《Untitled Demon Book》


 Chapter 1 - Hell is Boring as Hell

    Hell is a terrible place. I''m sure, you''ve heard stories about it, but the reality is, as often the case, much worse. Unless you''re the follower of a few of the mortal religions, then you probably believe in a bunch of terrible nonsense... I swear, only mortals could imagine a place where they will be tortured indefinitely after death and scare their children with it. Don''t get me wrong, many demons would love to torture a mortal or two, or a hundred. But there are no mortals in Hell...


    No, Hell is mostly an endless war. War and faction politics, which is mostly threats of war. But the worst part is if you don''t die in the first few hundred years, it gets incredibly boring: there is a finite amount of slaughter, treason, dismemberment, rape, and cannibalism one can enjoy in their lifetime. Unless you''re a Wraith demon, of course, and you get off on killing and then hate-fucking anything that moves - they have the most fun in Hell.


    But I''m not a Wraith demon, which is why I jumped on the first summoning ritual of sufficient strength and matching requirements and was pulled to the middle plane, where mortals live and, according to some of my acquaintances, the most fun is.


    I was expecting to appear in some spacious stone-laid ritual chamber surrounded by cultists in dark robes, candles and maybe a few sacrifices. But instead, I was standing in a small wooden shack, no more than 5 feet across, lit by a single torch in a sconce. I looked under my feet. I stood on a summoning circle that occupied most of the room and was carefully drawn with chalk. I always thought that you needed to draw it with blood, but maybe that was just another mortal quirk and not an actual requirement to summon a demon. Speaking of mortals... My eyes fell on a single person in the room, she looked like a human girl, pretty small, maybe 12 or 13 years old, she laid on her back near the circle, not moving, but breathing. It looked like she has exerted herself while performing the summoning ritual and lost consciousness. I wondered how she could''ve succeeded at all. Small shards of a red stone laid beside her, I bent and stretched my arm to try and grab them, but was met with an invisible wall surrounding the summoning circle.


    There are a few ways to bring a demon to another plane, one of which is a summoning ritual. It is a complicated spell, with many parts, and it''s complexity increases with the power of the demon you want to summon. One of the reasons is that you simply need more mana to bring a stronger being to another plane, so you need a bigger and more intricate spell circle to channel this mana through. Another is that summoning ritual was created with multiple fail-safe mechanisms in them to ensure the summoned being follows the orders of the summoner, and they also need to be scaled accordingly. One of those mechanisms is the barrier calculated to withstand the power of the summoned before summoner made sure that the demon (or other summoned being, you can do it with a lot of creatures) is properly bound. Another one is a contract spell, which places restrictions according to summoner''s wishes.


    But since my summoner was unconscious, I was stuck in the barrier for the time being. I didn''t exactly have any urgent matters, but just sitting in a tight place wasn''t my preferred time of activity. I gave the girl a better look, as much as I could see from inside the barrier. She was small, had a really pale complexion and chestnut hair around shoulders in length. She wore a plain well-worn grey dress and was barefoot. She looked more like a lost child than a mage capable of pulling someone from another plane of existence.


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    After a few minutes, the girl twitched lightly and opened her eyes. She sat and looked around like she was lost and sleepy at the same time. She laid her eyes on me and suddenly screamed with a high pitched voice, not standing up crawled as far away from the circle as possible in the shack''s corner and covered her head with her hands. I didn''t need any powers to know she was scared of me, fear was pretty much universal across all planes and creatures, except undead. What was she expected when she performed a ritual? A Hellhound puppy? I sighed mentally and knocked on the barrier with my fingers, making a glass clicking sound.


    "Release me", I calmly told her.


    The girl looked at me with one green eye and hid back in her hands, trying to make herself even smaller. I should probably try to be as less threatening as possible if I want to leave the summoning barrier without returning to Hell. I looked at my hands which were made out of the thick semi-transparent shadow, the same shadow all my body was made of. ''That probably won''t work like that,'' I thought to myself and changed my form. I willed my shadows to take the form of a similar human girl, after which I adjusted it to not be her twin: I become slightly bigger to appear a few years older, changed my hair to be shorter and black, and matched the color of my eyes. I adjusted facial traits to be more sharp and serious. I didn''t know what girls in this day and age wore, so I just copied my summoner''s dress and made it deep purple, almost black. My raspy voice from the depths of Hell probably also didn''t help, I altered it too. I never tried to become human before, but infiltration and change are ones of the main aspects of most Envy demons, so it wasn''t really a big deal and took me only a few seconds.


    "Hey, what''s your name?" I asked the girl with a voice an older girl might have.


    That seemed to work, the girl gave me another glance and didn''t hide right away, instead, she looked me over carefully and seemed to relax a little.


    "A-amelia", she replied quietly, still shaken.


    I gave her a slight smile. "Now, Amelia, why don''t you remove the barrier and let me out, so I could stretch a bit? It''s pretty tight in here."


    Amelia shook her head side to side. "The book said I should never do this until you promise to do as I say!"


    "And what book would that be?"


    She pulled out a book that she was hiding behind and showed it to me. It was a brown leather-bound book, written in Common on the front was "Demon summoning from Aasmo''g to Zurbulon for novices and advanced." Both the name and the scope of the book sounded ridiculous, it is impossible to even list all the demons in such a small tome. But the girl seemed to at least be aware of the basics.


    "Where did you get that?"


    The girl hesitated for a moment, but then replied. "I took it from the evil mister! This and the crystal."


    I pointed to the shards on the floor. "This crystal?"


    The girl nodded. I see, the crystal probably amplified her abilities or provided all mana needed for summoning spell to work. It was still impressive, though, she wouldn''t have been able to pull it off without lots of training.


    "Who taught you how to use magic, Amelia?"


    The girl shook her head. "I''ve seen the evil mister use it from the book, I stole the book and his crystal."


    I nodded, so she was just talented, "Good. Then why don''t you tell me what you need, and I''ll see if I can make it happen."


    The girl straightened herself and sat straight. She looked into my eyes, without any fear this time. "Please, miss demon, help me kill the evil mister and save my friends!"

 Chapter 2 - Even Hell Has Standards

    Girl''s eyes have been filled with resolve and determination. "Evil mister took me and my friends and locked us up. Help me free them! Please." Amelia clarified her request.


    "Okay," I replied without hesitation. Getting out of the barrier first, asking for details later.


    "Do you promise to help me and not hurt me or my friends, miss demon?"


    I smiled, the book she read probably had some good advice on contract details and Amelia was smart enough to follow them. I didn''t plan on hurting a child, of course, but I can admire being thorough.


    "I promise. And stop with miss demon thing, my name''s Vivi''xidan." Well, half of it translated to Common, at least.


    Amelia mouthed it silently for a bit. "Is Vivi okay?"


    "Sure." It also probably wasn''t the best idea to introduce myself by demon name on this plane if I wanted to blend in.


    The girl nodded, then opened her summoning book and started reading. Probably was trying to find how to release the barrier... I gave her some time. After a couple of minutes, she closed the book, stretched her arm, touched the barrier and said a simple "Release!".


    With the quiet sound of shattered glass, the barrier restraining me was broken and my awareness was assaulted by new feelings. I inhaled deeply trying to feel this new world... Now that mana was able to flow to me, I immediately felt many new auras from outside: people walking nearby, background mana flow, my summoner also had a magical aura that felt more potent than average people I could feel outside.


    Amelia suddenly bent down and started coughing. I realized that probably I overdid it when I pulled background mana and choked the little girl with its flow. I stopped and caught her before she could fall.


    "Sorry, sorry. I will be more careful next time."


    Amelia took a few deep breaths. "I am okay, thank you."


    "Now why don''t you tell me who is the evil mister and what exactly happened?"


    Amelia sighed deeply. "I''m not sure who he is, but a few days ago he came to our orphanage with other armed people, they threatened our teachers and took me and all my friends. They locked us in some creepy place, I don''t know why, but I''m sure it''s nothing good. I''ve seen the mister use crystals and books to do magic stuff. So while he was away, I slipped between bars in my cell, grabbed some book, a crystal and ran away. I wanted to call for help, but city guards didn''t believe me. I read part of the book, and it says that I can use magic to summon help, so I did!"


    I nodded and smiled at her. "Lead the way, Amelia."


    We went out of the shack, and I found myself on the edge of a small town, it''s been late evening sometime after sunset. We moved through quiet streets without meeting anyone else. Amelia led us to a big two-story-high house not far away surrounded by a tall wooden fence. We stopped near the fence on the side opposite the entrance.


    "Now, I''m going inside and will help your friends. You need to stay here and out of sight, understood?"


    Amelia nodded. "He kept us in the basement, by the way... Will you be alright on your own?"


    "Sure thing, no person unable to wield their own magic is a match for me, don''t worry." I smiled at the girl and hopped over the 3-meter tall fence in one motion.


    I landed behind the house, looked around and concentrated on my surroundings. Not counting Amelia I felt only one other magical aura nearby, in the basement, along with some humanoids in different parts of the house and nearby. I started circling the house slowly until I spotted a back door, which, by the looks of it, led right into the basement. Good, it seems like it can be more quiet operation than I expected.


    A lone guard stood near the door, he looked bored. He was a tall man with brown hair and a bushy beard. He wore leather armor and carried a short sword on his hip. He also was too easy. I stepped into the shadows near the house and become practically invisible. I was able to get right behind him without him even noticing me or suspecting anything. I reached my arm and covered his mouth before he could make a sound. Shadow tendrils crept into his throat and blocked the airflow to his lungs. He choked in the manner of seconds and I carefully lowered his body on the ground.


    I even giggled gleefully, first assassinated mortal! I wasn''t all that big on killing things, but as an Envy demon, I craved the experience of doing something for the first time. And I always loved a clean infiltration job, it''s an art, in a way, for me. I checked the guard''s pockets and found a key on a ring that I used to unlock the backdoor. I stealthily moved through the basement, following the hint of magical aura I sensed, until I reached another closed door. I stopped concentrating on sounds and auras inside, here it was easy to sense a dozen of other weak auras behind the door, probably the children Amelia asked me to rescue.


