《Finding Home: The Quest for Knowledge》


 1: Hello, New World

    I started playing the game because I was bored, and perhaps a little lonely. It''s not like I was bullied or anything, I just found my day-to-day life to be a little... routine. I wanted to escape.


    I was 14 years old when I started playing. And there was nothing special about the game I picked either. I had just been given my Dad''s old laptop, and I was looking for games that it could actually play. It turns out a lot of games didn''t work on it, since the laptop was originally just used for office productivity type stuff even when it was new.


    The only game that worked well, and I liked, was a little Massive Multi-player Online game that went by the name "Destiny''s Lost Children". It was all pixel animation and cutesy, which hid a surprisingly complex system underneath. It was created by a South Korean company, and had already been released over there for quite a few years by the time it was translated and brought over to my country.


    I wasn''t an obsessive player in the traditional sense. My parents were strict about how much time I spent on the computer. I¡¯d only end up playing the game a few hours a week, and often at odd times of the day. Occasionally I¡¯d get some money and there¡¯d be a sale within the game so I could buy some in-game items without feeling overly guilty about it. That¡¯s why most of what I¡¯d gotten in the game, I¡¯d earned through hours of game play because I was so stingy with my money.


    My friendships were one-dimensional there too. I¡¯d pair up with people and parties at random when I first started and just kept doing it. It¡¯s not that I didn¡¯t know anybody, I did. In fact I had a pretty huge roster of people I¡¯d cycle through and play with in the game. But actual friends? No. I never got that close to anyone.


    Honestly, what was I doing with my life? All those years of playing that game adds up to a lot of time in the end. The least I could have done was make at least one really good friend there. But no. I didn¡¯t. What a waste!


    Anyway, it was bound to happen. The company that made the game was shutting down. The game itself would end. It was a good run, having lasted over 10 years.


    I remember thinking to myself, on the day the servers were going to shut down, "What on earth am I going to do with myself on the weekends now?"


    When I turned off the program, for the very last, I was genuinely sad. I went to bed feeling that way, heavy hearted and a little bit empty. Like I''d just said goodbye to an old friend. How silly of me to realize after the fact, when it¡¯s too late, that I¡¯d really loved that game way more than I¡¯d ever admitted.


    And then I woke up in a completely different place.


    Are you surprised? Because I was. One moment I''m falling asleep in my perfectly normal room, in a perfectly normal (but small) apartment, in a perfectly normal town, and the next thing I''m waking up smack dab in the middle of a forest.


    I think I laid there for a solid half-hour just trying to decide if I was dreaming or hallucinating or what. Finally, I gave up on trying to rationalize what was going on and sat up.


    It was a very nice forest. Admittedly I hadn''t been to many in my life time, so maybe I wasn''t the best judge. But it had a cozy feel to it: sunshine streaming through tree branches. Bits of stuff in the air that seemed to sparkle in the light. The rustle of plant life as a gentle breeze passed through. And that ever so pleasant sound of distant wildlife: birds and small animals going about their business.


    Well, I could have stayed right there. If this was a dream, why leave?


    But I was getting hungry. And thirsty. It also turns out that a forest floor is not comfortable to sleep on. So I got up and started exploring.


    Food and water.


    I had no idea how to survive "in the wild". I didn''t like camping, and survival type stuff never interested me. I mean, why bother learning about that kind of stuff when you lived in a town? Civilization exists, I always believed in using it to the fullest!


    Oh! There! I could hear the sound of water. After walking a bit, I found a small stream. I briefly wondered if drinking from some random stream was safe. Things lived and died in there, after all.


    But¡­ well¡­ it¡¯s not like I had anything to lose, right? This might all be a dream. A thirsty dream. I eyed the stream again. It was clear, I could see the bottom. Nothing strange was swimming in there.


    Sometimes you just gotta take risks, I finally decided.


    I bent down to take a drink, and froze at my reflection in the water.


    What? Woah. WHAT?


    I sat down with a thump and began feeling my face, panic and amazement rising in me at the same time.


    Where do I even begin? First of all, I''m a perfectly normal human, alright? I''m an average sort of person in appearance, with a bit of a dumpy look because I never put in the effort to look nicer. And since I hated the outdoors, I had a pasty sun-less look to me. But what I saw in that water was not human.


    I peered into the water again, unbelieving in my shock. My eyes were a bright green, mixed with yellow, and my pupils were slits (like a cat''s eyes). My ears where large and furry. They felt a bit like dog ears, with large tufts of fur where they connected to my head. My face had a thin layer of¡ªfor lack of a better term¡ªfur, that was a light brown and covered in darker dot patterns around my temples. My hair felt like very soft, fluffy human hair. It was an unnatural green color, mostly dark with some light streaks through-out.


    This was weird! I looked like a character out of Destiny''s Lost Children. They had five races in the game: Humans, Elves, Dwarfs, Tetradians, Nightshades, and Mewnins. I was a Mewnin. They were a humanoid cross between a dog and cat. I''d played as all the races at least once, but my first character (and the one I had logged into before the game shut down), had been a Mewnin.


    My brain fumbled over the thought, even as it came to me, "Am I... is this.. Am I in the game?"


    I looked down at myself. My hands were furry, spotted on the back, and clawed. I wasn''t wearing my pajama''s, but instead a very simple tan shirt and pair of dark slacks and sturdy boots. I had a very small pack attached to the back of my belt, which I only just then noticed. This was the standard equipment from the game, which all new people got.


    I reached for my pack. I was humorously annoyed by the flawed design. While it looked cute in pixel form, having your pack on your lower back made it difficult to reach. I ended up taking my belt off completely and rearranged the pack so it was pointing forward. Well, now I looked ridiculous, but at least I could reach inside of it.


    I jumped in surprise when I opened the pack: Something like a grid appeared in front of me, and in each square, was a little icon. I recognized the icons from the game. Clothes, weapons, food, items, potions.


    As unbelievable as it was, it really did appear to be I was in the game world! A mixture of disbelief and amazement bubbled up from within me. I''d had vivid dreams in the past, and this was nothing like it. I pinched myself in the arm, hard, and flinched at the pain. I looked around me. Everything was too real, much too real, to be a dream.


    I stared at the grid again. My stomach rumbled.


    Food. Right. I poked at the most normal item I had on the grid: a fancy loaf of bread. In the game, characters got 20 loafs of plain bread to start with, with each loaf healing a small amount of health (HP) and magic points (MP). This particular character was much too high level to use that kind of bread. But you could buy, or make, a fancier version cheaply with the right skills.


    There was no feeling of pressing on the item, but there was a "wumph!" Sound and the bread appeared in front of me, hovering for a moment before dropping on the ground. I picked it up and sniffed. It smelled like an oaty garlic infused bread. I squeezed it and was surprised by how soft and warm it felt. It was just like it''d been taken out of the oven.


    I shrugged and bit down.


    Yep. This was definitely bread. It was tastier than white or wheat bread, but it was still familiar. That was a relief. Waking up in a strange place, with a strange face, was really disconcerting. Having anything resembling "normal" felt comforting. Even if it did pop out of thin air.


    I looked into the water, at my face again. Underneath all the strangeness, I realized "I" was there. It was like someone had taken the human me and melded it with the Mewnin character I''d been playing. Well, the game graphics had left a lot to the imagination when it came to character customizing. General things like color, hair, and clothing you could change. But faces were extremely generic, with only 5 templates to choose from. This place I was in seemed to have made up the difference.


    It left me with mixed feelings. Honestly, going with generic face I''d chosen would have likely been better looking. It''s not that I was ugly but... well... It would have been nice if I¡¯d gotten a cuter face to go along with my species changing.


    I shook my head, the odd sensation of my ears flopping against my head startling me for a moment. Worrying about being plain looking at this point was silly. I had more important things I needed to be focusing on.


    Opening my pack, I selected an empty jar (used for potion making). Like the bread, it appeared before me. I grabbed it before it fell to the ground. Dipping it in the stream, which turned out to be pleasantly cool, I filled it up and drank.


    Ah, water and food.


    Even though everything was strange and nothing made sense, knowing I wouldn''t starve to death or die of thirst put me in an a much better frame of mind. I''d never been terribly good at dealing with stress on an empty stomach to begin with... strange what seemed to cross over to this place.


    I examined my inventory again. If I looked at the bottom row, it caused the list to "scroll" down naturally. This caused me some issues at first, as I''d accidentally scroll up or down when I didn''t mean to. After some practice I adapted to this new way of accessing my items.


    There! I found my best armor!


    Selecting it, I expected to have a pile of clothes drop in front of me. Instead I felt a breezy sensation all over my body and suddenly I was wearing the armor. Wow! Now that''s convenience!


    But, oh... this armor... I never liked the design that much. I only wore it because it was strong and I''d gotten it as a rare drop from a difficult quest. It was a bright green with red accent colors. It was also, I just noticed, awkward to move in. After a attempting a few steps, I immediately decided this was a horrible idea and needed to get it off.


    I searched around my waist for my pack was horrified to realize it wasn''t there. I broke out in a nervous sweat, wondering if I would have to try and take it off manually. I didn''t even know how to begin to do that! Just as this thought began to really sink in, I discovered a small pouch on my right hip. Upon opening it, I was relieved to see the grid appear before me.


    So apparently my pack changed shape, size, and location depending on what I wore but didn''t disappear. After some searching, I found a more practical looking set of armor and selected it. The breezy sensation washed over me again and I found myself in a much more respectable outfit.


    It was similar to the starter outfit I woke up with, but with actual plates of armor on my arms, chest, and legs. It''s color theme was a dark blue-green, with accents of off-white. My favorite part was the light, knee-length jacket. It had a gorgeous flower design on the back. My strongest armor was designed for brute strength and defense, but this one was all about speed and attack.


    Pleased, I looked through my pack for weapons. It wasn''t wise to be caught defenseless in unknown locations. If this body took after the actual game character it was based off, it meant it was terribly weak bare-handed. Since it was the first character I played, I didn''t put much thought into class. I went with what looked the easiest and most balanced: the Knight Class.


    In the game the Knight Class excelled at attacks with a sword and shield defense. Base specifications were pretty bland, but where it excelled was as a support character. Alone Knights were very middle-of-the-road in their attack and defense. However, in a group they got a lot of bonuses. This included things like increased attack power when party members reached half-health, or a defense boost at the beginning of battles. There were also a lot of spells you could cast to strengthen your party members, that also benefited the Knight. In general, it was the kind of character that did best in a party of people.


    After some thought I decided on going with the basic sword and shield set. Of course, I had a lot better weapons, much stronger and flashier looking. But really, unless I met a powerful enemy, there was no point in using them. If I met an actual person decked out in my strongest weapons, I might give the wrong impression and come off as threatening. Play it safe.


    When I selected the weapons and shield, I was surprised to see extra items come with them as well: a shield holder and a scabbard for my sword to attack to my belt. In the game they just magically attached themselves.


    Interesting. That spoke of the kind of logic used in this world. There were differences between it and the game.


    Hm. I started thinking about the idea of differences between the game and this world. I needed to know what those were before I found myself in a situation where ignorance got me killed. One major thing popped into my mind: could I even fight? How sturdy was this body?


    I took out the sword from its sheath and looked it over more carefully. It looked sharp. Finding a small tree, I lifted the sword to hit it. Almost immediately a flood of information swept into my mind. I knew, without knowing how, the exact way I needed to swing the sword to cut that tree in half. Before I could even stop myself, my body instinctively swung.


    For a moment, nothing happened. Then the entire tree slide, cleanly cut at an angle, and toppled over.


    "Wow." That was amazing. As a human, I''d never learned to fight, much less use a sword, before coming here. I never saw the need for it. Having foreign information suddenly pop into my mind like that felt really strange, but was also a little exciting. What exactly was I able to do now?


    I found another tree. This time I concentrated on just hitting the tree, not cutting it in half. Just like before, information came to me, and my body swung all on its own. There was a thud and crunching sound as the sword hit the tree, but it didn''t run all the way through.


    I realized I''d wedged the sword in the tree, and after some tugging I got it loose. Interesting again. So I could control what kind of information came to me, by making sure I had a specific goal in mind at the beginning.


    Standing in front of the tree again, I thought about the fact that I wanted to hit the tree, not break it, but not immediately. This time my stance changed, sword raised, and no other motion happened. I waited a bit and then thought, "Hit it now!" And my body did as commanded.


    Alright. So I could control the timing too. That was a good thing to know.


    Hm. The information that had come to me earlier was still there. It was a very odd feeling. It was like looking at someone else''s memory, not my own. If I fought enough, would that information begin to feel like "me"?


    Well, I hoped I didn''t find out the answer to that any time soon. I''d rather not be fighting enough for that to happen. I mean, in the game everything was pixels. Even blood was pixelated. If I killed something here, it would be like it was¡­ well¡­ real.


    I put my sword away and felt my stomach rumble.


    That bread hadn''t been enough. I accessed my pack again and looked at the other food items. I wanted something a bit heartier this time. I picked roasted leg meat.


    When it popped into existence, I grabbed it.


    Arg! HOT! It was hot! I spent a few minutes tossing it from one hand to the next until it cooled down enough to handle properly. What a weirdly specific detail to include, I thought with half annoyance and amusement. It also tasted great! But I''d always like roasted chicken anyway, and this tasted like something akin to chicken.


    I didn''t know what to do with the bones so I tossed them aside without much thought.


    The moment I did I became intensely aware of being watched. I''d had that kind of feeling as a human, but as a Mewnin it was much, much stronger. I became very still and listened intensely: Yes, there was something there. Something small, based on its breathing and the ever so slight rustling of the foliage underneath it.


    That was cool. I''d never heard or sensed anything so clearly before.


    I had no idea what was watching me though, but I definitely wanted to find out. I picked a direction opposite to whatever was watching me and walked. After I was far enough away, I turned around and snuck back, and hid.


    Another interesting tidbit: my body instinctively knew how to be very quiet. That had been a bonus for Mewnin race: cat-like stealth and dog-like senses, regardless of class. A lot of the people who played as Ninjas and Rangers were Mewnin because the racial bonuses went well with those classes and gave them a slight advantage. (But I didn¡¯t know that when I first started, and ended up pairing my Mewnin character with an odd class.)


    I waited. And waited. And was just starting to doubt, if I''d imagined the whole thing, when my peeping tom finally showed up.


    I starred at it in bafflement. What was that?


    It was small, that much I understood. It could, perhaps, be compared to a cat. But it''s ears and tail were the wrong shape: the ears were floppy and the tail was much too long and thin. The fur was blue on top and darkened to eventual black at its pawed feet. Large dark blue eyes stared out of its vaguely cat-shaped face.


    It very carefully walked towards my discarded meal. I had left quite a bit of meat on it, as I was getting uncomfortably full at I got closer to the bone. It was clearly nervous, as if afraid something would come after it.


    As I say it more closely, my heart squeeze. Admittedly I didn''t know what it was suppose to look like, but from I suspected not this: emaciated with matted dirty fur.


    I don''t know why, but I thought I needed to help this thing. Maybe it was because, if fed and taken care of, it might actually be kind of cute looking. I was always a sucker for cute animals. I was never able to own any since my apartment wouldn''t allow it, but I loved playing with them when I got the opportunity.


    Suddenly it put on a burst of speed, and chomping down with its teeth, grabbed the bone and ran. Ever so quietly, I followed. I knew, instinctively, that it was unaware of my presence.


    After a little bit, it slowed and then stopped. The location seemed somewhat random, other than being far enough away that I (had I been unaware of it) wouldn''t have heard it. It feverishly began to eat the meat, and then gnaw on the bone once it was done with that.


    How do I get this creature to trust me? Whatever it was, it didn''t seem like it was made to survive out here. It wouldn''t last at the rate it was going. I wanted to help it, but it was awful skittish. If I suddenly appeared it would most definitely run.


    Just as carefully as I had come, I snuck away. After some pondering, I decided food was my best bet. I opened my pack and looked at the content. After a while I found what I was looking for: Cubbed Pot Roast. There were chunks of meat in there, as well as vegetables.


    My idea was really simple: create a small trail of food to myself, and get this creature to see I wasn''t going to hurt it. I wasn¡¯t sure it¡¯d work but I didn¡¯t think it¡¯d hurt to try either.


    With quiet carefulness, I took pieces of meat and laid out a trail for it to follow. The plate with the rest of food I set directly in front of me. I laid down on my side and waited.


    After some time, I heard it approaching. When it reached the clearing where I lay, it became very still. It was clearly thinking. It wanted that plate of food. I could almost feel the yearning. But it was also terrified.


    Slowly, I opened my eyes to stare in its direction. I kept my eyes half open, giving me a lazy look, and then looked at the food. And then back at the spot where it was hiding.


    "Come on, I''m not going to hurt you." I thought intensely at it. "Just come and eat. Nothing bad will happen. Come on...!"


    After a while it cautiously left it''s hiding place. It was staring at me, and I got the distinct impression it heard my thought. I don''t know why. But, no, it couldn''t possibly...


    Ah, wait. I have no idea what the rules are in this place. Or what this creature is... maybe it can read my mind? Who knows?


    With this in mind I continued to "think" reassuring thoughts at it. It continued to be cautious as it approached, but approach it did. Finally, it was at the plate of food. It sat down in front the plate, staring at it longingly.


    No matter what I thought, it didn''t do anything. Finally, somewhat exasperated, I finally spoke: "Just eat it!"


    It jumped at my voice, and I feared it would run. Instead, it began to do as I''d commanded. It gobbled the food down, as if it were eating air. I couldn''t help but be impressed.


    After it had licked the very last juice from the bottom of the plate, it looked at me fully in the face. I had been very still the entire time, as I was still worried sudden movement would make it run.


    "More....?" It squeaked out. If I hadn''t been lying down, I''d have fallen over in surprise.


    "So you speak, huh?"


    It ignored this inquiry and repeated: "...more?"


    I sighed. Well, I had been bribing it with food so...


    I picked several small items of food: an apple, a slab of simple cooked meat with garlic sauce, and a carrot. These were all food items I had great quantities of, since in the game I¡¯d combine them to make better meals. It ate all of them, seeming to find the apple particularly delightful. It apparently had a sweet tooth.


    "What''s your name?" I asked it.


    It had been nibbling on the apple and stopped, thinking. "No name. Give name?"


    A creature that could talk, without a name, and it wanted me to name it? This seemed an awful lot like some kind of pre-scripted event... a hidden quest. In which case: What, exactly, was I committing myself to?


    Then I silently laughed at myself. Did it really matter at this point, after I''d already gone to all this trouble already?


    "Are you a girl or a boy?"


    It shook its head, confused. "Dunno?"


    So much for narrowing down a name based on gender then. Naming things wasn¡¯t my strong suit but it occurred to me I should be careful what I called it. I didn¡¯t know the rules of this world and what naming a random critter in the wild would do. In the game you could only give names to creatures that were pets. And they could only be pets after you ¡°hatched¡±, traded, or captured them. I hadn¡¯t done any of those things. If this was the game, I shouldn¡¯t be able to name it then. Which meant this wasn¡¯t the game and, back to where I¡¯d started, I needed to be careful.


    Since I didn¡¯t know what naming did, if it did anything at all even, I decided to go with a name that couldn¡¯t possibly come back to bite me later:


    "How about... Dignity?"


    It gave me a thoughtful look and then nodded. Then the creature did something peculiar: It sat up on its hind legs, and stretched itself out, as if trying to touch the sky with its nose, it''s tail as stiff as a board.


    "My name," It announced grandly. "Is Dignity!"


    And then there was something that sounded like a muffled explosion and a foggy cloud where Dignity had been. I blinked several times from the smoke or cloud and leaned back, ready to run if I needed.


    And there, instead of a strange catlike creature, stood a human like creature! It looked like a very tiny 6-year-old humanoid, much too thin even for its height, with long pointy ears, a thin scraggly tail, and long dirty blue hair.


    "What on earth..." I mumbled, perplexed.


    He pointed at himself, and chest puffed out, announcing again. "I''m Dignity!"


    I sat up, without thinking.


    Dignity promptly took several steps away from me, alarmed.


    "I''m not going to hurt you." I said, mildly annoyed. "I''d have done it already if that had been my intention."


    He nodded slowly, and then smiled. It was a brilliant smile. He was adorable, scrawny though he was.


    Oh right. Dignity was definitely a "he". I could tell because he was totally and completely naked.


    "Well, I''m going to have to get you something to wear." I announced promptly,. I had no intention of walking around with a small naked child-thing.


    "Wear?" He approached me, curious.


    "Yes. Clothing. Hm.." I looked through my pack: I had a sewing kit and some bolts of fabric. If I could use my sword without knowing how, I suspected I could sew with that kit too. Both objects appeared before me.


    Dignity was, contrarily, not the least bit scared by this action. Instead he came over and poked the fabric. Then, apparently liking how it felt, put both hands on it and moved his hands over the fabric.


