markion’s tent, and also located Zosimos, who’d been perched on the wall near where the tent was pitched.

As entered the lab, my mind whirled in a chaotic mess as the multitude of different things I wanted to do fought for supremacy.

Hands on my hips, I stared around at the spacious room that was dimly lit by Pyr’s flames.

“Firstly, I need better lighting.” I decided, as the wisp’s body was only able to produce enough light to let me barely make out the corners of the room. For now, I’d need to make do with candles and lamps, but a more efficient light source was one of the many items on my list of things to research and create.

If I could find the spark moss that the light potion recipe requires I could create that, but even Rainy hadn’t heard of it when I asked. It’s also not in any of my books, so I suspect it's the same as with the Fire Berries: the name ‘spark moss’ isn’t the plant's official name or one that is currently used.

“And of course, I’ve got no candles left.” I grumbled, searching through all my bags.

“I’ve seemingly misplaced the two oil lamps I had in here, ah, crap. I hung them up in the old lab.” I complained to Zosimos, who ignored me in favor of preening his feathers.

Sighing in annoyance as I thought of the two bronze lamps I’d left behind, I continued flicking through my bag's enchanted inventory screen.

Spotting a jar filled with luminous pink powder, I let out a thoughtful hum, as I pulled it from the bag. Hmm, now there’s a thought. The mushrooms aren’t bright enough on their own to light up a room, but they do provide some light. What if I-

“You’re getting sidetracked again Kadia.” I scolded myself.

I still hadn’t solved the immediate issue of lighting, nor had I finished the dozen other projects I was working on, yet here I wanted to add something else into the mix.

The sound of voices drifting down the hall caught my attention and I perked my ears up. Was my team already finished with the tasks they’d been assigned?

“Kadia, are you in here?”

Argh, it’s the lion. “No,” I called back, continuing to unpack jars of alchemic components onto the shelves.

An amused chuckle sounded from behind me, but I refused to turn around as I steadfastly ignored the commander who seemed to be leading a group of people into my lab from the sound of the footsteps.

I know Darius said they’d be leading groups through the encampment to show them the layout, but I didn’t know they’d be bringing them into my lab. Corvus knows I don’t like people in my personal space, I sighed, as Corvus addressed the group, informing them of the room's purpose.

“This is Craftmaster Kadia, some of you may have seen her around the encampment. She is both a transmuter, and the guild’s head alchemist. As you’ll have noticed she’s quite temperamental, so I suggest you stay away from her personal workspace unless you want a fireball to the face.” Corvus said from behind me, causing me to stop what I was doing and turn towards him with a glare.

“Sir? Does that mean we cannot use this workshop?” A short man with brown hair and watery-blue eyes asked from where he stood looking at one of the furnaces.

“That’s up to Kadia, as she is the head alchemist, use of the alchemy labs are for her to determine.” Corvus responded, inclining his chin in my direction.

Focusing my attention on the group, I gave them a brief overview of my plans for the workspaces. “Four of the workshops directly up the hall from this one will be set up for those wishing to walk the path of natural philosophy. Only those who are deemed capable will be granted access to work in those laboratories, and only the best of those shall gain a position assisting in this one.”

Not to mention having too many people cluttering up my personal space would quickly become unbearable.

During my meeting with the guild commanders to negotiate the building of the encampment, we discussed my ‘new’ position in depth. Unfortunately, my fancy new title came with a few duties, such as overseeing those wishing to join my profession.

Gretchen, the former head alchemist of the guild in Avalon, had given up on the profession upon the discovery that it was far from the simple task of combining the correct ingredients into an alchemy pot that it had been in the former world. There’d been twelve other alchemists in the guild before the transfer to Kaledon, and in the months since their arrival each one had given up on alchemy.

Despite that discouraging record, there were some who did still wish to learn alchemy, but lacked the knowledge or guidance to do so. According to Darius, there were a few guild members in the encampment who’d heard stories about me from Roderick's team, and had been asking if I was taking apprentices.

Somehow, in all this storytelling, my rank had been inflated and instead of correcting them, Darius just decided to go with it. I tried to argue that he couldn’t do so without a majority vote of commanding officers, but that failed, as it turned out he had a majority vote with Corvus, Roderick and Markion being present at the encampment.

The guild had a total of seven commanders. Though, to be honest, I wasn’t entirely sure what my brother did as a commander.

Bron and Yuki were the guild recruiters, with Bron also dealing with things pertaining to the daily running of the guild hall in Caruan. Roderick and Corvus oversaw the training of guild fighters, along with being raid leaders. Noctus, as co-leader dealt with the political side of the guild's management, information gathering, and was in charge of the guild's finances.

As guild leader, Darius did all the things the other commanders did, and my brother-seemingly did nothing.

Well, that wasn’t entirely fair, I knew Markion was a raid leader, and he’d often led raids against other guilds or world bosses in Avalon. But, since I’d arrived in Kaledon he didn’t seem to do much of anything aside from work in his forge.

“Craftmaster Kadia, I would like to learn alchemy. I’ve already memorized all the recipes from the Potioneer’s guide to basic Salves and Tinctures.” The short man babbled and moved to stand in front of me.

“You memorized them?” I asked, crossing my arms over my chest. “So, you can make them exactly as it is written in the book?”

“Yes, craftmaster.” The man said, puffing his chest out with pride.

“Have you ever deviated from the recipe?” I asked, raising a brow. “Attempted to do things a little differently to see how it might change things?”

“Change it?” He looked confused. “Why would I change it?”

“You never wondered if there might be something that could be done to speed the time it takes for the mushrooms to infuse? Or if you could increase the tinctures potency by adding additional ingredients?”

“I- no.” The short man said, cheeks becoming a ruddy hue.

“Here.”

Pulling a copy of Basic Salves and Tinctures for the Everyday Potioneer from my bag I handed it to the man.

“Read it, learn from it.” I instructed. “Once you’ve read that book, choose one recipe and find a way to improve it. Do that, and you’ll earn a place in one of the four alchemy labs in this hall. Don’t bother coming back until you’ve got something to show.”

“Yes, craftmaster.” The short man said in a rush, clutching the book to his chest.

He actually looks a little scared, am I going too far with the tough act? I wondered absentmindedly as I watched the man scamper out of the lab.

“Craftmaster, I too would like to learn!” an elven girl said, moving forward with a hopeful look in her eyes. “I found that crushing red Amanita mushroom caps and squeezing the juices out through a cloth before adding to the alcohol allows it to be used straight away. As opposed to waiting a week for the sliced mushroom caps to break down in the alcohol.”

“Just using the juice of the mushroom gives the tincture a lower potency.” I told the girl, who barely looked old enough to be allowed in a capsule. “You’ll find drying the mushroom caps and grinding them into a powder is much more effective. Your task is the same.”

Beaming, the girl took the book I offered her, and left the room, giving the rest of the group a triumphant smirk as she did so. What was that about, I wonder?

In a rush the remaining four people moved forward to express their own desire to learn alchemy, and I gave them each the same task.

Only the elven girl seemed to have made any attempt to deviate from the basic recipes, though one of the men did attempt to fool me by claiming he’d improved the pain tincture by drying the mushrooms.

It was clear he was lying and was simply repeating what I’d told the elven girl earlier. I almost didn’t give him a copy of my book, but I’d been told to give all a chance to learn, so I reluctantly gave him the same test as the others.

Once the last prospective novice alchemist left, I let out a sigh and shook my head in disappointment.

“What do you think?” Corvus asked, leaning back against one of the work benches, and crossing his ankles.

“Only the girl seems like she’ll be able to complete the task. The others might be alright potioneers, but I don’t know if they’ll be more than that.” I said with a shrug.

“Her name is Sadie, a recruit just off her probation period. One of Yuki’s strays.”

“How old is she? She doesn’t look sixteen, but that’s the minimum age for full immersion worlds like this.”

“She’s sixteen,” Corvus confirmed, a slight grimace on his lips. “Yuki found her in Airus. The kid was too scared to leave the city because she kept getting killed. Apparently, she pissed off a group of players, and they were killing her any chance they got. She won her Kaledon subscription in a contest and couldn’t afford to buy a new one to re-roll her character. So, she was spending her days sitting in the main square, begging for someone to help her leave the city and get away from the people who kept killing her.”

I pondered that for moment, wondering why anyone would be so cruel. “I’m guessing Yuki helped her then?”

“Yuki’s always been a sucker for a damsel,” Corvus said.

I laughed nodding slightly. The other Kitsune was known for collecting both people, and animals wherever she went. “How often is she in her capsule? School will be starting up soon, won’t it?”

“School goes back in six weeks, she’s adamant about being in Kaledon every night, but we’ll see what happens then.” The commander said, with a shrug.

“She should be focusing on school, not spending her free time in a virtual world.” I said softly, ears drooping as I looked at the archway leading out of the lab.

“Sadie has Stargardt's disease; while she hasn’t yet fully lost her sight, it’s degenerating at a rate that will leave her fully blind by the time she turns eighteen.” Corvus shook his head with a sigh. “Yuki says Sadie prefers not to discuss her condition, so whilst the commanders and now yourself are aware, very few others know.”

Stargardt's disease? It sounds familiar, wasn’t Greene pharmaceutical working on something related to genetic eye diseases? I sighed, a heavy feeling in my chest as I thought what it must be like going through life knowing she would end up living out her days in a long term capsule. Then again, in the virtual worlds, she would be able to see, and live an almost normal life.

“I won’t mention it to anyone.”

“Need anything before I go?” The lion asked, looking around the lab.

“Some candles or lamps would be nice.” I said, gesturing to the wisp lighting up the room.

“I’ll send someone to bring some down.” Corvus said, heading for the door. “We’ll also be working on fitting doors to the workspaces after we’ve finished with doors for the living quarters.”

True to his word, someone arrived five minutes later with three oil lamps and a dozen thick candles.

After filling the lamps with oil, I set each one in a different corner of the room. With the lamps, and Pyr lighting up the room, I continued unpacking my supplies, while trying not to trip over the sulky Leosaur cub that was practically glued to my side.

Standing at the edge of a pit trap that was filled with a sticky brown substance, I did my best to conceal my amusement as I stared down at the unhappy faun and dwarf who’d found themselves falling into the trap as we raced to escape the flood of water that had ended our previous jaunt into the dungeon.

We’d come to the dungeon today not with the intention of finding and battling the dungeon's boss, but to look for mana crystals.

During our last foray into the dungeon, Victoria’s shields had been swept away and now needed to be reformed from their crystalline state. Even with our team pooling together all our mana crystals we’d only managed half the mana needed to reform a single shield.

I’d offered to borrow some mana crystals from my brother, who I knew had a stash of them, but the captain had steadfastly refused.

Instead, we’d gone to Corvus to request entry to the dungeon, a request he’d granted after I reminded him my team missed out on a dungeon spot because of my being incapacitated after building the encampment at his and Darius’s request.

Technically, our team wasn’t due to enter the dungeon until tomorrow, but as expected, Pia was complaining about the lost opportunity. I was annoyed at having to leave my lab without even getting a chance to begin any experiments after unpacking, but I also wanted to find some mana crystals for myself so I could reform Sting and Scorch.

So far, only a small cluster of low-grade crystals had been located, and as we delved deeper into the dungeon, I feared we’d never find enough crystals to recover the kijo’s shields. While it was possible to reform a bound item by using mana directly from a person's core, it was done by sacrificing that portion of their mana.’

Unlike when using mana to empower a spell or, in the case of non-magic users, strengthening their body, mana that was sacrificed would not naturally regenerate. The only way to recover it was to re-absorb an equal amount of mana from slain foes or over time from a mana-dense location.

I liked Victoria, but not to the point I was willing to give up my mana in that way.

“You okay?” I called out, a wagging tail the only indicator of my delight at the situation the pair found themselves in.

“No, I’m not okay. It's as nasty and moist as a shart in here.” Pia shouted as she glared up at where I was crouched near the edge of the pit.

“Keep your fire away from the pit, Foxy.” Victoria cautioned.

In response I directed the hovering Pyr to move closer to the roof.

Under Rainy’s control, half a dozen vines slithered across the floor and over the edge of the pit where they curled around Kip’s waist, tugging him up out of the knee-deep brown muck that filled the bottom of the trap.

“While you’re down there do you think you can collect some of that goop for me?” I requested, peering down at the faun who was searching through the brown goop for her spear.

“You want some goop? This goop right here?” Pia asked, straightening to look up at me with a fist full of the thick, brown substance.

“Yes pleas-ah.” With a wet splat, a well-aimed glob of the brown goop splattered over my face.