    I slightly pushed the door and peeked inside, I could see a room lit with torches, some tables sat by the perimeter of it, with different things and books on them, and a single man moving between them doing something. He looked distracted, so I was expecting another clean kill. I slipped inside, but as soon as I stepped into the room a loud screeching noise echoed starting somewhere from under my feet.


    I looked down and noticed a glowing spell circle. It didn''t look like a trap, it was a passive alarm specifically against silent intruders... or small kids running away. My cover was blown. The man reacted fast, he grabbed one of the red crystals from the table, turned around and pointed his finger at me. A split-second after, white glowing lines appeared around it, forming an intricate circular pattern. The pattern quickly dissolved, and with ear-shattering sound, a lightning stroke from his finger right in my midsection. I was caught off-guard by the alarm and didn''t have time to dodge or protect myself. I screamed in pain of being struck by electricity, it wasn''t much compared to what I''ve been through in Hell, but feeling it in the mortal realm was new and different.


    Crystal, which "evil mister" used, broke into small pieces and he quickly grabbed another one from the table. Seeing that I was still standing, he charged another lightning bolt. This time I was ready, I ducked, and the bolt zipped above my head. I dashed forward, covering the distance between us in a blink, and kicked him in a knee. He lost balance and started falling, I caught him with my left hand and grabbed him by the neck. I raised him above me until his feet broke away from the floor. Before I could kill him though, I''ve heard a voice from behind.


    "Vivi!"


    I turned around and saw another guard holding Amelia with a sword pressed to her neck.


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    "Release him or I will kill the girl!" The guard tried to threaten me.


    I looked him up and down. "Why do you think I care about her?" I replied to him with my usual shadowy voice while looking in his eyes.


    The guard visibly tensed, fear started creeping in his soul. "You wouldn''t be here if you didn''t want to release the kids!"


    I grinned to him widely, my smile breaking all limits a human can smile, showing him my teeth. "I''m just following my contract, there is no compassion in Hell."


    Kids started crying in the back, my aura of fear touched them too. They will probably have nightmares either from it or from all kidnapping experience. But it worked as intended, the guard was paralyzed in fear. I snapped the neck of the man I''ve been holding all this time, and with it, the guard''s heart stopped too. He fell on the spot, Amelia was free, but scared even more than the first time she saw me.


    I approached her and patted her on the head. "Shh. You have nothing to fear anymore, it''s over." I smiled to hear trying to be least threatening. "Here, why don''t you help your friends?" I gave her the key. "I''m sure they will be happier if it was you than me."


    Amelia took the key with a shaking hand and darted away from me to the cells where other kids were locked. She started unlocking them and trying to calm them down. She was taller than most of them, probably one of the oldest, but equally as malnutritioned as the others.


    I left her to deal with the kids and investigated the room. This room looked much more suitable for demon summoning than the shack Amelia summoned me in. For starters, it had candles and torches, different magical books and contraptions on the tables, including a few more of those crystals. The floor was covered with a huge spell circle, probably drawn in blood, but very old. I wasn''t sure of its purpose, but it was big and complicated, which usually means powerful. The mage himself looked like a more typical cultist too, he was bald, withered and in a black robe, he had a pretty ritualistic dagger on his belt. I rummaged through his pockets and robe, checked titles of books and looked through things on the table for anything interesting. After I''m done with the contract, I was planning to stick around enjoying all the goods the middle realm has, so I might need some of those things.


    I found a few dozen gold and silver coins. I also took a few of those crystals, it looked like they were made of concentrated mana that can be used to cast spells if the caster can not pull in enough mana themselves or don''t have enough of their own. They aren''t really useful to me in spellcasting, but I can think of a few other uses for them.


    Books were mostly about demons and mortal magic. Again, useless to me, demons use magic differently, but I took a tome titled "Spellcasting for dummies. Fifty easy to learn and master spells." I also grabbed the guard''s dagger, it might be useful. I didn''t take cultist''s dagger, deciding to leave it as evidence. I deposited the items in my extradimensional inventory and tucked the dagger under my dress.


    While I was rummaging through the stuff, Amelia released and gathered all the kids. They looked lost, but organized. This girl might have a great future if she survives everything Fate has for her in-store.


    "What next, mi- Vivi?"


    "I was planning to leave cleanup and your return to the town''s guard, let''s go find some?"


    Amelia hesitated for a bit. "They didn''t help me before, why do you think they will now?"


    "Well, I can be... persuasive." I winked at her with a smile.


    We went outside and found a guard patrol. At first, they were wary of me and my party if 15 children, but some demonic persuasion can go a long way...


    "If you look through this house, you will be able to find remains of a cultist I dispatched. He abducted those children for an evil ritual, truly he is the lowest scum. Please, make sure they''re safely returned to their homes." I smiled at the guard while looking in his eyes.


    He nodded. "Yes, of course, it''s our duty to protect the weak and the law!" He looked to another guard. "Find sergeant and tell him what''s going on, I will make sure kids are safe. Let''s go, kids, I will protect you with my life if needed!" I didn''t need a lot of mind manipulation to achieve this, maybe the guard was a decent man on his own.


    "Thank you... Vivi." Amelia hesitated and then hugged me. I was lost for a moment, then patted her on the back. Hugs wasn''t a new experience for me, of course - one of my succubus friends is really good at cuddling. But it was the first time in this context. With that expression of gratitude, I felt the contract spell, binding me, dissolve, and I was free to explore this new realm. But first...


    "Here is a little gift for you." I gave Amelia the spellcasting book I took before. "You have great talent and potential in you. If you study, one day you will become a strong mage and will be able to protect your friends without my help."


    Amelia took the book and bowed slightly. "Thank you again! Hope we meet again, Vivi! Goodbye!" She waved me and ran away to follow the guard and other kids.


    I waved back at her and muttered to my self: "I doubt it, but stranger things have happened..."


    <hr>


    I sat in one of the town''s taverns drinking ale, it was one of the drinks of the mortal realm that fellow demons rated highly on their to-do-when-summoned lists. It was pretty good, I shall admit. Mortals certainly knew how to make good drinks and food. When I was in the middle of a third pint, a voice interrupted me.


    "Hey, is it you who freed the kids from this scumbag?"


    I looked up. The voice belonged to a tall woman in leather armor with a big sword on her back. She looked pretty young, with smiley face, slightly curly ginger hair up to her ears, both of which had silver earrings in form of a crescent moon. She grinned at me with a wide smile. Accompanying her was a slender man in a dark blue robe. He was leaning on a tall and intricate wooden staff, taller than he was, adorned with some white crystal on top. Those two couldn''t look more different.


    "I am," I replied to her.


    "Great! I''m Helena and this is my friend Arthur, you did a great job." She stretched her hand to me.


    "Vivienne", I introduced myself and shook her hand. Good manners can go a long way.


    They sat at my table and Helena got to her business right from the start, I got a feeling this girl loved the sound of her voice. "We''ve heard from the guards about the kids. We are traveling adventures, passing through the town, and guards said they have never seen you before. So we thought if you might also be a free adventurer and you would be able to help us in a small endeavor?"


    I smiled at her. It looks like I''m growing a taste for adventure...

 Chapter 3 - All Paths Lead Somewhere

    Before I could reply to Helena''s offer, another person came to our table. His figure was tall and intimidating, wrapped in a long coat covering all of his body except his face. His face was of light grey color, he had long ears and grey, almost white, hair. I guess his species was called night elf? I''m not an expert in mortals, I can name 2640 types of Sloth demons, though.


    "Hey, Silai!" Helena greeted him, "This is the girl the guards told us about, I''ve just been telling her about our quest."


    The night elf, apparently named Silai, looked at me intensely for a long moment. "Aren''t you a bit young to be killing cultists and what not?"


    "I am older than I look", I replied. Yeah, I probably should''ve changed my form to more adult one before talking with the guard, but I was caught in a moment and just realized it. Well, I''ll see where this goes...


    Silai didn''t look convinced and become even more suspicious, but before he could voice his concerns, Helena intervened. "Don''t stare at people, it''s rude. If she''s capable and on the good side, it''s all okay in my book. Relax!"


    Silai sat at the table with us, everyone ordered their drinks, and Helena finally got to explain why they have approached me.


    "So, about the task. We''ve come from Arturel because one of the trading caravans got missing, local lord and authorities hired us to investigate. We followed the path which caravan should''ve taken until we came here, but we didn''t find any traces of its disappearance. Looks like it got lost even earlier, so we need to keep backtracking it. But here we learned that a few more caravans disappeared and some townspeople haven''t returned. So whatever the cause, it''s not a single occurrence. I hope it''s orcs or some other band of misfits just ambushing travelers and caravans..."


    I didn''t know what those "orcs" are, but I wouldn''t blow my cover. She spoke about it like it''s some widespread knowledge, so asking would probably reveal that I''m not from this plane. Instead, I asked another important thing. "Why do you need me for this?"


    "If it''s orcs," Helena continued, "people they captured might be still alive and kept prisoners. We can get a hefty bonus if we return with both information about it and the missing people. But infiltration and rescue are not our best sides, we all are more about... face to face confrontation." She patted the hilt of the great sword on her back, illustrating her point. "And since you already rescued some kids without getting any of them killed, I figured we might ask you if you''d be willing and able to help us."


    "Let''s imagine I will agree to help you. What''s in it for me?" Infiltration is fun, but I can do it without those people or quests.


    "We split the reward in four ways. It''s 2000 gold total for the information about caravans'' whereabouts, and double this if we can deal with the cause, or rescue the missing people."