    I pointed at the fabric. "I''m going to make something with this and you''re going to wear it."The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    He stopped what he was doing to stare at me and then the fabric. "Wear it..."


    I opened my sewing kit, which thankfully included scissors, and then grabbed the fabric. My sewing level in the game wasn''t terribly high, but for making simple clothes it was good enough. Pants and a shirt was all I needed. By body started working away at the cloth, confirming my theory. As long as I had some skill with an object in the game, I could perform the task without knowledge from when I was a human.


    Weird. Useful, but weird.


    While I worked, I asked, "So, Dignity. Tell me about yourself."


    This was apparently too broad a question for he just looked at me confused.


    I tried again: "What exactly ARE you Dignity?"


    He spent some time thinking on this question. He looked adorable as he thought.


    Finally: "Kobold... maybe?"


    I tried to remember if there''d been Kobolds in the game but gave up. I had some general idea of what they were... or what I thought they were... Weren''t they kind of like Goblins? Dignity didn''t look anything like a Goblin.


    "You aren''t sure?"


    He shrugged. "I know but I don''t know."


    Well, that wasn''t helpful. Moving on.


    "Why are you by yourself? Do you have a family?"


    "Died." His little shoulders slumped.


    I was quiet for a moment before saying: "I''m sorry. Is it alright for me to ask what happened?"


    His whole body shivered but he managed to reply: "Monsters came, very angry."


    "Why were they angry?"


    "Don''t know."


    I nodded, saddened and a bit worried. Most humans didn''t know why bad things happened to them. I guess the same applied even here. Life was just fundamentally difficult in that way, I supposed. However, more pressing was this comment about monsters.


    A Kobold was definitely a kind of monster, wasn''t it? By a regular human''s definition, I was probably a monster too. But Dignity seemed to differentiate himself from the beings who''d killed his family. I wanted to ask what the difference was, but I suspected Dignity wouldn''t understand the question. He seemed a bit simple.


    I decided it was better to go a different direction with my questions.


    "Why did you turn into.." I hesitated. He wasn''t exactly human. He was abnormally small for a human, and even ignoring the tail and ears, his hands and feet had a strange ash colored look to them. Not like they were dirty, but as if the skin itself got darker. I rephrased what I was asking: "Why did you change forms?"


    He cocked his head at this. "You gave me a name." He stated this as if it were a very obvious thing.


    "That''s... Uh... normal for Kobolds then? To change forms when they have a name?"


    "You don''t know?!" He asked in astonishment.


    Was this common knowledge? Or was it just common knowledge to Kobolds? Heck, how was he so certain about this but not about whether he was actually a Kobold to begin with? He could act all shocked about my ignorance, but the holes in his knowledge were far more surprising!


    "I don''t know. I''ve never met a Kobold before."


    Dignity nodded, thoughtful. "A name is power."


    "For everyone?"


    He shrugged. "Maybe."


    Another maybe.


    "Didn''t your parents name you though?"


    "Not the same. And..." He looked at the ground. "...don''t remember anyway."


    How long ago was it that his parents died, I wondered. I mean, to forget your own name... it must have been some time ago.


    I held up the pants I''d just finished. They were very simple, and barely qualified as pants. They were just below the knee in length. "Alright, let''s get you half-way decent..."


    He didn''t know how to put them on, which didn''t really surprise me. After some struggle with balance and proper leg placement, I got him dressed. I had even added a hole for his thin, wispy tail. I''d made a cord out of some of the left-over fabric from the pants, and tied it around his waist neatly.


    "There we go!" I said, pleased with myself. Because I kept the design simple, I''d been able to stitch quickly. I needed to do the shirt next, so I started cutting out a design.


    Dignity rubbed his hands on the pants, once again enraptured by the texture of the fabric.


    "On the topic of names," I continued where we''d left off. "My name is Angela."


    He looked up at me. "...Angela?"


    "Yep. It means Angel, or Messenger of God."


    His mouth turns to an "O" shape at this. "You work for God?"


    I laughed. "No. The meaning of the name isn''t meant to be taken literally. My parents thought the name sounded nice is all."


    He gave me a puzzled look. "What about my name?"


    "I named you after an actual word. It''s a great word too!" I had finished the basic sewing and was now hemming the shirt. "It kind of means, like, respect. That people respect you because of how you carry yourself. A person who you look at and you think: Wow, now they''ve got things figured out! Like that. I named you hoping you''d be like that in the future."


    His chest puffed out, and I affectionately realized he was taking a great deal of pride in the name I had given him. I knew in other cultures, humans put a lot of weight into the meaning of a name. Where I lived it was just about it sounding nice. I felt like I''d missed out on something I''d never even thought about before.


    "How long have you been by yourself?"


    Dignity forehead crinkled in thought. "Dunno... long time. Real long time. Lonely."


    His sad frown made my heart squeeze. Poor little guy! Family dead and living alone. That''s just depressing. It won''t stand!


    I stopped what I was doing and gently stroked his hair. "I can''t replace the family you lost, but I can at least be your friend. Let''s stick together so neither of us has to be lonely, alright?"


    He blushed while giving a small, pleased, smile. "Yeah!"


    "Anyway," I continued. "Staying in this forest isn''t an option. I need civilization!"


    "Civ-cilation??" He failed miserable at repeating the word.


    "That''s right! Civilization! Knowledge! A place where people can tell me things, because right now I''m totally ignorant."


    "...ignorant?"


    "Yep, I need to know what''s going on. And I don''t know anything. The only thing worse than being ignorant of your circumstances is being dead because of them. I''m not gonna be much of a friend if my ignorance gets me, or you, or both of us killed."


    Dignity''s eye became wide at this. "Really bad, ignorance?"


    "Exactly." I lifted up the shirt. I''d finished it. "Let''s get this on you, shall we?"


    Getting the shirt on was a little easier than the pants. I had him raise his hands to the air and simply slipped it on.


    "There!" A simple shirt and pants. I couldn¡¯t believe I¡¯d made it myself. As a human, I didn¡¯t even know how to sew on a button. Making an entire outfit was amazing.


    I wished I could give him shoes too, but I knew I couldn''t make anything sturdy enough with just a sewing kit. You needed leather for decent shoes. And in the game leather was considered part of armor making, and to make armor you needed a forge. I had actually maxed out my Armor Making skill set with this character, so there was a good chance I could make some fantastic shoes if I¡¯d set my mind to it.


    But, you know, I¡¯d need a forge. Which I obviously didn¡¯t have here. And I had no experience with working with leather as a human to draw from either. Which meant he was going shoe-less.


    "You''re adorable!" I announced after giving him a good look over.


    He giggled shyly at my praise.


    "Now that you''re properly clothed, let''s get to the business of getting out of this forest." I lifted him up and set him on my shoulder. "You''re a bit on the tiny side, so how about you stay up here?" I didn''t want to have him slow me down and I wasn¡¯t sure how sturdy his feet were (they looked pretty frail from my view).


    His little hands grabbed a tuft of ear hair for balance. "Wow! So high!" He exclaimed at the view.


    I chuckled at his reaction and started walking.


    We made our way back to the stream. I needed to make sure I had access to water. Taking out a flask from my pack, I filled it. Hm, how do I put this back? I¡¯d left the other one sitting next to the stream. With nothing to lose, I gently lowered the flask onto the grid, in an empty square. It vanished from my hand and re-appeared in the grid, properly stored. I was pleased at how easy that was, and promptly filled all my empty flasks with water and stored them away.


    If I was going to walk around in a forest without a map for an indefinite period of time, I didn''t want to die of dehydration. At least the food shouldn''t be a problem. I wasn''t going to use what I had in my pack unless it was an emergency. I''d hunt instead. I was pretty confident I could with my Mewnin skills and basic bow skills.


    I don''t know why, but I had optimistically thought I would get out of that forest that day or maybe the next day. Three days at the max. But reality was far more brutal than I''d anticipated: A week passed and I was still stuck wandering around.


    It was fortunate that I could hunt and cook with the game skills I''d acquired. My cooking skill was quite high, as I''d hated paying for health potions in the game. The thing with the cooking skill was that, even though it required an upfront investment in both game currency and time, it paid off in the long term because you could hunt for the ingredients and make a meal equivalent to any magical healing item, for free. And the higher your cooking skills, the more additional benefits you got. By the time I''d maxed out my character, I could cook most recipes in the game and also give any meal I made "buffs" (added magical benefits) as well.


    All that translated to in this world was being able to make a really good meal out of anything I caught or harvested. I could skin it, dice it, and slice it like a pro. Not that I enjoyed skinning animals. Of course, that was only if I could catch an animal. Small game (like rabbits) was still surprising difficult to catch when all you had was a bow. My first few meals were mostly wild vegetables and berries. I took out meat from my inventory to give Dignity, because he clearly needed it. But for myself, I ate only what I could catch.


    Speaking of Dignity, I had to make him more clothes by the end of the week. He''d completely out grown what I''d made. His age remained the same, but he tripled in size. He was now the size of a normal little boy. If not for his ears and tail, he''d have passed as an extremely adorable human child. I have no idea why he grew so fast, and I fervently hoped he stopped soon. Not only was I wasting a lot of good cloth on him, having a giant 6-year-old following me around would likely startle the locals (if I could find them).


    The other thing that I found interesting, was that he got smarter. I''m not sure if him being alone for so long had stunted his mind or what, but constant interaction with me seemed to increase is communication skills by leaps and bounds. Things he''d been uncertain about at the beginning, like whether he was a Kobold or not, he was absolutely certain about now. He just seemed to know more in general.


    I actually asked him about this near the end of the first week and ended up having an insightful conversation about Kobolds in general:


    "Dignity, is it me, or are you getting smarter?" I said, waiting for the rabbit I''d (finally) caught to cook over the fire.


    He tilted his head at this question and raised an eyebrow. "Of course."


    "Uh... is that... normal?" Sometimes I asked him questions and got treated like I was stupid for not knowing. This was one of those times.


    "For a Kobold."


    "Really. Why''s it normal for a Kobold?"


    "Well, Kobolds adapt to the expectations of the people they¡¯re associated with."


    I didn''t know where to start to dissect that answer.


    "Are you saying.. You''re trying to live up to my expectations?" I pointed to myself, surprised.


    "You did give me a name, after all."


    "And that''s important...?" I''d tried asking about the name thing when I first met him, and been met with confusion. I hadn''t brought it up since then. Now he looked at me with a face filled with adorable exasperation.


    "Yes, naming is important. I said this before."


    "You did but you didn''t explain why."


    He looked away, sighing in disappointment at my ignorance. This little punk!


    "When a Kobold accepts a name from someone it means they''ve entered a pact with them. I accepted your name, and we made a deal, so now I''m living up to my end of the deal."


    I looked at him blankly. What? We''d made a deal? What''s this about a pact? Huh?


    Looking a little hurt at my reaction, he asked. "Don''t you remember?"


    "Obviously I remember naming you. I didn''t know that was us making a pact though. What''s this ''deal'' you''re talking about too?"


    "You said you''d be my friend and we wouldn''t be lonely. You said that ignorance was bad, worse than death. If I''m your friend, I can''t be ignorant. Especially if ignorance is worse than death."


    "So... " I replied, struggling to really accept what I was hearing. "You got smarter... to be a better friend?"


    "Yes, of course. Aren''t you doing the same, trying to be a better friend by finding civilization?"


    That was an interesting way to interpret what I''d said. It''s not technically what I''d meant, but arguing about the finer details didn''t seem exactly productive.


    Instead I asked: "But how do you MAKE yourself smarter? I''ve never heard of just willing yourself into smartness."


    We both looked at each other, baffled.


    "I don''t understand. How else do you get smart except by deciding to do so?"


    "Uh... Where I come from you have to work for it: read and go to school and memorize a lot of stuff."


    "What''s a read and school?"


    I opened my mouth and closed it. I''d never had to explain what reading meant to someone before. I legitimately didn''t know how, so I decided to demonstrate instead. I crouched down, cleared away some leaves, and used my finger to write a basic sentence.


    "This," I pointed at the ground. "Is called a sentence. By reading it, I can understand a message someone else left behind."


    He looked at the ground, curious. "What''s the message?"


    "It just says, "My name is Angela"."


    He frowned. "I''m not sure why that''s useful."


    "Well, let''s say I needed to tell someone a message when I wasn''t around. I could write it out and the person would come by and read it. I could talk to them without being there."


    "Isn''t that lonely?"


    I hesitated. "I can be. But it can also be really useful if you''re trying to contact someone who is far away or who you keep missing accidentally. It can be a way to keep a friendship going, even if you''re on the other side of the world."


    He squatted down and stared at the writing intensely. He then looked up at me. "Teach me too."


    I scratched me head, nervous. I''d never taught someone how to read before. I barely remembered how I was taught. "I don''t know if I''ll make a good teacher, but I can try."


    He nodded. "Good. What is school?"


    Oh, right! I''d forgotten for a moment why were on this conversation. "School is a place that teaches you to read, write, learn math, and a lot of other stuff. You can''t have a civilization without it." After I said it, I wondered if it were true. Wasn''t the illiteracy rates really high in ancient civilizations? Oh well. Whatever it was in the past, knowing how to read was a must now... or at least in the human world I''d come from.


    "And without school you can''t get smarter?"


    For simplicities sake, I nodded. There was no use in me saying that being smart and being educated weren''t exactly the same thing.


    "You went to school?"


    "I did."


    "And it made you smarter?"


    I didn''t want to lie outright, so I compromised: "I learned a lot about the world, so yes."


    "I wish I could go to school..." He said it wistfully.


    "Well, it''s not like you need it. You get smarter through sheer force of will." I wish I could to do that, jeesh!


    "I don''t know how to write. Or "math"." He pointed out, sulking slightly.


    "Well, I can teach you to write. And if you want to know math, I can teach that to you too." Or at least I hoped I could. I had no idea how to teach someone. People usually got paid to do that for a reason. But basic stuff I forced myself into believing I could do. Especially with someone who made themselves smart with will power alone.


    This world sure was strange.


    And that''s how I learned that Kobold''s were highly adaptable creatures and took their agreements very very seriously.


    We wandered around for a few more days after this. Even though I was frustrated by the lack of progress, teaching Dignity helped pass the time. I fumbled around in how I taught, he still seemed to get the gist of it because of his ¡°willed intelligence¡±.


    And then we found ourselves back at the stream. The exact spot where we''d started. I was so angry that we''d made a big circle, I almost lost my temper and started screaming at the air. Almost two weeks and I was right back where I started!!


    After cooling down and thinking, I decided I hadn''t been taking this "lost in the forest" thing seriously enough. I never had a great sense of direction to begin with, so maybe I needed to take extra precautions. First, I started making crude slashes in trees we passed. Knowing where I''d been was as important as where I was going. Second, I decided to walk in the direction of the sun rise (which I was pretty sure was east). I needed to pick one direction and follow it, even if I didn''t know which direction would get me to people. Anything was better than being aimless at this point.


    Confident in my new strategy, I set out.


    I''d adapted pretty well to living in the wild by the third week in the forest. At first my main concern was a food and water source, but I quickly realized keeping dry and warm was a much bigger priority. It seemed to rain every few days. The first two weeks had been light showers during the day. But the third week, a torrential storm passed over at night. Lightening, thunder, high winds, and sheets of cold water feel from the sky.


    I sat under a tree, shivering and wet, for hours just waiting for it to pass. I tried protecting Dignity with my body, but even he was wet after the second hour. I didn''t get very far the following day. I couldn''t start a fire with the entire forest soaked through, so I had no way to get dry. And it turns out wet fur takes a lot longer to dry than skin.


    The storm had brought a change in the weather. Where things had been pleasantly warm with a cool breeze, now it was just cold. And the breeze had turned into a steady wind. The very real fear of freezing to death left a heavy feeling in the pit of my stomach.


    Dignity was less worried about the weather than I was. Apparently, Kobold''s did exceptionally well in any environment as long as they had a water and food source. In fact, he was doing significantly better than I was, having gone from near starvation to healthily plump.


    What the heck. Life isn¡¯t fair.


    I opened up my inventory and searched around, hoping I could find something for the cold. I was knee deep into the accessories when I stumbled upon a quest gear item. It was a bracelet that warded off cold. I took it out and felt a breezy sensation on my arm. The moment it was ¡°equipped¡± I felt the chill from the rain leave my body. I was still soaked through but at least now I wouldn¡¯t freeze to death.


    More walking, more rain, more cold. I really wish the game had an umbrella.


    Dignity¡¯s size stabilized. His mind, however, kept expanding.


    ¡°How big is this forest?¡± I asked angrily, kicking the forest floor.


    ¡°It¡¯s not really that big, but I¡¯ve been thinking about it and I¡¯m pretty sure this place is cursed.¡±


    I stared at Dignity in shock. He¡¯d said it so matter-of-factly I could have cried. Bring these things up sooner, why don¡¯t you?


    ¡°Cursed?¡±


    ¡°Yes. I actually tried to leave this place numerous times before you arrived. Every time I¡¯d end up back where I started. I didn¡¯t really understand why back then, but now the only explanation that makes sense is it¡¯s cursed.¡±


    ¡°Doesn¡¯t that mean we¡¯ve been walking for weeks now with no hope of escaping?¡±


    He nodded.


    Groaning, I lowered myself to the wet forest floor, swallowed by a sense of hopelessness. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you say so earlier then!¡±


    ¡°Sorry.¡± He did looked apologetic. ¡°There are a lot of things I don¡¯t know until I know them.¡±


    Willed smartness definitely had it¡¯s downsides.


    I ran my fuzzy fingers through my hair. ¡°A curse, huh? There¡¯s gotta be a way to break it though, right? Curses usually have a loop hole¡­¡±


    Dignity patted my shoulder sympathetically. ¡°Maybe. I don¡¯t really know. I can think about it?¡±


    I stared up into the trees, trying to pull myself together. I didn¡¯t know how curses worked in this world. My assumption was based off stories I¡¯d heard growing up. Every fair tale involving a curse always had a way to break it, some kind of loophole. I knew that not apply here, but if I worked off the assumption that it didn¡¯t, I felt like I¡¯d just curl up and stop moving.


    Wind blew through the trees, rustles the leaves. It had a nice soothing sound. I felt myself calm down.


    My eyes narrowed. I was walking in circles because of this curse, but what kind of curse was it exactly? Was it the kind that messed with your sense of direction or the kind where the forest itself moved around to confuse you? Depending on which it was depended on how you dealt with it.


    I stood up, wiping myself clean of the random bits of forest floor attached to me. I didn¡¯t know which it was, but I didn¡¯t need to know. I could experiment and find out. It¡¯s not like I was in danger of dying right this instant, or even a few days from now.


    ¡°I¡¯m going to climb that tree.¡± I announced suddenly, startling Dignity. I walked over to a tree with a large trunk. I needed to get really high up, so a big tree was required. I looked down at Dignity and asked, ¡°Do you want to come with me or stay here?¡±


    He hesitated for a moment. ¡°I think, with you? But I¡¯m not good at climbing.¡±


    ¡°Ah, that¡¯s ok.¡± He¡¯d gotten bigger so I¡¯d stopped carrying him. Even so, he wasn¡¯t that heavy to this Mewnin body even now. I picked him up and slung him on my back, positioning his arms and legs around my neck and waist. ¡°Just hold on tight and I¡¯ll carrying you up with me.¡±


    I felt his grip squeeze tighter.


    The first big branch would have been too high up for me to grab when I was a human, but I knew I could reach it now. I crouched down slightly and focused on it and jumping, and sure enough my body performed the jump with little input from me.


    I¡¯d only expected to jump up and hold on, but to my surprise I jumped up and over and landed feet first on the branch. I was so surprised I almost lost my balance. Grabbing a nearby branch I steadied myself. Wow. I¡¯d suspected I could do it, but now I wonder exactly how far I could jump if I put my mind to it.


    From there we weaved through the branches, stopping once to catch our breath and to give Dignity a chance to rest his arms and legs. Even so, it took almost no time at all to get to the top.


    I¡¯d picked a good tree. It was taller than a lot of trees nearby and even near the top it could take my weight without bending to much.


    ¡°Wow!¡± Dignity¡¯s awed voice came from behind me.


    He was right. The area was hilly, and by some miracle I¡¯d picked a tree on the top of one of the highest hills in the area. For miles in every direction all you could see was forest. I gazed out into the distance and noticed mountains to my left, their peeks covered in snow. I hoped that was a year-round thing, otherwise it meant winter was uncomfortably close. There was also something cutting into the trees straight ahead of me. I spent a good minute trying to figure out what it was when it came to me: a river!


    I couldn¡¯t see the river itself, just the open space it was creating. I followed it¡¯s path and then yelled excitedly:


    ¡°Look! That river leads right out of the forest! And way out there, I think that¡¯s a city!¡± It was hard to say for sure, it was pretty far out. But the lumpy rectangular mass didn¡¯t look natural either.