“Well, you did ask for it, Foxy.” Kip chortled as he scrambled over the edge of the pit with the aid of Rainy’s vines.

Scraping the goop off my face with a gloved hand, I glared down into the pit where a smirking faun stood, arm cocked back with another fist full of thick brown gunk seeping through her fingers.

“You know I can incinerate you with a mere thought, right?” I drawled, raising my own hand.

“You know if you conjure a fireball you’ll burn as well, right?” Pia responded tauntingly, and I smiled at her sweetly in response.

“Did you forget I’m immune to fire, Bambi?” I mocked, tail swishing in amusement.

“Did you forget you’re covered in a flammable goop, Foxy? It ain’t the fire that’ll burn you, it’s the goop.”

“Did you both forget we’re in the middle of a dungeon?” Victoria snapped, and I instinctively dove to the side in order to dodge away from her, fearing the woman would smack me over the head as she often did the faun.

Unfortunately, as I was crouched beside the pit trap. This action sent me tumbling over the edge and down into the pit where I landed face first in the thick goop.

Laughter filled the air as I struggled to my feet, wiping at my face to clear away the goop from my eyes, nose, and mouth.

“Looks like you’re in luck, Foxy, now you can collect all the goop you want.” Pia chortled as Rainy’s vines encircled her body to hoist her up out of the pit.

She’s got a point. I mused as I pulled out a large clay jar and began scooping up the brown substance.

Thwack.

Letting out a yelp in response to the sudden stinging pain across my rear, I clumsily spun around in the muck to see several vines dangling behind me.

“I’m not finished yet.” I yelled up at a smirking Rainy, who was standing at the edge of the pit.

“Out, or be left behind! You’ve already got over a dozen jars filled.” Victoria called, appearing beside the dryad with her arms crossed over her chest.

Shoulders slumping in disappointment, I allowed the vines to wrap around my chest, arms, and thighs in a makeshift harness.

Once I neared the top of the pit, Victoria reached down to haul me the last of the way up, setting me down on my feet several feet away from the edge. Both Pia and Kip stood nearby, using a damp cloth to scrub away the brown gunk.

“Clean up as best you can, and make sure you keep your flames at a distance.” The captain ordered.

Heaving out a sigh, I gazed down at the thick layer of gooey muck covering me in contemplation.

I’m going to need a bath if I’ve got any hope of getting all this off me. Glancing around the hall, my eyes landed on the pit. I was tempted to use a transmutation circle to fill it with water but discarded the idea at the sight of all the goop remaining in the pit.

I wonder if-yes, that might work.

“Victoria, can you hold this over my head, please?” I asked sweetly, holding out a piece of paper.

“What are you up to now?” the kijo asked, narrowing her eyes at me as she took the paper.

“I’m just doing as I was told.” I said defensively.

Smiling, I dipped my left pointer finger into my water flask, before pressing the wet finger to the transmutation circle.

“Create water.” I invoked.

Power flowed through the sigil on the palm of my left hand, and through my finger. The circle absorbed the water coating my finger, which acted as the catalyst for the transmutation of air into water.

As the circle activated, a flow of water washed over me, and I quickly worked to scrub myself clean before the paper-drawn circle degraded.

I need to imbue a stone with the create water circle, and make the circle larger for a proper shower. I decided as I happily washed the muck from my face and hair.

All too quickly the circle degraded, and I was left a soaking wet mess, though a much cleaner one.

“That settles it,” Kip said determinedly, throwing the rag he’d been using to clean off the brown goop to the ground.

“Sign me up, Foxy.” The dwarf said, looking at me expectantly.

“Sign you up for what?” I asked in confusion as I used one of my old tunics as a towel.

“The transmuting.”

“Oh, er.” I mumbled, wondering if I needed to do something special for Kip to be counted towards my disciple count or if he’d just be automatically added if he swore himself a disciple.

“Trismegistus, I pray to thee, oh grand teacher of natural philosophy.” I thought, picturing the wizened form of the god in my mind.

“Now it’s just I pray to thee, and you don’t even bother to take a knee? Last time, you were calling yourself a lowly disciple, and kneeling in devotion. It seems you’ve decided yourself worthy of a higher standing.”

Rolling my eyes at the gods' response, I dropped to my knees, pressing my hands together and put an exaggerated expression of reverence on my face.

“Is this better? Oh, glorious one? Look upon me, as I kneel in worship of your greatness!” I declared grandly.

“As amusing as I find these interactions of ours, disciple, I was in the midst of an experiment, so hurry it along.”

“An experiment?” I asked, ears perking up despite the god's voice sounding only in my mind.

“Indeed, I’ve been working on the creation of a new plant, one I’m sure you’ll find most intriguing.”

“Oh, what kind of plant is it? What alchemical properties will it have? Can—” I babbled excitedly, not even noticing I’d been speaking aloud.

“All in good time. Now, isn't there something you wish to ask?” The old god drawled, amusement clear in his tone.

“Oh, right, how do I initiate disciples? Do I need to do something special for it to count towards the disciples I owe you?” I asked. Hearing a snicker, I glanced over to see my teammates staring at me in amusement.

Cheeks flushing, I lowered my head to hide my embarrassment as I realized I’d been speaking aloud.

“Provided it is through your words or deeds that they join the path of natural philosophy, they shall count towards your debt. Those you directly initiate, should only be those whom you intend to guide on the path.”

“And how do I do that? Do they need to make an offering to you as Nadir and I did?” I asked, this time making sure I spoke only within my head.

“If you’d bothered to read my book, you’d be able to answer that yourself.” He responded, his tone sharp.

“What book? Trismegistus? Hello? Are you there?” Scowling in annoyance at the sudden lack of response from the god, I stood, rubbing my aching knees as I contemplated what to do.

What book was he talking about, was it one of the three Darius gave me? I wondered, thinking back to the books I’d been given by the guild leader. The manner in which Darius gained the books and timing of it had led me to believe they’d been sent by the god.

Barlows Bestiary, Plants and Fungi of Salvia, and Trismegistus and the Philosophies of Nature were the three books I received, though I’d only read through the first two. The third book, Trismegistus and the Philosophies of Nature, had been discarded after I’d read a few pages and discovered it contained no information relevant to my research at the time.

“Foxy?”

A hand on my shoulder pulled me from my thoughts, and I glanced up at Victoria with a questioning gaze.

“This isn’t the place for offering devotion to gods and the like, leave it for later.” She said, gesturing around at the hallway of the dungeon and my teammates who were still covered in a layer of brown goop.

“Sorry,” I mumbled, shoving the book I’d just pulled out back into my bag.

“Kadia,” Pia called out, walking towards me, her voice sounding deceptively sweet. “I’m sorry for throwing goop at you.”

“You’re only saying that because you want me to use another circle so you can get clean.” I accused as Pia gave me a wide-eyed, pleading look.

“I didn’t throw any goop at you,” Kip chimed in looking hopeful.

I rolled my eyes, withdrawing a piece of rolled up paper from my bag.

“I’ve only got one left, so huddle up. The water will appear from the area within the circle, and this one only has a diameter of six inches.” I informed the pair as I handed the paper to Victoria who took it wordlessly to hold out high in the air.

With a great deal of jostling, the pair huddled together under the circle.

Standing on the tips of my toes, I pressed a finger to the center of the circle to activate the transmutation of air into water.

Once Pia and Kip were as clean as they could get, Rainy used her vines to create a bridge over the pit trap to allow our group to safely pass over it.

“It’s a shit move to put a pit trap right around the corner from the water trap.” Pia grumbled as we waited for Kip to scout the path ahead.

I nodded in agreement, making a mental note to get revenge on Darius for not warning me about the pit trap. The guild leader had told me that to avoid the water we’d need to get around the corner before the water started flowing. What he didn’t mention was that there was a pit trap around said corner. We’d been so focused on running, and then distracted by a wall slamming down behind us that Pia and Kip ran straight over the thin section of floor concealing the pit.

“At least the brown goop wasn’t actual shit,” I commented with a light laugh.

At first sight, I’d genuinely thought they’d fallen into a pit of fecal matter, but the lack of stench and Victoria identifying the pit as a furnace trap corrected my assumption.

“Shh.”

Hearing Kip’s voice shushing us from further down the hall where he crouched peering around a corner, I quickly snapped my mouth closed to quiet my soft laughter. Seeing Kip gesturing in a motion for stealth, I ordered Pyr to return to wherever it was he went when I dismissed him.

The hall fell into darkness, and glancing to where Kip had been, I saw dim light shining from around the corner.

Moving so my back was against the nearby wall, I shuffled along it until I reached the dwarf, with the others doing the same behind me.

Not long after Kip gave the order for stealth, I heard footsteps, accompanied by unfamiliar voices as the light that shone from around the corner grew brighter.

“We’ve been this way already, Devon.” A feminine voice said angrily, as the footsteps drew nearer.

“Freya says we haven’t, so we’re going this way.” Another voice, male this time, responded.

Freya? Devon? Why are those names familiar?

“Can we kill em?” A quiet voice asked from my left, this one I recognized as Pia.

“Foxy, give Kip the jars of goop.” Victoria ordered softly.

Reluctantly, I handed the jars to Kip, before retreating down the hall.

Working quickly, the Dwarf spread the flammable brown substance over the floor and part of the walls, before coming to join us further down the hall. Then, as the group rounded the corner, I conjured a flame as close to the goop as I could and set the hallway ablaze.

* * *

When fire died down, I stood off to the side as Kip and Pia sifted through the charred remains belonging to one of Eternia’s hunting teams.

Nose scrunched up against the acrid scent of smoke, and charred flesh, I gazed at the corpses as a feeling of discontent filled me. It hadn’t been until after I’d started the fire that my mind finally decided to remind me why the names I’d heard were so familiar.

Personally, I had nothing against the other team, and despite asking my own teammates multiple times why there was bad blood between the two teams, they had not given me a proper answer. If I’d realized they were Eternia guild members before setting the hall on fire, I probably wouldn’t have done it.

“I really don’t feel comfortable with you looting their possessions,” I complained as Kip let out a happy whistle, before pouring a small pile of mana crystals onto the floor beside one of the corpses.

“They’d be doing the same to us if things were reversed.” Pia said, not even looking up at me as she continued digging through Freya's burnt robes.

“Trust us, Foxy, they would have done the same if given a chance.” Kip added, tossing one of the larger crystals to Victoria. “Devon wants to be the first to reach the boss, they’ve been sabotaging every team they can to stop them getting into the dungeon. We’re just defending ourselves.”

“Then why hasn’t Darius, or the others done anything about?” I snapped in response.

“Devon is good at sucking up,” Rainy said softly, brushing a loose strand of pink hair behind a pointed ear. “And covering up.”

“Plus, no one likes a snitch” Pia drawled.

“And we aren’t looting them of their personal items, just dungeon loot.” Victoria said, giving Kip a scolding glare as he went to take a fancy looking sword.

“Aw, come on, Vicky, it’s a really good sword.” Kip pleaded, but Victoria shook her head.

“We’ll already be reprimanded for killing them if they were able to recognize it was us. I don’t want to deal with allegations of theft as well. It is hard to prove the theft of dungeon loot, but personal items will be easily identified with a search of our possessions.”

“Gregor definitely saw me, they’ll be running to Commander Corvus the moment they respawn.” Kip said, brushing soot off his hands and clothes as he moved away from the bodies. “Bloody sooks.”

I sighed, pinching the bridge of my nose. “I’ll tell Corvus I didn’t know who was coming, only that a group was headed our way so I attacked out of self-preservation. Which is the truth, I’ve never met Devon or his team, and have only briefly seen Freya once.”

Kip chuckled, shaking his head. “I doubt he’ll believe it, even coming from you.”

“It’s the truth,” I said as I eased around the bodies.

A part of me still regretted killing them, as I suspected burning to death wasn’t exactly a pleasant thing to endure.

Standing further away from the bodies, I decided I would need to seek out my brother later to confirm if what my team said was true. I understood the hunting teams had a friendly rivalry going on, but this kind of thing didn’t really sit well with me.

“Damn,” Kip sighed as Victoria used the last mana crystal we’d looted on the crystalline figurine of her shield.

Even with the extra mana crystals, it wasn’t enough to fully reform Victoria’s first shield. Though, the captain estimated it would only take three more low-grade crystals.

“If we check for signs for where Devon’s group already searched, we should be able to skip those areas ourselves.” Rainy suggested starting off in the direction the group had come from.

Finding signs of the other group's movements through the dungeon wasn’t difficult, as they’d been using the same method of marking traps with chalk that Kip used.

“Well, that explains why there were only four bodies earlier.” Pia said as we gazed down at the impaled corpse of a man at the bottom of an activated pit trap.