    I wondered if it''s a lot and if I''m even interested in gold. Judging by the prices in the tavern, one gold can buy an average mortal a day worth of food and drinks. I didn''t need either to live, only for fun and with gold, I took from this cultist, I can buy lots of ale. But creatures of this plane seem to put high value in gold, so I wondered what I could buy for it. I could probably steal anything I needed, though, so gold is not important for me. I was curious about this world, and orcs and caravans, so it might be an interesting adventure in itself.


    "And if we find anything of value on our way that doesn''t belong to anyone... we got to keep it. That''s the rule of adventurers!" While I was thinking, Helena tried to sweeten the deal.


    "I agree if after this you help me get to a bigger town than this one." I needed a more lively place to start exploring this plane and having a guide would help.


    "Sure, you can just return to Arturel with us. It''s almost as big as the capital. It''s settled then! We are moving out at dawn."


    <hr>


    We gathered near the tavern the next morning. I altered my clothing to be more fitting for travel and adventure: replaced my dress with a pair of pants and a blouse of the same dark purple color, perfect to hide in the shadows (not like I needed any help with it), got myself a pair of boots similar to what my party was wearing, and a backpack. I didn''t need a backpack with my extradimensional inventory, but other people don''t have it, so I needed to at least look like a traveler.


    We went outside the town''s gate, two sleepy guards didn''t react to us leaving. Guess their job was to check who''s coming in, not out. I looked back and seen the town from the outside for the first time. It had around 300 houses mostly built out of hewn wood, and it was surrounded by a wooden wall. I realized I didn''t even know the town''s name, but asking it now would be suspicious. The road that we followed, and the town itself were surrounded by a dense pine forest.


    Arthur, the man with a long staff, who I assumed from his aura to be some magic-user, broke the silence. "To make better use of our skills and work as a team, we need to know about each other abilities. We have been traveling for some time together, but you Vivienne is new. I''ll start with the basics. I specialize in healing and restraining spells and can use them at a significant range. Silai here can zap a fly with a lightning bolt at 100 yards. Helena is..."


    "I''m really good at cutting things! And punching things." Helena interrupted his explanation with a grin and a couple of swings with her sword.


    Arthur almost rolled his eyes. "Yes, she is the muscle of the team. What about you?"


    I thought for a bit how to describe my abilities without giving much away. I wanted to see where this goes before I needed to ditch those adventures, which means keeping my nature a secret for now. It''s known across all planes not to trust a demon you don''t have a contract with, and often even a demon you have a contract with. I know I wouldn''t...


    "I''m really good at quietly dispatching of targets and sneaking in and out of places." That seemed to satisfy Arthur for now.


    After about an hour of walking, we reached the first crossroads which had 4 roads marked with different signs. Here I learned that town I''ve been summoned to was called Flamehold if you''re interested. One of the signs pointing to the north said "Arturel", and another one pointing the same direction said, "Highspire, Capital". The interesting thing I noticed was, that distance was written in some "miles" which I wasn''t familiar with, but also repeated in kilometers that demons use too. I assumed different nations here used different measurements with some using the same as demons.


    "We are heading south to Neverfield," Helena explained. "At least two lost caravans were from there. It''s a two-days walk, but I hope we will find the lead earlier."


    We walked north almost till the sunset. But before it got dark, we finally found a lead. Pretty obvious lead, actually - a scene of the previous fighting in the middle of the road. I looked around, trying to ascertain what happened. There were no bodies directly in the vicinity, but I noticed a trail of blood and a feeling of death leading away from the road to the woods. Few wooden carts were broken and flipped on the side, a broken spear laid nearby. Probably the caravan had some protection, but they were overpowered.


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    "Can''t say if it''s orcs or just random bandits from this," Silai concluded after his investigation.


    "Would there be any reason for bandits to take prisoners?" Helena asked him.


    "They could''ve killed everyone to give them more time before anyone noticed the caravan''s disappearance and hid the bodies. There are no corpses here, but enough blood to have at least some dead."


    "There," I pointed to the woods. "At least two corpses are a few meters off the road. A trail of blood leads there."


    We all went to look where I pointed at. As I felt, a few meters from the road we found two corpses - male and female, both looked pierced with a spear.


    "Orcs then. That''s both good and bad news."


    "Why?" I asked.


    "Since there are no other corpses, the caravan people probably were captured alive. There is no reason for normal bandits to capture so many people, they usually don''t have any use for slaves or prisoners. Which leaves orcs. The good news is the rest of the caravan might be still alive. The bad news is that orcs are harder to deal with, depending on the size of the band."


    "Any tips for the newbie?" I smiled at Silai trying to be as unsuspicious as I could. Playing an inexperienced adventurer card was effective!


    "If it''s a big band, it might be way over our head. We can probably deal with a small group, but if they have shamans or captains, our best bet is to investigate, report back and bring a bigger army."


    I nodded. "What''s next?"


    "We''ll see where the trail goes and think later!" Helena looked excited despite Silai''s warning about the danger. I wasn''t sure if she was reckless, brave, self-delusional about her strength or all of it...


    We set on an easy to spot trail through the woods. It looked like multiple people, some in heavy armored boots, walked there. Arthur used his magic, subtly making roots and shrubs part ways before us, helping us on our path. It was interesting magic I''ve never seen before. I wondered what else could he do with it, and how his other spells look like. Demons'' innate magic was pretty one-sided most of the time and it depended on the demon''s type. But mortals created their magic to solve whatever problems they needed. I was really curious to learn more about the magic of this plane. I loved my magic, of course, but I wouldn''t be an Envy demon if I didn''t want to try new things.


    We traveled for close to an hour, the sun already set. It looked like both Arthur and Silai had no trouble seeing in the dark, or at least they saw good enough to follow the trail. It wasn''t a problem for me too, as a being of shadows I could see in the dark much better than in daylight. Helena, though, had some problems, she drew her sword and put her left hand on Silai''s shoulder following him closely.


    We were getting closer to a few living auras, but I decided not to mention anything to my party. I wanted to see how good they are and didn''t want to share my abilities just yet. Silai noticed first, he motioned everyone to stop.


    "We are getting close," he said in a hushed voice. "There are guards about hundred feet forward and I can see campfires farther away too. We need to go around them or quietly dispatch them."


    "That''s my queue," I smiled at him and darted in the shadows. I expected the guards to see in the dark since they were patrolling without any light source, but unless their dark vision was magical, there was no chance they could spot me before too late. Killing them was too easy, but it was my first meeting with an orc. It looked like orcs are grayish-green humanoid species with angry faces and big tusks. Or at least those looked angry, I''m not gonna judge the whole species by a couple of people that were attacking caravans. They were also pretty big, at least those two were a bit over two meters. It would''ve been hard to fight them face to face with this small body, luckily I didn''t need to, for now. Few slices with the dagger and they were done with, they barely noticed their own death.


    "Two down, the whole camp to go," I appeared directly behind my party, playing with the dagger and smiling, which scared Helena almost to death. She would''ve screamed if Arthur didn''t cover her mouth quickly.


    "DON''T DO THIS EVER AGAIN!" She quietly but emotionally swore at me. I laughed without making a sound, Helena played tough and confident, but just for a moment she was really scared, and it was a delightful change of the atmosphere.


    "Sorry, tough girl. Two guards down, we can get closer to the camp, but there are patrols and many more people there."


    "We need to get closer to get precise information," Arthur told us.


    We moved as quietly as we could before orcs'' camp could be seen in its entirety. There were a few tents, small and big, roughly situated in a circle around a big campfire. Despite orcs being able to see in the dark, the camp was lit with brazers here and there. Some orcs were shouting something in the language I did not understand, it looked like they were drinking and even fighting each other? It was a lively place overall.


    Arthur stopped at the age of the clearing near the camp, sat on the ground, put his hand on the dirt and started casting some spell. His hand glowed faint green glow that flowed in the ground and disappeared as it spread away.


    "What is he doing?" I asked others.


    "It''s a druid power, he is communicating with nature. Probably trying to gather information about the orcs." Silai explained to me.


    "That''s a really handy ability." I could achieve a similar result by reading auras, though. I tried to concentrate on mana flow around me and gather some information of my own.


    "There are at least 50 people in the camp, most of them gathered in a big tent on the edge of the camp on the opposite side. I suspect those are captives, so we are dealing with 20-25 orcs." Arthur told us after a couple of minutes. I counted 63 auras myself, but I didn''t correct him. Two of them had strong magical auras and two weaker ones.


    "We got all we need, there is no way we can take them all by ourselves," Silai announced the end of our expedition. "Let''s get going, I don''t want to sleep in the woods."


    Helena audibly sighed. "I hoped to have a good fight..."


    "Be careful, missy, or you might get what you ask for!" A voice behind us suddenly spoke.


    There was an orc with a long staff standing behind us. He was less muscular than the guards I killed, but still over two meters tall. His staff was adorned with some feathers and bones, and he wore leather armor. He didn''t appear out of nowhere, of course: one second before he spoke I noticed the usage of magic in the camp, he probably used some teleportation ability. I looked at my party and pleasantly noticed that they all looked ready to engage. Good, they were capable enough not to be caught off-guard like this. Noise from the camp risen in volume and other auras started moving in our direction. It looked like straight confrontation was inevitable. As much as I didn''t like it, I was curious to see what everyone gathered here could bring out. ''This will be fun.''

 Chapter 4 – Green Wave

    You may ask, how was I, so praised by myself for being sneaky, managed to be ambushed twice already. First, this time it was Arthur''s fault that his ritual was noticed. And even then, I wasn''t caught off-guard. Second, I didn''t have any experience stealthing in the mortal world and didn''t know much about this world''s magic, that''s why I didn''t anticipate the alarm the cultist placed. Obviously, there was much to learn for me about this world and its cunning denizens. Exciting! But first, we had a fight ahead.


    "More are coming from the camp," I warned my party.


    "I''ll take care of this one, you all greet the others," Silai gave us orders and faced the orc caster that appeared before us.