    ¡°Civilization!!¡± Dignity bounced on my back excitedly, causing the whole tree to sway violently. The sudden movement frightened him and he almost strangled me trying to hold tighter. ¡°Sorry!¡± Came a timid apology after the swaying stopped.


    I patted his arm, chuckling. ¡°It¡¯s fine.¡± And then turned back to the river. ¡°I don¡¯t know what kind of curse is on this forest, but it might just be one that confuses your sense of direction when you¡¯re actively trying to escape. In which case, we need to stop trying to escape. So let¡¯s try for the river instead. Maybe the forest won¡¯t see that as escaping and stop messing with us.¡±


    After some directional calculations based on the sun¡¯s path, I climbed down. The river wasn¡¯t really that far away, or at least it didn¡¯t look like it. Even if I veered slightly to the left or right, I should still be able to find it.


    Unfortunately it was a lot farther away by foot than over tree top, and in the end it took two whole days to get over there. I periodically climbed a tree to make sure of where I was going. By the second half of the second day I didn¡¯t even need to do that, as I could hear it from a distance.


    It was a very big river and quite noisy. If I¡¯d needed to cross it, I doubted I¡¯d have been able to without getting swept away. It looked calm enough from the banks, but a big branch that¡¯d broken off during one of the storms could be seen floating past us at an alarming speed. I suspected the undertow was a lot stronger than that.


    We slept just inside the forest by the river that night. I¡¯d never been that close to moving water, seeing as a I lived in a land-locked area. I was surprised by how relaxing the noisy river ended up being, and found myself passing out quicker than usual because of it.


    ¡°Remember that we aren¡¯t trying to escape, alright? If this curse confuses us when we try to leave, then we¡¯ll get around it by simply not trying to leave. So. We aren¡¯t escaping. We¡¯re simply¡­ following an interesting river. Got it?¡±


    Dignity nodded seriously. I hoped this worked.


    We started walking. Near noon we stopped and I took out a fishing pool from my inventory. Of course the game allowed you to fish and while fishing wasn¡¯t a skill you could level up, you were able to get better fishing rods and bait. I¡¯d invested quite heavily in the fishing skill, since it let me get quantities of ingredients cheaply to cook with, and ended up being really good at it.


    Of course I didn¡¯t know anything about actual fishing though. Which is why I fished during high noon, one of the worst times to do it. But, whether it was the game knowledge or just good luck, I managed to catch a few fish to eat anyway.


    I¡¯d been surviving off of small game for weeks, so getting fish was a great change of pace! We both devoured our fishy lunch before continuing on.


    It went on like this for 3 days. On the 4th day something peculiar happened.


    I hadn¡¯t done anything unusual. I¡¯d just taken a step forward when I suddenly felt a strong sense of vertigo. I stumbled onto my hands and knees, feeling intensely nauseous. Dignity ran over with a shout of concern and found himself in the same position, presumably feeling the same way.


    Carefully I scooted back, and felt better almost instantly. As I¡¯d suspected. We¡¯d walked right to the edge of the forest without realizing it. My theory had been correct: the forest¡¯s curse depended on a person trying to leave. We hadn¡¯t tried to leave, which is why we got as far as we did. But the forest apparently had one more card to play: it¡¯d make you so miserable at the edge you didn¡¯t try to leave. With simple creatures this probably worked spectacularly. But with a more intelligent being such as myself, it just made me more stubborn.


    I¡¯d already grabbed Dignity¡¯s by a foot and dragged him towards me. Like me, he felt instantly better.


    ¡°Well, buddy, it looks like we¡¯re going to have to make a run for it.¡±


    ¡°Run for it?¡±


    ¡°Yep. We¡¯re not leaving, of course, just following the river.¡± I wasn¡¯t letting the forest get a chance to confuse me, this close to an actual escape route. ¡°But to follow the river we gotta get through that spell it put up. I guess I could try to think it through and come up with something clever but in this case I don¡¯t think we need to.¡±


    ¡°Why not?¡±


    ¡°Well, I¡¯m thinking this spell or wall it¡¯s put up isn¡¯t that deep. It¡¯s probably just deep enough to make people not want to go farther. In which case, all we need to do is be faster than whatever spell in on the edge and push through. It¡¯s probably only a few feet deep at most, maybe less. ¡±


    He didn¡¯t look entirely convinced.


    ¡°Look, how about I carry you? That way if things go horribly wrong, you won¡¯t have to do any moving, just me.¡±


    ¡°Alright, I guess.¡± I could tell he didn¡¯t like the idea, even still, but was trusting me to do the right thing.


    I picked him up and he wrapped his arms around my neck. I then backed away a few steps and looked forward, picking a place at random to land. I wasn¡¯t going to run, I was going to jump. My experience climbing the trees taught me I had some amazing jumping capabilities, and I hadn¡¯t even scratched the surface of them.


    Jump as far as you can, I thought to myself. Just like with the sword, my mind flooded with information and my body automatically crouched down, tensing all my muscles in my legs. There was a pensive pause before I shot forward.


    I suddenly understood what the phrase ¡°like a bullet¡± meant in a way I¡¯d never gotten before.


    We hit the spell-barrier and I felt my stomach flip and Dignity¡¯s body go limp in my arms. But my guess had been correct: it wasn¡¯t that deep. And at the speed we were going, it was like it was barely there at all.


    I landed with a loud ¡°thump¡±, pebbles and dirt scattering around my feet. I¡¯d created two small craters for each foot where I¡¯d landed. Hehe, cool.


    ¡°That¡¯s amazing! Look how far you jumped!¡± Dignity was still being held by me and had watched the entire thing while facing behind me.


    I turned around and my jaw dropped. The place I started from was far far away. I couldn¡¯t give you the exact amount of feet I¡¯d jumped, but it must have been 3x times what was normal for even the most fit human athletes.


    ¡°Wow.¡± I couldn¡¯t think of anything else to say. I gently put him on the ground and looked around me. From inside the forest, the edge had somehow been ¡°blurry¡±, but from the outside it was really stark. The trees just ended.


    There was something else too, that I hadn¡¯t really noticed inside. There¡¯d been a heaviness to the air inside that forest, and it¡¯d made me feel¡­ I don¡¯t know, lethargic? It¡¯s like my senses were being suppressed, but I didn¡¯t notice. Not because of the curse, but because I was use to being human.


    I only had my human sense of ¡°normal¡± as a reference. And from a human perspective, my 5 senses had been significantly heightened, even under a curse. Now that I was out though, the world exploded with sight, sound, and smells like I¡¯d never experienced before. Frankly, I was almost grateful for that forest. If I¡¯d woken up with this much noise and smell I¡¯d probably have panicked and done something stupid.


    Everything was so much sharper. It was probably like what a person with poor eyesight feels like when they put on glasses for the first time, only this time it was my entire body experiencing it. I sniffed the air and then inhaled deeply. Man, human beings really had no idea what they were missing!


    I looked down at Dignity and grinned, ¡°Let¡¯s get out of here!¡±

 2: The Ebbing Tides of Hope

    We followed the river for two days before we came across a road. It was a really nice one, with smooth gray stones neatly fitted together. From the look of it, I guessed it¡¯d been running parallel to the river and, just like the river, run straight through the forest.


    Hm, something about that didn¡¯t sit right with me. A nice road like this, running through a cursed forest? Wasn¡¯t that a bit¡­ unwise? After mulling it over for a bit, I optimistically decided it must be enchanted. Since the forest didn¡¯t want me to leave, maybe it prevented me from ever getting the road.


    Yeah. That must be it.


    Haha.


    We followed the road, and after a few hours of winding and gentle slopes, we started up a steep hill. I hoped they had cars on this world, otherwise any poor creature tasked with pulling a haul had their work cut out for them on this hill. It was ridiculous.


    Once we were at the top, I pointed excitedly at what I saw in the distance: A CITY. Specifically the one I¡¯d seen on the tree top earlier.


    Dignity let out a ¡°woohoo!¡± in excitement.


    We were still pretty far away, but the clear day and lack of trees gave us a very good look at it (especially with my improved eyesight): fortified with a high wall and tiered so that the buildings (while shorter than a modern city) stacked like a pyramid.


    Just like the road, I felt something was a little off. I stared at it hard for a minute trying to put my finger on what was bothering me, but gave up. Perhaps when I got closer I¡¯d figure it out.


    We marched on!


    It took us another two days walking to get to the city. And as it progressively loomed larger and larger, I felt more and more uncomfortable. Still, I couldn¡¯t figure out what was bothering me.


    Until we came to the city gates. They were set in a huge arching light grey gateway and wide open, as if inviting people in. But, see, that was the problem.


    There were no people.


    In fact, I hadn¡¯t met a single person on the road. I felt like a huge idiot for not noticing it sooner. The road itself should have hinted: it was pristine, as if it¡¯d never been heavily traveled on. The city was the same way, beautiful and clean¡­ unused.


    Who builds a whole city and a road to it but never lets anyone in? And who runs the road through a cursed forest?


    Right. Right. All obvious signs things weren¡¯t normal.


    I sighed deeply and put my face in the palms of my hands.


    Dignity looked up at me in surprise, asking, ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±


    I laughed hollowly. Of course he didn¡¯t know, he¡¯d never seen a city. Anyone who¡¯d been in a city knew that a quiet like this one wasn¡¯t natural.


    Should I turn back? That would be sensible. But back to where? I had no idea where to go. If I turned around and followed the road out, I¡¯d end up back in the forest. And now I doubted that the road was enchanted. It being cursed likely had something to do with the city being empty.


    Feeling deflated, I explained. ¡°This city is empty. Something this big should have people coming and going, guards. There should be some kind of noise. But there¡¯s nothing at all. It¡¯s as if someone build a city and forgot to put people in it.¡±


    His eyes grew round with fear. ¡°Is it possible they forgot the people?¡±


    ¡°No.¡± I chuckled weakly. ¡°I don¡¯t know what¡¯s going on, but it¡¯s clear this isn¡¯t¡ª¡±


    I whipped around, my sword out and stance ready. I¡¯d heard something strange, very strange, and I knew instinctively it wasn¡¯t friendly. I was right.


    There were three¡­ things. Big things. They were humanoid in shape, with creepily long arms and legs and big fat bodies. But what really got me was their faces: where eyes, nose, and a mouth should be were three holes. There was nothing in them, just big gaping holes.


    A shiver ran up my spine and I felt Dignity grab my pants. I knew without looking that he was freaking out too.


    I was thinking about how I should attack when their mouth holes widened and they¡­ I don¡¯t know what you would call it. It wasn¡¯t talking or screaming, just a sound. A really loud, horrifying sound aimed directly at me.


    I heard something like thousands of voicing wailing in agony mixed with all the strange sounds you hear in horror films. Every hair on my body stood up and I probably looked a bit like a frightened cat at that moment. My mind went blank and all I could think of was I needed to run.


    Without a thought in my head, I hauled Dignity up by the middle and ran. I ran right into the city.


    How long I ran, I don¡¯t know. I just kept going, unable to shake the feeling those¡­ things¡­ were just on my heels. It wasn¡¯t until I was totally exhausted and couldn¡¯t breath anymore that I finally came to a jerky stopped.


    Still scared, I looked behind me, but there was nothing there. Relief washed over me and I collapsed in a heap on the ground, dropping Dignity as I went. Gasping, I tried to catch my breath, while at the same time staying on high alert.


    Dignity was gripping tightly to my arm, his thin tail wrapped around his right leg, quivering. Since he hadn¡¯t run, he still had plenty of energy.


    ¡°Is this¡ªis this civilization?¡± He asked in a shaky voice.


    Poor kid. He didn¡¯t deserve this kind of trauma.


    I shook my head as a negative, gasping. ¡°This¡­ isn¡¯t¡­ normal.¡±


    After a few minutes of rest my breathing finally normalized. I took a good look around me and groaned. Hands in my hair, I pulled slightly in frustration. I¡¯d ended up going the direction I didn¡¯t want to go.


    I was far into the city. And it was just as disturbingly quiet inside as outside. In fact, it was even more obvious something was terribly wrong now that I was inside. Everything was too clean and sterile. All the buildings were made of the same grayish white colored stone as the road. It was all fake.


    I¡¯d walked into some kind of trap, I was certain.


    Standing up, I dusted myself off. Dignity took my hand and held on tightly, his eyes zipping around in fear.


    ¡°I think I walked right into a trap, Dignity.¡± No point in pretending with him. What had I said earlier? ¡®Ignorance is worse than death¡¯ or something like that.


    ¡°T¡ªtrap?¡±


    ¡°Yeah¡­ this isn¡¯t what cities are suppose to be like it. It has the form of one, but there should be people. And buildings shouldn¡¯t all be made of the same material and be so clean. I mean, there¡¯s not even a rat here.¡± There¡¯s nothing alive at all, from what I could tell. ¡°Those monsters before drove us into the city for a reason.¡±


    ¡°Those weren¡¯t monsters.¡± He protested quietly.


    ¡°They aren¡¯t? What were they then?¡±


    ¡°Monsters are alive. Those were¡­ they were like ghosts but they weren¡¯t ever alive.¡±


    Hm? Do ghosts exist in this world? I pushed my curiosity aside, there were more important things to be thinking about.


    ¡°So, like, a spirit then?¡±


    He hesitated and I wondered if this was one of those things he hadn¡¯t ¡°willed¡± himself into knowing yet. ¡°I think¡­ maybe¡­ they were demons.¡±


    Oh great. Curses and demons! This world seemed bound and determined to give the worst first impression ever. I rubbed my eyes and pinched the bridge of my nose, frustrated.


    ¡°Great. Great. Nothing good comes from running into a demon¡¯s trap. How am I suppose to fight¡ª¡± And then my mouth dropped open as I realized something important, something that I hadn¡¯t actually put too much thought in up until now because I¡¯d been focusing on surviving in the wilderness.


    In the game, I¡¯d picked a Knight Class, which had a bunch of sub-classes. The sub-classes were dictated by your moral alignment. Basically, certain quests let you finish them in different ways. Depending on how you finished a quest, it would push your character towards a certain moral alignments.


    An an example, if you kept siding with villains or lying in your quests, you¡¯d be pushed towards an evil alignment. Eventually the sub-class ¡°Death Knight¡± would become available. Death Knights specialized in one-hit kills and status effects (like poison). A lot of people liked them because they had really strong attack powers and were partially or fully immune to any status effect they could cast.


    On the opposite end of the moral alignment spectrum, and what I ended up picking, was the ¡°Holy Knight¡±. Unlike Paladins, who focused on healing and defense, Holy Knights were all about quick attacks. Their magic was light and air, they buffed a party¡¯s attack powers, and they were fast. Their defense was pretty mediocre, but they were incredibly hard to hit so it didn¡¯t matter.


    They were also exceptional good at killing anything aligned with evil. This included undead (like vampires), cursed (werewolves), and¡­ demons!


    But I hadn¡¯t thought about magic at all since coming here. Did magic even work on this world? Well, I needed to find out.


    I thought about my list of skills. I needed something that was harmless but would be easy to test.


    Ah, I thought of a good one.


    Even as I thought ¡°This is the one I want to use¡±, information stumbled into my mind and my hand raised in front of me.


    ¡°Light against darkness, Light of the World, shine!¡± I spoke the unfamiliar words automatically. Just above my hand, a glowing orb grew until it was about the size of a soft ball. There was no heat coming from it, just light. I used it in the game to get through areas of darkness. (People who couldn¡¯t use light magic had to use torches instead.)The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.


    Dignity gave a squeak of surprise and almost fell over. ¡°What¡¯d you just do?!¡±


    ¡°Ah, sorry about that, didn¡¯t mean to surprise you.¡± I¡¯d forgotten you have to specify a delay with any kind of skill. I lowered my hand and the light orb floated serenely in place. ¡°I just cast ¡°Light Orb¡±. It won¡¯t hurt you, it just provides light.¡±


    ¡°Y-you can use magic!? Why didn¡¯t you say before?¡±


    ¡°Honestly, I forgot I could do it.¡±


    ¡°You can¡¯t just forget something like that!¡± He was waving his hands around and giving me some very accusing looks.


    I blushed under my furry face. ¡°You may not believe this but¡­ I come from a place where there¡¯s no magic. So I didn¡¯t even think I could use it until just now. I¡¯m just as surprised as you are.¡±


    He seemed just a tad skeptical. ¡°How can you cast a spell if you don¡¯t even know how to use magic?!¡±


    ¡°Look, it¡¯s hard to explain! I just¡ª¡± I pointed an accusing finger at him. ¡°You willed yourself smart! If you can do that, than why can¡¯t I will myself magical?¡±


    ¡°But¡ªthat¡ª¡± He sputtered before giving up. I¡¯d stumped him. He folded his arms and sighed in defeat. ¡°Fine!¡± He cocked his head. ¡°What kind of magic can you do? Do you know?¡±


    ¡°Light and air, mostly.¡± I pointed to the orb. ¡°Hm, I should probably turn this off, huh?¡± I thought a simple command and found my arm raising until my hand was underneath. I then snapped my fingers, and the orb vanished.


    Hehe, cool.


    ¡°The important thing is that I can do light magic. And light works really well against demons. Or at least it¡¯s suppose to.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡± He looked at me curiously. Something Mr. Smarty Pants didn''t know! Ha!


    ¡°Yep! But I won¡¯t know for sure until I try it so¡­¡±


    ¡°What, you¡¯re not planning on going back?!¡±


    ¡°I am.¡±


    He grabbed my pants and pulled frantically, eyes tearing up. ¡°No! Those things are dangerous! They¡¯re bad! What if you get hurt! Wh-what if you die?!¡±


    ¡°Woah, woah!¡± I knelt down to be at his level and gently pulled his hands off my pants and clasped them in my own. ¡°Look, I¡¯m not stupid. I¡¯m not going to run in there unprepared. And if things get dicey, I¡¯m running. You can come with me, if you want, just stay far enough away you won¡¯t get hurt.¡±


    He sniffed, looking into my eyes searchingly. I felt like he was trying to determine whether I meant what I said, or if I was even capable of doing what I was planning. He then gave a small nod.


    ¡°Alright!¡± I gave him a small pat on the shoulder and stood back up. I started muttered to myself as I planned. ¡°Demons, huh? Let¡¯s see, we need some basic defense¡­¡±


    Better to play it safe than sorry. I opened my pack and looked through my armor. What I was using now was low-level generic armor, I needed something stronger but still maneuverable. My strongest armor had been unbearable because of it¡¯s unrealistic design. Armor with some kind of magic augmented to it would be helpful too.


    I had quite a bit of armor and it took me a bit to find something suitable. In the end, I picked something called ¡°Quicksilver¡± Armor. It was a very stylized Armor, with silver-colored plates that covered the entire body, and a sleek helmet with a V-Shaped eye slit. Like the name implies, it¡¯s designed with speed in mind, and had a wind augmentation to make a character even faster.


    The sword-and-shield set I¡¯d been carrying out got swapped for something stronger too. Since I couldn¡¯t get light augment armor like I wanted (it was either too low level or too bulky in design), I¡¯d decided my Sword/Shield should at least have it. Fortunately the designs for swords and shields were a lot more practical and I was able to use my strongest stuff: The Holy Grail Set. The sword had a white, shining (literally) blade, with a gold handle that had red jewel accents. The Shield was about half my length, v-shaped, with a engraved gold grail, accents, and border. Red jewels were set around the grail and the ¡°background¡± was white (and shining).


    The Holy Grail items were some of the most powerful in the game, and for Knights aligned on the ¡°good¡± side, they were highly sought after. They had light and holy augmentation, giving a character the ability to deal extra damage against ¡°dark¡± monsters and boosting defenses against ¡°dark¡± spells (like poison, stone, etc). They were perfect for dealing with demons.


    My only problem with them is they didn¡¯t match my Quicksilver Armor, which bothered me esthetically. I wish I could have used the matching Armor, but the thing was so freakin¡¯ bulky just walking around in it would have been a pain. Don¡¯t even get me started on trying to swing a sword! I bitterly resented the artist who design such an impractical armor.


    ¡°You look amazing!¡± Dignity complimented my change, a wide-eyed look of admiration on his face.


    I gave him a thumbs up. ¡°Thanks!¡±


    Moving around in a plate of armor was still a little awkward, so I walked around, swinging my sword and doing different poses to get use to it.


    Dignity clapped and cheered me as I did this, apparently misunderstanding my motions to be a show of strength. After I¡¯d finished, he confidently proclaimed: ¡°I¡¯m sorry I doubted you!¡±


    ¡°Er, right. Well, let¡¯s get those demons and show them who¡¯s the boss!¡± I turned around, took two steps, and was startled when they appeared.


    They clawed their way out of various shadows cast by the city buildings. I blanched under my helmet, startled by their sudden appearance. I¡¯d expected to meet them farther down the road, not suddenly pop out the shadows.


    Hm. Shadow demons? I didn¡¯t know exactly what they were, but I guessed they moved through the shadows, so I named them based off that. While that meant my light magic should be particularly affective against them, it worried me. What happened to us at night, when the world was covered in darkness?