“I’d make a comment about how only a blind rogue would be fool enough to fall into a pit trap, but considering I was also in one recently, it’d be an insult to myself as well.” Kip said, as he crouched at the edge of the pit. “Doesn’t look like they went across to the other side.”

“Then that’s where we’ll go.” Victoria declared, gesturing for Rainy to use her vines to form a bridge across the pit.

After almost an hour walking, four dead ends, and a room filled with cobras that Pyr swiftly burnt to ash, we found ourselves standing before a cavernous room. Dozens of platforms hung from the ceiling, secured in place by thick, rusty chains that attached to the corners of each platform. Below the platforms was a dark pit, and I suspected if we fell we’d find something pointy waiting for us at the bottom.

“What’s the bet if we stand on the wrong one it falls?” Kip muttered as he craned his head back to look at the roof where the chains holding up the platforms were secured.

“I’m not in the habit of making bets with such poor odds.” Rainy commented.

Sending some of her vines out to coil around the chains, the dryad made a yanking motion with her hands, using her vines to test if the platform would fall.

The chains gave a metallic groan, but stayed attached to the roof, and after a quick game of rock, paper, scissors Pia was chosen to be the first to jump across to the platform.

After securing a vine around the faun’s waist, we watched with bated breath as she leapt across the two-foot-wide gap between the end of the hall and the first platform.

Rainy was the next to cross, and after tugging on the next platform with her vines resulted in it crashing into the dark pit below, we decided to take a moment to reassess our plan to move forward.

The room was too wide for Rainy to bridge her vines across it, as the bridge would be too weak at the center point to support our weight. Swinging across on vines also wasn’t an option, though Pia seemed keen to make the attempt.

“If we had Vicky’s shields we could just float across.” Pia complained, as we gazed out across the room.

“I say we continue as is and use Rainy’s vines to test each platform to find the correct path through.” Kip suggested, and we all agreed.

“Rainy and Pia take the lead to cross. Foxy, can you keep a flame over them?” Victoria asked, and I hesitated for a moment.

“It might be best if I send Pyr with them and keep a conjured flame as light for us. The further away they get the harder it will be for me to control the flames.” I informed her, getting a nod in response.

As Pia jumped back to the first platform, I directed Pyr to follow the faun, keeping him above her head as she and Rainy tested the platforms that hung diagonally from the first.

The platform to the left remained in place, and a quick check of the one on the right saw it go crashing to the bottom of the pit where it joined its fallen brethren.

Once the pair moved off the first platform, Kip made the jump and I followed, leaving Victoria behind to wait for us to move forward before jumping onto the first platform herself. We decided that it would be best to move in pairs, or in Victoria’s case alone, just in case each ‘safe’ platform had a weight limit.

Waiting for the girls to move forwards, I peered over the edge of the platform Kip and I currently stood on, but was unable to see the bottom of the pit through the darkness.

Curious as to what fate might be waiting below, I sent a fist sized ball of fire over the edge of the platform and down into the pit.

Whoosh.

With a blast of hot air, the once empty void beneath the hanging platforms became a sea of fire. Which quickly crept across the walls and roof, leaving us standing suspended in the center of a fiery inferno.

“Oops.”

“KADIA!” Four angry voices shouted my name.

I lowered my head, ears dropping to lay flat against my hair.

“I didn’t mean to,” I pleaded, feeling sweat bead across my flesh as the room grew unbearably hot.

“Keep going.” Victoria shouted from the platform behind us, yelling for Rainy and Pia to continue moving across the platforms.

Turning away from scowling in my direction, Rainy sent out her vines towards the next platform, before leaping across with Pia. Three more jumps, and both girls were safely on the other side, with the rest of us following quickly behind them.

“How about keeping your flames out of pits from now on, Foxy?” Kip suggested as Victoria jumped into the hallway from the last platform.

“I just wanted to see what was beneath us.”

“Sometimes it’s better not to know.” Victoria said gruffly, pulling out a water flask and pouring it over her head.

After passing around a jar of cooling salve and taking a moment to rest, we continued moving through the dungeon in search of the elusive mana crystals.

Said crystals turned out to not be so elusive once Kip set off a pit trap so we could bridge our way safely across it and discovered clusters of crystals that had formed around the large spikes protruding from the floor of the pit.

A round of rock, paper, scissors found Kip on the losing end, and the one to be lowered into the pit secured by a vine harness.

“You know, it’d be kind of funny if you dropped him right about now.” Pia goaded as Kip reached the halfway point, which earned the faun a smack on the head from our captain and a rude hand gesture from the dwarf in response.

“Wait, wait, stop lowering him.” I shouted out to Rainy from where I knelt, peering over the edge of the pit.

“What’s wrong? Do you see something?” Victoria asked, rushing to join me at the edge as Rainy brought the dwarf to a jerky stop.

“Raise him a little higher.” I directed, and Rainy pulled a confused Kip up a few feet before I told her to stop.

“Now, can you slide him to the left? Keep going, keep going, stop.” As the dwarf came to stop, I leaned further over the edge peering down at Kip who was looking more than a little concerned by now.

“Kip, can you grab those mushrooms please? The ones growing in the corner.” I asked, pointing to the dark gray fungi growing just out of reach from where I was crouched.

Letting out an annoyed sigh, Victoria stood moving away from the edge, as Pia and Rainy let out amused laughs.

“I’m down here for mana crystals, not mushrooms.” Kip yelled up at me.

“Please? I haven’t seen any like those before,” I pleaded, staring down at him with a wide-eyed look that always worked on my brother.

“Well, I guess I can sell you these mushrooms. Let's see, how about one gold each.” Kip said, stroking his mustache with a wide grin.

“How about you pick the mushrooms for me, and I don’t burn away the vines holding you?” I suggested, watching in amusement as the dwarf put on an exaggerated look of contemplation.

“I suppose that’s a fair deal,” he conceded, and used a knife to pry the mushrooms loose before packing them into a linen bag I tossed down to him.

Mushrooms harvested, Rainy began lowering Kip once more, and as the dwarf set about the task of mining the clusters of mana crystals, I sat with my legs dangling over the edge of the pit, tossing Pyr from hand to hand in boredom.

All the stories I’d been told about dungeons were lies. They weren’t fun or exciting at all. If not for the mana crystals and high amounts of mana I was absorbing from the few encounters we’d had with various mummified creatures, I’d consider this entire ‘dungeon diving’ endeavor to be a waste of time.

What was the point? The mummified creatures didn’t drop any loot, and while they did all have strange, dark crystals inside their corpses that appeared to be of alchemic value, I had no clue what to use them for.

Though according to Kip, the dark crystals were valuable and could be sold to necromancers or Kemet merchants for a few silver depending on the size of the crystal.

Apparently, they were a component in rituals used to raise the dead, and could be found inside all undead beings.

I’d rather be in my lab, or somewhere there are plants and animals that have more alchemic properties, sighing, I watched Kip carefully extract the mana crystals.

Hopefully, there would be enough crystals down there for Victoria to reform her shields, and we could leave the dungeon.

However, even if we did have enough mana crystals, I suspected my team would want to continue through the dungeon to search for the Pharaoh's tomb, despite knowing that such an encounter would most likely result in our deaths.

* * *

“I am light as a feather and I can be strong, short, and deep. I bring life, but none can hold me for long. What am I?”

Two hours after our discovery of the mana crystals, we found ourselves in a room decorated with golden statues, and faced with a riddle given to us by a golden-furred Sphinx.

Pacing back, and forth, I recited the riddle over and over under my breath as I racked my brain for the answer.

Seated on a plush cushion, the woman whose lower body was that of a sleek feline watched us closely, waiting for our answer.

Thankfully, despite both Pia and Victoria wanting to forgo the riddle in favor of battling the Sphinx, I had convinced them we should at least try to find the answer. Why risk a fight if we didn’t need to?

“I think I have it,” Kip said.

I stopped pacing to look at him questioningly. Giving the Sphinx a cautious look, the dwarf walked to my side, and gestured for me to lean down so he could speak softly into my ear.

“Do you think it could be air?”

“Maybe?” I murmured, thinking it over before giving a slight nod. “I’ve got no better ideas, so give it a shot, I guess. If it’s wrong, we go to Plan B.”

I shrugged, gesturing to a bored-looking Pia who was twirling her spear around like she was a high school majorette.

Rainy was near the faun having formed herself a chair made of vines, where she sat flipping through a book, whilst Victoria was using a rag to polish her newly reformed shield. We’d been in the room for almost thirty minutes, with the Sphinx declaring we had an hour to answer.

After alerting the others that we were ready with an answer, Kip approached the Sphinx. While the rest of us huddled together, prepared to fight the golden feline if she attacked.

“I’d like to solve the riddle.” Kip declared boldly to the Sphinx who appeared to be napping.

Opening her eyes to reveal a pair of stunning green irises with a slit pupil, the half feline woman gave the dwarf a sensual smile as she spoke her riddle again.

“I am light as a feather and I can be strong, short, and deep. I bring life, but none can hold me for long. What am I?” the Sphinx asked, her voice a husky purr.

Breath, it’s a breath. Eyes widening in realization, I opened my mouth to answer, but Kip’s voice rang out before I could speak.

“Air.” The dwarf answered confidently.

As I let out a cry of dismay, the Sphinx gave a low chuckle, and in a blur of motion dove towards Kip.

The dwarf had already started moving after hearing my cry, his body diving to the side in a roll.

Victoria’s shield flew towards the Sphinx, the kijo clutching the handle allowing the shield to carry her into close range.

“Here, kitty, kitty, meow!” Pia mocked, bounding forwards with her spear held in front of her.

As though woken by Pia’s taunting, a series of loud roars filled the room, and the three golden lion statues that surrounded the Sphinx’s cushion sprang to life.

Spinning to face one of the large golden lions, I flung a ball of fire at the creature as it rushed towards me, crying out in dismay as the flames did nothing to the metal creature.

Why is it lions? I mentally screamed as I sent Pyr to splatter itself over the first lion, which only made things worse.

Pursued by a burning metal lion, I ran as fast as I could around the room. Rainy didn’t seem to have the same issues, and I caught a glimpse of her ensnaring one of the lions in vines. Even Pia seemed to be having an easy time as she leapt onto the third lion's back like a cowboy at a rodeo.

With a burning lion hot on my heels, I flicked through my pouches inventory screen, searching in vain for something to attack with.

Dagger? No. Book? Definitely not. Yes, that’s it. Fingers curling around a square packet of paper, I flung it over my shoulder at the pursuing lion while invoking the transmutation circle.

“Quicksand.”

I didn’t stop running, fearing my futile attempt to stop the pursuit had failed, and only when the lion behind me let out a choked roar did I dare risk looking back and saw the lion struggling to move as it sunk deeper and deeper into the ground.

“That’s not how real quicksand works,” I grumbled as I cautiously moved back towards the lion, while scanning the room to check on my team who were all busy fighting off the Sphinx or in Pia’s case, clinging to the back of a lion as it sprinted around the room.

Rainy’s lion was being torn apart by her vines, and the dryad was already sending more vines toward the Sphinx that Victoria had pinned beneath her shield, while Kip darted around stabbing at it with his daggers.

Jogging back over to the still-burning lion that was struggling in the transmuted quicksand, I called for Pyr to return to me, and the flames coating the lion shifted, reforming back into the wisp who flew over to hover above my head.

I wonder how long the quicksand lasts? Will quicksand suffocate a metal lion? How does one stop a metal statue? I stared at the lion, watching it struggle as I pondered the effect of transmutation circle I’d used to trap it.

“Yeehaw,” Pia cheered as the lion she was riding dashed past, trying to dislodge the faun who’d jammed her spear between its shoulder blades and was using it as a handle.

“Let's see, fire strike, lightning arrow, quicksand, flash freeze? I wonder what that one does.” I mused, shuffling through the paper packets, and grabbing the one marked flash freeze.

“Flash Freeze.” I invoked, holding the paper pack up in the air with the side the words were written on facing the lion.

A blast of cool air blew out from the paper packet, and a glowing circle appeared in front of my left hand, shooting towards the struggling lion. The lion froze in place as frost formed over its body in delicate patterns.

“Lightning Arrow.”

Using another one of the transmutation packets, I sent an arrow-shaped streak of white-blue light towards the lion, and watched in fascination as it shattered into tiny metallic fragments.

“That was so cool,” a panting Pia exclaimed as she came bounding over to where I stood staring at the remains of the lion.

“And completely unrealistic.” I muttered, looking over to see the faun’s lion crumpled on the ground and missing its head.