    Arthur and Helena turned away to face the orcs approaching from the camp, I darted in the shadow but kept watching Silai. It took him only a moment to charge a spell, he raised a hand and it was already glowing with orange energy. Next second, a concentrated beam of fire burst from his hand towards the orc. The orc wasn''t unprepared, as soon as Silai started casting, he cast a spell of his own, creating a shimmering orange shield in front of him. The beam of fire struck the shield and dissipated in a burst of light. The orc moved back away, trying to increase the distance between them. In a swift motion he swiped his staff from side to side, it created a blast of wind, enhanced with magic, that rushed towards us. Silai, in a similar swipe with his hand, redirected the blast to the side. Invisible force crashed into a nearby tree leaving a deep cut and almost breaking it completely.


    I would have loved to continue watching their elemental exchange, but I had to do something too. Orcs from the camp got close, around 15 of them in the front. They looked like simple guards, but they outnumbered us by a lot. Helena unsheathed her sword and took a stance, preparing to take the assault. Arthur stood slightly behind her, far enough to give her space to swing the sword, but close enough to be protected by her. Not like he needed protection, though. Before orcs came in melee with Helena, Arthur cast a spell too: a crystal on his staff glowed with green energy, then he slammed it on the ground, and thick vines appeared under orcs'' feet, trying to bind their legs and prevent their movement. Some orcs just fell as they went, some went around the vines and continued moving, others started cutting the vines with their weapons.


    It worked to our advantage: they slowed and approached Helena less organized. Two orcs closed up on her at the same time and attacked her with their short swords. It''s hard to believe that as tall as she is and with such a big sword, she can move this gracefully, but she effortlessly sidestepped both of the orcs and in a quick upswing motion cut through one of the orc''s chest. It was a clear swing, without much preparation, like she wielded a rapier and not a great sword. Orc''s light armor had no chance of protecting him and was cut like a paper. In a backswing she paired the second orc and then in another move struck his neck with the sword, almost separating his head from the body. It was enough for the orc, though.


    While she was fighting those two, another one tried to take advantage of her distraction by flanking her and attacking in the back. I wouldn''t let that happen, her sword dance was too good to be interrupted. I intercepted the orc by stepping right in front of him. Before he could react, I willed my shadows, and they launched from the ground piercing through the orc''s body.


    At this moment the green light from Arthur''s staff receded, and Helena lost the ability to see the enemies. It looked like they weren''t fighting together for the first time because the next thing that Arthur did, was he risen his hand and cast another spell. Four globes of light appeared near his palm, and he willed them to spread out around us all. "Thanks!" Shouted Helena. It was good for her, but not the best for me: my shadows receded when the bright light touched them. I could have probably overpowered it, but it wasn''t the time. I gripped the dagger in my right hand, picked up a short sword from a fallen orc with the left one, and prepared for a more direct fight.


    My melee with the orcs wasn''t nearly as graceful as Helena''s sword dance. I used the sword to pair an attack from the next orc, but couldn''t get an opening to strike. I had enough strength even in this small body and was dextrous to keep her at bay, but the size and reach do matter in a sword fight, the orc was just too far from me to strike her with a dagger. After trading a few blows, I found my opening, ducked under the swing and lunged my dagger in her heart. While I was at it, Helena dispatched a few more orcs. Arthur controlled his vines, bound some orcs and occupied some others with them. There was no use for me fighting here with the sword in the light.


    "I''m going to intercept them," I let the group know I''m not abandoning them during the fight, then left the lit-up area and become one with the shadow. In the shadow I moved swiftly, killing orcs left and right. Some were occupied with Arthur''s vines and didn''t even notice me before they died. Others may have had a thought or two about the nature of the shadowy creature that appeared in front of them the moment before their death. Some even tried to fight me, but they quickly found out that no simple weapon can harm me in my shadow form. Yes, I know, it''s almost cheating. But where I am from, not being hurt by non-magical weapons is the matter of course. All Hell fights either with magic or with some form of magical weapons. Even Wraith''s fists are magical and hurt like a bitch. It''s not my fault those orcs were not prepared to fight a shadow demon...


    A few minutes later, Silai joined us in dealing with the rest of the orcs, probably after finishing his fight with the caster. He swung rays of fire hitting orcs approaching Helena, Arthur kept them from overwhelming her with numbers, and I was killing them behind the front line. It felt like the fight was easy, but more magical auras were moving in the camp, approaching us. What came out first, though, was a huge orcish creature, not from the camp, but the forest. It was easily two times as high and four times as wide as any orc I''ve seen so far, with paler, closer to yellow, skin and much less clothing. It had a huge club in its hand and it charged at us at speed fitting his big legs, swinging his weapon.


    "Ogre from the right!" Silai shouted to everyone and immediately cast a ray of fire into the charging monster.


    The ray didn''t reach the target. Another orc caster came out behind one of the tents and in a swinging motion of his staff created a gust of wind that intercepted the fire ray and dispersed it. They then cast another spell, that created a sort of glowing purple armor around the ogre, which had a strong anti-magical aura, probably, magical protection. Silai started preparing another spell, this time it took him more time. It felt like he was building a huge amount of mana, presumably enough to break the protection with a brute force. Helena gripped the sword with two hands and stood in a protective stance, sword close to her body, preparing to take the charging giant head-on. But she wasn''t just taking it with the bare sword. She started channeling mana of her own in it. Most curious was the thing that the mana came from within her, not from the outside, like Arthur, Silai and other casters I met in this world use. She kept channeling mana until the ogre was few meters away, then she swung her sword in an arc motion in front of her. Her sword cut only air, but her magic reached all the way to the giant, stopping his charge. The enormous creature was cut in half, and two parts of his body fell on the ground.Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.


    The night elf didn''t have a huge target for his prepared spell anymore, but instead of canceling it, he just released it in the orc caster that helped the ogre. A powerful lightning bolt zapped from his hands, piercing through the orc''s chest, a few tents and beyond, crashing some trees behind, only miraculously not setting the whole forest on fire. Or he was just that good at controlling his spells, which wasn''t that surprising after this fight.


    It wasn''t over just yet. An orc with a weak magical aura stood near the now dead caster, he wore much heavier armor than others and held two swords in his hands. He probably was some sort of a leader, but he had no one to lead anymore and was shocked by the display of power he just witnessed. I didn''t give him time to recover and do anything. I slipped through shadows and pierced his neck from behind. Most armor is useless when I need only a small opening in it for my shadow. I concentrated on my surroundings: a few orcs were entangled in Arthur''s vines and out of the fight, lots of people were concentrated in one spot in the back of the camp - probably prisoners, but one target was quickly running away using magic. That was not acceptable, and I darted in their direction.


    My target was fast, boosted by their magic, but I quickly gained on them. In a dark forest, I was much faster. When I came closer, they turned to look at me. Surprisingly, it wasn''t an orc, it was a human woman in a dark cloak. I lunged my shadows towards her, but she reacted by casting a magical barrier and reflecting my strike. She looked surprised and scared, but she was composed enough to keep fighting, adrenaline giving her the clarity of the mind needed to not forget her spells in the face of an unknown danger. She instantly ascertained the situation, stretched her hand towards me, and created a bright globe of holly light. The light burned at my shadows much stronger than it should have been considering her weak magical aura.


    The holly fire hurt a lot, and I made a high pitched screeching sound. It was terrible: there are almost no holly spells in hell, so this was a pretty new experience. Not the kind of new experiences I was seeking. I hid all my shadows and took a human form, this way I could handle the light easier. The human mage tried to keep the glowing ball between us, but it was all she could do: she couldn''t cast another spell while holding the holy light, and she didn''t have other weapons. I pushed through the light and slashed her neck with a dagger. Her death broke her concentration on the spell, and it disappeared in a small blast. The mage''s body fell on the ground, unmoving, and I fell near her, still in pain from the effect of the spell. I concentrated on my internal mana flow and the mana in the air. I deeply inhaled, pulling ambient mana, refilling my reserves, and effectively restoring all the damage she did.


    Bodies of summoned demons are mostly mana constructs. They''re still flesh and blood, in a sense, but flesh and blood created by the demon''s magic. That''s why non-magical weapons almost useless against any demon - they just cut flesh, that gets rapidly restored, or they can''t pierce through it at all. But mana burn abilities and holly element abilities are extremely effective - they burn our mana itself. It''s true for summoned demons, but it''s doubly so for demons whos real bodies are just souls wrapped in a thick mana cloud, like me. So yeah, I would need to maybe stay away from anyone capable of casting holly or mana burn spells. Or figure out some ways to shield me, because it seemed like magic users in this world were pretty versatile in what elements they can use.


    Speaking of casters. I stood up after a couple of minutes of siphoning ambient mana and started inspecting the mage''s body. Just as I thought, in her hand, she held pieces of familiar red crystal. I also found two similar crystals on her body. This was getting disconcerting, if everyone had those crystals, I couldn''t judge a caster''s magical capability by their aura alone. If I couldn''t judge my enemy''s strength, I couldn''t efficiently choose which fights I should fight. Information is power, after all. I needed to gather more information on those crystals and how strong average magic users in this world were. My party alone showed considerable might in the last fight, and if they hide any more powers, I wasn''t sure if I would be able to kill any of them if I needed it. I probably could have if I used stealth and surprise to my advantage, but this plane was quickly teaching me to not underestimate anyone.


    I stashed the crystals in my extradimensional storage and dragged the body of the slain mage back to the camp. The camp was still lit by Arthur''s globes of light and brazers, and my party was dealing with the aftermath: checking orc''s bodies, if any were alive, and finishing them off mostly. I dragged the body and shoved it near the others.


    "Impressive fight, everyone," Helena commended us.


    "Didn''t expect us to actually take a full camp of orcs with two shamans, a captain and an ogre all by ourselves," Arthur said. "I didn''t know you could use fighting techniques."


    "That''s... a family art," she explained without going into any actual detail.


    "Mhm. And you, Viviene. You killed quite a lot of them before they could even reach us..."