    Pushing that aside, I focused on the battle in front of me. Three shadow demons moved towards me and I decided to cast the strongest light spell I knew. I had no idea how strong they were, and I wasn¡¯t risking a weaker spell that may do nothing to them.


    I raised my sword, pointing it at them, and spoke the incantation that came to mind: ¡°O, Light of the World, pierce the darkness, rend the night, wrap the world in your light!¡±


    It was an ¡°area of effect¡± spell, which I used against boss level demons who had a lot of annoying swarming demons. You cast it on a target and everything near it would be affected too. The cool down time was something like 30 seconds, which meant I¡¯d have to use another spell while I¡ª


    I blinked. The demons had evaporated the instantly.


    ¡°Eh? What? They¡¯re gone already?¡± I walked over to where they had been standing, looking around. There was nothing to show for their existence. Well, I guess that made a kind of sense if they were demons of the shadows. Shadows didn¡¯t leave behind anything when they disappeared.


    Had I over estimated their strength then? Perhaps I should have¡ª


    ¡°Wow! WOOOOOOOOW!¡± I jumped at Dignity¡¯s sudden shouting. He¡¯d been hiding a ways off but had come running after I¡¯d, uh, ¡°killed¡± the Shadow Demons. ¡°You¡¯re so strong! You¡¯re just like your name: a Messenger of God!¡±


    Oh no! Just looking into his face I could tell: he was looking at me like I was some kind of rock star. The phrase ¡°starry eyed¡± came to mind.


    I wanted to curl up and hide from embarrassment. Look, kid, I thought at him, I¡¯m not powerful. All I did was sit in front of keyboard, wasting my life away on a game that just got canceled. At best I could be called lucky, and that wasn¡¯t worth praising.


    But how do you explain that to someone who just learned to read and do math? Did they even have anything like computers in this world?


    ¡°Er, I wouldn¡¯t go that far.¡± I said awkwardly, trying to calm him down. ¡°Let¡¯s keep going, shall we?¡±


    I took a few more steps, and another set of Shadow Demons appeared. This time there were 4 instead of 3. Uh oh. Were they going to multiply when they re-spawned after being defeated? That would prove highly annoying later if that was the case.


    This time I used a weaker spell called Shining Light. It was an area of effect spell too, but was centered on me so it required the enemy be near by. As with the Rending Light spell I¡¯d cast before, the Shadow Demons were snuffed out of existence the moment the spell hit them.


    I went to scratch my head in confusion, when I realized I had a helmet on. I sheepishly lowered my arm.


    So apparently these Shadow Demons were much weaker than I¡¯d anticipated. Spells in the game had their own levels, ranging from 1-10. Light Orb was a level 1, Rending Light was a 10, and Shining Light was an 8. If these Shadows were being insta-killed by a level 8 spell than they must be pretty weak.


    I took a few more steps forwards, and was unsurprised to see 5 Shadow Demons appear before me. Yep, they were multiplying.


    This time I went with the lowest level Light Spell I had: Light Shield Bash. It created a floating shield of light for 60 seconds, with unlimited use in that time, and all you had to do was run into an enemy to activate it. The only requirement you needed to get the spell in-game was have a shield and have an ¡°extreme good¡± alignment.


    With my speed augmented armor, I could ¡°bash¡± into enemies multiple times before they had a chance to attack me back, which is what I did. It took only 3 attacks per Shadow Demon to ¡°kill¡± them. And they were so slow in their counter attacks that I felt like I was doing some kind of weird dance with them. They didn¡¯t even have a chance to scream at me, which was the original attack that¡¯d given me such a fright.


    After they were gone I reached a conclusion: While they were weak, if they kept multiplying like this it would be a real problem. No amount of strength would help against raw numbers. The way things were going, I¡¯d end up fighting an army of these things. That wouldn¡¯t work.


    A better course of action would be stealth. Simply get around them and make a run for the exit. I should be able to do it with my racial and armor attributes. Determined, I explained my plan to Dignity.


    After some planning, he decided to cling to my back to keep my arms free. Apparently he was strong enough he didn¡¯t need me hoisting him up, he could just hold on to the back of my armor.


    With that, I sprinted off. Immediately Shadow Demons started crawling out of the shadows, but I ran past them easily. I was feeling really satisfied with myself until I¡¯d gotten about half way down the road.


    Clustered together right where I was trying to run was a crowd of Shadow Demons. Had they figured out what I was planning?


    Whatever. I turned to my right, turning so sharply Dignity gave a grunt and almost lost his grip. ¡°Sorry!¡± I apologized and grabbed his hands to pull him back. I¡¯d be more careful next time.


    With the armor helping me, I could run twice as fast for twice as long without getting tired. Every now and then I¡¯d meet a small army of Shadow Demons, which I avoided easily.


    However, after some time, I stopped.


    ¡°What are you stopping for?¡± Dignity asked me in surprise. He¡¯d started enjoying the ride after I¡¯d adapted my sharp turning to prevent him from flying off.


    I grimaced. ¡°We¡¯ve got a problem. We¡¯re going in circles.¡±


    ¡°What?!¡± He looked around, checking for familiar scenery. He didn¡¯t have as good a view as me, so had a harder time telling if we¡¯d passed spots before.


    ¡°I think those Shadow Demons are blocking the exit at strategic points. I¡¯ve passed by this fake shop twice already.¡±


    ¡°Oh.¡± I could almost feel him deflate. There weren¡¯t many unique buildings in this place, but every now and then you came across one: in this case it was a bakery with an artistic sign that had a steaming loaf of bread on it surrounding by fake carved flowers. In front there were some neatly arranged chairs and round tables. I¡¯d noted how quaint it looked the first time I¡¯d passed by it.


    I sighed. ¡°Let¡¯s take a break and think it over.¡± I was getting thirsty and tired anyway.


    We went over to the tables and sat down. I pulled out various items from my inventory, took off my helmet, and we had dinner.


    That was the other thing nagging me: what if I didn¡¯t get out of here before nightfall? Was I going to have to attack Shadow Demons all night? The sun was already setting and the shadows were growing longer.


    I wish I had a map. It was hard to know how lost you were without a frame of reference.


    Wouldn¡¯t it be nice to fly too? In the game you could only do that with a mount. And, as you might have guessed, I had no access to them here. I¡¯d actually tried when I was in the forest. Any pets I¡¯d had in the game hadn¡¯t transfered over, and the whistles that you used to call a mount to you didn¡¯t work either.


    All I could do was jump.


    Oh.


    Maybe I could just jump over the Shadow Demons? They were tall, but not so tall I couldn¡¯t jump over them. Even if they put their arms up, I should be safe.


    But that was risky. Jumping left me vulnerable from every angle. As I chewed my food, I chewed over it.


    After we were done, I decided it was worth the risk. I absolutely did not want to be stuck in this city when night hit.


    Warning Dignity of my plan, we set off again. It amused and worried me that he no longer objected to my ideas after witnessing my Level 10 spell earlier. I hope that over-the-top admiration wore off eventually. His sassy attitude had been annoying at times, but it proved he was thinking for himself. And since he was from this world, he knew more about it than me in the end, which made that critical thinking important to my survival (and his too).


    In no time at all, we ran into the Shadow Demons again. I ran straight for them this time and jumped as high as I could.


    It seemed to be working until I¡¯d gotten about half way up.


    I jumped into an invisible wall.


    I let our a strangled grunt of pain as I hit it, falling like a rock. My Mewnin racial ability saved Dignity from being squished: I instinctively righted myself as I fell so that I landed on my feet, just like a cat. I left two ¡°feet craters¡± from the impact.


    Putting my hands on my knees, I wheezed in pain. If there was such a thing as HP (health points) in this world, I¡¯d lost quite a few in that mid-air debacle.


    ¡°Angela, the Demons!¡± Came a scared yell behind me.


    Cursing, I raised my shield, managing to protect myself before the first blow hit. Because they were weak, I barely felt the impact, but I was still in trouble. I was surrounded by them, and I couldn¡¯t count how many there were now. If they hit me in the back, I was pretty sure Dignity would die.


    Apparently you didn¡¯t need to kill them to cause them to multiply. Anything that counted as ¡°defeat¡± was enough. And running past them was a defeat, I guessed.


    My legs ached from heavy impact and I still felt disoriented from the mid-air collision. Even a weak monster could kill a player if their HP was low.


    I cast Greater Rending Light and made a wobbly escape. Even with it, I¡¯d only halfed the amount of Shadow Demons. I wanted to scream out in frustration.


    I was trapped. Throughly, completely, trapped. And night was coming fast.

 3: Break a Curse, Save a Princess?

    ¡°I have the worst luck in the world.¡± I was moping as we sat at the tables in front of the bakery. The only good thing about this world so far was Dignity. But he was also the reason I couldn¡¯t leave this stupid city. On my own, I could likely cut through the Shadow Demons with raw power. But there was no way to fight them and protect Dignity at the same time.


    ¡°What¡¯s luck?¡± Dignity asked, eating a piece of bread I handed to him. I¡¯d taken out a full meal set to recover from what had just happened.


    Food didn¡¯t seem to work quite the same way as in the game, which was unfortunate. I had a pounding headache from hitting that invisible wall and eating wasn¡¯t ¡°healing¡± it like I¡¯d hoped. I wondered if I needed to use healing potions? But I had a limited supply of those and didn¡¯t want to use them for just anything.


    ¡°Luck is¡­ uh¡­¡± Actually, I¡¯d never thought of this very deeply so I really had to strain. ¡°It¡¯s when good or bad things happen to you, regardless of your own actions. So, even though I haven¡¯t done anything to deserve it, I keep having bad things happening to me. So that¡¯s ¡°bad luck¡±. But meeting you, even though I didn¡¯t know you and wasn¡¯t looking for you, is ¡°good luck¡±.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m good luck?¡±


    ¡°Yep.¡±


    He looked immensely pleased with himself and I chuckled. But then his brows furrowed and he frowned.


    ¡°Bad luck is why we keep getting trapped and chased by demons?¡±


    ¡°Well, sort of. There¡¯s probably some other reason, but the fact that I¡¯m even in this situation is definitely bad luck.¡±


    ¡°Hm, so what you really need is a whole lot of good luck to make up for all the bad luck.¡±


    ¡°If only it was that easy¡­¡± I sighed. ¡°Well, it¡¯s not like I have anyway to change my luck, so thinking about it is a waste of time, don¡¯t you think?¡±


    He nibbled on his bread looking thoughtful before finally agreeing, ¡°I guess that¡¯s true.¡±


    ¡°Anyway¡­¡± I leaned back. ¡°I don¡¯t think we¡¯re getting out of here by nightfall. We might as well just find a place and hunker down for the night.¡±


    He stopped eating, his eyes growing wide and fearful. ¡°W-what should we do about the demons?¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s find an empty building with a really sturdy wall. If we lean on the wall and I cast Light Orb, that should keep all the shadows in front of us and prevent the Demons from attacking us from behind. As long as they¡¯re only coming from the front, I can beat them.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s a good idea!¡± He seemed relieved and cheered up at my plan, but I was still in pretty low spirits.


    I suspected I¡¯d have to stay up all night fighting off Shadow Demons. I was never good at all-nighters, and this body seemed to pass out the moment I closed my eyes. I really hoped I could stay awake long enough but¡­


    We searched around for a building and eventually found one. It turned out this city really was fake: all nice and clean on the outside and empty on the inside, not even furniture.


    I sat down and had Dignity sit on my lap, and then placed my shield on top of him as cover. I vainly hoped my light armor would prevent them from using shadows close to my body. It wasn¡¯t a comfortable place for him lay down, or for me to wear while sitting all night, but I wasn¡¯t risking it.


    I cast Light Orb. And we waited.


    The sun set and darkness fell and the deep night came, but still there were no Shadow Demons. Were they waiting for us? Maybe they were hoping I¡¯d fall asleep and attack us when we were defenseless?


    More time passed. My head started nodding. I kept catching myself right before I dosed off. Arg! All that running and fighting had worn me out! I really wanted to sleep.


    I screwed my eyes open.


    I could do this. I could¡ª


    It was morning. I¡¯d fallen asleep! I jumped awake, looking around wildly, before realizing nothing had happened.


    We hadn¡¯t been attacked at all. Why!?


    I gently shook Dignity awake. He had an amusing habit of never waking up before me, no matter how late I slept in. He yawned and then sat up suddenly, reacting much the same way I had.


    ¡°Did they come?¡± He asked worriedly.


    ¡°Nope. And I have no idea why. I mean, I¡¯m glad but¡­¡±


    He got up from my lap and stretched, then scratched his head. ¡°You know¡­ I¡¯ve been thinking¡­¡±


    Uh oh. A revelation was about to occur.


    ¡°Maybe this city is like the forest.¡± At my totally blank look, he continued: ¡°The forest was cursed, right? It didn¡¯t want us to leave. Maybe the city is the same way. Maybe it doesn¡¯t want us to leave.¡±


    I covered my face with my hands and groaned.


    ¡°That makes sense.¡±


    It really did. They hadn¡¯t chased us once. Their initial appearance had scared us into the city. Their second appearance had been when I¡¯d tried to leave. They only tried to block us, and they only attacked when I was being aggressive. Every time I¡¯d stopped, they hadn¡¯t bothered us. Even when I¡¯d totally failed and fallen asleep, they hadn¡¯t come.


    All because we weren¡¯t trying to leave.


    I felt stupid for not noticing it sooner. I hoped this wasn¡¯t going to be a reoccurring trend with me.


    ¡°Well, at least this time we weren¡¯t wandering for weeks.¡± I muttered to myself, and then more loudly: ¡°If that¡¯s the case we¡¯ve got to out smart the curse that¡¯s on this city.¡±


    ¡°Right. Let¡¯s head to the center.¡±


    I blinked. ¡°The center?¡±


    ¡°Sure, it we can¡¯t leave then the only way to go is in, and that leads to the center.¡±


    Oh, right.


    ¡°I wonder what¡¯s in the center of the city?¡±


    I guess we were about to find out.


    Turning off the Light Orb, we walked out of the building and into a cool morning sun. The weather was definitely turning cooler as the days passed. Since we weren¡¯t in the forest, I didn¡¯t have to worry about exposure, but in the city there wasn¡¯t any food (I¡¯d checked). It¡¯s not like starvation was an immediate fear, but having it as a possibility weighed heavily on my mind.


    Even though the chances of us getting attacked were pretty low, I kept my Quicksilver Armor on just to play it safe. A theory is simply that until you can prove it. And I was thinking of keeping it on even if Dignity was right: those Shadow Demons may have different triggers than just ¡°leaving¡± or death. I didn¡¯t want them attacking me when I¡¯d let my guard down.


    It was an uphill walk. As I said before, the city was layered. It reminded me a bit of a wedding cake. Each ¡°tier¡± had fancier buildings, indicating that as you went up, so too did the status of the non-existent citizens.


    What an odd detail to keep for a fake city, I thought as we passed a mansion.


    It became abundantly clear what was at the center of the city by about half way through: an impressive old-style European castle. It had the spiraling towers and tall-thin windows and everything. All it was missing was a moat.


    After huffing and puffing our way up (and only getting lost once) for the better part of the day, we finally arrived at the entrance of the castle. Of all the buildings in the city, the castle was the most detailed. It was still in that off-white grayish stone, mind you, but it looked like a building that might actually get used.


    ¡°So¡­ should we knock?¡± I asked aloud, not really expecting an answer.


    Sneaking in might be wise. But then, if the Shadow Demons were under a ruler, a Demon Lord perhaps, then the ruler already knew we were here. They probably expected us. They might even be watching us as we speak. Being polite while entering a stranger¡ªwho controlled demons¡ªseemed like a good strategy.


    On the other hand, if we knocked and it was empty we just looked silly. And I wasn¡¯t terribly worried about any knucklehead Demon Lord who somehow missed that his city¡¯s population of zero had increased by two. Frankly, any being who didn¡¯t notice us at this point wasn¡¯t really worthy to be called a ¡°foe¡±.


    I decided to be polite and knock. The effect was¡­ limited. The door was heavy and thick and my knocking barely made a ¡°thump, thump¡± sound.


    Looking down at Dignity, I said, ¡°Well, they can¡¯t say I didn¡¯t¡ª¡±


    There was a rumble from the door, and we both quickly got distance between it and us. To our surprise it opened¡­ all by itself.


    We waited, but nothing happened. We entered because where else was there to go at this point?


    ¡°Uh, excuse us for the intrusion!¡± I said as we entered, to apparently no one. Knocking had let us in, so being polite seemed to be a good idea.


    While all the other buildings in the city had been empty, not just of people but furniture, the castle was decked out. It was all white and silver, a lot like my armor. It was weird having armor that matched the furniture.


    Anyway, the castle was big as castles tend to be and if left to our own devices I¡¯m pretty sure we would have gotten lost. However, as we walked, a door would open, to which I responded ¡°thanks¡±. Once I hadn¡¯t shown my appreciation after being let through and the next door didn¡¯t open. When I politely asked for assistance, the door opened again, and I made sure to thank my invisible guide.


    The enchantment on the castle reminded me of the fairy tale ¡°Beauty and the Beast¡±. I couldn¡¯t help finding the whole idea amusing. If it was like that, who exactly was the ¡°Beast¡±? I looked more like a beast than a beauty. Perhaps there was a Beauty in the castle, and I was there to save her!


    Hoho! I¡¯d prefer saving a cursed Princess to dealing with a Demon Lord. Of course, I wasn¡¯t a Prince or a Pauper, so if that Princess was hoping to get saved and married to some handsome (human) dude she was in for a major disappointment.


    After what seemed like a needlessly long walk, we reached a huge set of doors. This time no amount of ¡°Thanks¡± and ¡°Please help?¡± got the doors open. Even when I knocked they didn¡¯t open.


    ¡°I guess we¡¯re suppose to do this part ourselves.¡± I finally concluded, Dignity agreeing at my side.


    Huge rings hung from the door, which I grabbed and pulled. The doors slowly, majestically opened. Or in other words they were heavy and required a lot of work for me to open. Thanks for nothing, Enchanted Castle!


    We¡¯d been lead to the Throne Room. While the rest of the castle was all in whites and silvers, the thrown room was decked out in gold, reds, and rich woody browns, with only the monotonous off-white stones as accent colors. I gave it a mental thumbs up. Real color after so much white was a visual relief.


    Curious but cautious, we entered. We¡¯d gotten about half way through when the hair on my neck stood straight up and I heard Dignity scream ¡°ABOVE YOU!¡±


    I awkwardly jumped backward, grabbing Dignity as I went. Where I¡¯d been standing a huge monster landed, causing the entire floor to shake under it¡¯s weight.


    It had the top half of a beautiful well endowed woman, but the bottom half of a scorpion. Her arms were giant snapping claws and her eyes were huge black orbs. Smooth long smooth black hair fell around her dull gold body.


    Little known fact: I was terrified of spiders, snakes, and scorpions.


    Every strand of fur stood up on my body as terror shot through me. The silent scream burst out of me in a long high pitched squeal.


    I immediately cast Greater Rending Light at my new foe.


    It gave a strange low-pitched yell of pain as the spell hit it, but it didn¡¯t disappear. Instead, the woman part sizzled and smoked, flailing from the spells power, while the scorpion half remained completely untouched.


    No, no, no, no!!!!!


    That meant only one thing: this thing was only half demon. And the demon half was strong enough to take a Level 10 Light spell head on and survive. The bottom half was probably just regular monster and completely immune to light spells.


    I quickly backed away towards the door, planning to escape, only to hear a ominous THUD behind me. I really wanted to cry just then.


    Dignity informed me in a whimper what I already knew: ¡°The door closed.¡±


    Fear and adrenaline coursed through my body. It was a fight to the death then.Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.


    ¡°Stay out of my Dignity, got it?¡± I commanded, too stressed to be kind about it.


    ¡°R-right!¡± Came a squeaky response, and even though I didn¡¯t hear him, I knew he¡¯d run to find a place to hide.


    The Demon Scorpion must have sensed a weaker foe, for even in it¡¯s pained throws, it¡¯s tail lashed out toward the small retreating figure.


    ¡°No you don¡¯t!¡± I hissed, a burst of speed pushing me forward, sword and shield out. I collided with the tail, the blunt force of my body knocking it off it¡¯s target. I¡¯d intended to slash with my sword, but it¡¯d retracted before I had a chance.


    Arg! That tail was going to be a problem.


    Calm down, I fervently begged my mind, let¡¯s think this through! What would be the first thing I need to do to get the upper hand?


    I forced myself to look at that ugly horrible thing with a critical eye. I needed to reduce it¡¯s movements. It had too many appendages, and trying to fight them all at once reduced my chances of survival.


    Let¡¯s try cutting down the tail first. I jetted to the right, attempting to circle around the monster and get behind it. Unfortunately, unlike the Shadow Demons, it wasn¡¯t stupid or slow: even while injured by my Light Spell, it had the sense to follow my movements and prevent me from getting behind it.