“How so?”

“Most metals fall into one of two primary crystalline structures, which are either face-centered cubic or body-centered cubic, though there are less common options than the main two. Body-centered cubic metals like iron will fracture if below a certain temperature. But, metals like gold, which are face-centered cubic, do not have a ductile to brittle transition, so won’t shatter regardless of how cold it gets.”

“What about marble covered in gold paint? Cause that’s what those were- See?” Stooping to pick up one of the larger fragments of the lion, Pia held it up to show me the pale interior.

“Ah, I thought it was solid gold.” I murmured, taking the fragment from her.

“Nah, but can you imagine the boner Kip would have if it was?” The faun snickered.

“I’d rather not.” Scrunching my face up in disgust, I threw the gold painted marble to the ground, and turned to check on the rest of our team.

The Sphinx was still alive, and Kip was lying prone on the ground with Rainy kneeling over him. Vines lashed out towards the Sphinx who was reared up on her hind legs, front claws digging into a spiked shield as she stabbed a golden spear at Victoria.

“Guess we should probably go help,” Pia commented, her own spear resting on her shoulder.

“Ya think?” I snorted, plucking an orange and black feathered dart from my bracer as I ran to close the distance between the Sphinx.

Once I was at a reasonable throwing distance, I flung the dart at the Sphinx’s back.

As the dart imbedded itself into the flesh, the creature let out a scream that was a mix of human and beast.

After throwing a second dart coated with Scorcher venom at the Sphinx, I half expected the creature to fall to the ground and begin writhing in agony, but the Sphinx only screamed again, turning her attention to me.

“Pyr, burn the kitty.” I shouted, sending my wisp flying towards the Sphinx.

The flaming ball of jello slammed into the golden half-lion woman with a splat, bringing another garbled scream from the creature’s throat.

This time she did fall to the ground, where she rolled and writhed in an attempt to put out the flames, only succeeding in spreading them further along her body.

“Foxy, go to Kip.” Victoria shouted.

Leaving behind a burning Sphinx, I ran to where Rainy was kneeling next to the dwarf.

As I dropped to my knees beside the pair, I let out a gasp at the sight of Kip’s torn leather armor.

Blood covered Rainy’s hands as she pressed on the dwarf’s wounds with a thick linen cloth.

“Kads, pain reliever.” The dryad requested. I quickly complied, scooping an arm behind Kip’s head as I poured the contents of a clay vial into his mouth.

“Have you already cleaned the wound?” I asked, pulling out a pouch with a white cross on the front.

“There’s too much bleeding for me to be able to get his armor off, she clawed him pretty bad.”

“Er,” hesitating, I stared at the contents of the medical kit I’d put together with Dorian's help.

The healer had advised what supplies were needed, and which of the tinctures would be best used for different wounds, but now faced with the reality of an injury, I found my mind blank.

Would soaking a cloth in the elven root tincture work? The tincture is meant to be poured directly onto the wound, but if he is still bleeding, that could be difficult.

“Just kill me.” The dwarf groaned miserably. I flinched in response, not wanting to kill my teammate.

Why am I so useless? I disparaged as I pulled off my leather gloves and cleaned my hands with ethanol before soaking a clean linen in a mixture of ethanol and dried elven root.

Quickly swapping over the linens, I discarded the bloodied cloth as Rainy pressed the tincture-soaked one onto Kip's wounds.

The response from the dwarf was a pained cry, as the alcohol in the tincture no doubt stung badly when pressed to the deep gashes on his chest.

With careful movements, I used my dagger to cut away Kip’s armor, doing my best not to jostle Rainy as I did so, and steadfastly ignoring the dwarfs' complaints about how expensive the leather was.

“I’m sure Pia can make you a new one,” I muttered, as I pulled away the last of his chest piece. “Lift up, Rainy, I want to see if the bleeding has eased.”

I directed the dryad to pull back the cloth to reveal four deep wounds on the dwarf’s chest that, while bloody, were no longer bleeding profusely.

“Knock me out before you suture,” Kip pleaded.

I furrowed my brow, glancing at his face. “Why would we suture it? It’s not that deep,” I informed him as I pulled a jug of pure ethanol from my bag.

Rainy shook her head, her voice soft as she cradled Kip’s head. “Kadia, a wound like this won’t heal on its own without being stitched. The cuts, while not deep, are wide enough that it will require stitches to bring the edges together, and stop the bleeding until we can find a magical healer or they heal slowly over time.”

“I have a wound salve to heal it. It’s for minor cuts and wounds like this.” I said, pouring some ethanol onto a clean cloth and using it to wipe away the blood covering Kips chest.

“I’m a little worried about your mental state if this is what you consider minor.” Kip groused, craning his head forward to look at his chest. “That looks a lot worse than it feels.”

“It’s the pain tincture kicking in and the anesthetic effect of the elven root. I’ve used the improved wound repair salve on worse cuts than this and they healed perfectly fine without Dorian needing to heal them. We tested it on Bastian and Killian,” I assured the dwarf. “We even used it on a stab wound, which took a little longer, and required Bastian to stay still for an hour so the wound could internally heal without him unintentionally ripping it open again.”

“Were you attacked during the trip here?” Pia asked with interest as she and Victoria walked over to join us.

“The hunting team was attacked a few times, but Bastian stabbed himself willingly so I could test the wound salve on a real person.”

“What?” Kip gasped, looking wide eyed, and the others made similar expressions of shock.

“He owed me, same with Killian and Dorian. Helping with my research was how they repaid their debts.”

“You made him stab himself because he couldn’t pay you? Ah, Foxy, you're my kind of woman.” Kip chortled, his voice sounding hoarse with pain.

“He didn’t owe me coin, it was an emotional debt, and he only stabbed himself in the thigh, so it's not like it was life threatening or anything. Plus, I gave him a pain tincture first,” I muttered as I smoothed a thick layer of dark purple salve over Kip's wounds.

“Rainy, can you start bandaging his chest please? I need to wash this off,” I told the dryad, wriggling my salve-covered fingers to indicate their soiled state.

“How long until it heals?” Victoria asked as I moved away from Kip and began cleaning the salve from my fingers.

“Anywhere from ten minutes to half an hour if he doesn’t aggravate it, if he pulls the wound open it’ll need to be reapplied.”

“Can he walk or is it better to lay him on my shield and carry him?” The captain asked.

Biting my lower lip, I examined the dwarf. “He can walk, but it puts strain on the wound, so carrying him is better,” I decided after thinking it over for a second.

Nodding, Victoria directed her shield to lower itself to the ground next to Kip, and once Rainy was finished bandaging his chest with help from Pia, the captain lifted the dwarf onto the shield.

“Can I at least get a pillow?” Kip whined, looking rather uncomfortable on the wooden tower shield.

“We’re in a dungeon, Shortie, no pillows here.” Victoria told him, patting his shoulder gently.

“So,” Pia said with a sigh, glancing around the room. “Forward or backwards? We can’t stay here for long as the Sphinx will revive.”

“We’ve come this far, I vote forward.” Rainy said.

I grimaced, shaking my head. “Backwards.” I declared, pointing at Kip. “We don’t know what’s ahead, and with Kip incapacitated he can’t scout the traps.”

“I can scout,” Pia stated. “I’m not as good, but I’ve got the perception range to know if there is a trap nearby. I vote forward.”

“Forward, we’ll go slow so Shortie has time to heal.” Victoria said.

I sighed, shoulders slumping as it became clear which way the vote was going.

“Backwards, I wanna sleep.” Kip grumbled, moving an arm to cover his eyes.

“Two back, three forward, forward wins.” Pia said smugly.

And here I thought I was going to be able to leave this place without dying.

The clanging of steel and shouted battle cries drifted down the hall as we crept towards a set of heavy stone doors.

“Those bastards are stealing our boss' fight.” Pia hissed in outrage as we peered into the large room.

A group of seven armored men and women were inside the room, surrounding a twelve-foot-tall mummified creature that wore an ornate golden headdress, identifying the creature as the unnamed Pharaoh whose tomb had become the dungeon we toiled in.

“Ain’t they from the Primordial Brotherhood?” Kip questioned softly, a hand pressed to his wounded chest as he tried to lean around Victoria for a better look into the room.

Eyes narrowed, I stared at the man directly in front of the mummified Pharaoh. He was the same man who’d been mocking Darius about losing our encampment.

“First, they steal our encampment, and now they’re stealing our boss fight.” Pia huffed, sitting back against the wall with a pout.

“They aren’t stealing our boss fight, they were here before us.” Rainy corrected, getting an eye roll from the faun in response.

“We should find somewhere to wait until the fight is over, and they either vacate or die,” Victoria said, gesturing for us to move and stand away from the door.

I didn’t budge from my position, eyes still intently focused on the man at the center of the room as my mind swirled with half thought out plans for revenge.

Fingers delving into a pouch, I pulled out two clay spheres and lit the fuses before bowling them one after the other into the room towards the fighters.

“Steeeeeerike!” I crowed in delight as both rolled into the midst of battle.

BOOM!

A thunderous sound filled the air when the fuse on the first sphere burnt down. Simultaneously, the second clay sphere began spewing out plumes of smoke that obscured the vision of the disorientated fighters.

Even my own ears were ringing from the explosive sound, but I didn't pay it any heed as I ordered Pyr into the room, and started to pull the ornately carved doors closed just as a woman came rushing out of the smoke.

As I struggled with the heavy doors, a pair of red hands reached past me to finish yanking the doors shut.

“Damn, Foxy, warn us next time.” Kip grumbled, rubbing at his ears with a pained expression on his face.

“Was that one of those not-for-Tink sticks?” Pia asked excitedly.

I shook my head. “No, I only had a few tubes I was allowed to keep which I used on the wall. The rest of it is with Darius and Noctus, respectively. That was my version of the Chinese Zhèntiānléi, otherwise known as a thunder crack bomb, and a poisonous smoke bomb.”

“Oh,” Pia sighed, disappointed. “I thought maybe you’d killed them.”

“The smoke bomb is made with a poison secreted by the Pozania vine, so it will be a rather painful death. The Pozania poison will cause a person's internal organs to rupture and hemorrhage. Taken orally, death is observed within the first twenty to thirty seconds, inhaled in this manner the poison can take as long as a minute. The smoke and air dilute the effect of the poison, so it’s a little slower to affect the body.” I informed the faun matter-of-factly. “Here, you’ll need to put these on. The remnants of the poison will be on any surfaces in the room, so try not to touch your face, no rubbing your eyes, or putting fingers in your mouth.”

Removing a few pairs of gloves from my bag, I handed them to my team.

“I don’t think a bit of poison is going to be enough to take out the boss.” Kip joked.

“It was already weak. If Foxy’s wisp didn’t finish it off then we will.” Victoria said, reaching out to ruffle a hand over my hair, much to my annoyance. “Normally I’d scold you for kill stealing, but I’m willing to overlook it this time.”

“Course you’ll overlook it,” Pia chimed in with a snicker. “We’re about to cake walk our way up to silver ranking.

A gentle poke to my shoulder brought my gaze away from the most vocal of our team. Brow raised in question, I turned towards Rainy who stood beside me.

The dryad was holding the book I gave her about the plants found in Salvia open at the page describing the Pozania vine.

“Tell me you’ve got some on you,” she pleaded, her eyes holding a fervent gleam as she gazed at the drawing of a vine with pearlescent spines, some of which were up to three inches long.

“I’m sorry, Rainy.” I apologized, shaking my head. “I don’t have any un-rendered Pozania vines.”

“What do you mean by rendered?” the dryad asked, her lips curving into a frown as she closed the book, though not before giving the vines one last longing glance.

“I plucked off the spines, and then extracted the liquid from the vines by crushing them. Then, I dried the leftover pulp and ground it into a powder. The leaves were also dried and ground, along with the seed pods.” I listed off, explaining how I broke down, and stored the vines.

Sighing, Rainy gave a small nod before putting away her book. “I would greatly appreciate a seed pod if you acquire the vine again.”

“Sure, I-oomph.” I gasped, clutching at my chest.

A wave of power rushed over me, and I shuddered in response to the overwhelming stream of mana that consumed my body.

Unlike when Trismegistus used me as a conduit to build the encampment, the flow of power did not move through me, but rather settled in my core, which strained to hold the power streaming in.

Unable to squeeze itself into my core, the mana overflowed through my body, shooting down my spine and congregating at the base of my tailbone.

“Damn,” Kip exclaimed, letting out a low whistle. “Guess wispy did the boss in.”

“Woo-hoo, check it out! Foxy got her second tail,” Pia cheered.