    "I told you I''m good at killing my targets," I shrugged with the dagger still in my hand.


    "Who is this?" Silai came to us from another side of the camp and pointed at the dead mage I brought.


    "Some sort of caster, she tried to run away," I replied. "I dealt with her."


    Silai noded. "It seems like no threats are remaining, let''s see how the captives are doing."


    I was an assassin and not a rescuer, but in the few days I was in the middle plane, I already managed to rescue two groups of people. We found more than 30 people bound in a huge tent in the back of the camp, some of them were kids too. They were disheveled but alive and very grateful to us. I wasn''t used to gratitude, most of the things I did were because I wanted it or I had a deal with someone. Back in Hell, this was other demons, here it was Amelia or Helena and her friends. I didn''t think much about it. It was a fun experience, I got some useful information about this world, and now Helena will be my guide for some time. Oh, and I would get paid too, which is a nice bonus. We freed everyone and decided to spend the night in the camp, going at night through the forest with all those people was dangerous. During this time, Silai pulled me away from everyone for a private talk.


    "Listen," he said forcefully. "I know what you are. My people have a long history of very... intimate relationships with demons, and I''ve seen a lot of your abilities to be sure." I listened to him without reacting. I decided to figure out how hostile he is before making my move. He might be useful alive, so I wanted to listen to what he had to say. "I don''t know what your deal is," Silai continued, "but you were helpful, so I will not judge you by your species just yet."


    "Thanks," I tried to encourage his positive attitude.


    "But! We both know that trusting a demon is a bad idea, which is why I''m watching you. Nothing personal."


    I nodded. "That''s reasonable." I wouldn''t trust a demon either, after all.


    "I''m glad we are on the same page," he finished and returned to the group.


    I made a mental note to learn more about night elves. And other groups I should be more careful around. I also started thinking about ways Silai could be useful to me. He was a strong mage, had knowledge of demons and didn''t attack me on the spot after learning what I am, so I could at least try to learn something from him. It was a bit strange, though, if his people were close with demons, then how did I have heard so little about night elves? He might have been speaking about different "his people", like a tribe, or a magic school, or a cult... Or the demons that shared bits and pieces about the mortal plane with me didn''t bother to tell much important about them. Different demons find different things notable about the middle plane when they''re summoned. Or his people might have been dealing with other factions of demons. Too many possibilities, too few answers. I mentally shrugged and returned to everyone.

 Chapter 5 – Arturel

    I''ll spare you the travel montage. We packed everything that could be useful, freed people, organized in a caravan, and moved out. Some continued to Flamehold on the crossroads, most followed us to Arturel. With camping during the night, the track took us two days. The forest receded a few hours before we reached the city, replaced with fields and farms. More people traveled the roads near Arturel, some caravans and farmers were passing by us. Mostly normal people. But we passed a few military patrols too. Compared to the guards back in Flamehold, those people were much better equipped: they wore full plate shining white armor. Each carried different weapons, probably based on their personal preference, some carrying two swords or a short sword and a spear. Some patrols were lead by people in more decorated armor with a tabard draped over, likely depicting their ranking.


    Compared by size to some demon cities, Arturel wasn''t that big, but still, it was a sizable city. It stood on a hill, so we noticed it early, and I had a good look at it from afar. It was comprised of three layers, one higher than the other, each surrounded by a stone wall. The innermost and highest layer had a fort in it. Walls were strategically decorated with towers and defense weapons like catapults and ballistae. It felt like a bastion. I wondered if the capital was more impressive... Near the fort, in the third layer of the city, stood two tall towers made out of white marble, towering above everything else.


    When we were close enough I pointed to the city towers and asked my companions what they were.


    Arthur answered. "The one on the left is the mage guild tower. They''re pretentious and arrogant, but all local spell casters should be registered there or be exiled out of the city." I felt pain in his voice, he probably was registered and didn''t like it. "The right one is ''Wyrm''s Books'' library. Both for magical and non-magical books. You would guess they''d be allies, but because of some old bickering, two organizations hate each other, but rely on one another."


    "That''s a strange arrangement."


    "They used to be one guild, but like everything in this city, they got divided."


    "What else did?"


    "See the walls inside?" Arthur gestured in the city''s direction. I nodded in affirmation. "Those are not just for protection, they separate the city into classes. Poorest people live in the first circle, the middle class in the middle and the rich in the center. Now, it''s not that bad like in some places, people are generally free to move between the parts if they have a valid reason. But if the city is under a siege, guess in what order the circles fall..."


    "Does it happen often?"


    "You aren''t from this area, are you?"


    "I lived in a small village, not many news reach us." I lied with a perfect poker face.


    "Mhm. Since we are near the border with Ertor, it happened more than enough times. It was relatively peaceful for the last 15 years, though, with both countries trying to one-up each other with perceived might and wealth, rather than on a battlefield. You''ve seen the patrols. They''re showing off the best they got, they know that the other side is watching closely. This is ridiculous..."


    "Why?" I was personally very tired of endless wars and politics and had no desire to be anywhere near them in this world too, but I wanted to know Arthur''s reasoning.


    "I''m a druid. Even though I was born in Arturel, which is why my parents gave me such an unimaginative name, my home is the forest between the two countries. And the forest doesn''t care about borders or pity differences..."


    "What do you do here then, saving caravans and traveling with adventure?" It wasn''t the first time we talked with Arthur on the trip, but it was the first time he opened up so much to me. Probably the topic was very close to his heart.


    "There are things I need money for, can''t get everything in the forest. Besides, it''s a good way to improve my skills and do some good."


    "He is the good-doing, tree-loving guy, that''s why!" Helena interrupted, as she does, by throwing an arm around his shoulder. Arthur just wiggled himself from her arms.


    "Why are you doing this, Helena?" I asked her.


    "Because he''s a cool dork and a friend!" She replied with a grin.


    "Not this. I mean the adventuring." I almost rolled my eyes but kept cool.


    "Ah. Cutting enemies is my passion, you see. And there aren''t many places where a girl with a sword can make a decent living. Mostly adventuring and the army. And I am not very good with following orders or honored patrols."


    "Yes, I can see it."


    <hr>


    We chatted for a bit before we finally reached the city gates. They were enormous, on par with gates in some demon cities, which probably made sense since both were made for a siege. They were open, but heavily guarded, with multiple guards standing outside and inside, some more watching from the walls, few patrols walking around, and I felt many more soldiers in the gatehouse itself.Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.


    The guards stopped us at the entrance to the city and Arthur started talking to them. He introduced himself and presented the guard with a bronze badge. He explained about the caravan, and the guards let us all in. They would inspect the caravan before letting it in the city, but we weren''t needed anymore, the guards will file the report and we should get our reward if everything was okay. Good thing I didn''t need the identification to enter the city, but I might need it if I wanted to go to the upper part of it. I probably would need to figure it out... or just sneak past.


    "We will need to collect the reward tomorrow," Arthur said as we walked through the gate.


    "Great! Now, how about we go grab a drink, or two, or five?" Helena exclaimed. "I promised I show Vivienne to the city, but I can also show you the city itself! Which obviously means every decent tavern I am not banned from yet."


    As we passed through the city, I took notice of everything around me. Even though it was the poor part, it looked pretty decent, almost the same as Flamehold. Arthur said that areas near the city gates were better off, and I should stay away from the slums area. I just nodded and decided to go there at night and see what fun I can find there. The gate to the second part of the city was also guarded, but not that heavily. Arthur once again flashed his badge to the guard and we were let through without questions.


    "What''s this?" I asked him about the badge.


    "Adventurer''s badge." He replied. "The authorities operate a local adventurers guild here, we all are members. Adventures usually have a free pass in a lot of places, because many rich people need our services too."


    "How do I get one?"


    "You can join the guild if you want. Just ask a recommendation tomorrow when we collect the reward, it should make things easier."


    I nodded and thanked him. I wasn''t sure about joining the guild, but having a free legal pass into places might be a useful tool. Besides, if adventurers were as strong as my companions, I might get some useful or interesting connections. Or both. I needed to be careful, though. If Silai could see through me, others on his level might too.


    The second part of the city was much well off than the first. The striking difference was, there were a lot more shops on the streets we were traveling through. Buildings were higher, some were built fully or partially out of stone. People were in better-looking clothes and many more of them looked like they were eating much better. There were fewer guard patrols too.


    We reached a three-story tall tavern named "Grilled Hydra" and I rolled my eyes. All tavern names I''ve seen so far in this world were named by the same pattern: an adjective, then an animal, a weapon or a monster. It was either a tradition, or all proprietors didn''t have any imagination. Stepping inside, we were assaulted by the chatter of many people, none of whom gave us an eye. I looked around, though, noticing that most of the patrons had different weapons on them or near them. Many of them also looked interesting, some of the species I haven''t seen before, like furred humanoid with a face of a fox. I noticed an orc with a huge spiked club near his table chatting and drinking with equally armed people. I guessed right, not all orcs rob caravans. Actually, I wasn''t sure if this one didn''t...


    Helena slapped me on the back. "Welcome to the Grilled Hydra - the best tavern for adventures that still lets me in! Let''s celebrate!"


    As we walked to one of the empty tables, I concentrated on auras in the tavern, trying to measure everyone. It was usually a passive ability, but if I concentrated, I could get a better gauge of people''s magical power and could sense in a bigger area. Many people here had magic in them, but none felt as strong as any of my party. Even Helena had magic stronger than other patrons here. The fox person''s aura felt strange, though. At first, it looked like an ordinary non-magical aura, but then I noticed some discrepancies like something was preventing me from detecting it. This was interesting and, again, worrying.


    A very tall elf barmaid came to take our orders. She introduced herself as Thephesia, and she and Helena argued about Helena''s huge tab, which Helena promised to pay tomorrow with the money we were owed for the caravan. After some persuasion, she brought us our drinks and food.


    "For good fights and adventures!" Helena said the toast and we raised our mugs to it.