    It was also surprisingly fast for something with so many legs.


    Just great, fantastic! A smart, fast monster, just what I needed!


    I saw a clawed ¡°hand¡± take a stab at me and I raised my shield and angled my body just in time: the claw¡¯s sharp point slid off the shield with a screech and hit the ground next to me instead. An unnaturally smoky crater was left in the spot where it hit the floor. Poison? Acid? Either way, getting hit by the claws was likely as bad as getting hit by the tail.


    I hopped back to get some distance between us.


    Ok, direct attacks weren¡¯t going to work. Even hurt it wasn¡¯t going to let me get close if it could help it.


    My mind ran through a list of spells I had that might work for a boss level monster. I finally settled on one that seemed effective. I pointed my sword at it and chanted:


    ¡°Finger of God, Winds of Heavenly Wrath, crush the enemy before me!¡±


    This was a level 10 single target attack spell that summoned what amounted to a magical tornado. Besides being a fantastic damage dealer, it also had a high chance of causing confusion. It could even work on bosses, depending on their type.


    I struggled not to be too caught up in the spell. I¡¯d not used any wind magic up until now and it was pretty cool watching a tornado form out of the ceiling like that.


    The Demon Scorpion sensibly tried to dodge. I guess even a monster of it¡¯s caliber understood getting hit point blank on the back was likely an insta-kill. I was disappointed the spell missed a back shot, but it wasn¡¯t over yet:


    As you might guess, the spell could move just like a real tornado. And it would follow an enemy around until it caught it and then spin it around in the air with debris and slam it to the ground before finally dissipating. The spinning was what caused the confusion.


    A tiny thin wail caught my ears. Startled, I looked around and found Dignity being slowly sucked into the tornado. Oh no! I hadn¡¯t considered collateral damage! In the game it only hurt the enemy you targeted, but if you thought about it sensibly, where else could the debris come from but the surrounding area?


    I sprinted over to Dignity, just managing to catch him before he lost what little hold he had on the ground. I pulled him into a tight embrace, yelling my apology over the wind. I wouldn¡¯t be able to cast this spell again without risking Dignity¡¯s life.


    The Demon Scorpion, meanwhile, discovered the drawbacks of being overly large: even in a huge room like this there just wasn¡¯t space to run away. It had only gotten a few steps before the Tornado caught it, lifting it heavily in the air, smacking it around like some kind of ugly doll.


    This went on for a few seconds before the spell lifted the monster all the way to the ceiling and hurtled it to the ground. There was a loud ¡°crack¡± from the impact, breaking the floor underneath us into huge pieces. The tornado disappeared, dropping the furniture and random objects it had collected on the monster for extra damage.


    I unceremoniously dumped Dignity on the ground and ran towards the monster. I¡¯d apologize for the rough treatment later, this was my chance.


    The spell had worked! The monster was not only severely dizzy and confused, portions of it¡¯s legs had been crushed under it¡¯s own weight and one arm was completely broke in two. This time it couldn¡¯t dodge.


    ¡°Gale SLICE!¡± I cried, simultaneously putting a spell on my sword as I slashed down on the tail. My sword was already imbued with light and powerful on it¡¯s own, but the Gale Slice was an attack used against enemy with heavy armor.


    I felt my sword hit the plated scorpion tail and felt a flicker of fear at the resistance. Maybe it wouldn¡¯t go through.


    But it was only a moment. The sword pushed through the armor, and once it hit the flesh underneath, I might as well have been cutting cold butter with a hot knife.


    The screech of agony I heard from the monster as I sliced into it¡¯s tail ran a shiver up my spine. As I landed, I did a heavy spin on my feet, turning myself around to face it.


    It was slashing about wildly, pain and fury twisting on it¡¯s monstrous but beautiful face. If it hadn¡¯t been half scorpion and hadn¡¯t attempted to kill Dignity, I might have felt a little bad for it. As it was, I was just relieved I¡¯d dealt it a crushing blow.


    It either didn¡¯t have self-healing powers or I was hitting it so hard that it didn¡¯t have time to heal, because it wasn¡¯t recovering. I wasn¡¯t going to wait and find out which it was: I pressed my attack.


    The monster half of it¡¯s body had been rendered useless. It didn¡¯t have enough legs to lift itself and it¡¯s tail was out of the way. That left only the demon body.


    Enough time had passed, so I cast Greater Rending Light again (seeing as that was fairly effective last time). It¡¯s female top shuddered and sizzled under the spell, it¡¯s gold body turning a dark burnt brown.


    I couldn¡¯t be sure, but I suspected it was almost dead. I cast Shining Light as an immediate follow up.


    The Demon Scorpion gave one great convulsion and fell limp.


    I stood there, tense, waiting, but when nothing happened I started to relax.


    The body then began to, for a lack of better word, melt. It was really gross to watch, because it started from the outside and worked it¡¯s way in. I got to see way more of the inner workings of that thing then I ever wanted, and suspected it¡¯d be haunting me in my dreams for the rest of my life in revenge for it¡¯s death.


    Dignity ran over to me, face stained with tears, crying with relief. I knelt down and hugged him, careful not to squeeze too hard with my armor on.


    I wanted to cry too, and I was just beginning to feel it might be alright to do so, when I heard a voice say:


    ¡°A most excellent battle! Very well done!¡±


    We both stiffened. It had come from the direction of the throne, which had been empty when we arrive but was now occupied.


    There was a man sitting on it, clapping his hands in congratulations. He wasn¡¯t human.


    His skin was a deep, dark red, and two thin horns grew out of his forehead. He had long, straight black hair, with bangs covering his narrow yellow eyes. His smile, if you wanted to call it that, showed off long fanged teeth. And thrown over his arm, like a shawl, was a classic devil¡¯s tail: long and arrow pointed at the end. He wore something that looked like a cross between a King¡¯s outfit from the 1800s and a Mafia bosses suite, all in the color black. (I¡¯m no expert at clothing so that¡¯s as good as you¡¯re getting from me.)


    If he didn¡¯t have such a haughty look about him, I¡¯d have laughed. He was as stereo-typical as you could get design wise for a demon. No creativity at all. Red, horned, with a tail. Jeesh!


    He stood up in one smooth, regal motion and bowed.


    ¡°Welcome, Champion, to my home!¡± He stood straight as a rod. ¡°I see that you are alone. Truly I mourn with you over the death of your companions.¡±


    It was fortunate he couldn¡¯t see my face, which was hidden by my helmet. I was thoroughly confused and it probably showed. Why did he assume I¡¯d come here with a party?


    ¡°Still, fear not, if you wish it, I can bring them back to life¡­ Or not. Whatever you wish, from selfish to selfless, I will grant you. But only once!¡± He held up one finger. ¡°For though my powers are great, I can only bestow one wish to the Champion who passes the tests and stands before me.¡±


    Uh, what? He would grant me a wish, any I wanted? And what¡¯s this about tests? Is that what was going on? Had I accidentally been on some kind of quest without realizing?


    ¡°¡­any wish you say?¡± I responded slowly, thinking carefully.


    ¡°Anything your heart desires!¡± His response was far too eager. I just couldn¡¯t help thinking there was a catch. Demons were notorious for their crooked deals, after all.


    But, well, I was pretty sure there was one wish he could grant that wouldn¡¯t backfire on me.


    ¡°I would like Dignity and I to go to my home.¡±


    The Demon blinked, genuinely surprised. ¡°Is that all? Are you sure?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± After all this, I wasn¡¯t leaving Dignity behind.


    ¡°If that¡¯s the case¡­¡± He chuckled and lifted his right hand. ¡°Granted!¡± He snapped his fingers, a sound much like a matching being lit coming from them.


    We stared at him. He stared at us.


    Nothing had happened.


    He snapped his fingers again.


    Again nothing.


    His eyes narrowed. ¡°What riddle have you given me to solve? Do you not actually have a home?¡±


    ¡°Excuse me, I do so have a home! I¡¯ve even got a contract and pay rent and everything.¡± Though I wondered a bit as I thought about it. Even if I¡¯d been gone for weeks, and my rent payment was late, I don¡¯t think my stuff would have repossessed yet. And I was fairly certain I hadn¡¯t died or anything like that either. So, technically, legally, it should still be my home.


    Perhaps because he was a Demon, he could tell see I was being truthful. He frowned deeply, more confused than I was by his inability to grant my wish.


    Finally, he huffily admitted: ¡°I am not able to grant your wish. You may ask for something else instead.¡±


    I sighed. That was all I¡¯d really wanted, to go home. My lovely little apartment, with my comfy bed and pillow. Running water, a shower, and (gasp) a toilet. Even my old job, which I had no deep love for, was sounding really good now.


    I pushed aside my homesickness. Focus! What else could I wish for!


    Demons were tricksters. Even if he was telling the truth about his ability to grant wishes, he likely intended on doing something devious through any wish I granted.


    After some thought, I made a decision:


    ¡°Very well then, I think my next wish you can definitely grant. I wish for you to be my best friend on my terms.¡±


    He raised his eyebrows. ¡°Best friend?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°And what were the specific terms?¡±


    ¡°As with all friendships, you find those out over time.¡±


    His eyes narrowed again and I saw his jaw clench. I was almost positive he was on to me and would refuse. If he meant to do mischief, I¡¯d put a severe restriction on what he could do with this wish.


    After a tense moment, he said, practically hissing, ¡°¡­fine.¡±


    He snapped his fingers again.


    This time something happened.


    A red thread, like a flame, appeared over his hand and sizzled toward his chest and then mine. I jumped back, away from it, but all that did was cause it to shoot right at me faster. It was so fast I couldn¡¯t dodge it, and it struck my chest. My hand moved to where it had pierced, but I felt nothing. There was no pain at all.


    I looked up at the Demon, the same thing had happened to him. Unlike me, he hadn¡¯t moved an inch. He just stared at the red flaming thread with cool indifference.


    Then, it was gone.


    ¡°What was that?¡± I asked, trying to keep the fear out of my voice.


    ¡°I believe I have been bound to you.¡±


    ¡°Bound?¡±


    ¡°Yes, my fate is now directly tied into yours. Where you go, I must go. And whatever your terms are, I must obey them.¡± He still kept a cool expression on his face, but I thought I saw his jaw twitch.


    He really didn¡¯t like this wish.


    I gave a polite cough. ¡°Well then, as my best friend, my first term is that you look out for my wellbeing. It wouldn¡¯t do for you, if through negligence or malice, you allowed something bad to happen to me.¡±


    ¡°Easily done, Champion.¡± He then paused. ¡°Calling you Champion seems a bit¡­ cold, perhaps. What is your name, oh dearest friend of mine?¡±


    ¡°Ah, Angela. Since we¡¯re friends, Angie would be¡ª¡±


    ¡°You mean you are a Messenger of God?!¡± He almost spat the words out, his smooth fast twisted into an ugly rage.


    ¡°Uh, not literally. It¡¯s just the name my parents gave me.¡±


    ¡°Tch!¡± He settled down a bit at this, but still look disturbed. He mumbled, more to himself than anything, ¡°Still, a name such as that¡­¡± Before saying aloud: ¡°You were saying something about Angie?¡±


    ¡°Right. You can call me Angie since we¡¯re friends.¡±


    He noticeably relaxed. ¡°I will do that, thank you.¡±


    ¡°And what¡¯s your name?¡±


    ¡°Surely you jest?¡± He waved his hands animatedly, shocked at my ignorance. ¡°You traveled through my lands, my city, my castle, and yet you don¡¯t know my name?¡±


    I wrinkled my nose under my helmet. ¡°A Demon Lord¡¯s lands, huh? That explains all the curses.¡±


    He pursed his lips, as if he¡¯d eaten something sour.


    ¡°Demon Prince.¡± He emphasized. ¡°And my name is Solomon. Demon Prince Solomon.¡± He pointedly repeated his title, offended by my ignorance.


    ¡°Alright, alright, it was an honest mistake on my part.¡± I waved my hands, as if to ward off his anger.


    ¡°Mistake¡ª?!¡± Any pretense of cool disinterest was now gone. His tail was off his arm, whipping about his legs like an angry bee. ¡°Surely I haven¡¯t been trap¡ªI mean, resting¡ªfor so long that my name and reputation have whittled away into obscurity?!¡±


    Hoho, what was that about being trapped? Hhhhhmmmmm? He¡¯d let slip something good. But I wasn¡¯t going to bother him now about it. I was pretty sure I had plenty of time to ask later.


    ¡°Calm down, Solomon! I¡¯m not from around here.¡±


    ¡°I have a world wide reputation!¡± His indignation was almost comical.


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter, I¡¯m literally not from around here: I¡¯m from another world!¡±


    He stared at me, speechless. ¡°You¡¯re what?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not from this world. I come from a different place. The only Solomon I know is from the Bible, and he¡¯s definitely not a Demon Prince.¡±


    He was rendered speechless. His tail had gone completely still and his yellow eyes had widened.


    Suddenly, he came to himself, pointing a finger at me, shouting accusingly. ¡°Well, no wonder I couldn¡¯t get you home! I can¡¯t grant wishes involving other worlds!¡±


    ¡°How was I suppose to know that though? You said you¡¯d grant me any wish!¡±


    ¡°You¡ªbut¡ªThat didn¡¯t¡ªARG!¡± In a fit of rage, he walked over to his castle chair, picked it up, and threw it at a nearby window. Glass scattered every where as it crashed through.


    ¡°What are you, two?¡± He¡¯d just thrown the kind of tantrum you¡¯d expect from a toddler.


    His face scrunched up at my insult before he sat down with a thump, as if all the strength had drained from him. Solomon had a decided flair for the dramatic, I was noticing.


    ¡°I¡¯ve waited for over 200 years.¡± He suddenly began, sounding miserable: ¡°Two. Hundred. Years. For someone, anyone, to get through those trials and make a wish.¡±


    Baffled, I asked, ¡°Why?¡±


    He held his head in his hands, squeezing. ¡°Because I can¡¯t leave this place if I didn¡¯t grant a wish.¡±


    I cocked my head, clearly not understanding.


    ¡°I¡¯m cursed, you idiot.¡± He spat out at me.


    My mouth opened in a silent ¡°Oh¡± of understanding. Of course he didn¡¯t see that so I asked:


    ¡°But how¡¯d a Demon Prince get himself cursed?¡±


    ¡°I lost a battle with the wrong person. In exchange for my life, I was put under a curse: My lands were sealed and I had to wait in my castle for Champions. The Champions would pass through a series of tests and if they succeeded, I must grant them one wish without deceit or malice. If I granted them just one wish, myself and my land would be free of the curse.¡±


    ¡°So you¡¯re free now then? That¡¯s good news!¡±


    ¡°Ha!¡± He glared at me. ¡°How am I free? I¡¯m your ¡°best friend¡± now, and you¡ªa being from another world¡ªdesire more than anything to return home. Knowing this, I must help you with that task before all else.¡±


    Well, uh, oops? Sorry, dude? Actions have consequences? Don¡¯t be a sketchy demon?


    ¡°Don¡¯t be like that. Look, you¡¯ve been stuck in a castle for 200 years right?¡±


    ¡°Right.¡±


    ¡°You must have been bored out of your mind. You might not want me as your bestie, but at least you can leave now. And I don¡¯t know how far I¡¯ll have to go to find a way home. So most likely, you¡¯ll get to travel all over the place. I¡¯m sure the world has changed in 200 years, so it¡¯ll be like experiencing everything new again.¡±


    He dropped his hands from his head and raised an eyebrow at me.


    ¡°¡­I suppose you¡¯re correct.¡± He stood up again, dusting himself off in the process. ¡°But having such a truth come from you doesn¡¯t help my ego much.¡±


    ¡°Well good. It¡¯s not like I was trying to help your ego out anyway.¡±


    He chuckled at that. ¡°A true friend indeed.¡±


    ¡°Well then,¡± His tail gently placed itself back over his arm. ¡°Where shall we go, dearest Angie?¡±


    ¡°Er. Right. I was trying to find a city, a real one with actual people in it. If I could find someone well-informed maybe I could get some idea what I¡¯m doing here and how to get home.¡±


    ¡°Hm¡­ There use to be a Kingdom to the south of here. If it still exists and things are generally in the same place, a few days travel should get us to a city.¡±


    ¡°Really? Did you hear that Dignity, a city!¡± I looked down at my little companion, only to see him scowling.


    He hadn¡¯t said a word through the entire interaction.


    The Demon Solomon took notice of my companion for the first time.


    ¡°Ah, a Kobold. What a quaint servant you have there.¡±


    He bristled and practically barked out: ¡°I¡¯m her friend, her FIRST one.¡±


    Solomon¡¯s smooth smile froze on his face.


    ¡°How cute, he talks.¡±


    ¡°I can do more than that!¡± Came an angry retort.


    ¡°Hoho, is that so? What else can you do!¡±


    Dignity¡¯s face went dark: ¡°Not tellin¡¯ you nothing, stupid.¡±


    The demon¡¯s face twisted angrily and he raised his hands threateningly.


    ¡°Alright,¡± I interjected hastily. ¡°Let¡¯s not be needlessly hostile. You are both my friends, alright? You both bring something different to the table.¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s just¡­ just a¡­ stupid evil demon!¡± Protested Dignity, apparently upset that I¡¯d put them on the same level.


    ¡°That may be¡ª¡±


    ¡°Hey!¡± Solomon huffed in offense.


    ¡°¡ªbut since I¡¯ve wished him as a friend, I¡¯ve got to treat him like one. Friendship is a two way street. As he looks out for me, I¡¯ll look out for him. And if you do the same, perhaps we¡¯ll be able to reform him into a good demon.¡±


    Dignity looked doubtful and Solomon more so.


    ¡°It can¡¯t hurt to try. Having a Demon Prince on our side will be useful anyway.¡±


    ¡°Oh alright...¡± Dignity conceded, quietly muttering to himself. ¡°He better not try anything or else¡­¡±


    I clapped my hands in false cheerfulness. ¡°ANYWAY. How about we leave this castle and head south?¡±


    ¡°Toward civilization?¡± My Kobold friend added.


    ¡°Toward civilization!¡± I repeated enthusiastically, pumping my fist in the air.


    Solomon, however, only shrugged in depressed resignation.

 4: Friends & Other Curses

    We left the Castle to discover the cursed city had changed. Or more accurately, disappeared completely. Instead of buildings, we found ourselves stepping out into a hilly wilderness.


    ¡°Woah, what happened?¡± Dignity and I both looked around in amazement.


    ¡°I created the city, but it was only there to trap people in. Now that the curse is broken, I¡¯ve no need of it.¡± He explained simply.


    ¡°Wait, you made the city? With magic?¡±


    He raised thin black brow. ¡°Of course.¡±


    I whistled. ¡°That¡¯s amazing.¡±


    ¡°Well, I am a Demon Prince after all. I should be able to do that much.¡± He didn¡¯t even pretend to be modest.


    ¡°Whoever beat and cursed you must have been crazy strong then, huh?¡±


    He looked genuinely upset that I brought the subject of his defeat up. Oops! He clearly didn¡¯t like talking about that.


    ¡°Sorry,¡± I hastily apologized and went back to the original topic. ¡°These trees are crazy tall, I can¡¯t see where the sun is. Which way is south?¡±


    Dignity looked about to say something helpful, but was cut off by Solomon.


    ¡°That direction.¡± The demon pointing where we needed to go.


    Solomon gave Dignity a smug look, and the Kobold realized he¡¯d been interrupted on purpose. If looks could have killed, Dignity would have struck the demon down right there.


    ¡°Then that¡¯s the direction we go!¡± I said in cheerful obliviousness. ¡°Do you think you could keep us pointed in the right direction Solomon?¡±


    ¡°Absolutely.¡± He glanced at Dignity and grinned maliciously. Dignity¡¯s childlike hands bunched into angry fists.


    The castle was still on a very tall, steep hill. It reminded me somewhat of those old films showing Dracula¡¯s Castle. Only it was broad daylight and there was nothing particularly ominous about the surrounding area. The biggest danger was slipping on the narrow trails and taking a tumble. This castle was clearly designed to keep people out.


    We¡¯d gotten a fair way down when I realized I was overheating despite the cool weather.


    Oops. I¡¯d totally forgotten to take off my Quicksilver armor! How embarrassing!


    ¡°Ah, give me a minute guys.¡± I called out, stopping for a moment to look through my pack. It took me almost no time at all to find the old outfit I¡¯d been wearing and change back into it.


    Dignity didn¡¯t respond to this change at all, but Solomon was so startled he actually jumped.


    ¡°Monster!¡± He hissed, jumped back an amazing 10 feet.


    ¡°How rude.¡± I put a hand on my hip and pointed a thumb at myself. ¡°I¡¯m not a monster, I¡¯m Angie the Mewnin.¡±


    ¡°Yeah!¡± Dignity added. ¡°Don¡¯t call Angela a monster, you stupid demon!¡±


    Solomon flinched at my full name.