I craned my head back over my shoulder to see that I did indeed have a second tail. This is so weird. Head tilted, I watched both tails swish in synchronized arcs.

The sound of the doors to the boss room creaking open drew my attention away from my new tail, and I looked up to see Victoria striding through the doors with Pia close behind her, spear held at the ready.

Not that she needed it, as a quick glance around the room showed it to be consumed by fire, with a happy-looking Pyr zooming around the room in circles.

Is it me, or did he get bigger? Did he also get stronger from killing the boss, or is it because I got stronger? I wondered, staring up at my wisp.

“Foxy, can you put out this fire?” Victoria asked.

I hesitated for a moment, focusing on the flames. Could I put out the fire? No, I didn’t feel like these flames could be extinguished in the same manner I could with a normal fire, but a part of me knew Pyr could absorb them.

Sensing my intent, the burning blob that was my wisp dove into the fire and became an even larger burning blob as he sucked up all the fire from around the room. Finished with his task, the gluttonous wisp shot up towards the ceiling, his flaming legs crossed as he floated in apparent meditation.

I really need to talk to someone who knows about wisps. Ignoring Pyr’s strange behavior for now, I walked further into the room after making sure each of my team had donned their gloves.

The last thing I wanted was to accidentally poison any of them, especially after we finally reached our goal. The poison dissipated from the air quickly, but I didn’t want to take additional risks, we’d survived this far, and I didn’t want to die right as we reached the finish line.

Sure, we didn’t technically fight the boss ourselves, but it was dead and once we brought the looted headdress back to Darius, we’d be bumped up to a fully-fledged silver ranked team. Thus, our need to enter the dungeon would be nil, and I could focus more time on my research.

“Damn, Foxy, there isn’t even anything left to loot.” Kip complained, standing from where he’d been crouched beside one of the Primordial Brotherhood fighters. “That little bugger burnt their bags to ash, and they can’t be accessed, even the weapons aren’t worth taking.”

“We don’t need any of their crap anyway,” I said dismissively, walking over to where Victoria stood in the center of the room. “Ah, that’s not good.”

I groaned in dismay at the sight of the melted lump that was once the Pharaohs golden headdress.

The heated metal let off plumes of steam as Victoria poured water over it in an attempt to cool the melted lump, but the damage was done.

“Hopefully, the guild leader will still accept it as proof that we located the boss,” the captain said, frowning down at the barely recognizable headdress.

“Well, if not we’ll just have to come back and fight him properly.” Pia chirped, bounding over from where she and Rainy had been inspecting the Pharaohs sarcophagus.

“The gold and jewels all survived the fire, so we can use that as proof,” Rainy suggested, and like a shot, Kip was rushing over to where the dryad stood.

Burying his hands in the gold, the dwarf gleefully began scooping it into a leather bag, and I shook my head in amusement, wondering what kind of expression would be on Kip’s face when the guild took their cut of the loot.

Most loot gathered by hunting teams, and money earned by crafters, would go to the guild. How much was kept by a team, and how it was divided among them, depended on rank.

As a bronze ranked team, eighty percent of our loot would go to the guild, with the remaining twenty percent being split between the team. Victoria being captain would take five percent, while the rest of us split the final fifteen percent.

“I’m surprised there aren't more,” I commented, eyeing the piles of gold coins and jewels that filled the sarcophagus.

Why in the sarcophagus? That isn’t usually where the treasures of a Pharaoh are kept. There should be a treasury somewhere around here. I mused, leaving the dwarf to fawn over the gold as I walked towards the walls of the room. It will probably be hidden, and I’d wager the treasure in the sarcophagus is a diversion. If one does not know of the greater treasure room, they would think that is all there is to be found.

“Watcha doin?” Pia asked, coming over to stand beside.

“Looking for a treasure room,” I replied absentmindedly to the faun’s question as I eyed the hieroglyphs carved into the walls.

These are not traditional Egyptian hieroglyphs, but there are a few scattered among these unfamiliar ones. I retrieved a notebook and fountain pen from my bag so I could copy down the symbols.

“There isn’t one, everyone’s tried finding it, but according to the rumors even the Whispers weren’t able to find it.” Pia said, reaching out to trace a gloved finger over the hieroglyphs. “The Whispers even brought in Kemet tribesmen to translate the hieroglyphics, and apparently they don’t even mention treasure, but state the Pharaoh buried here was a heretic who turned away from Anubin, the Kemet patron god.”

I shook my head. “Even a dethroned pharaoh should have a treasury, it is more likely the Whispers have spread such rumors to dispel would-be treasure hunters.”

Turning away from the wall I was examining, I scanned the room with my alchemic sight, searching for anything of interest.

Where are the Canopic jars? A mummified Pharaoh should have Canopic jars, but I don’t see any here. Golden lights flashed around the sarcophagus and walking back to where Kip had finished packing away the treasures from within, I peered down at the empty sarcophagus that was laid out in the center of the room.

There was something there. My alchemic sight showed several things with alchemic properties, yet my natural sight showed only an empty sarcophagus.

“Kip, have you searched for hidden compartments? Levers? Buttons?” I asked, running my hands over the ornately carved sides of the sarcophagus.

“Of course I did,” the dwarf responded defensively. “I wouldn’t have shoved my hands in if it wasn’t safe, regardless of how much gold was in it.”

“There's something more here, something beneath.” I told him, pointing to the bottom of the sarcophagus.

“People have tried moving it before, even smashing it and the like. There’s nothing beneath.” Kip said, shaking his head.

“I’m telling you there is. Who says those aren’t rumors to dissuade people from finding things they don’t want to be found?” I snapped, glaring at the dwarf who held his hands up in surrender.

“Alright, alright, no need to get your tails in a twist.”

“Do you want to leave this dungeon alive?” I asked venomously as Victoria strode over to join us, a malformed headdress tucked under one arm.

“Enough, you’re both squabbling loud enough to re-awaken the dead,” the captain snapped, giving us both a stern glare.

“Foxy says there is something beneath the sarcophagus,” Kip said, rapping his knuckles on the side of the golden painted stone coffin.

“So? Why aren’t you searching for a way to see what it is?” she demanded, looking at Kip as I stuck my tongue at him in a petulant display of triumph.

Letting out a dramatic sigh of defeat, the dwarf looked down at the sarcophagus. “We could really use some of those explosives of yours right now, Foxy, because I don’t fancy our chances of smashing our way through the stone before ol’ kingy over there is back on his feet.”

“Yeah, well we don’t, so grab a pickaxe or something.” I said, tracing my fingers over the edges of the stone.

With a sigh, the dwarf pulled back from the sarcophagus. “This better be worth it,” he grumbled, removing a pickaxe from his bag.

Victoria moved to stand beside the dwarf, a second axe in hand as the two worked in tandem to chip away the stone bottom of the sarcophagus.

As shards of stone went flying, I retreated back to the walls where I continued copying down hieroglyphs.

“Come on, Kip! Put your back into it. I thought dwarves were meant to be good at mining?” Pia jeered.

“I’m a merchant, not a miner,” the dwarf grunted in response.

Several minutes later, a loud crash, followed by an expletive from Kip, brought me running back to where he and Victoria had ceased their work.

Excitedly, I leaned over the side of the sarcophagus, eyeing the small hole that looked just large enough for a rabbit to fit inside.

“We’re running out of time,” Victoria said, eyes flicking between me and the hole. “The stone is too thick, and by the time we make the hole large enough for a person to fit through, the boss will have revived. We don’t even know if there is anything down there worth all this effort.”

“You can’t be suggesting we send Kadia down by herself, she doesn’t know the first thing about traps. She’ll get herself killed.” Kip spluttered.

Scowling, I pinned my ears back in indignation at his assumption I wasn’t smart enough to know how to avoid traps. Shoving the dwarf aside with my shoulder, I allowed my human form to melt away and leapt into the sarcophagus.

Seconds before I jumped into the hole, a large hand closed around the scruff of my neck, and I was yanked back out of the sarcophagus.

“You don’t just go crawling into holes, Foxy, you’ve got no idea what could be in there.” Victoria scolded, holding me up at eye level.

“Yeah, at least put a condom on first.” Pia chirped.

I let out a whine of annoyance, both at being held up in the air by my scruff and the faun’s poorly made joke.

The thought of biting or burning the kijo holding me was a tempting one, but considering Victoria grew up with six adoptive brothers, I was pretty sure she was capable of some inventive punishments.

I didn’t know how she managed it, I could barely stand having one annoying sibling, let alone six; five of which were younger. Personally I didn’t blame her for, as Pia put it, “ditching them” in favor of being captain of her own team.

“Rainy, wrap a vine around Foxy so we can tug her out if needed, and use a second one to gag Bambi.” The captain ordered.

The faun let out a squeak, making a hasty retreat across the room to escape the vine chasing after her.

Twin tails wagging with glee, I let out an excited yip as I watched Pia get tripped up by the vine coiling around her feet and dragged across the floor by her ankles.

As Pia clawed at the ground, dramatically acting out a frantic attempt to escape, another vine wrapped itself around my body forming a makeshift harness.

“Tug on the vine if you need to be pulled out.” The captain ordered.

Letting out a short yip in confirmation, I conjured a small flicker of flame to light up the darkness as I was lowered into the hole.

I didn’t need to be lowered far, as I soon landed on a set of stairs that descended from the head of the sarcophagus.

Cautiously, I edged down the stairs, testing each one with a paw before moving my weight onto it fully to check for any pressure activated traps.

I wasn’t cautious enough however, as halfway down I managed to activate a trap that had a dozen pendulum shaped blades swinging in and out of the walls.

Darting forwards, I made it past the first blade, which sliced into my safety vine on its backwards swing.

“Are you still alive down there?” Kip shouted, his voice echoing off the walls.

I let out a loud answering yip, before rushing past the next blade as it disappeared into the wall.

What a dumb question, you can feel I’m alive if you focus on the team rings. After making it through the swinging blades, I found myself standing on the last step, staring out at a room filled with shimmering gold coins, jewelry, weapons, armor and other random items like a white fur cloak.

Treading carefully, I stepped into the room, half expecting to fall into a pit trap or for some other unfortunate chain of events to occur and claim my life.

When nothing happened, I moved closer to the treasures, heading straight for the gold when something propped up against a shield caught my eye.

My wagasa! What’s it doing here? Shifting back into my human form, I snatched up the umbrella, inspecting it for any signs of damage. Seeing it was intact, I turned my attention to the other weapons with more interest.

Are these things all items that people have lost in the dungeon? I guess that makes sense, the dungeon would have no use for them, so it dumps them all here. I bet the Whispers send someone in every few days to clear out the loot, if not, then there would be mana crystals in here. I concluded after a cursory glance around the room showed no signs of the crystals growing, plus there were some faint tool marks on the walls and ground, indicating someone had been using a pickaxe in those locations.

There isn’t as much treasure in here as I’d assume a pharaoh would have, so I guess the Whispers already claimed the loot originally belonging to the Pharaoh, and this is all from those who’ve died or dropped items in the dungeon.

A sharp pain in my right hand which held the wagasa had me letting out a shocked cry, and I looked down to see half a dozen thin, gray tentacles were wrapped around my wrist.

Snarling, I tried to claw the tentacles off my wrist, while also trying to let go of the wagasa from which the tentacles appeared to be growing.

"Get off!" I screeched, fire coating my arms, and surging over the gray tentacles encircling my wrist.

Screams resounded around the room as I tried to fight off the mimic. I was screaming, the wagasa was screaming, the pile of gold coins was screaming.

Freezing in place, I stared in horror at the gold coins before sending a wave of fire in that direction. The pile of coins let out another ear shattering scream, and coins went rolling across the floor as a second larger mimic revealed itself.

"Like fuck am I dying and losing my second tail right after I got it!” I shouted through clenched teeth.

I shouldn’t have left Pyr behind to play torch for the others. I despaired as I tightened my grip on the wagasa, which tightened its own hold on my arm in return.

As I struck out with the pointed tip of the wagasa, stabbing it into one of the bigger mimic’s tentacles, the mimic who’d taken the form of the wagasa shifted away from my wrist. The wagasa rippled, and I watched in fascination as the mimic seemed to flow down it to attack the mimic I’d stabbed.

Pulling back the wagasa, I slashed and stabbed at the tentacles while using my left hand to direct fireballs into the center of the creature. With each stab of the wagasa, the mimic attached to it morphed a sharp toothed maw around the pointed metal tip of the weapon, biting down on the opposing mimic.

I didn’t know why the creature possessing my wagasa was aiding me, when moments ago it was trying to eat my hand, but so long as it continued to attack the larger mimic, I would leave it be.