    Celebrating with this weird bunch was an interesting new experience. Silai was mostly silent, as he usually is. Arthur couldn''t handle his alcohol, got quickly drunk and started telling us about his forest. Apparently, he had a cottage in the middle of it and kept chickens. I didn''t know who looked for them now, but if they were any close to Hell Chickens, his house might have been in ruins already. Helena drunk a lot, but didn''t even get tipsy, she either had high tolerance because of her big experience, or she was immune to poison like me. I didn''t drink a lot so I didn''t have to pretend to get drunk, but alcohol was a type of poison that tasted good but didn''t have any effect on me. Most demons are immune to all types of poison with rare exceptions. Something-something about first demon lords being poisoned by first celestials... but it was probably just a tale. Hell does have alcohol, but mostly vodka and other beverages that can be made from less demanding grains and ingredients. No hops grow in Hell, sadly. And since we can''t get drunk, we mostly drink for the flavor, which is a lot worse than any ale I tried so far in the middle plane. Mortals know their drinks...


    My musings were interrupted by the sound of a loud slap. I turned to its source and saw Thephesia slapped some guy across his face. From there it escalated quickly, he tried to pull her by the hand, two his companions jumped from their seats to stop him, but Helena was near in a flash. He tackled him from the side and pressed to the floor. "Release me, stupid bitch!" He shouted, but Helena twisted his arm to the point of it almost breaking and punched him in the face a few times. The guy lost his consciousness, Helena released him and stood up. His companions apologized and dragged his unmoving body outside.


    "Ah, I wanted to kick his ass for a long time!" Helena stretched her arm happily.


    "Thank you for not breaking anything this time, Helena," Thephesia told her. "Please don''t perform the guard''s duty, we might get in trouble. Again..."


    "Sorry, this was an instinctive reaction, Theph." Helena scratched her head and made a not very convincing apologetic face. "He was an asshole, though."


    "He was, but I can stand for myself." Thephesia was giving her the talk, and it felt like it was not the first time.


    "I know you can, honey. I didn''t think, it was a reaction."


    "Don''t ''honey'' me, your reactions are what gets you in trouble, and your lack of thinking is why we aren''t together anymore."


    As Thephesia turned around and went to attend to other patrons, I understood why Helena was banned from other taverns.

 Chapter 6 - Hell of a Plan

    After an evening of drinking and eating, we agreed to meet near the same tavern the next day at noon, and everyone parted their ways. I was going to be staying in the same tavern, but in reality, as soon as everyone left, I hit the streets under the cover of the night. Most big streets in the middle part of the city were lit by oil lamps and patrolled by armed guards. At least one guard in each squad carried some sort of magical torch that consisted of a wooden stick for a handle and a glowing ball floating slightly above the top end of it. It wasn''t holly light, nor was it very bright, so it didn''t prevent me from moving in the shadows, but I still avoided getting close to the guards. Even though shops were closed, a lot of people weren''t sleeping yet, with lights pouring from the windows of houses and noise flooding from numerous taverns. Some folks wandered the streets, but mostly the biggest ones.


    Before exploring the slums as I intended, I wanted to see how hard it would be to get into the upper parts of the city. I reached the inner city wall and started moving along it. I chose a place less lit by street lights, waited for a moment when clouds covered the moons and slid up the wall in the shadow form. As I moved up, I concentrated on auras around me. There were guards occasionally patrolling the wall during the day, but less so at night. Probably, they weren''t expecting anyone to climb the wall. I got on top of it and looked at the central part of Arturel.


    The center of the city looked very fancy. Houses were much bigger and almost all of them had a yard surrounded by a wall with smaller buildings built inside. What caught my attention were the two towers. Nearby they were even more remarkable. They were not only huge pillars of white marble, but they practically oozed magic. To my senses, it looked like both towers were covered from top to bottom in magical sigils glowing with power. I couldn''t ascertain what most of those sigils did, but some of them were certainly protective. After a moment, I realized that the stone itself also had a magical aura, albeit much dimmer than the intricate patterns etched on its surface. I was sure that sneaking near them would be a short trip back home, and I better come to check them out by more official means. I jumped down and moved towards the opposite wall.


    I climbed one of the stairs and got to the wall separating two parts of the city. From here I slid down as a shadow and appeared in the less well-off part of Arturel. It was less lit and much less guarded, with lamp posts stationed on street crosses, but only a few of them burning, mostly on the main street from city gates to the city center. I moved in shadows, getting the feel of the nightlife in this city and trying to find the slums Arthur spoke of. Overall, it was calm until I found the tavern with a sign that said "Armed Python" with an equally ridiculous drawing on the sign of a python holding a sword in its tail. It was bustling with the sounds of people drinking and screaming obscenities at each other. In the back of the said tavern, by the sound of it, someone was getting mugged by a pair of armed thugs.


    I continued further, getting deeper in, what I assumed, were the slums. I''ve seen many more empty houses in a different state of disrepair than before. Some people were mugged in the open on the street if you can call a dark night ''open''. A group of people was fighting each other in one of the alleys, with a few already dead. One time I''ve seen a person getting arrested by the guards. I didn''t know what he did, but the arrest involved the guards beating him senseless and dragging him through the mud. But it looked like the guards did occasionally came through this part of the town to ''preserve peace''.


    What piqued my interest, though, was a magical aura moving through a dark alley. I followed the person in the shadows and wasn''t disappointed. I couldn''t see their face, but I did recognize a stereotypical cultist robe they wore, almost identical to the cultists I killed before. I stealthily followed them to one of the buildings that looked abandoned, but, compared to other abandoned buildings, windows in this one were boarded shut and probably draped from the inside to prevent peeking in. I felt multiple magical auras inside and wanted to know what they were planning. It''s never a fun time when a cult is involved. At least it''s not for me, some demons would be delighted to be summoned by a cult. They stopped near the door to the house and looked around. I''ve heard them mutter a spell, and for a moment I thought it was a detection spell and it would blow my cover, but they seemed to not get alerted and knocked on the door.


    I didn''t want to miss anything, so I needed to react fast. If there was light in the house, it would''ve been hard for me to follow through the door, and if the house is protected from spying, I wouldn''t be able to hear anything from outside. Luckily, the house had a chimney I might be able to use. I jumped on the roof, not weighing anything as a shadow and not making any noise. From here I''ve heard the house door open, the cultist step inside and the door close. I drifted to the chimney and slid down almost to the bottom of it, but stayed inside. Flickering light, probably from torches, was reaching from the bottom, and I heard the chatter of different voices. It was good I didn''t move farther, because a familiar circle of an alarm spell was drawn on the bottom of the chimney. Those cultists weren''t dumb. I felt seven magical auras gathered in the house and could hear everything they say. It looked like I didn''t miss anything.


    "Why did you ask us all to gather here, brother Viktor?" I''ve heard one of the cultists with a ringing and authoritarian female voice speaking. "It''s three days until the next new Toria." Toria was the name of one of the three moons on this plane, by the way. Others being Rol and simply Luna, but that was irrelevant then.


    "It is an urgent matter, sibling Arel." A cultist with a deep male voice answered them. "I came from the guards. Some adventures killed the orcs we hired and released our sacrifices. I also got news from Flamehold, brother Reynold was killed and his sacrifices released four days ago."


    There was silence for a moment, then Arel replied. "These are disturbing news, indeed. The fact that we had two operations dismantled in such a short time might be a coincidence, but might be direct action against us and our plans. Sister Herra, do you know anything?"


    "I don''t have any information about official operations related to our plans. My latest scrying yesterday didn''t reveal any malicious intent towards us either." Another cultist replied.


    After one more pause for the thinking, Arel, who I assumed was the head of this group, at least locally, continued. "We will proceed assuming that there is a force acting directly against us and our Lord. Sister Herra, we need you to do another scrying tonight, use your strongest crystal. Also, send the word to other groups, they need to be on alert. We will not hurry our plans just yet, it''s not the time to be hasty, but we need new sacrifices to replace the ones we lost. Brother Ford, compile the list of towns for the replacement and start working on two or three of them, preferably farthest away from Flamehold."


    "Yes, sibling Arel."


    "We will gather here as planned on the new Toria and see if we need to alter our plans further. For now, stay vigilant, increase usage of protective spells and check for tail regularly. Everyone is dismissed in the name of Lord Gornath!"


    "In the name of Lord Gornath!" All cultists replied and started leaving the gathering one by one.


    As they left, I stayed there in the chimney, thinking to myself ''No, no, no. Hell fucking no!'' This was a complete disaster! I didn''t care what the cultists do in their spare time, but Gornath was one of the strongest Archfiends in Hell! If those fanatics were amassing sacrifices for anything related to him, that meant that the war from Hell soon might follow me to the mortal world. And I just started to enjoy it!


    This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.


    I hated the idea of getting into this, but bringing Hell up here would ruin all my plans, so I decided to at least arm myself with information. When all of the cultists left and I couldn''t feel any auras nearby, I flowed through the chimney to the room, avoiding disturbing the alarm spell. I appeared in a spacious room that looked barren besides a few stands for torches. All windows and doors were covered in different spell sigils, including more alarms. I looked around, mindful of any spells I might trigger, but the house was otherwise empty. I didn''t give up just yet and spread my shadows on the floor, trying to get in every nook and cranny. That helped me find a secret trapdoor in a corner. Despite being a literal shadow while in the darkness, I can''t move through very tight spaces, I need at least a centimeter gap to flow through. Which meant I needed to lift the door, potentially triggering whatever spell was guarding it. I weighted my chances: unless it was specifically enchanted against intruders like me, in the worst case I would trigger an alarm but would be able to escape unharmed. They already assumed someone was acting against them, so giving them proof wouldn''t change much.