    Eyebrows scrunched together, he walked over and examined me curiously, ¡°I¡¯ve never heard of a Mewnin before¡­¡±


    I deflated a little. ¡°There¡­ there aren¡¯t Mewnin in this world?¡±


    That was bad. I¡¯d assumed, since I¡¯d been turned into one, that surely they existed here. If they didn¡¯t I¡¯d stand out like a sore thumb!


    ¡°Possibly there is, and I just haven¡¯t heard or seen them. I haven¡¯t traveled the whole world or seen all there is to see.¡± He admitted, apparently trying to cheer me up.


    ¡°Are there¡­ humans at least?¡±


    ¡°Hm? Oh yes, most certainly. Those I know all about.¡± Solomon was still looking over me with intense curiosity. He suddenly reached out and touched my ears, startling me and causing Dignity to protest. Rude again!


    I smacked his hand, irritated. ¡°Don¡¯t just go around grabbing people¡¯s ears!¡±


    He stared at his hands and then my face. ¡°You are incredibly soft!¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    Two red hands shot back out and grabbed my face, squishing cheeks together as he rubbed them.


    ¡°Hey¡ªyou¡ª!¡± I sputtered, too surprised to actually move.


    ¡°You¡¯re the softest thing I¡¯ve ever felt!¡± His yellow eyes were large and shining. I suddenly understood how a bunny must feel when handled by a human for the first time.


    Dignity ran up and kicked him in the shin. Solomon gave a yelp and hopped on his good leg, rubbing the spot he¡¯d been hit.


    ¡°Thanks Dignity.¡± I said, regaining my composure. I pointed at Solomon. ¡°I don¡¯t care if I¡¯m soft, don¡¯t go touching me without permission! Friendship term number two!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s terribly unfair!¡± Solomon complained bitterly at the new restriction. ¡°You are softer than a rabbit! It¡¯s amazing! You shouldn¡¯t keep that to yourself! Selfish! Cruel!¡±


    ¡°¡­am I really that soft Dignity?¡± His reaction was so weird I figured I¡¯d ask for a second opinion.


    ¡°You are pretty soft.¡± He admitted, shrugging. ¡°But I¡¯ve spent weeks with you, unlike some people, so I¡¯m use to it.¡±


    He stuck his tongue out at the demon, who gave him a returning glare.


    I touched my face, puzzled. I¡¯d handled rabbits before, so I knew how soft they were. Maybe I¡¯d adapted to my furry skin and just couldn¡¯t tell objectively anymore. I don¡¯t know. But it was surprising having a Demon freak out over something so random.


    Now that I was out of my armor, we continued walking. Dignity held my hand as we hiked down the hill, and unknown to me, sent smug looks towards a sulking Solomon.


    After sometime Solomon asked, ¡°By the way, where did your armor go?¡±


    ¡°Hm? Ah, I just used my pack.¡±


    ¡°Pack?¡±


    ¡°This.¡± I pointed to it, hanging on the front of my belt.


    ¡°But that¡¯s much too small!¡±


    I chuckled. ¡°It¡¯s bigger on the inside than the outside.¡±


    ¡°A magical enchantment?¡± His eyes widened in amazement. ¡°Did you enchant it?¡±


    ¡°Naw, it was like that when I got it. I did expand how much it could hold though.¡±


    He frowned. ¡°That¡­ it shouldn¡¯t be possible.¡±


    ¡°Really? Is it not something magic can do here?¡±


    ¡°Of course not! Space is space. Why do you think I couldn¡¯t send you home? You can¡¯t go around meddling with it, and even if you could it¡¯s risky!¡±


    ¡°But didn¡¯t you make a whole city from a hill out of magic? How is that not considered risky or meddling?¡±


    ¡°Because I didn¡¯t fundamentally alter anything, I just worked with what already existed. Cities are just bricks and wood, and bricks are just dirt. This hill was filled with all I needed to make a city, so I used magic to make it one. That¡¯s completely different than fundamentally altering space!¡±


    I stared at him, impressed. He can say what he wants, but what he did was pretty amazing. Even if it¡¯s just ¡°dirt and wood¡±, people got architecture degrees for a reason. Building a city was no simple matter, just from a design standpoint.


    ¡°To be honest, I don¡¯t know anything about magic or how it works here so I still don¡¯t get the difference. Can you explain it to me?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll tell you if you let me touch your ears.¡±


    ¡°No.¡± If he could see the face he was making he¡¯d say no too! He was way too eager and greedy!


    ¡°What about your face?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s worse!¡±


    ¡°Your hand then?¡±


    ¡°Well, I guess that¡¯s better¡ª¡±


    ¡°Deal!¡± He grabbed my hand, interrupting my attempt to tell him no again. ¡°So let me tell you all about magic¡ª¡±


    ¡­this guy¡­


    ¡°¡ªit is the ability to re-arrange Elements within nature to do your bidding. Elements that are easy to master are referred to as ¡°Base Elements¡± which are: water, earth, energy, and air. Light and shadow are difficult to learn and are called Complex Elements. Lastly is the Element aether, which may not be mastered at all, but is rather something gifted by some¡­ someone else.¡± He seemed to struggle with this last one but I didn¡¯t have time to ask.


    He was squeezing and rubbing my hand in much the same way you might touch a stress ball while he talked. Dignity was watching in disgust..


    ¡°In the world, only People may use magic that deals with all the elements. Other creatures, such as wild beasts or monsters, can only use one or two that align with their nature. And using two is reserved for the most powerful. But People can access any and all with enough time and effort.¡±


    ¡°Uh, could you maybe switch hands?¡± I interjected quickly. I was never going to tell him but his rubbing felt a bit like a message. It actually felt kind of nice. What? Don¡¯t judge me! I¡¯d been in the wilderness for months!


    ¡°Why of course!¡± He practically spun to my left side and immediately began his rub/message of my other hand. ¡°As I was saying, while People may use all the Elements, there are limitations. The first is their own inner energy, which is referred to as a spirit or soul. Your spirit influences how much magic you can use at any given time and what element you are most strongly inclined to. So, for instance, a Demon Prince such as myself has an enormous amount of spiritual energy and my element is shadow. Secondly, a person¡¯s knowledge will influence what elements they can use and how they are combined. This means that even though I¡¯m quite powerful and good with shadow, had I not studied, I wouldn¡¯t have been able to use the other elements effectively.


    Lastly, every Person has an element they¡¯re weak against. Humans are strong with energy but weak against shadow. While a mastery of your natural weakness is possible, it takes a great deal of time and effort. In some cases it may even be painful.¡±


    ¡°So did you bother to master light or was it too painful?¡±


    ¡°Ha, light is much too botherso¡ª¡± He verbally crashed to a halt and he dropped my hand. ¡°How did you know light was the element I was weak against?¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t it common knowledge demons are weak against light?¡± I responded, confused by his astonishment.


    ¡°Only dunces would let that be common knowledge.¡± He was giving me a very serious expression, like I¡¯d acquired Top Secret information.


    ¡°But you know what element humans are weak against!¡±


    ¡°Obviously, it¡¯s easy to tell any time we come in contact. Why do you think they hate us so?¡±


    ¡°Because demons are con men out to sow chaos and death where ever they go?¡±


    ¡°And humans aren¡¯t too?!¡±


    ¡°¡­it¡¯s not a racial trait.¡±


    He laughed sourly. ¡°They pretend to have the moral high ground when it suits them. The vast majority of them are only ¡°good¡± because the law holds a sword to their neck and demands it. Strip away the law and they become more cruel and murderous than even the most diabolical demon.¡±


    That was some Grade A pessimism there.


    ¡°Is that personal experience talking?¡±


    ¡°Yes. Before I was¡­ defeated¡­ I dealt frequently with humans. They liked to summon me, you know. They¡¯d make deals with me in the dark, to get around their laws and ¡°goodness¡±.¡± He grinned wickedly. ¡°I made sure it never went as they¡¯d planned.¡±


    ¡°And you gloried in both granting their evil desires and then twisting them to your advantage, I bet.¡± I wasn¡¯t letting him off the hook for his own evil behavior.


    He waved off my objection dismissively.


    ¡°And why shouldn¡¯t I? Whatever our reputation may be, we are creatures of the law. We follow it meticulously, ruthlessly, and with great pleasure. Humans only pretend to love the law, you see, when it benefits them. But the moment it gets in the way of their base¡ªdare I say racial¡ªdesires, they break the law, and then they beg for mercy to be free of the consequences!¡± He gave a mocking, malicious laugh. ¡°But I love the law, and all that comes with it. So finding those who would break the law, and hastening their destruction by giving them what they want and more, fills me with delight.¡±


    My eyes grew wide, horrified by his explanation. What he and his kind did was like finding a rotting bridge and¡ªinstead of fixing it¡ªput more and more weight on it so that it broke quicker and in a more spectacular fashion. Except the bridges were living people, and when they broke they took a lot of innocents with them. No matter how he rationalized it, that kind of behavior was terribly wicked.


    And even outside how morally twisted that whole way of thinking was, it reminded me of something else:


    ¡°If that¡¯s how Demons really are then I¡¯ve thought of another friendship term you need to follow.¡±


    He groaned. ¡°How many of those are you going to think up?¡±


    ¡°As many as I need.¡±


    He grumbled, ¡°Fine.¡±


    ¡°Friendship term 3: don¡¯t let me descend into greater evil.¡±


    ¡°Pardon?¡±


    ¡°You said Demons like to watch evil people become even more evil, to hasten their destruction, right?¡±


    ¡°Right.¡±


    ¡°What I¡¯m saying is you mustn¡¯t do that with me. If I¡¯m walking a path towards evil, you need to stop me and put me on the path to good.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re asking for the impossible!¡± Solomon¡¯s face broke out into a genuine panicked sweat. ¡°I just explained how Demons work, didn¡¯t I? If you ask the impossible, then I¡¯m bound to break it and that¡ª¡± He twiddles his fingers nervously, ¡°¡ªwould be exceptionally, exceedingly bad for me.¡±If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.


    I sighed. ¡°I¡¯m not trying to put you in an impossible position. Wouldn¡¯t there be some way to at least warn me BEFORE things get out of hand? Like, if you think I might be stepping off in a direction that will stir up your Demon-y sense of justice, couldn¡¯t you let me know?¡±


    Eyebrows screwed up in thought for a moment, before he nodded slowly.


    ¡°Then that will satisfy the third term by my account. And that¡¯s all the matters for the wish you¡¯re granting.¡±


    He held a red hand over his heart and sighed in relief. ¡°Very well. You scared me for a moment. It¡¯s difficult to be a ¡°best friend¡± to someone who makes impossible terms to live up to.¡±


    ¡°¡­Right.¡± I guess I couldn¡¯t expect a Demon to go against it¡¯s nature.


    ¡°Ah, back to the original point.¡± He frowned slightly. ¡°How did you know Demons were weak to the light element?¡±


    Oh, right. I¡¯d forgotten how we¡¯d gotten on to this topic.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t it just kind of obvious? Light is the opposing element to Shadow, like good and evil, so¡­¡±


    ¡°No, no, no¡­!¡± He cut me off. ¡°You misunderstand the light and shadow elements then. They aren¡¯t moral alignments, they¡¯re actual elements. Light is life and anything that boosts health. Shadow is death and anything that drains life. Shadow elements work when things rot, but rotting isn¡¯t inherently evil. And weeds overgrowing in a garden would be the light element, but wouldn¡¯t be inherently good either. You see what I mean?


    And if anything, people assume shadow is stronger than light, because death always follows after life you see. Most people assume Demons are actually strong against light. And we make it a point to keep them thinking so.¡±


    ¡°Oh. I did misunderstand.¡± In my world light is usually associated with holiness, which demons are traditionally weak against. I guess they don¡¯t have that concept here.


    He grimaced. ¡°Still, you know information you shouldn¡¯t know because I was careless¡­¡±


    ¡°I won¡¯t tell anyone.¡± I promised earnestly.


    Solomon gave me a long searching look before deciding I was speaking truthfully.


    ¡°I suppose it¡¯s fine if it¡¯s you. But what about him?¡± He pointed at Dignity, who¡¯d been walking and listening to our conversation in silence.


    ¡°Would you keep this information a secret too Dignity?¡± I asked him, smiling gently to encourage his cooperation.


    ¡°Why should I? He¡¯s not my friend, and Demons are bad. If people knew how to kill them quicker, it¡¯d be easier on everyone.¡±


    Solomom bristled at the Kobold¡¯s threat.


    ¡°I¡¯m not your ¡°friend¡± either, you insignificant twerp, so don¡¯t think you can¡ª¡±


    ¡°Calm down you two!¡± I ordered, and was mildly surprised when they both shut up. ¡°Look, Dignity, I know demons are bad. Really, I get where you¡¯re coming from. But let¡¯s use this information to do some good rather than promote more destruction.¡± I glanced over at Solomon, who still looked ready to strike Dignity down at a moment¡¯s notice.


    I¡¯d been thinking about this as we¡¯d walked. They didn¡¯t like each other. Since Solomon was so much more powerful, that could be a real issue later. My wish with the Demon didn¡¯t cover other people, at least not to the extent that I could guarantee Dignity¡¯s safety when I wasn¡¯t around. It had been worrying me.


    ¡°Solomon, let¡¯s make a deal.¡±


    Both Dignity and Solomon looked surprised.


    ¡°Dignity won¡¯t mention the demons weakness if, in return, you don¡¯t put his life in danger or hurt him. What do you think?¡±


    He closed his yellow eyes for a moment, thoughtful. ¡°I suppose... What say you, Kobold?¡±


    Dignity scrunched his nose in distaste but nodded. ¡°I¡¯ll agree to it.¡±


    Solomon snapped his fingers, and once against I heard something like a match being lit.


    ¡°The agreement is made and accepted. I won¡¯t hurt the Kobold as long as he holds up his end of the deal.¡±


    ¡°And you won¡¯t send someone else to hurt him for you?¡± I asked pointedly, covering my bases.


    He grumbled, snapping his fingers again. ¡°The agreement has been modified to include that as a sub-clause.¡± He eyed the Kobold menacingly. ¡°If you break your word, I¡¯ll make sure you die slowly.¡±


    Dignity puffed his chest out, face red with anger, ¡±Kobold¡¯s don¡¯t break their word, unlike you slither-outers!¡±


    ¡°Tch, we never go back on our word either, you half-baked fairy. It¡¯s not a Demon¡¯s fault people are too stupid to make good agreements with us.¡± He pointed at me. ¡°Angie here made an excellent agreement with me, even including a clever open-ended clause. Frankly, I would have denied her if I¡¯d had the option but my curse wouldn¡¯t let me.¡±


    ¡°Angela¡ª¡± Solomon flinched at the name, but Dignity seemed to enjoy watching his reaction so ignored it. ¡°¡ªis smart that way. It¡¯s from being civilized, you know.¡±


    ¡°Civilized? What¡¯s that got to do with being smart?¡± The Demon looked baffled.


    ¡°What, don¡¯t you know about civilization and what it can do for a person?¡± Dignity asked patronizingly.


    Rather than being angry, Solomon just looked more confused. Turning to me he asked, ¡°Do you have any idea what this twerp is talking about?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not even sure how he came to the conclusion he did.¡± I scratched my head. I gave Solomon an over-view of the original conversation that had mislead Dignity. ¡°I¡¯ve tried to re-explain it, but he seems to think I¡¯m just saying the same thing a different way, so I¡¯ve given up.¡±


    ¡°Ah¡­ I see. Well, he¡¯s only a Kobold after all. Fairykin aren¡¯t known for their creative thinking and Kobold¡¯s are even worse: they just mimic whatever they think their master wants.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not his master, I¡¯m his friend,¡± I responded firmly, and then added,¡±..and what¡¯s a ¡°fairykin¡±?¡±


    ¡°Fairykin are distantly related to fairies. They¡¯re somewhere between a beast and a person. And you most definitely are his master. You gave him a name and he accepted it. That¡¯s how they set up their master-servant contracts.¡±


    Shocked, I turned to my Kobold buddy and asked, ¡°Dignity is that true?¡±


    ¡°Yes and no?¡± He looked terribly uncomfortable at me asking.


    Solomon gave him a sneer. ¡°Come now, you fairy-runt, don¡¯t lie to your master!¡±


    Even though he was glowering at Solomon, I could see him deflate a little.


    ¡°It¡ªit¡¯s like this you see: you are my master and my friend.¡±


    ¡°What, since when have you thought that?¡±


    He flinched, looking guilty. ¡°From the beginning?¡±


    ¡°From the¡ªwhy didn¡¯t you say something?¡± I knelt down and grabbed his shoulders. ¡°I¡¯ve never once thought of you as my servant! Have you been following me around for the sake of this contract or whatever, all this time? Is that why you¡¯re still here? You could have been seriously hurt, I could have set you free if I¡¯d known!¡±


    ¡°No!¡± He grabbed my shirt, pulling hard. ¡°You¡ªyou saved me. You¡¯re a good person. You¡¯re kind, even to a Demon who definitely doesn¡¯t deserve it.¡± Solomon rolled his eyes at this. ¡°I would follow you anywhere, even without the contract. But I can¡¯t follow you without it. I really can¡¯t.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s true.¡± The Demon interrupted, even though seemed to be enjoying watching Dignity squirm. ¡°Kobolds depend on their contracts to survive, quite literally. They must have one, otherwise they grow weak and die. If he hadn¡¯t contracted with you, he¡¯d have died. And even if you try to pawn him off to someone else, he¡¯d be forced to follow their will, which would likely change him into an entirely different person.¡±


    I looked down at the miserable Kobold, who was still clinging to me, teary eyed. Did he think I was angry enough I¡¯d send him away? I was only upset because I thought I might have forced him to stay with me, without even realizing it. There¡¯d been some close calls and he¡¯d almost died. If he¡¯d have been safer free, then I¡¯d have let him be free.


    ¡°Dignity,¡± I stroked his hair to comfort him. ¡°I¡¯m not going to send you away, if that¡¯s what you¡¯re thinking. I¡¯m not even that mad, alright? I just wish you¡¯d been a little more honest with me from the beginning.¡±


    Still, I was disheartened. Was there any part of Dignity that was really ¡°him¡±? Or was every facet of his personality just some reflection of my will¡ªor what he perceived my will to be? If that were the case, Kobolds were strange, sad little creatures indeed.


    When he didn¡¯t let go, I picked him up and gave him a hug. ¡°I¡¯m really not upset, alright?¡±


    He gave a big sniffle, smiled, and nodded.


    I gave him a pat on the back and then set him back down.


    Dignity and Solomon got along a little better after this. And by that I mean Solomon didn¡¯t keep threatening the Kobold¡¯s life. They did bicker in spurts though, and sometimes I had to intervene to get them to stop. I felt like a frazzled parent in the front seat of a car listening to an argument of ¡°STOP TOUCHING ME!¡± from behind.


    It was a three day walk to get outside of Solomon¡¯s land. The trip down the steep rocky hill took more time than I¡¯d wanted, but once we got to the bottom, it was smooth sailing. With the city gone, the road had disappeared too. This annoyed me a little but since the ground wasn¡¯t particularly lumpy or anything I kept quiet about it.


    Our first dinner was a fun experience. I guess demons didn¡¯t need to eat, seeing as they weren¡¯t technically ¡°alive¡±. But when he saw food stuff appearing out of thin air, he volunteered anyway.


    He was greatly impressed with my cooking, oohing and ahhing over it for a solid ten minutes. Dignity wouldn¡¯t let that stand, so he tried contributing his own passionate feelings about what I¡¯d made too.


    It was a war of compliments.


    ¡°Alright, alright! I get it! My cooking is great! So just shut up and eat already.¡± I practically shouted at them in my embarrassment. I wasn¡¯t use to that much over-the-top-niceness. Honestly, it was a good thing I was covered in fur, it hid my blushing.


    We traveled like this for several days. As we went, I learned more about the world I¡¯d landed in from Solomon:


    There were several ¡°People of the World¡±, as he called them: Humans, Elves, Dwarves, Fairies, Mermaids, Angels, and Demons. (Once again, I thought depressed, no Mewnins.) Of them, Angels and Demons were the only ones who could intuitively use Light and Shadow magic without extensive training.


    Solomon hated Angels, so everything he said was tainted with either disgust or superiority. Through all his bigoted comments, I gleaned that Angels were creatures that specialized in the light Element, and therefore life. They didn¡¯t interact with the other races much, mostly focusing on stopping Demons from succeeding in their diabolical plans. Solomon accused them of being busy-bodies, but I was grateful. Demons really needed someone to reign in their psychotic sense of justice.


    The next two races he hated (and this is actually how he introduced them to me) were Elves and Fairies. Elves had some kind of agreement with the Angels: Basically if an Angel couldn¡¯t get to a Demon in time, an elf would go in their place. And there were more elves than Angels, so elves got tasked with interfering with weaker Demons work. I silently cheered on their efforts as Solomon ripped into them.