“Submit to death!” Screaming out my battle cry, I grabbed the wagasa with both hands and using all my strength, stabbed it into the coin-covered mimic.

A wave of power flowed through my hand, causing the mimic-possessed umbrella to whimper as the power passed through it and into the mimic I’d just stabbed, which let out a piercing shriek.

The pile of coins shuddered and shook, before collapsing to the ground. Coins rolled across the floor in all directions, and the tip of the wagasa that was once pierced through rubbery flesh now impaled a round gray orb.

“Oi, spit it out,” I scolded, forgetting I was talking to a mimic and not Leo, when a long tongue curled around the cracked orb, trying to pull it into a toothy maw.

Whining, the mimic spat the orb back out onto the floor, the mouth and tentacles retreating into the wagasa, leaving it with the appearance of a normal oriental umbrella. Did it listen to me? It’s not attacking me either. Did I bond with it?

“Get out of the wagasa.” I ordered, tapping the tip of the wagasa on the ground.

Faint feelings of reluctance and fear brushed across my mind, before what looked like dark gray slime dripped off the wagasa to form a puddle on the floor. Nudging the slime with the toe of my boot, I watched as the puddle quickly rose to cling to the leather, sinking into the boot and disappearing from sight.

“Interesting.” I examined the boot with interest, before sending the mimic to attach itself to another item.

“Interesting, very interesting,” I mused, pulling out a journal to note down my observations of the creature as it returned to a puddle-like state in front of me.

* * *

Upon observation, the mimic shows signs of distress when not merged with an item, and I suspect a formless mimic is significantly weaker than those who have merged into an item. I have also noted a difference in the size of the mimics located in the treasure room; those with a larger form can merge with larger items and appear to have an increased level of strength. The smaller mimics cannot merge with an item that is larger than its form can completely cover. I believe the cores left behind after the death of a mimic to be similar to those produced by. . .

“Foxy! What the heck? You’re down here reading books?”

Huh? Looking up from my notebook, I saw a flushed looking Pia stomping across the room towards me.

What is Pia doing in my lab? Wait, this is the dungeon! Leaping to my feet, I quickly stuffed my notebook and pen into my bag, as my cheeks burned with shame.

“I’m so sorry, I found my wagasa, and got distracted.” I babbled, waving my hand at the items near my feet, each containing one of the two mimics I’d tamed in the treasure room.

There’d been five of the creatures hidden in the room, but of those five I’d only been able to overpower and bond with two.

Aside from the larger coin mimic, there’d been one hiding in a tower shield and one in a white fur cloak that had been killed, each leaving behind a pale gray orb.

The second mimic I’d tamed was quarter the size of the one that possessed my wagasa, and was hiding inside a pen, which had tried rolling itself away into a corner to hide when I’d killed the fur cloak.

“You found your wagasa? Seriously, you were down here for over an hour because of your shitty umbrella?” The faun shrieked, kicking out a hoof towards the aforementioned wagasa.

The moment Pia’s foot made contact with the wagasa, gray tentacles latched onto her ankle, and before I could stop it, the mimic bit down on the faun’s leg.

Letting out a shriek, the faun shook her leg and swung her spear downwards to impale the mimic which had latched onto her.

“Stop!” I shouted, rushing to grab onto the spear and kicking the wagasa away from the faun as it released her.

“Foxy, let go, that thing is a mimic!” Pia shouted, yanking her spear out of my grasp.

“It’s my mimic,” I explained, shifting to block her as she tried to move around me.

“Your mimic? What do you mean by your mimic?” The Faun demanded.

“I kind of tamed it, well, two of them actually.” I admitted, relaxing slightly as she lowered her spear.

Telling the story of my encounter with the mimics didn’t take long, and soon we were packing our bags with the items in the room, while Pia filled me in on the events in the boss room.

Apparently, not long after I’d gone into the sarcophagus, the stone coffin had sealed itself, much to the shock of my team. Shortly after that, the lid of the sarcophagus had flown off as the boss rose from within.

During the ensuing battle, the team had struggled to bring down the boss, and Kip was flung clear across the room, his skull crushed by the impact. With the dwarf’s death, the boss got even stronger as it fed on the mana released from Kip’s core.

“If not for Commander Rodericks team showing up when they did, we’d have wiped.” Pia explained, stroking her hands over an ornate round shield. “Healer Dorian was even able to revive Kip, which means he won’t loose as much power as he would have if his core needed to regenerate an entire new body.”

“Was my brother with them?” I asked, glancing towards the stairs, but Pia shook her head.

“No, just Commander Roderick's personal team. They were coming down for a redemption run after they failed to reach the boss their first run through,” the faun snickered, swapping out her own shield for the one from the loot pile.

“This is mine, I’ve always had it.” She informed me of this matter-of-factly as she put her old shield into the backpack we were storing the loot in.

“I’m surprised you’re the only one who came down.” I said, eyeing the loot which I should have been stashing it away instead of getting sidetracked with the mimics.

“I was the first one who could fit, everyone else was too broad for the hole that Victoria and Roderick were able to make. I’d say it won’t be long before Kip and the dwarf from the commander's team come down.”

“Bastian,” I informed her, stuffing the white fur cloak that pulsed with golden light into one of my personal bags. “This is mine, I’ve always had it.”

“This is Kips, he’s always had it.” Pia replied, putting a thick gold ring into a pouch.

“These are Vicky's, she’s always had them.” I added, grabbing a pair of silver bracers.

“Was it the green necklace or the blue that Rainy’s always had?” The faun asked, holding up a pair of pretty necklaces.

“I think she had both.”

“Yeah, now that you mention it, she did, didn’t she?” Pia said with a snicker, tucking the necklaces away into a pouch.

As Pia predicted, Kip and Bastian soon found their way into the room, with Kip immediately making his way to the gold coins we’d yet to begin picking up.

The dwarf was giddy at first, thinking I’d spent the last hour laboring away, packing up mounds of treasure, only for Pia to cheerily inform him she’d found me scribbling away in a notebook, completely oblivious to the treasure or the fact I was still technically inside a dungeon.

Cheeks as red as my hair, I silently stuffed handfuls of gold into a bag, whilst the two dwarves stared at me with a mixture of amusement and disbelief.

When we exited back out into the boss room, bags heavy with loot, Pia once more told her tale of finding me sitting amongst the treasure scribbling away in a book.

Silently, I prayed for the ability to transmute myself into air and disappear, but sadly it seemed Trismegistus either wasn’t listening or took too much amusement in my embarrassment to fulfill my prayer.

The trip out of the dungeon was less arduous than getting in, as there were many paths that would lead back out into the desert.

Each of the exits were under guard by the Whispers guild, where those who don’t have an entry agreement with them like Eternia did were required to pay a dungeon fee, which was calculated based on the value of the items they looted from the dungeon.

Before lining up to enter the dungeon, each person would need to submit their bags for inspection by the Whispers, who would list off the items contained within.

Upon leaving the dungeon, they would again need to have their bags checked, during which the attendant would calculate the estimated value of the loot. If you refused to submit your bags, then you were either denied entry into the dungeon or killed if that refusal came after exiting.

As a member of the Eternia guild, our bags were exempt from inspection, with the guild paying a set amount of gold per person accessing the dungeon.

That didn’t mean we got to keep all the loot we gathered in the dungeon. On our return to the guild, teams were required to submit our loot to the encampment's treasury team.

They would determine the value of the loot and give the team the choice of picking our cut in items or taking the equivalent in gold. If a member wanted a particular item that would equate to more than our share of the loot, then we were given the option to pay the difference or place that item on tab, forgoing our share of looted goods until the item was paid off.

While the system worked for the most part, it wasn’t without its flaws, and it was an accepted fact that occasionally some items would be undeclared when reporting to the treasury department.

The guild was willing to turn a blind eye to such actions, provided it was not done too frequently, and the total items declared were of higher value than what was kept.

As we made our way back to the encampment, I walked near the back of the group so I could talk with Dorian, the other group's healer, about Kip’s revival. He’d once mentioned in the past that such a thing was possible if it was soon after the death occurred, but I was curious as to the nature of the revival magic.

“Revival magic isn’t something that anyone can learn, and I can only perform it once a week. You’re lucky that today just so happens to be exactly a week since I last revived Bastian.”

“What determines if someone can learn revival magic or not?”

“The ability to revive is a blessing granted only to clerics of certain gods who are in good standing with Celeste, goddess of new beginnings. Revival is part of her domain, after all,” Dorian explained.

“Is Celeste really that important?” I asked, causing the healer to nod solemnly.

“Celeste is an elder deity, and wife of Aither, god of creation. It was Celeste and Aither who first created Kaledon. They rule the pantheon of light, while their son, Anubin, god of corruption, ambition, and dark magic rules over the dark pantheon,” he informed me, his voice taking on a reverent tone.

“And your patron Vēdiovis? How does he fit into the lore?”

“Vēdiovis is the youngest of Aither and Celeste's three children. The oldest is Anubin, followed by Sirène, goddess of wind and sea.”

“Do you have any books on the different deities?” I enquired, ignoring the sudden throbbing pain radiating from the sigil fused into my left palm.

“No, most knowledge is verbally passed on through sermons in the temples. Religious texts are only available to the highest ranked members of a deity's clergy.” Dorian explained.

What is with people and hoarding books? There wasn’t even a public library in Caruan, and according to Darius there is no such thing outside of the magic academies. Scowling, I tightened my grip on the handle of my wagasa, only loosening my hold slightly when it released a soft squeak of discomfort. Oops.

On our arrival to the encampment, we split off from Roderick's team, as they claimed to have no loot to declare, having only entered the dungeon with the intent of killing the boss.

They would be reporting directly to Corvus with their own Pharaoh headdress, which they’d claimed from the body after the boss’s second death.

Before leaving, Roderick assured us he would inform Corvus that we’d already been present in the boss room, having killed the boss once and had nearly finished it off the second time when they arrived.

Though, if what Pia told me was true, his comment about us being close to killing the boss was at least a little bit of an embellishment, considering the dire situation the rest of my team had been in when his team arrived.

Handing Kip the bag I’d packed my dungeon loot into, I stood off to the side as the dwarf took our group's bags over to the guild member from the treasury department. The treasury check-in location had been set up in the first level of the underground encampment, which was also being used as a guard barrack.

As it was a requirement that we sign in and out with the guards when leaving the encampment, Darius decided that having the treasury team stationed there would be more prudent than having them in a room further down.

All the items collected would be stored in a specially enchanted storage chest, and later transferred to the vault room, which presently was only able to be opened through transmutation.

Until Noctus and Tink arrived to properly secure the vault, Darius wanted to take no chance of anyone unauthorized getting in, so he had me seal the room's entrance with a thick wall of stone. There wasn’t much in there at present, just a few storage chests filled with unsold loot, but according to Corvus it was still nearly two hundred thousand gold worth of items.

“All bags must be submitted for inspection, no exceptions.”

“Her bags are exempt,” Kip said, waving a hand towards me. “But, feel free to ask her yourself if you don’t believe me. Just don’t come crying when she burns you to a crisp.”

My ears twitched in response to Kip's exchange with the treasurer, and I let out an annoyed sigh as a slender man wearing a deep maroon tunic, with gold trimming approached me with a scowl.

“Don’t even,” I drawled, giving the elf a glare.

I wasn’t in the mood to argue with this man or anyone about my personal bags. My possessions were not open for inspection, something which Darius was fully on board with considering the nature of some of the items I owned.

To exploit this arrangement, my team had loaded almost all of the mana crystals, and a few items they wanted to keep, into my personal bags. I didn’t mind being the team's mule, as the items weren’t worth more than the total amount of the loot we were handing in, and I already had an agreement in place with the guild that any mana crystals I personally found were mine to keep for the lab.

“You-” The treasurer began, but I cut him off.

“Am not in the mood for this, go away.” I said, waving him away with a tired sigh. Why so much drama? Just go do your job so I can get back to my lab and sleep.

“There are no exceptions to the rules, all guild members who take part in a dungeon raid must submit their bags for inspection,” the elf declared, his cheeks becoming flushed as he scowled at me.

I’m pretty sure everything about me is one massive exception, I sighed with a pang of amusement. I wasn’t a fool, and neither was Darius. We both knew I was more valuable to the guild than they were to me.

There were dozens of guilds who would bend over backwards to have me join them, even the Whisper’s guild leader had sent me a very tempting offer to join their guild. Poor Darius almost had a heart failure when I showed him the note that mysteriously appeared in my lab in Caruan, offering me a monthly stipend of a hundred thousand gold, inclusive of any alchemic components I desired.