    I lifted the trapdoor slightly and peeked inside. No alarm set off, that was a relief. Without opening all the way, I slid inside. The room I got in reminded me of the basement of the first cultist I killed. There were sconces for torches, a few tables, multiple chains with manacles attached to walls and a huge magic circle in the center of the floor. All tables were empty, though, with no valuables or notes with secret plans. I inspected the circle on the floor. It was huge and complex, it wasn''t drawn, but was carved in the stone floor. It was a summoning circle made to summon a powerful being. Which being it summons depends on the ritual itself, but if I had to guess, I would say it could be used to summon someone like Gornath or his generals.


    As I returned the way I came, rising the chimney like a stream of smoke, my senses were suddenly assaulted by enormous magical presence. I quickly turned to see the source of it and froze, half my shadow form still inside the chimney. On the roof of the house laid a young human-looking woman with pink hair, in a short white skirt and matching white blouse. She laid in a relaxed pose, her hand supporting her head, and looked at me with a look in her face somewhere between concerned and mischievous. She wasn''t all that she looked, the enormous magical presence flowed from her, concentrated in my direction. She had one of the strongest magical auras I''ve ever felt, on par with demon generals. All my instincts screamed to run from her, to hide and hope to never meet her again. My mind, on the other hand, understood the futility of this idea. She wasn''t just a magnitude stronger than me, she knew I could sense it and directed her magic towards me to flex, without any words explaining, that if she wanted, I''d be on my way back to Hell in an instant. After a moment, she stopped her assault, and her aura subsided to more bearable levels. She spoke to me.


    "Tell me, what are you doing in my city?" Her tone was confident and a bit like a parent would ask something a child. I didn''t like to be spoken to in this way.


    "Your city?"


    Her face shifted more to concern, and I hoped that I could properly read the emotions of such a powerful being. She stood up.


    "I don''t like when questions are responded to with other questions. I like intrigue, but questions should be answered in the end. I''ll ask again: what are you doing in my city?"


    There wasn''t much sense in continuing defying her, I shifted to give my shadows more humanoid appearance and sat on top of the chimney.


    "Adventuring, I guess. I rescued a caravan from this city and now was looking for something interesting."


    "Did you find anything interesting yet?"


    "Some cultists are probably trying to summon a demon lord right here in this house."


    "Is that so?" She asked and looked down, concentrating on something below, almost like she could see through the roof inside the house. "Looks like you''re right. I don''t think I can allow such disturbances in my city."


    "So, this is your city?"


    "This is the city under my protection, which means it is my city, yes. Even if some disagree, that''s how it works for me. And I intend on protecting my precious library... I mean, my precious city. Demon lords wreak havoc wherever they go, and if humans die, they can''t write more books..." She looked very worried now. "Anyway, I will deal with the cultists."


    I nodded at her.


    "That doesn''t solve the problem of a demon currently being in my city. What are you planning to do next?"


    "I don''t know yet. I am bored and was looking for some entertainment... If I don''t need to worry about the cultists, I was planning to collect my reward and maybe join the adventurers'' guild. See what this world has fun to do..."


    After mentioning the adventurers'' guild, the woman''s eyes became sparkly and her face lit with excitement. "A real-life adventure?" She instantly tried to switch to a more calm look. "You know I can''t trust a demon, what if you decide to drag people in Hell or whatnot. But I think we can work something interesting out..."


    I started to worry. "What do you mean?"


    The pink woman smirked mischievously and stretched her arm to the side. Her palm and then half of her arm turned to a semi-transparent goo the color of her hair. Then the goo started flowing down to the roof, more and more appeared out of her arm until it started to reform in a humanoid shape. In a few moments, details were added to the shape and it coalesced into another woman. They looked similar, with the same pink hair and the same height, but the new girl had a more smiley face and much more practical clothing you could see on an adventurer. She also had purple eyes, compared to pink ones of the original. Her magical aura was only the fraction of the original, still on levels of Arthur or Silai, but nowhere near the mysterious woman that claimed Arturel as hers. Original''s aura diminished slightly and it''s composition changed too like someone distilled one of the parts of a mixture. After a moment, the new woman started moving and cheerfully waved her hand.


    "Tutru-rin~" She grinned widely. "I''m Rin, nice to meet you!" She stretched her hand to me.


    I shook it. "Vivienne."


    "Rin will join you on your adventures." The original woman spoke with a sly smirk. "And as you probably understand, you have no say in it, unless you want to go back to wherever you''ve come from."


    "We will be the best pair of adventurers!" Rin exclaimed and tried to hug me, but couldn''t grasp my shadows.


    "Be sure to include her in e-everything." The pink being stretched the word ''everything''. "She is capable, don''t worry, she won''t slow you down. And if you need it, she can contact me. My word has weight in Arturel and outside. Have fun, write letters."


    Rin saluted to another woman.


    "Wait. What''s your name at least?"


    "Lilim. I''m sure we will meet again, see you."


    Lilim waved and turned away as two pairs of pink leathery wings sprouted from her back, and she flew up in the sky, towards the center of the city and one of the towers - Wyrm''s Library. Probably the magic I felt from the tower was what has hidden her from me before, or I have mistaken her magic for the tower''s magic. Either way, a powerful being bullied me to take with me one of her... spawns?


    "What even are you?"


    "A Rin!" She grinned at me.

 Chapter 7 - Its Dangerous To Go Alone

    We were planning to meet with my party near the tavern the next day, but first, I had to go shopping with Rin.


    "Why do you even need a sword?" I asked her as we strolled through one of the streets filled with currently opening shops. "Can''t you use magic?"


    "I can," she replied casually walking with her hands locked behind her head and gazing around. "But magic is boring. I want to get up close, feel the wind of steel passing a hair width away from me, outsmart and outplay my opponent. O-o-oh! Here!"


    Rin grabbed my arm and suddenly pulled me inside one of the stores. I didn''t even have the time to notice its name. Inside, I realized why she chose this exact store. Few of the weapons on display were simple, but all walls were covered by weapon stands and holders mostly filled with enchanted weapons. This place had everything: different types of swords, spears, crossbows, bows, and ammunition for them, axes of different sizes, a fancy looking mace that oozed holy magic, and a 3-meter long glaive. Many were made out of materials like adamantine or mythril, some of them I didn''t recognize by look. On one of the stands covered with glass laid a strange contraption that was probably some dwarven mechanical weapon, it had a handle for one hand like a crossbow, but it didn''t have a bow, and I was sure it didn''t fire bolts. A young-looking dwarf with a pristinely kept chestnut beard stood behind the counter, some especially interesting magical weapons hanged on the wall behind them.


    "Welcome to ''Fireanvil and Children'', I''m Fosdren Fireanvil, how can I be of service?" The dwarf greeted us.


    Rin immediately rushed to the counter and pointed to one of the swords behind the dwarf. "Old man! Show me this sword!"


    "Ha-ha, I''m not a man nor I am old," the dwarf corrected her but didn''t get offended. "But you have a good eye for weapons, I should give you that!"


    They reached behind and placed a sword on the counter before Rin. I came closer to see. It was sheathed, but I still could feel magical energy in it. If I had to guess, I would say it was enchanted with some form of the wind element, but it was an easy guess since it''s a very fitting element for swords. The sword itself was long and thin, slightly curved with a small circular guard and a grip long enough for two hands. The scabbard was simple, all the magic was in the sword itself. Fosdren unsheathed the sword and I saw a single-edged blade with blue-ish tint, the base of it was embossed with runes meaning of which I didn''t know.


    "This katana will suite a woman like you," the store owner started their pitch. "It''s made out of mythril and is extra light, enchanted with wind runes to give the wielder speed and the blade more cutting power. The mythril is treated with moon crystals to make it easier to channel magic through the sword to use fighting techniques."


    Rin''s eyes almost sparkled as she looked the blade over and spun it in her hands. The thin light blade was a good fit for her smaller and lithe frame. I didn''t know how fast she was or how good she was with a sword, but Lilim said she was capable, and I really hoped she was.


    "We''ll take it!" She said.


    "Great, that will be 3000 gold coins, no credit."


    "Vivi, Vivi." Rin pulled my sleeve.


    "Mm?"


    "I don''t have any money, buy it for me!"


    I nodded at her. "Mhm, yes. That makes... You what?"


    <hr>


    "You''re adventurer how should I have known you don''t have money. Aren''t all adventurers very rich?" Rin complained after we left the store promising to its owner to return after I received my payment and buy a bit simpler sword.


    "I''m not an adventurer yet. Besides, 3000 gold coins is a lot of money. Why I should pay for you, shouldn''t you have money of your own? Didn''t Lilim said it''s her city or something?"


    "Eh..." Rin scratched her head. "It''s not like she has to provide for me or anything, and I thought it would be fun to leave with nothing and start from zero... I didn''t think that I would need money, I never needed any before!"


    "Why?"


    "I never really been outside... separate from Lilim... She or Sitren usually handles our interactions with the outside world."


    "Are you like... her offspring?"


    "It''s more like we are parts of the bigger whole if it makes any sense."


    I nodded without any idea what she was talking about, but there will be time to study this species later. "Can you go back and ask for money?"


    "That would be embarrassing. I asked to go on a real adventure, not just read about it in countless books, and returning before we even started would be admitting that it was a bad decision without even trying."


    As we walked back to the tavern, I noticed my previous party gathered near the entrance and Helena waving at me.


    "Hey! Vivi!" She greeted me across the street. "Hey, good morning, who''s that young lady with you?" She asked with a smile as we came closer.


    "Hi everyone. That''s Rin, she is... traveling with me." I introduced Rin. "Rin, this is Helena, Arthur, and Silai."


    "O-oh?" Helena interrupted me with a sly smirk on her face. "One day in town and already found a girlfriend? Good job, good job," she patted me on the shoulder.


    "That''s nothing like that."


    I expected Rin to join in with the teasing, it would fit her character well as I understood her, but instead, she stared in Helena''s face with the look of excitement. She jumped close to Helena and grasped her hands.


    "I want her!" Rin said not to anyone in particular. Helena looked no less confused than I was, and maybe slightly terrified. "Can I have her, please?" This time she looked at me when asking.