    Fairies weren¡¯t associated with Angels, which is why they were only third on the list. The problem with fairies is they enjoyed sowing mischief all around and you couldn¡¯t trust them. One day they might help you out, and the next day they might bring an army of Elves down on you. You just had no way of knowing what was going through their ¡°pee-sized heads¡±, as he put it. It amused me that he saw no irony in hating fairies for the same things demons do.


    He had no real opinion or knowledge of either Dwarves or Mermaids, because they weren¡¯t terribly useful. Apparently everyone was divided into ¡°useful¡± or ¡°hated¡± in a Solomon¡¯s mind. If you didn¡¯t fall into either camp, then he gave no thought to you. He only knew something about Kobold¡¯s because they were related to fairies (whom he hates).


    Humans he had a vested interest in. He knew all about them, or so he claimed.


    Apparently Demons lived somewhere deep inside the world, near the core, and could only leave if they were summoned by someone on the surface. (It reminded me a little bit of vampire legends about being invited in.) Some Demons leapt at the chance of going on adventures above world, others bitterly resented it. Depending on the quality of the summon, a Demon may not be able to get back home. I guess even Demons have families and need a steady job, so getting yanked from your dinner table would put anyone in a testy mood.


    Anyway, humans were the ones who figured out how to Summon Demons. It started as an accident, and then became a common practice among the seedier cults and the desperate with the know-how. Demons got summoned enough that those who got stuck on the surface ended up making their own families. And of the first to do so was Solomon¡¯s great-great-great-and so on-grand parents. His particular family had the longest to adapt to the surface and learn all the elements. And that¡¯s why he was considered a ¡°Demon Prince¡± among the surface dwelling demons. (He was quite pleased with himself when he explained this to me.)


    Seeing as that¡¯s the relationship Demons have with humans, you can guess that they have both a high and low opinion of them. On the high end, they view them as valuable tools to allow Demons to go on adventures, get what they want, and spread their influence. On the low end, they¡¯re viewed as a insufferably slow and annoying to deal with, and some Demons outright hate them because they ripped them away from their homes.


    All the ¡°racial¡± information about humans I already knew, but I listened quietly with interest anyway. Solomon¡¯s take on it was all incredibly lopsided and warped. But considering he tended to meet the worst humanity had to offer, I guess I couldn¡¯t blame him


    That¡¯s why I decided to keep my human past to myself. There¡¯s just no nice way to put it: Solomon had very strong¡ªmostly negative¡ªviews on anyone who wasn¡¯t a demon. If he found out I was human before he really got to know me, I was sure he¡¯d just lump me in with all the other humans he¡¯d met. He¡¯d be my ¡°best friend¡±¡­ but only in as much as he thought a human needed or deserved.


    But Mewnin he didn¡¯t know anything about; he had no prejudice to project onto me in this form. To him, I was closer to a demon in terms of respectability than anything else. And until I had totally convinced him I was worthy of respect, I wasn¡¯t going to even hint at my human past.


    He might consider that deception, but it¡¯d be no worse than anything demon¡¯s already do. And in my old world, it happened that when two opposing sides became friends, it often fundamentally changed things and erased the underlying conflict. Perhaps I could do that with Solomon.


    ¡°I don¡¯t understand though, how is Summoning any different than my pack? They¡¯re both space related aren¡¯t they?¡± I asked some time after this conversation.


    He frowned. ¡°Summoning is simply the use of air and shadow, it¡¯s not breaking any fundamental laws of nature.¡±


    ¡°But demons are summoned through solid rock right?¡±


    ¡°No, no. They¡¯re brought through the tiniest of cracks found in the world¡¯s crust, at incredibly fast speeds. It¡¯s so fast it feels instantaneous.¡±


    ¡°But doesn¡¯t that mean you¡¯ve got to break down the body to¡ª¡±


    ¡°Demon¡¯s don¡¯t have the same kind of bodies as people above do.¡± He interrupted me, waving his hand to dismiss my objection. ¡°We aren¡¯t quite alive, nor are we quite solid either. We¡¯re just made of different stuff, on a fundamental level. We can survive being summoned for only that reason. We¡¯ve tried sending humans and such down to our homeland, but they get turned into a puddle of blood.¡±


    ¡°Not solid, huh?¡± I gave him a firm poke in the arm and got a scandalized look in return. ¡°You seem awful solid to me.¡±


    ¡°Of course I¡¯m solid! I haven¡¯t lived on the surface my whole life and not learned how to be mostly solid!¡±


    ¡°Really? So does that mean you can be mostly¡­ not solid? If you want?¡±


    ¡°Yes?¡± He tilted his head, puzzled at my interest.


    ¡°Can you do it now?¡±


    ¡°But why¡ª¡±


    ¡°Pleeeease?¡± My eyes went as round as I could make them.


    ¡°¡­well.¡± He looked uncertain before he thought of an idea. ¡°Let me touch your ears.¡±


    Really? This guy never missed a chance! I don¡¯t know what it was about my ears, but that seemed to be the softest part on me, and he¡¯d ask to touch them any time he got the chance.


    I sighed. ¡°Fine, but just for, like, 30 seconds!¡±


    He reached out and stroked my ears. I tried to keep a neutral expression my face, but he made it hard when he giggled like a delighted girl.


    Finally, the time passed, and he let go mournfully, whispering, ¡°So very soft¡­¡±


    And then he changed: his body went from a solid red, to a smoky blurry red. His only truly defining features were his eyes, which remained two solid yellow glowing orbs where his face would have been.


    ¡°Woah!¡± I reached out and tried to touch him. I was met by the slightest resistance.


    He gave a choking laugh and then scolded me. ¡°Don¡¯t do that!¡±


    ¡°Hm, what? This?¡± This time I wiggled my fingers as I touched his smoky self.


    He burst out in uncontrollable, but strained, laughter.


    ¡°Oooooh! You¡¯re ticklish aren¡¯t you?!¡± I gleefully reached out both hands and wigglingly touched the outlines of his not-quite-solid form.


    The blurry red demon doubled over, wheezing with laughter. Ho ho ho, who knew demons could be ticklish?


    He somehow managed to solidify himself between my tickle attacks.


    He pointed a wobbly finger at me and said between ragged breaths: ¡°That¡­ was¡­ cruel!¡±


    ¡°Now you now how it feels to have people always wanting to touch you!¡± I wasn¡¯t the least bit remorseful. He had it coming.


    Placing two hands on his face, he groaned in annoyance. ¡°Point taken. I will be more considerate in the future if you will too.¡±


    I chuckled and promised I¡¯d do so.


    That¡¯s how our days passed as we walked south.


    The days got progressively cooler the farther south we went, turning freezing once we left Solomon¡¯s land. One day I had us stop so I could make Dignity thicker clothes. I also decided to give him some accessories against frost. This included a Christmas scarf & mittens (which he loved because of the bright white and red colors) and silver necklace with a blue hanging jewel.


    When I fretted over his lack of shoes, Solomon snapped his fingers and two perfectly sized boots appeared in his hands.


    He got yelled at by both of us for not mentioned he could do that sooner. Solomon only rolled his eyes at our complaints, explaining that he wasn¡¯t under any obligation to help Dignity. He¡¯d only made the shoes to stop me from worrying so much.


    At least Dignity finally had a pair of decent shoes and proper clothing. If it weren¡¯t for his ears and tail, he¡¯d look almost exactly like a regular, adorable, little boy.


    We eventually reached a road, a real properly used one. It was mostly dirt lined with rocks. It didn¡¯t look well-kept, but it was clearly heavily used: deep but thin wheel ruts were all over it.


    Still, we walked a long time without seeing anyone. It might have just been the time of year we were traveling. The marks on the road looked like the types of thing that happens during the rainy season of spring.


    Solomon and Dignity were having another go at each other, when a strong wind blew towards us and I got a whiff of a horrific smell of¡­ something. I covered my nose with two furry hands and let out a loud UGH!, startling my two traveling companions.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Dignity asked, running over to me.


    ¡°Something smells horrible.¡±


    The Kobold sniffed the air, his eyebrows bunched together in concentration. He shook his head. ¡°I don¡¯t smell anything.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s up ahead.¡± I squinted my eyes and tried to see as far as my improved eyesight would let me: ¡°I think I see something, but I don¡¯t know what it is.¡±


    ¡°A moment.¡± Solomon jumped straight up and stayed there, slowly rising.


    Despite the terrible smell, I yelled out in astonishment: ¡°YOU CAN FLY?!¡±


    He gave a mischievous smile and waved, pretending he couldn¡¯t hear us.


    Why that sneaky¡­! He wasn¡¯t going to tell me anything unless I asked him point blank about it. But that was the nature of demons, I thought grimly as I watched him, no matter how irritating. Even if they counted you a friend, they would always remain secretive.


    After he¡¯d gone up high enough and got a good look around, he floated down. Lightly landing on his feet, he commented: ¡°I think what you¡¯re smelling is the village up ahead.¡±


    ¡°Is that normal?¡± I asked in a muffled voice, my hands still covering my nose.


    ¡°I doubt it. I think it¡¯s been raided or something, it was in shambles.¡±


    I was silent for a long moment before asking the question I suddenly didn¡¯t want to know the answer to: ¡°Is the smell¡­ is it¡­ rotting¡­ people?¡±


    ¡°Probably.¡± He confirmed, unperturbed. ¡°I¡¯m amazed at your ability to smell it from here though. That¡¯s got to be miles away.¡±


    ¡°Did you¡ªdid you see any survivors?¡±


    ¡°Oh, was I suppose to be looking for that?¡± He said blankly. If I hadn¡¯t gotten an earful on demon morality already, I¡¯d have suspected he was being sarcastic. As it was, I knew he really hadn¡¯t bothered to look.


    He seemed somewhat aware that I was getting progressively more upset and, trying to be helpful, added: ¡°I didn¡¯t see any people moving when I was up there.¡±


    That didn¡¯t help at all! In fact, that was terrible news: it likely meant there was an entire village filled with nothing but corpses based on what I was smelling.


    The wind died down, and by proxy so did the smell. Relieved I lowered my hands from my nose.


    ¡°We need to check, just to make sure.¡± I said with firm conviction.


    ¡°Ok!¡± Dignity nodded, concerned over my reaction.


    Solomon, however, disagreed: ¡°But why? If they¡¯re all dead, what would finding that out do? And if any are alive, which I doubt, what are you going to do about it? Heal them? And then what?¡±


    Frustrated, I balled my hands into fists. ¡°I¡¯ll figure it out when I get there! But not at least checking isn¡¯t an option for me!¡±


    He looked about to argue, when I jabbed a finger at his chest. ¡°Are you my best friend or aren¡¯t you? Help me out here!¡±


    My aggression caught him off guard.


    ¡°Calm down Angie. You are indeed my friend. I was just being rational about this situation. If it means that much to you, I¡¯ll help you as needed.¡±


    I let the ¡°as needed¡± quip pass since I was glad he¡¯d agreed. That had been a horribly nausea inducing smell, and it burned into me the horror I was about to see before I¡¯d laid my eyes on it.


    I switched outfits to my Quicksilver armor and had Dignity climb on my back and hold on tightly. Looking over to Solomon, I asked, ¡°Are you able to run fast?¡±


    He gave an appropriately devilish smile: ¡°The better question is: are you?¡±


    With that, we both shot off down the road.

 5: Map Acquired!

    We ran for miles, neither of us slowing down. I knew we were close when I heard Dignity gag behind. The helment worked as a pseudo-filter, keeping out the worst of the stink, for which I was thankful.


    The village was thoroughly destroyed. Bigger buildings had been burned down, while smaller ones were torn apart. My guess is whoever had done this also sacked the place, as I could see bits and pieces of things strewn along the roads.


    There were¡­ bodies.


    The closest I¡¯d gotten to dead bodies before this was passing a really horrific accident on a highway years ago. I¡¯d rubber-necked and immediately regretted getting an eyeful. I¡¯d had nightmares for weeks afterward and made a point to avoid looking at accidents ever after.


    This was so much worse. Human and animal bodies were strewn about everywhere. They were partly rotted, but you could see the injuries: sliced, gutted, in a few disturbing cases people were actually torn apart. The women had¡­ well¡­ things had been done to them before they were skewered. I almost broke down when I saw the children¡¯s bodies.


    But there was no one alive. I looked, even entering some of the houses. I called. Nothing.


    Disheartened, I gave up and left. When I got a fair distance away from the village, I took off my helmet, fell to my knees and started barfing uncontrollably while I sobbed.


    I¡¯m a city girl, dammit, not a hardened warrior! Even though I went in there of my own free will, nothing in my human life could have prepared me for what I¡¯d experienced. I¡¯d only read about this level of death in history books or seen it stylized in movies. The real thing was so horrendously vibrant that I doubt I¡¯d ever be free of those images till the day I die. This was 100x worse than the melting Demon Scorpion.


    Dignity stayed nearby, cooing in sympathy and gently stroking my hair (very much imitating what I¡¯d done to him days ago). Maybe because he just reflected my own will, but he knew not to say anything.


    Solomon kept his face neutral, most likely because he had no idea why I was so upset. I¡¯d insisted on coming, despite him saying it was useless.


    After my breathing steadied, I announced: ¡°We need to bury all those bodies.¡±


    My demon friend had the sense not to object.


    I looked at him, pleading. ¡°Please help me.¡±


    He scratched his chin and sighed. ¡°Very well, what do you want me to do?¡±


    It was slow, messy business. Solomon created the graves easily enough, just outside the village, while Dignity and I found various ways to drag bodies to them. I could have asked him to deal with the bodies too, but that didn¡¯t seem right. Cold, uncaring hands shouldn¡¯t be touching these mangled bodies. They deserved some kind of respect, after what they¡¯d been through.


    Once all the bodies had been recovered and placed in their graves, Solomon covered them up. To my amazement, he created beautiful grave stones for each person. When he saw my shocked look, he explained with some exasperation:


    ¡°Demons are masters of death, after all. If I¡¯m going to be burying these people, it¡¯s going to be in proper style.¡±


    ¡°Demon pride, huh?¡± I laughed hollowly when he agreed with my assessment.


    Filthy from my work, I looked around and found a well just outside the village. The mechanism for rising and lowering the bucket had been completely destroyed, but the rope and bucket were still down there. After moving the debris away, I managed to get it semi functional again.


    I was intensely relieved to find the well water still clear. I vaguely recalled reading that some raiders or armies would poison wells in places they¡¯d destroyed. Whatever horrible thing happened here, they had at least left the water alone.


    Dignity and I washed off our grime in the cold water. Solomon hadn¡¯t touched anything dirty, so remained in pristine condition. It was near sunset, so I made the executive decision to make camp near the well.


    I took out some pre-made food from inventory, too tired to make any myself. Dignity and Solomon ate with gusto, but I barely touched my food. I really wished for a human companion just then, who could truly understand how I was feeling.


    Instead, I went to sleep feeling empty. I had no more tears to give and I¡¯d soothed my conscious by giving the villagers graves, but what I¡¯d seen would never leave me. By some small blessing, I fell asleep quickly and deeply, without having a single dream.


    I woke up refreshed the next morning. I was happy for about 10 seconds, and then my brain caught up with me and reminded me of yesterday. Grimacing, I stood up and had a good stretch.


    My stomach gave a loud complaint and I sighed. I was not emotionally ready for food, but my Mewnin body didn¡¯t seem to care.


    Taking out my cooking utensils, I cooked myself a very plain breakfast. My companions had been sleeping when I started but were wide awake before I¡¯d finished. They both eagerly awaited their portions of food and ate with enthusiasm when they got them.


    After packing everything back up and putting it away, we headed south once again. As we walked, I now understood why the road was empty: whatever horror had swept through here had probably killed off anyone who¡¯d usually be traveling. What had once been comfortable silence was now increasingly more disturbing to me.


    We were walking towards actual civilization, weren¡¯t we? Even if there was a war or raiders, surely we¡¯d reach an area where there were living people? Even soldiers would be fine, as long as they weren¡¯t in the habit of attacking strangers at first glance.


    I was so in my own head I almost didn¡¯t register Solomon¡¯s off-handed: ¡°Oh look, a body¡± comment.


    My stomach knotted in fear.


    Please don¡¯t be dead, please don¡¯t be dead, I repeated to myself as we got closer.


    The person was lying on the side of the road, in the ditch. As we got closer, I strained my ears, hoping to hear anything that indicated they were alive.


    ¡°Ah!¡± My ears perked up. ¡°I hear air moving. This person is still alive!¡± I ran over without consulting my friends and re-arranged the body into a more comfortable position to get a better look at them. They look like they¡¯d been thrown aside like a sake of potatoes.


    ¡°Oh, how disappointing. It¡¯s an elf.¡± Solomon observed.


    I gave him a level 10 glare: ¡°Shut up if you aren¡¯t going to be useful.¡±


    Apparently he wanted to keep talking, because he crouched down and examined the elf, giving me a running commentary as he did: ¡°Looks to be a male elf, in his early teens most likely. Based of the injuries I¡¯m seeing on his neck, hands, and feet he was probably a slave of some kind. Oh my, and not just any slave. A very specific kind for indulging in the more grotesque sexual fetishes¡ª¡±


    ¡°STOP.¡± I held up my hand. ¡°I get it, no more please.¡±


    I had strong healing potions for emergencies, but you needed to drink them. And this elf was in no condition for that. I did have a low level healing spell, which might work on improving his condition just enough to get a vial of potion down him.


    Turning to Solomon, I warned. ¡°You should probably get back a ways.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m about to cast a healing spell, which is light based.¡±


    His eyes widened and he made a hasty retreat.


    ¡°O, Heavens, hear my words and grant me mercy!¡± As I cast Basic Healing (Level 1), light engulfed the elf and then seemed to sink into his body, as if being absorbed. I held my breath, wondering if my spell was enough, and almost whooped in glee when the elf took a deep breath and started to hack and cough.


    My healing potion was already out and ready. I leaned close and gently, but firmly, put the vial to his lips, commanding: ¡°Drink this, it won¡¯t hurt you, it¡¯ll make you feel better.¡±


    I don¡¯t know if he didn¡¯t have any fight left in him or if he believed me, but he drank the potion.


    This was my first time seeing the healing potions work, since I¡¯d been hording them up until this point. It was much like the spell, only backwards and much stronger. A bright glow pulsed out of his body, growing stronger and stronger as the potion circulated through his body. If I hadn¡¯t been focused on how well his wounds were healing, I¡¯d have noticed how beautiful the light was: it seemed to weave around his body and dance.


    The light slowly faded away, until all that was left was a healthy elf-boy. His eyes fluttered open, and two silver eyes looked into mine.


    Surprise, confusion, and then fear.


    The elf let out a high pitched squeal of terror. I backed in away in surprise.


    ¡°Calm down, boy.¡± Solomon demanded from near by, annoyed by the noise.


    I swear the elf-boy frothed at the mouth on sight of Solomon. Rather than screaming again, he simply fainted.


    We all stood there in shock for a moment, before Dignity pipped up: ¡°I think you scared him Solomon.¡±


    The demon in question gave an evil chuckle. ¡°Good, he had it coming.¡±


    Uh oh. I knew Solomon hated elves, but it hadn¡¯t occurred to me that maybe that feeling went both ways. I slapped my forehead, feeling stupid.


    ¡°Solomon¡­¡± I hesitantly began.


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°¡­don¡¯t take this personal but¡­ might you have a way of hiding the fact that your a demon?¡±


    He waggled his eyebrow. ¡°And why would I want to do that?¡±


    ¡°The elf¡ª¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t care.¡±


    ¡°Please.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t want to.¡±


    ¡°For me?¡±


    ¡°He was scared of you too.¡±


    I blinked. Ah! That¡¯s why screamed. I guess if a furry beast face is the first thing you see upon waking, it would be frightening.


    ¡°Maybe make me look different too?¡±Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.


    ¡°Tch.¡± He looked at his nails, totally disinterested.


    ¡°You can rub my ears.¡±


    He cocked his head but didn¡¯t look up.


    ¡°Urk¡­ you can¡­ all day¡­ tomorrow.¡± I managed to strangle it out.


    A triumphant smirk crossed his face and I had to restrain myself from hitting him.


    ¡°Deal.¡± He snapped his fingers.


    A dark shadow rippled over his features, and where there was once dark red skin, brown skin replaced it. His horns and tail disappeared. His yellow eyes faded into light hazel brown and his teeth flattened. He reminded me of some kind of Middle Eastern Prince crossed with an Italian Mafia boss.


    But as for myself¡­


    He frowned. ¡°It¡¯s not working on you.¡± His eyes narrowed suspiciously. ¡°You don¡¯t have an angel blood in you, do you?¡±


    Irritated, I snapped back, ¡°Do I look like I have any angel blood in me?!¡±


    I looked down at my still furry hands. Drat it all! For a moment there, I¡¯d looked forward to having my old human appearance again. Even if it was just an illusion.