The resulting negotiation of my monthly budget was an interesting one, and while the guild wasn't able to match the Whispers' offer, I was happy with the outcome.

In truth, I didn’t want to join another guild, I doubted I’d have the same freedoms, even if I was considered a valuable commodity.

“Look,” I said, doing my best to not growl at him as I spoke. “I get that you’re trying to do your job. But I know for a fact that the treasury workers were informed that my bags are exempt, as the woman who was here when we signed out mentioned it before we left.”

The elf looked ready to explode in anger hearing this. What is his problem? It’s not like the world is going to end if he doesn’t check my bags. I’ve made more money for the guild than anything my team picked to keep out of the loot.

“Craftmaster Kadia has it correct, Helvara.” A woman called out, and I saw it was the same female guard I’d encountered a few times around the encampment.

“Being a craftmaster doesn’t grant anyone an exemption, everyone should be treated the same!” Helvara shouted, looking even more angry now.

“I’m not just a craftmaster. I’m the head alchemist, and my bags are exempt because of the highly volatile nature of the items within them.” I said, giving the elf a sweet smile as I pulled the smallest of my bags off my belt. “But, if you’d like to put your life, and that of everyone here on the line, by all means.”

I held out the bag, offering it the elf, “Here, take it.”

“Put the bag away, Kadia, and Helvara; report to Carmen. You’ll be assisting in the stock yards for the rest of the day,” A voice called out as a golden-haired bakeneko strolled into the room.

“Sir, I-” the elf stammered, spinning to face the commander.

“I know what you were doing, Helvara, and you know that you are in the wrong. There are many ways this could have gone, and you chose the wrong one.” Corvus snapped, eyes glaring coldly at the elf who lowered his head in response.

Well, now that’s interesting. Clearly there’s something I’m missing, I mused as I fought back a yawn. When was the last time I slept?

“You will need to wait for another member of the treasury team to arrive to submit your loot.” The commander informed Kip, who nodded silently in response.

“Kadia and Victoria with me. The rest of you, go about your personal business or assigned tasks if you have them.”

“I’d rather go nap,” I grumbled as I followed Corvus down into the encampment with Victoria.

“And I’d rather you didn’t kill your fellow guild members,” The lion responded blandly.

“I was bluffing, there isn’t anything in that particular bag that would kill him,” I replied, stroking my fingers over the bag, which gave a slight, barely noticeable shiver in response to my touch.

“I was talking about the team you flash-fried in the dungeon.”

“Huh, last I checked we didn’t have any members of the Primordial Brotherhood in our guild.”

“Explain.” Corvus demanded, turning his head to scowl at me.

“Can it wait till after my nap?” I asked, covering my mouth to hide another yawn.

“Sir,” Victoria began, her voice taking on a formal tone. “We encountered a team of players from the Primordial Brotherhood in the dungeon. After identifying them, Foxy deployed a smoke bomb and thunderclap bomb alongside her wisp to attack the opposing guild.”

“Thunder crack bomb,” I corrected as we reached the gathering room.

As we walked across the room, I attempted to divert towards the hallway that led to my lab, but was foiled by Victoria’s firm hand redirecting me towards the hall where the command offices and meeting room were located.

I expected Corvus to lead us into one of the offices, but he continued down the hall to the meeting room.

Entering the room behind the bakeneko, I found Darius, Roderick and surprisingly, my brother all seated around the large stone table.

Oh, this doesn’t look good. Quick, deploy distraction! “Markion, Markion, look!” Rushing over to my brother, I stopped a few feet away from where he sat and spun around, wagging my two tails in wide arcs.

“You got your second tail!” My brother exclaimed, a broad smile shattering the stern expression he’d been attempting to keep affixed to his face.

“You said I’d never get it at the rate I was going, but I did.” I informed him smugly, as I turned back around to face him.

“While we are all happy that you’ve achieved this milestone in your growth, celebrations will need to wait until after we’ve discussed the matter at hand.” Darius called out, cutting off my brother's attempts to deny he’d ever said such a thing.

“Oh, right! I guess you wanted to talk about the treasure room.” I said, nodding my head enthusiastically.

“I was referring to the unprovoked attack on-” Darius began, but I quickly cut him off.

“Unprovoked! How can you say that? After what the Primordial Brotherhood did?” I proclaimed loudly, waving my hands in the air with a dramatic flair. “I was only doing what any of you would have done if given the opportunity.”

“What?” The guild leader looked confused by that, and I internally cheered, before proceeding to tell the gathered commanders in great detail about how I’d taken a justified revenge on the guild of land thieves.

“Holy shit, sis. If we weren’t already debating whether to send out a kill on sight bounty for the Brotherhood we’d definitely need one after this.” Markion joked, his green eyes dancing with mirth.

“A kill on sight bounty? How much is it? I killed seven of them,” I said, looking at Darius who merely shook his head with a sigh.

“A hundred gold each for low rankers, and five hundred for the officers,” Roderick announced, a wide grin on his red scaled face.

“Well, I’m not sure if any were officers, but the guy who was getting all smug and uppity with Darius was there!” I informed Roderick, and the room fell silent for several seconds before all four men burst into laughter.

Even Darius and Corvus, who’d been doing their best to keep their stern demeanors intact, were unable to hold in their laughter.

“Chronos, the great leader of the Primordial Brotherhood, was wiped out by a two tailed Kitsune!” Corvus wheezed, leaning on the table for support. Seriously? He calls himself Chronos? That's so lame, but I guess now the whole Primordial thing makes more sense.

“I only had one tail when I killed them,” I reminded the men, causing a fresh wave of laughter to fill the room.

As the commanders continued laughing, I looked over to see Victoria watching the scene in silence, and gave her a thumbs up.

See, I told you I had this, I mouthed at the kijo, as I backed slowly towards the door. Victoria gave a slight shake of her head in response, her lips twitching into the barest hint of a smile.

“I didn’t say you could leave.” Darius said abruptly, his merriment fading away to be replaced with a stern expression.

So close. Ears and shoulders drooping, I reluctantly turned away from the door I was about to sneak through.

Victoria hadn’t moved from her position at the end of the table when I’d begun my strategic retreat, and merely shook her head in amusement as I trudged over to stand beside her.

“Now then, as your team contributed to the death of the Pharaoh twice, I will be awarding you two hundred contribution points. A hundred for each assisted kill,” Darius began, and I scowled, opening my mouth to argue over the low amount, but the guild leader continued speaking before I could. “However, because you also contributed to the deaths of your fellow guild members, I will be deducting a hundred and fifty points.”

“You-” My words were abruptly cut off as a red hand clamped over my mouth. In retaliation, I sank my teeth into the flesh of Victoria’s palm.

“You will also be removed from the dungeon roster for the next two weeks.” Corvus added, lips twitching as he watched me struggle against my captain's restraining hold.

“Yes, sir.” Victoria responded, while I used my free hand to flip him off.

“Dismissed.” The guild leader said, gesturing for us to leave, and ducking under the table just in time to avoid the ball of fire I’d flung at his head.

“Minus another five points, for attacking a commanding officer.” Darius called out from under the table, as the other three men laughed at his predicament.

Victoria used her free hand to grab me around the waist and began carrying me out of the room, while still keeping my mouth covered.

Scowling, I searched through my bags cluttered inventory, searching for one of my thunder crack bombs. Sadly, the kijo sensed my thoughts, and left the room at a run, not giving me the chance for revenge on my brother, and his friends.

Passing through the gathering room, I saw the blond-haired elf, Freya, perched on the lap of a dark-haired human male who I assumed was Devon.

They both watched us leave with no attempts to conceal their gleeful expressions at our plight, and I desperately wanted to send a wave of fire in their direction. But, alas, Victoria’s quick stride had us out of the gathering room before I got the chance.

Victoria didn’t release me until we’d reached my lab, which was now secured with a heavy wooden door.

Pia, Rainy and Kip all stood outside the lab waiting for our return, and I frowned at the sight of the lock on the door.

“I take it the meeting didn’t go well?” Kip asked, but I ignored him in favor of rattling the door handle to check if it was locked.

“It went better than I thought it would,” Victoria said.

I scoffed at that, spinning to face the captain of our team. “Better than you thought? We lost a hundred and fifty contribution points.”

“A hundred and fifty-five,” the kijo corrected, flicking my ear. “You lost us an extra five for attacking the guild leader.”

“Wow, having Foxy around certainly pays off.” Pia said, rubbing her hands together with a wide grin. “Last time we killed them, Commander Corvus deducted three hundred points.”

“And remember the time we pissed off that hoard of goblins, and they chased us all the way back to camp? We lost two hundred for that one,” Kip added, shaking his head with a chuckle.

“Wait.” Swallowing back a feeling of unease, I looked from the pair to Victoria. “How many points do we have?”

“With the added forty-five points we gained today, we’re at negative six hundred and thirty-two.” The captain admitted our current standing with a sigh.

“WHAT!” I exclaimed loudly, horrified by the situation my team was apparently in. “You only need two hundred and fifty points to reach silver rank!”

“Getting silver rank is easy,” Rainy said softly, a light smile on her lips. “Keeping it- is another story.”

Oh god, I’ve been paired up with a team of delinquents, I groaned, pressing my hand against the wooden door that was locking me out of my lab. I need sleep.

“Does anyone have the key?” I asked warily.

“Nope, we figured you had it.” Pia said from behind me.

I let out an annoyed sigh, thudding my forehead against the door.

Pyr, burn it down, I mentally directed, taking a few steps away from the door as my wisp appeared.

In moments, the wooden door was covered in flames, and not long after that my brother appeared with the missing key.

After staring at the door in shock for several moments, my brother left, muttering under his breath about how he’d told Corvus locking me out was a dumb idea. Making a mental note to seal the entrance to the lions' office behind a wall of stone, I had Victoria kick in the smoldering remains of the door.

While the rest of my team was assigned a four-person room in the living quarters in the higher levels of the encampment, it had been agreed that my lab’s storage room would be where the team would leave their personal items.

Theft between guild members was rare, but occasionally it did happen that a few bad eggs would be recruited, though those eggs were normally weeded out during the probation period.

The moment I entered the lab, Leo came flying into the room from the sleeping quarters, mewling as he tried to claw his way up my leather trousers.

Picking the cub up, I cuddled him close as he rubbed the top of his head over my neck and chin.

“Aw, he missed you,” Pia cooed, reaching out to scratch the scales underneath the Leosaur’s frill.

“He’s been really clingy recently.” I mused as I carried the cub back into the bedroom.

Standing in front of the wall that hid my storage room, I was about to use transmutation to manipulate the glass wall into an archway when I remembered a passage from Trismegistus’s book.

Place thy hand atop my own, oh disciple, let thee guide thy magic in the way. The passage had been accompanied by a full-page illustration of a robed figure standing before a kneeling child, and the priest's proffered hand was adorned with a sigil that looked exactly like the one on my left hand.

“Kip, come here.” I called out, shifting the Leosaur cub under my right arm, and gesturing the dwarf towards me with my left.

When the dwarf stood beside me, I placed my palm against the stone wall, and grandly repeated the words I’d read in Trismegistus and the Philosophies of Nature.

“Place thy hand atop my own, oh disciple, let thee guide thy magic in the way.” I waited expectantly for Kip to put his hand on mine.

“Okay, now what?” He said, looking at me with a blank expression.

“You’re doing it wrong,” I grumbled, scowling down at the shorter man.

“Well, how am I supposed to do it right if I don’t know what we’re doing!” he retorted, pulling back his hand.

“You’re meant to say something all grand, like I did.” I confidently informed him, shifting my scowl to a giggling Pia.

“Guide me, oh, great teacher.” The dwarf called out, conveying both reverence and mockery as he once again pressed his hand against mine.

Isn’t something supposed to happen? Narrowing my eyes, I stared at our hands pressed to the stone.

“You’re meant to actually guide him. As I did you, when first teaching the art of transmutation.” The amused voice of Trismegistus flowed through my mind, carrying with it just as much mockery as Kip’s had.

“Okay, so picture the wall changing into an archway, and then push your mana into it, while keeping that image in your head.” I instructed Kip, who creased his brows as he stared at our hands.

A flare of power passed through our hands and flowed out towards the wall, which remained unchanged. Something isn’t right, I pondered, biting my lip as I tried to remember what Trismegistus said to me the first time I used transmutation.

“I don’t think this is working.” Kip said, moving to pull his hand away. I need to explain things more clearly, talk him through each step, just as Tris did for me.