    "What do you mean, you want her? She''s her own person, ask her!"


    Rin returned her look to Helena. "Please, can I have you?"


    Helena instead of confused looked surprised and terrified now. She tried to chuckle in response, but it didn''t sound genuine. "Ha-ha. No. As much as I love cute girls, shouldn''t you first ask me out for a mug of tea before making such requests? Ha-ha."


    "I''m sorry!" Rin released Helena''s hand and bowed to her apologetically. "I got carried out please accept my apologies! I hope I can earn your trust in the future!"


    "It''s okay, ha-ha." Helena relaxed a bit.


    Rin sighed. "I think still need a weapon..."


    ''How''s that related?''


    <hr>


    After this weird introduction, we headed towards the adventurers'' guild. It wasn''t far from the tavern and we quickly found ourselves in front of a sizable building. The adventurers'' guild occupied one of the more impressive buildings in the middle part of Arturel. It stood out mostly because it was four stories tall instead of typical two and built primarily out of stone. A fancy sign ''Adventurers'' Guild'' with a logo of shield and sword hanged above the double door entrance. We stepped inside into a spacious hall lit by sunlight from multiple windows. One of the walls of it was used as a huge bounty board with dozens of notices on it separated in multiple sections. Opposite to the entrance was occupied by a long counter at the moment manned by 3 people of different species, each discussing something with patrons. Behind them, the wall was made into a shelf with countless scrolls and books. On both sides of the counter, two wide sets of stairs led to the second floor. The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.


    The hall itself was filled with many patrons, much like guests of the tavern before, they looked adventurous, equipped in different armors, robes or just comfortable traveling clothes, and armed to the teeth. One of the tall elves had a strange huge sword strapped to their back that looked like a jagged meat cleaver. I wasn''t sure how they wielded it with such a lithe body, but I''m not the one to judge people by their appearance. Of course, many of the adventurers had strong magical auras, nothing too impressive, but I committed to memory a few of them. There weren''t any tables or anything like that, most people were either standing and chatting or were clustered around sections of the notice board. Some of the people in the room stood out as guards, not by their appearance but by their attitude. Each corner and each flight of stairs was guarded by a person vigilantly watching over the crowd.


    Arthur approached one of the clerks and without any problems received our reward with the promised bonus, 4000 gold total. Which meant I was a 1000 gold richer and an unknown part of it will go towards Rin''s equipment. I wondered what I should buy for myself and what places I wanted to visit. A succubus friend of mine, Lyra, spoke fondly about many places of relaxation in this realm. Arthur recommended me and Rin to the guild, and we''ve been given some papers to fill in before we could join. It seemed like a comprehensive form, but nothing except name and signature was mandatory, so I just signed it as ''Vivienne'' under multiple waivers of guild''s responsibility and disclaimers, handed it over to the clerk along with 50 gold fee, and they stamped me my bronze badge. It beared my name, number 481004, a logo of the guild and a set of dots and lines that probably only made sense to workers of the guild. It was certainly a magical item, with a simple enchantment to help prove it''s legitimacy. It didn''t bear my rank of anything, it looked like adventurers'' ranking wasn''t a thing here, or at least it was not obvious. Rin also finished her form and handed it to the clerk with my 50 gold coins. I took a peek at her papers, she filled in a bit more. Her species was listed as ''human'', her city of residence ''Arturel'' and her emergency contact person was ''Lilim Neorre of Arturel''. The clerk gave her a similar badge with the number 481005.


    After we were done with the bureaucracy, Rin pulled me towards the bounty board. The rest of the gang came along.


    "Already looking for more, girls?" Helena asked teasingly.


    "I would rather explore the city before leaving again." I replied with a sigh and looked worried at Rin scanning through the bounties in the section marked as "S", the hardest one.


    "This!" She spun around with a piece of paper in her hand and presented it to us.


    "O-oh! Dragons! Count me in!" Helena replied before I could even read it.


    I snatched the paper and looked through it.


    <blockquote>


    A foul creature, a dragon from Carabo Mountain, kidnapped my daughter, Edelin. She was last spotted near Drumboria Woods.


    According to brave survived guards'' description, it''s a young silver-green dragon that flew towards Carabo Mountain after taking my daughter.


    I promise the reward of 40,000 gold coins to anyone able to return my daughter to me alive, and 10,000 coins more if you bring the head of the dragon along.


    Duke Falon Tyr of Arturel.


    </blockquote>


    "A dragon?" I looked at my companions. Helena looked ready to battle, Silai was undisturbed and Rin was excited.


    "And a kidnapped princess! Well, dutchess, but who cares... that''s the perfect adventure plot!"


    "We are not in one of your books. Can we even take a dragon?"


    "With what I''ve seen last," Arthur replied to me, "and if Rin at least half as good as any of us-"


    "Hey, I''m strong!"


    "- then we should be strong enough to take on a young dragon. I would rather we not kill it, though."


    "Why?"


    "Dragons, even not good ones, are important to fend off more evil and stupid monsters. Usually, they are not malicious towards humanoid species, they''re smart. I am curious why this particular dragon decided to kidnap someone. It''s not unheard of if it decided she will fit its treasure hoard, but still..."


    "I don''t mind not killing it as long as we can fight it," said Rin.


    "Hell yeah," Helena replied to her and high-fived the pink excited girl.


    "Do we have to go *now*?" I asked pleadingly.


    "How about we visit the market, buy some things we might require on our journey with the money we just received?" Arthur proposed.


    "And then bathhouse and tavern! I need to pay my tab and start working on a new one, ha-ha."


    "Yes, and we can go out the next morning." Arthur continued after Helena''s plan of rest. "Trip to the mountain will take us around a week and who knows how much until we find the dragon..."


    <hr>


    We returned to Fireanvil''s store (who turned out to be a good Helena''s friend) and bought Rin a katana. She ended up with an enchanted steel weapon that cost me 700 gold. She wanted to buy two, but I didn''t have money and she still kept the hope of buying the mythril one. I bought myself 3 slivered daggers for 100 gold and was left with not much to spare. We all purchased some supplies for travel, like bed rolls and emergency rations, and dropped them at the tavern. Helena paid her tab with a heavy punch of gold coins, promised Betty to return soon, and we went to find a bathhouse.


    After a bit of arguing between Helena and Arthur which one is better, we found ourselves in front of a pretty building with a sign ''Relaxed Undine'' depicting a mermaid in a bathtub on it. The building was made in a different style than other houses nearby. It didn''t use any stone, instead, walls were made of wood painted white. It had a small front yard with decorative bushes, vines were covering its walls and handles of the porch.


    "I admit, it looks nice." Helena agreed with Arthur''s choice.


    A short elven or half-elven lady in a long coat met us inside. She had black hair gathered in a big bun and strangely looking wooden sandals. She spoke in a soft voice, gave us coats and blankets, took 2 gold coins from each of us and showed us the way to the baths. It confused me for a moment that Arthur and Silai went to the other bathroom, but then I realized it''s a separated bathhouse and I''m currently in what looks like a woman''s body. I subtly adjusted parts of it that were usually covered by clothes so my naked form wouldn''t blow my cover, and stepped in the changing room with Rin and Helena. We undressed and went into the showers room. Here we quickly scrubbed each other''s backs. I was impressed to see no scars on Helena''s body. It was something I would expect from shapeshifters like Rin or myself, but not from a close-range fighter like Helena. Even if she was too good, she had to have some scars from her training. Was she also not what she seemed? Or she has used magic to remove them, it probably wasn''t hard to do.


    After the shower room, we walked to the bathroom and found ourselves outside. Not completely outside, just in the backyard of the bathhouse. The backyard was surrounded by a tall wooden fence, completely blocking the view from the outside. In the middle of it was a hot spring, adorned with small stones. It was big enough for ten or more people to relax freely, but there were only three of us. The space between the spring and the fence was decorated with grass, flowers, shrubs, small trees and figures out of stone.


    I stepped in the spring. The water was warm, almost hot. I laid in the water and felt as my body relaxed. Even though it was a construct of mana shaped by my will that can not get tired as long as I have mana to spare, it somehow felt great and relaxing. I closed my eyes and relaxed my mind too. The water and this place were definitely magical, which would have explained the effect. It was also eerily quiet and calm. This alone probably made it all worth it. There are no places like this in Hell...


    It felt like an eternity has passed before Helena broke the silence.


    "You look like you''re enjoying yourself, Vivi."


    I nodded without opening my eyes. "There are no places like this where I am from."


    "What about you, Rin?"


    "I''ve been in hot springs before, I''m from Arturel after all."


    "Speaking of... how did it happen that you two are together? Just yesterday Vivi was new to the city and today you''re traveling with another cute swordswoman." I didn''t hear any jealousy in her voice, just genuine curiosity.


    "I got bullied into taking her with me."


    "By whom?"


    "By Lilim," I replied offhandedly as I heard a splash of water. I opened eyes and saw Helena''s shocked face.


    "By *the* Lilim? The dragon of Arturel?"


    "Probably?" I replied confused. It was obvious that denizens of the city would have heard about the creature that called Arturel hers, I just didn''t think it was important to hide.


    "Is this true?" Helena looked at Rin.


    "Ah... yeah," Rin replied with a smile.


    "You know what? I will not ask. Whatever has happened between you, it''s your deal, but if you''re from Lilim, I trust you."


    "Why?"


    "You aren''t from here, but it''s still strange that you haven''t heard about her. She is the protector of Arturel. She singlehandedly stopped three major threats to the city only in the last 100 years, maybe more that we don''t know. I grew up wishing I would be as cool one day!"


    "If you say so..." I saw Rin roll her eyes, but Helena didn''t see it.


    "I want to meet her so much. If you know her, can you make it happen? Please?"


    "Sure..." Rin replied. "When we return from the dragon hunting I can introduce you."


    "Yes!" Helena shot her arm up.