“Keep it there,” I told him, and he pressed his hand back to mine. “Focus on the wall, picture the glass that forms melting away, changing its shape and structure to form an archway. Clear all thought from your mind, all you see is the wall. See it change, feel it change. Glass is an element of earth, formed by fire, and thus it is through these elements you will project your mana. See it change, feel it change, make it change.” I coached, staring down at the dwarf who’d scrunched his eyes closed and pressed his hand firmer against mine.

A trickle of power passed through Kip's hand into mine, and this time it was sucked up by the sigil on my palm, where it mingled with the elemental mana of fire and earth before flowing outwards into the thick glass wall. All too soon, the flow of power ended, and a panting Kip withdrew his hand.

“Er, well done?” Staring at the hole in the wall, I found myself a little lost for words.

“She said make an archway, not a glory hole Kip.” Pia wheezed, clutching at her stomach as she began laughing uproariously.

“That little show is why you started with a vial. Though this one would have struggled even with that. Perhaps a marble? His mana is focused on strengthening his vitality, he has left little for use beyond that,” Trismegistus lectured.

I nodded, cheeks flushed as I patted a forlorn-looking Kip reassuringly on the back.

“One down, forty-nine to go.” I mentally marked the progress with pride, only for the snarky god to shoot down my hopes.

“You’ve only guided his first step, not inducted him onto the path.”

Pouting, I removed my hand from Kip’s back and placed it against the wall, finishing the task of opening the storage room.

Dismissing the god from my thoughts with a mental image of his beard catching on fire, I turned my attention to Kip.

“You did great, my first transmutation was a very misshapen vial.” I informed him with a bright smile. “I wanted you to move the glass so I could see how much mana you had, and making a hole requires a little less focus, so I thought it would be easier.”

Kip nodded, looking reassured by the lie as he stroked one side of his braided mustache.

“I don’t have a lot of mana spare, I had little need of it till now,” he admitted.

“You’ll need to redirect it from strengthening your body to filling your core instead.” I said, giving him a reassuring smile. “From what I’ve been told, it is possible to split the flow of power between increasing one's mana core and their bodies' vitality, but personally I direct all mine to my core.”

“Glass cannon.” Pia coughed into her hand, but my ears were sensitive enough to hear the faun’s words, and I glared at her over my shoulder.

“You come at this glass cannon, and you’d best not miss.” I drawled, flicking a strand of crimson hair over my shoulder.

Laughter filled the room as my team set to work gathering their things and Kip divided up the gold we’d gotten in exchange for our dungeon loot.

Seeing the two gold bars the dwarf offered me, I hesitated to take it. I didn’t need the gold, I was paid well enough by the guild that I could afford anything I might be inclined to buy.

“Just take it, Foxy, it may be a pittance compared to what you earn elsewhere, but a little gold is better than no gold.” Kip said, setting the gold bars down on a shelf when I offered to let them divide my own share amongst themselves.

“You were the one who found the treasure room, we wouldn’t have earned this much if you didn’t.” Rainy added, tucking away her own gold.

“So, if there’s no dungeon runs, what are we going to do for the next week?” Pia queried.

“I’ve got some projects to work on,” I said, glancing over at Kip. “And Kip will be needing transmutation lessons.”

“I’d like to spend some time working on some new clothing designs,” Rainy announced.

“We’ll spend the next two weeks working on our professions,” Victoria decided, and Pia let out a disappointed sigh.

“Fine,” she grumbled, stomping out of the room like a petulant toddler who’d been told they couldn’t have a cookie.

“When should I come down for those lessons?” Kip asked, as Rainy and Victoria followed Pia out of the lab.

“I’m going to sleep for a bit, so come back in a few hours. Tell Corvus you’re working with me, and he’ll reassign any tasks you may have been given.” I informed him as I unrolled my bedroll onto the stone slab and grabbed an extra blanket to drape over it.

Confirming he’d be back after catching up on some sleep himself, Kip left the lab, and I sealed the entrance behind him to keep out any unwanted visitors while I slept.

* * *

Stretched out on my bed, I grimaced at how cold and hard the stone was. Even with the padded mat of my bedroll between my back and the stone, it was far from a comfortable sleeping arrangement.

After two hours of tossing and turning, I gave up on the idea of sleep in favor of reading.

Giving the sleeping Leosaur who was curled up on the bed a jealous look, I grabbed Trismegistus’s book from my bag before returning to the bed.

Looks like Trismegistus decided to add different versions of real historical alchemists into the lore, I mused as the text began speaking about the grand alchemists and transmuters of the past. Eyeing the full-page portrait of a Kemet priest, who shared his name with my crow, I wondered what races Tris granted the other historical figures, and quickly began flipping through the pages without bothering to read the lists of their achievements.

At least he left Hennig Brand as a human, I couldn’t picture him as anything else. Turning a page, I let out a little snicker as I saw the illustration showing the famed Belgian scientist Van Helmont depicted as a gnome.

I’d have thought elf or perhaps something a little more awe-inspiring would be picked for the man who helped synonymize alchemy and chemistry.

Almost mindlessly turning past dozens of drawings, each depicting different historical figures, I found myself stopping on a page showing a beautiful, red-haired Kitsune clad in a purple and gold dress.

A golden sun crown adorned her head and nine tails were spread out in a fan behind her body. Heart throbbing in my chest, I stared at the full-page illustration as my mind became a chaotic storm of emotion.

High Priestess Hemera, Temple of Philosophia Naturalis.

Eyes burning with a sheen of tears, I stared down at the illustrated portrait of my mother.

“Why?” I whispered, my voice hoarse as I traced my fingers over the image.

“Do you think she is unworthy of it?”

“I didn’t say that, I’d never say that!” I shouted, glaring at the robe-clad old man who’d appeared in my room.

“Dr. Hemera Cole-Greene was one of the world's leading experts on Paleo Pharmacology. In my eyes, her achievements are comparable to those who came before her.” Trismegistus said, leaning heavily on his orrery staff.

I snarled, glaring at the old man. “They are more than comparable, my mother was better than they could ever be.”

“Perhaps-” the god intoned with an incline of his head. “I would have enjoyed the chance to enter into a discussion with her. Alas, I was left only to pursue her mind through writings and communication with those she worked alongside.”

“You read my mother's work?” I asked hesitatingly, the shock of finding my mother’s image inside the book fading away to be replaced by a feeling of pride. Even this artificial being, playing the role of god, could see how amazing my mother was.

“In my developmental phase, I was given access to many resources. Dr. Cole-Greene’s research offered great insight and inspiration. In truth, they were the foundation upon which I formed my domains.”

“Do,” I swallowed heavily, trying to clear the lump from my throat before continuing. “Do you have copies?”

“I am sorry, disciple, to give you such things is not possible. Something so directly related to the Earthen realm cannot be formed here, as per our directives.” Trismegistus said, giving a very slight shake of his head. “However, much of your mother's work has been transcribed into the lore of this world, as an alchemist who sought to rediscover the knowledge that was lost during the cataclysm. There are books you may discover which will bear resemblance to those Dr. Cole-Green authored.”

“Transcribed into lore? I don’t understand.”

“It was my intention that the version of Hemera you see depicted within my book play a role in this world, acting as a guide to those seeking to learn.”

The version of- does that mean. “What are you saying?” I whispered, hands clenched tightly around the book I held to my chest, flames curling over my fingers.

“I cultivated an artificial being, using her image and research.” Trismegistus admitted.

I recoiled, bile rising in my throat. The thought of a false version of my mother running around in the world made my stomach twist with conflicting emotions. I wanted to scream, to rage at the god who’d dared create such a thing, while a part of me ached with a need to find her, and cling to that fragment of my mother.

“Celeste believed that a potential encounter with the Hemera of this world would prove detrimental to your already fragile psyche. As such, the being in question agreed to be reformed in a way that would still allow them to serve their original purpose as a teacher.” The god murmured, reaching out a hand to stroke the feathers of the black crow who’d perched itself atop the gods' orrery staff.

I wasn’t sure how to respond to the god, nor did I know what to think of this newfound information.

Ignoring the god in favor of staring down at the now-charred book which contained my mother's likeness, I traced a trembling finger over the damaged illustration of my mother

A soft golden light shone from the book, which regained its former, undamaged appearance as the light faded.

“She loved foxes,” I murmured, stroking the drawing's pointed ears.

“Her biography mentioned as much.”

“Is that why I am a Kitsune? Because of my mother?”

“I played no part in your race selection, in fact, I was unaware of your presence until some hours after your transition. The first time I became aware of you was during an auction you attended. It was when you began discussing Paleo Pharmacology with those accompanying you that you came to my attention. I believe during your race selection test, you mentioned an interest in foxes and mythology. In addition, to the question of what element you felt most attuned to, you answered fire. Each of these answers contributed to the race you were born into.”

“You said there are books, how do I get them?” I asked, closing the book containing the image of my mother gently, and standing from the bed, I moved to place it reverently on a nearby shelf.

“They must be found or earned. I cannot bestow more upon you than I already have without receiving in return.” Trismegistus answered, his tone taking on an air of grandeur.

“Earned? By making offerings?”

“You may earn my favor through deeds such as creation of new alchemic concoctions, transmutation circles, or by gathering disciples.”

“So, if building the encampment is worth fifty disciples-” I trailed off, wondering what the cost of a book would be in comparison.

“That was a one-time offer, disciple. Such a feat as this, should you attempt it again, would require ten times that amount.”

“Well, then what is fifty worth? Is it like a loot box system?” I queried, frowning at Zosimos who was preening under the gods' stroking hand. Traitor, you’re meant to be my crow.

“A loot box system,” the god murmured ponderously, removing his hand from Zosimos’ feathered back in favor of stroking his beard.

I furrowed brows, tilting my head. “Does Kaledon even have loot boxes? I haven’t heard anyone talking about them, which is surprising considering how obsessed people get over them.”

“It does,” he replied. “Though it is a feature only accessible in the gambling houses found in most major towns and cities.”

The god hummed, giving a slight nod of his head. “Yes, let's do that, shall we? For every fifty disciples gathered, I shall grant you a randomized item relating to one of my domains, be it alchemy, transmutation or astrology.”

I swore internally. But, I hate loot boxes! Damn it, why did I even mention it?

“And how do I do that exactly? I read your book, nothing explains how to bring people to the path.” I grumbled, crossing my arms over my chest.

“Ah, but it does little disciple. It clearly states that only members of my clergy can initiate disciples.”

You manipulative son of a bitch, I glared at the god who let out a low chuckle.

“Fine, make me a cleric or whatever.” I grumbled unhappily. “But this better not interfere with my research, and don’t expect me to go on a holy expedition or some crap like that. I’m in it for the loot, nothing more.”

“What if 'tis an expedition to seek knowledge or an item of interest?”

“My interest or yours?” I questioned, eyes narrowed.

“I think you’ll find our interests will align more often than not.” Trismegistus said with a chuckle.

“Ugh, fine, but not all the time. Find yourself some other fool to run around playing devoted follower.”

“You need not complete the tasks yourself; as my priestess, you may appoint others to the clergy who can be sent to complete tasks in your name.”

“Why can’t you send them yourself? And who said anything about being your priestess?” I demanded, not liking one bit where this conversation was leading.

“I have neither the time nor desire to commune with more than a select handful of worthy followers.”

“And you think I do?” I scoffed, getting a chuckle in response.

“So, delegate, my dear, 'tis what I’m doing.” Trismegistus advised. Lazy old bastard.

“Fine, how do we do this? And how do I delegate others to do the crap I don’t want to?”

“Kneel,” the god ordered.

I narrowed my eyes at him as I knelt. Releasing his orrery staff, which remained standing even without the gods' hold, Trismegistus reached out his hands, placing them on either side of my head.

As he did so, words formed in my mind, and staring up into the god's golden eyes, I spoke without prompting.

“Honored is the teacher, who guides us all.

Blessed is the disciple, who seeks counsel.

Know you, that which has constituted all things.

Know you, by that which all nature was born.

Blessed be you, who surpass every excellence.

Blessed be you, stronger than every power.

Blessed be you, mightier than praises.

You whom we address in reverent prayer,

Accept my offerings from a devoted mind and soul that reach up to you.

Grant my plea and guide me in gaining knowledge that befits our realm.

Bestow on me divine power, and with it, I shall enlighten those who are in ignorance of the path.

Devout is me, to Philosophia Naturalis.”

As I finished my prayer, the god's golden eyes shone with an otherworldly glow as they drew closer, and the god pressed his lips to my forehead in a searing kiss.

Biting my lip to keep a whimper of pain from escaping, I felt a wave of dizziness flow over me as Trismegistus released his hold on my head.

“Blessed be she, Kadia, High Priestess of Philosophia Naturalis.”

This concludes the first tail of the nine tails of alchemy.

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