    My shoulders slumped in disappointment.


    The elf-boy started to stir awake. I motioned to Dignity.


    ¡°You¡¯re the least threatening out of the three of us right now. Try and keep him calm the next time he wakes up.¡±


    Marching over to the elf-boy, Dignity sat next to him and began to stroke the boy¡¯s pale brown hair. I was pretty sure that was the Kobold¡¯s defacto method of calming a person down at this point.


    Again the elf-boy¡¯s eyes fluttered open. Two striking silver orbs looked up to met Dignity¡¯s dark blue ones. The elf-boy blinked several times.


    Carefully and calmly, Dignity introduced himself: ¡°I¡¯m Dignity. I¡¯m a Kobold. Do you know what a Kobold is?¡±


    The boy nodded.


    ¡°My friend, my master, saved you and healed you.¡± He informed the elf-boy. ¡°She is very kind, so you mustn¡¯t be afraid and scream, alright?¡±


    The elf-boy hesitated, nervous, but nodded again.


    Dignity smiled, and I saw the elf-boy visibly relax.


    Good job my Kobold friend! I thought with relief. Your cuteness has the power to heal!


    ¡°Let me introduce you to Angela, my friend.¡± Dignity continued. ¡°She¡¯s a Mewnin. The de¡ªI mean¡ªSolomon says he¡¯s never seen one, so maybe they¡¯re rare? But it¡¯s ok, because she soft.¡±


    Oh come on, what did me being soft have to do with anything?!


    Dignity motioned to me and I walked over.


    ¡°Hello there.¡± I offered in greeting.


    The elf-boy tensed up, but before he could scream again (rude!), Dignity grabbed my hand and stuck it on the boy¡¯s pale cheek.


    ¡°See? Soft right?¡±


    The elf-boy was too stunned at first to object. When Dignity started rubbing my hand on his cheek, the elf-boy whispered in agreement, ¡°Soft.¡±


    I sighed inwardly. This was my life now: part rabbit, part knight.


    ¡°Didn¡¯t I say? Someone this soft, they can¡¯t be bad, don¡¯t you think?¡± That absolutely wasn¡¯t true, but for some reason the elf-boy accepted it.


    I could almost feel Solomon boring holes in the back of my head from jealously. I cleared my throat. ¡°Uhm, yes, well¡­ I¡¯m glad everyone enjoys my softness. May I have my hand back now?¡±


    With all my limbs mine again, I sat with my legs underneath me and said,¡°Let me properly introduce myself: I¡¯m Angela, a Mewnin, as you were just told. I¡¯m also a Knight by trade and currently on a quest for knowledge. I have two friends traveling with me and helping me on my quest: Dignity the Kobold and Solomon.¡± I pointed behind me, where Solomon was currently feigning indifference. ¡°We found you on the side of the road and patched you up. If you have family or friends or even a town to call your own, we¡¯ll do our best to get you back there.¡±


    The elf-boy¡¯s silver eyes clouded and he looked away.


    Ah, I expected as much, after what I¡¯d seen from the village nearby.


    But that meant only one thing: I¡¯d have to take this kid with me. Either find him a new family or some place of employment that would allow him a new life. Until then, since I¡¯d healed him, it was on me to take care of him.


    Why do I keep doing this to myself? Am I just a sucker for a good sob story or what? I never picked up random people and took them home when I was human! Dang it, is it because I¡¯m Mewnin? They were always a cheerful helpful kind of race in the game. Darn you, Mewnin genetics!


    Ignoring my conflicting feelings, I kindly continued: ¡°If that¡¯s the case, why not travel with us?¡±


    The elf-boys head whipped around to stare at me in surprise just as Solomon gave a protesting, ¡°What?!¡±


    The Demon Prince stomped over to us, clearly furious. ¡°You can¡¯t seriously mean to drag this good-for-nothing elf along with us!¡±


    Dignity wrapped his arms protectively around the elf¡¯s head, protesting, ¡°He¡¯s not good-for-nothing¡ª!!¡±


    ¡°I healed him, so he¡¯s my responsibility.¡± I calmly explained.


    ¡°But he¡¯ll slow us down!¡±


    ¡°Aren¡¯t elves pretty hardy people?¡±


    ¡°He¡¯ll be a resource hog.¡±


    ¡°Then how about you stop eating, so he can.¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s going to be broken in his mind.¡±


    ¡°As long as he can walk & eat, there¡¯s a chance for recovery.¡±


    ¡°HE¡¯S AN ELF!¡±


    ¡°WELL, YOU¡¯RE A¡ª¡± I stumbled to a verbal stop as I realized what I almost said, ¡°¡ªa person of questionable moral character!¡±


    We glared at each other.


    Neither of us moved an inch.


    Finally, I said, ¡°I didn¡¯t want to do this, but¡ª¡±


    ¡°Oh no, not again!¡± He groaned, hand over his eyes.


    ¡°TERM NUMBER FOUR: Friends don¡¯t discourage each other from doing a good deed!¡±


    He made a sound like he¡¯d been punched in the stomach, and bent over, his whole body shaking. After wheezing for few minutes, he finally stood up straight again, beads of sweat showing on his forehead.


    He¡¯d clearly just lost the internal battle with my wish.


    ¡°Do whatever you want,¡± He hissed, leaving in a huff, a bitter look twisting his human face into something close to demonic.


    I gave a hefty sigh, happy I¡¯d won but upset that it had to have been through force. Solomon was going to be a huge pain to deal with, and I¡¯d promised he could touch my ears as much as he wanted tomorrow. I wondered if he was going to rough them up in revenge. I was pretty sure he wouldn¡¯t outright hurt me, at least.


    I looked down at the elf-boy, who had watched the entire fight with huge fearful eyes.


    Poor kid!


    ¡°Don¡¯t let Solomon¡¯s attitude bother you. He¡¯s naturally cranky and ill tempered.¡±


    ¡°I heard that!¡±


    I ignored the sulking Prince and continued, ¡°If you join us, I¡¯ll make sure you¡¯re safe. Whatever bad things were done to you in the past, I¡¯ll make sure they aren¡¯t done to you ever again. What do you say?¡±


    The boy licked his lips, clearly nervous and undecided. I was asking a lot, I knew. Hesitantly, he nodded.


    Dignity gave a squeal of delight and hugged him excitedly. I gave him a gentle pat on the head.


    ¡°What¡¯s your name, kid?¡±


    ¡°Atlas.¡± He spoke in a whisper voice, as if unused to talking.


    Atlas, like a map? I couldn¡¯t help seeing some irony in my situation: I finally got a map, but instead of being made of paper, it was made of flesh and bone. That was just my sort of luck: always slightly off the mark.


    ¡°Anyway, you can¡¯t stay on the ground like that forever. Let¡¯s get you up and moving!¡± Standing up, I grabbed his arms and lifted him in one big movement. He had no time to object, and found himself upright before he knew it.


    Atlas, the silver eyed elf, looked down at his body in surprise. There was no pain. He began to pat himself all over, as if checking to see if he was dreaming. He looked up at me in awe.


    ¡°Nothing hurts.¡± I only heard him because of my extraordinary hearing. I¡¯d have to teach him to speak up if he was ever going to integrate back into society.


    ¡°Eh? I told you, I patched you up, remember?¡±


    ¡°But that¡¯s¡ª¡± He shook his head, changing his mind, and then gave me a deep, Asian-styled bow, tears in his eyes.


    ¡°Thank you.¡± He whispered, heartfelt gratitude in his voice.


    ¡°Er, your welcome.¡±


    I never did know how to deal with sincere gratitude.


    ¡°Anyway, now that you¡¯re standing I realize you¡¯re gonna need new clothes.¡± I fingered his raged shirt, though that might be giving the garment too much credit. It was in tatters, giant holes and tears, and absolutely useless for keeping out the cold. His pants, or skirt, or whatever that was suppose to be, was in the same condition. He was shoe-less too, like Dignity had been. ¡°I can make them for you, it¡¯ll just take a¡ª¡±


    ¡°I think not.¡± Solomon had returned from his sulking fit, a grim look on his face. ¡°I¡¯m not going sit around and wait for you to pamper this elf.¡±


    The Demon Prince snapped his fingers and a plain but sturdy outfit appeared on Atlas. The boy looked down at his own body again, totally surprised.


    His outfit was mostly made up of cow leather and undyed cotton from the looks of it: he had a jacket, sweater, sturdy pants, and slip-on boots. It wasn¡¯t the most flattering color or cut, but because Atlas himself had an elfish beauty about him, he managed to pull it off.


    I heard Solomon mutter quietly to himself: ¡°¡ªwon¡¯t even do me the favor of looking ugly¡ª¡±


    And I had to suppress a chuckle. So I wasn¡¯t mistake: the clothes themselves weren¡¯t good looking. Solomon had done it on purpose but still failed.


    Atlas seemed unaware of the demonic slight, and ran over to Solomon and gave him a deep bow too. Several, in fact, all the while whispering ¡°Thank you, thank you!¡±


    Something that might have been guilt flashed across Solomon¡¯s face. But he quickly smothered it when he saw me looking and shooed the boy away with a ¡°Yes, yes, your welcome!¡±


    I gave him a knowing smirk and was even more amused to see the Demon Prince blush.


    I walked over to my friend and gave him a hearty pat on the back.


    ¡°I know you don¡¯t like elves, and I know you objected, but I really appreciate it.¡± And I really did, quite sincerely. Especially the shoes. I had no way of making them on my own.


    He took a step away from me, head turned, and said: ¡°Don¡¯t think that I¡¯ve forgiven you so quickly.¡±


    What is he? A teenage girl?


    ¡°Aw, don¡¯t be like that, you¡¯re my bestie!¡±


    ¡°What does that even mean?¡± He asked in annoyance and forgetting to be angry, looked me in the face.


    ¡°You don¡¯t know? It¡¯s short for BEST FRIEND. I could also call you my BFF¡ªbest friend forever¡ªif you like.¡±


    ¡°Er,¡± He looked genuinely disturbed by the idea. ¡°No thank you.¡±


    ¡°Bestie it is then.¡± I said, winking.


    ¡°Tch.¡± He looked away, but I caught a smile ripple across his lips despite himself.


    While I had wished it, I was still a little surprised: he really played the role of ¡°best friend¡± exquisitely well. And sometimes, like right now, I forgot he was even acting. He seemed like a genuine friend.


    Shaking the thoughts away, I left Solomon and walked over to Dignity and Atlas, who were talking. Well, more accurately, Dignity was talking at Atlas. Atlas listened politely, but I saw him fingering his jacket, and knew he was focused on the clothes rather than conversation.


    ¡°Who wants a mid-morning snack?¡±


    ¡°I do, I do!¡± Dignity raised his hand up excitedly. I didn¡¯t often do snacks, but my Kobold friend knew from experience I always went all out when I did.


    Turning to Solomon, I waved him over. ¡°You too!¡±


    After they¡¯d all gathered around, curious to see what I was going to give them, I opened my pack and scanned my dessert section. There were so many options!


    Desserts in the game were designed to give you energy and stamina boosts. They were also delicious looking.


    I picked out a simple strawberry cake with a dollop of whipped cream on top. I had a lot of those, since they were easy to make and gave decent boosts. As I selected one, it appeared in front of me, and landed gently on the palm of my already upturned hand.


    I¡¯d gotten pretty good at guessed where an item would appear. It was to the point that I could almost make it look like I was conjuring things with my hands. Which was a useful impression to make, considering what Solomon said about it about it being impossible.


    Atlas¡¯s eye turned into enormous silver saucers at the sudden appearance of a fully formed slice of cake on a plate (with small fork included) in mid-air. When I gave him his plate, he didn¡¯t eat it, but simply stared at it in stunned disbelief.


    ¡°ISHT¡¯TH AMAZSHING!¡± Came a muffled yell from Dignity. He hadn¡¯t bothered with the fork, and just picked the whole slice up and stuffed it in his mouth. He had the look of a small child about to go on a sugary rampage.


    ¡°Quite delicious.¡± Solomon agreed with Dignity but added with a frown: ¡°Don¡¯t talk while your eating.¡±


    The Demon was using the fork properly and taking small bites with it. I was reminded that he was referred to as Demon ¡°Prince¡± for a reason: the guy could eat with style.


    ¡°Do you not like cake?¡± I asked Atlas, concerned that he hadn¡¯t touched his yet. ¡°I could get you something else¡­¡±


    The boy shook his head vigorously and then awkwardly grabbed the fork and stabbed the cake. Watching him, I got the distinct impression he didn¡¯t know how to use cutlery. But he rallied and managed to skewer a sizable piece of cake and get into his mouth before it fell off.


    The first bite caught him by surprise. It was sweeter than he¡¯d anticipated. But as the cake and silky frosting mingled in his mouth and hit his taste buds, it was like an electric current ran through him.


    This¡­ This was cake!


    Using the dainty fork as a shovel, he attempted to cross that fine line from eating to inhaling your food. When he¡¯d eaten it all, he then licked the plate.


    Solomon shuddered in horror at the elf¡¯s lack of manners, while I grabbed the plate hastily away.


    ¡°Woah there, no need for that! I¡¯ve got more cake!¡± I raised my hand and another cake, just like the first, appeared. ¡°Since you¡¯re new, you get seconds.¡±


    ¡°Aw¡­ I want another one too!¡± Dignity begged, seeing Atlas¡¯ luck.


    ¡°You¡¯ve had this cake before already.¡± I said somewhat exasperated. I¡¯d actually let him try a bunch of my game desserts by this point, so it¡¯s not like he was being deprived.


    ¡°But, but!¡± His lower lipped trembled, pleading, but my face hardened in response.


    ¡°No, and I mean no.¡±


    He looked ready to fight me, when Atlas tugged on the Kobold¡¯s shirt. He shyly offered his cake to the smaller boy.


    ¡°You¡¯re giving your cake to me?¡±


    At Atlas¡¯ nod, Dignity took the cake and then looked at the boy in awe. Atlas had just won a friend for life with this gesture.


    ¡°Aw, well, Angela¡ª¡± Solomon scowled at the Kobold for purposefully using my full name. ¡°¡ªis right. I¡¯ve eaten this cake before.¡±


    Apparently he was feeling ashamed for being greedy. After a moment of internal struggle, he reached a happy compromise:


    ¡°I know, let¡¯s share it! That way we both get seconds!¡±


    Atlas gave a warm smile of agreement.


    Aw¡­ that was adorable! Atlas wasn¡¯t a ¡°good for nothing¡± like Solomon had predicted. Learning to share, to be kind to those who are suffering, that¡¯s valuable. And that¡¯s what Atlas was teaching Dignity.


    As I watched them share the cake, I couldn¡¯t help wondering what else Atlas would bring to our little group. He was weak now, but everyone started that way. With care, love, and kindness, who knows what type of person he could grow up to be? Maybe with our help, he could grow up and make sure what happened to him, never happens to anyone else. That would be worth it by my own estimation.


    Oh, but I hoped I wasn¡¯t there to see all that. Even if I lost my job, my apartment, and all my stuff because it took me years to find a way back, I still needed to get back. I had a family, and they¡¯d be worried sick about me. They might even think I was dead if this took too long!


    I felt a prick of homesickness at the thought of my family, but quickly suppressed it. Wishing for something I couldn¡¯t do and didn¡¯t have the means to even try was a waste right now. (Plus, it was painful to think about.) Survival was way more important. It wouldn¡¯t do me any good to miss my family if it distracted me and I ended up dead.

 6: The Art of Being Prepared

    We continued down the road south. As we did, I ruminated a pressing problem: my face.


    I mean, I thought I looked pretty cute¡­ for not being human. But both Solomon and Atlas had reacted negatively to my face the first time they saw it. Solomon even called me a monster!


    A disguise was definitely in order. Since I didn¡¯t have any magic spells related to changing my appearance, and for some reason Solomon¡¯s magic didn¡¯t work, I searched my inventory to see if I could hobble something together.


    I had a cloak that gave a significant boost to my stealth skill. It was actually considered a necklace accessory in the game, so I could wear it on top of my armor (though it wasn¡¯t always visible on my character since it didn¡¯t ¡°match¡± with all the armors in the game). In the game there was limited slots for accessories. I wondered if things still worked the same here, or if I could wear them however I wanted.


    I took out the cloak and then picked a random necklace, my hand out and ready for them as they popped into existence in front of me.


    Solomon watched me curiously as I went about my test. (The two boys were ahead of us, Dignity talking Atlas¡¯ ear off, and totally unaware of what was going on behind them.)


    First I put on the cloak and then I put on the necklace. It worked, technically, but I felt horribly uncomfortable. Like I had an awful itch I couldn¡¯t scratch. I took off the necklace and immediately felt better.


    Hm? So I technically was able to do it, but I was penalized for it? Arg! Why?? That made no sense and it was a super irritating limitation!


    I put the necklace away and kept the cloak on, pulling the hood over my head. That should help prevent people immediately fleeing at the sight of me.


    My face though. Once people got closer they¡¯d take a look at my face and probably scream. How depressing!


    It took me a while to find something I thought might work. Honestly, in my own mind I thought I¡¯d look ridiculous, but¡­


    There was this mask I¡¯d gotten during the New Year¡­ The Developers got the clever idea of making a series of masks based off the Zodiac animals. You could only get them on New Year¡¯s day and only the one corresponding to the new year. They were simple oval shaped masks, white, with a stylized animal face drawn on them. They added to your charisma, but had no real valuable outside of the fun of collecting all 12 of them. I¡¯d gotten 8 of the 12, my favorite being the rabbit.


    I took it out and sighed. I felt really silly wearing this, but whatever.


    I put it on, tying the strap securely. I was surprised to discover that I could see right through it, as if I was wearing a very thin piece of paper.


    I turned to Solomon and asked,¡±What do you think?¡±


    He squinted and tilted his head. ¡°Is that mask enchanted?¡±


    ¡°Why do you ask?¡±


    ¡°Because when you put it on, the most unnatural thought popped into my head.¡±


    Hoho, that was interesting!


    ¡°Really? What¡¯d you think?¡±


    ¡°That you were incredibly adorable.¡±


    ¡°¡­and that was unnatural?¡±


    ¡°Of course. You¡¯re quite monstrous in appearance. I¡¯m use to it now, but it gave me quite a shock at first.¡±


    He said it so matter-of-factly I wanted to cry. It¡¯s not like I didn¡¯t know, but it hurt being told point-blank I looked like a monster by a demon.


    The Mewnin race were cute! CUTE! I mentally shook my fist at the sky. This world had no sense of taste!


    Solomon somehow noticed my depression through the mask and added encouragingly: ¡°You are incredibly soft though. It completely makes up for it.¡±


    Really?


    I took off the mask and practically threw it into my inventory. I¡¯d use it as-needed, but not before then. Everyone in my party could just get used to my ugly mug!!!


    I grumpily pulled my hood tighter, muttering: ¡°Don¡¯t know cute if it hit them in the head¡­¡±


    After some sulking, and a few hours later, we reached an intersection. This one was actually getting used, but not in the way I¡¯d hoped.


    There were several large wagons, with one toppled over and another on fire. It was obvious what was going on, even to a city girl like me: bandits.


    I had better vision than anyone here, so it was easy for me to tell the bandits from the merchants. Mostly because the merchants were a lot better dressed than the bandits and currently getting soundly beaten.


    Before Solomon or anyone had time to say something, I¡¯d changed into my Quicksilver armor.


    ¡°Catch up when you can.¡± I said to Solomon, springing away.


    My mind was making a map of who to hit first and what would be the best order. It was like each bandit had a red line attached to the next, and I envisioned the specific kind of attack I wanted for each one. When I finally got there, my Knight skill did the heavy lifting. I sliced and stabbed like a pro.


    Except I¡¯m not a pro. I¡¯d never actually killed a person before. Even as my body moved, my mind screamed in horror.


    Blood. Guts. Limbs. Everywhere. I wanted to barf but I couldn¡¯t stop. I hadn¡¯t specified any kind of halting, so my body kept going, mowing them down like grass.


    At least I killed them quickly. And their, uhm, ¡°sacrifice¡± helped me learn a valuable lesson: just like a game, the controls only did exactly as I told them. No more, no less.


    I¡¯d figured this out to a degree in the forest already, but uncontrollably lopping someone¡¯s head off has a lot more impact. While these guys might have had it coming, this game mechanism of fighting could easily backfire on me. I might hurt myself, or someone else, if I don¡¯t plan things accordingly.


    Like stopping if I need to. I really wanted to stop. Any time now please!


    The last bandit met a bloody, gruesome death and my body finally stood still. I reaching to take my helmet off for a good barfing, when¡ª


    ¡°Thank you so much!¡± ¡°I can¡¯t believe we¡¯re alive!¡± ¡°Oh-my-god-that-was-amazing!¡± ¡°Someone help me put out this fire!¡± ¡°Dammit, so much wasted product¡ª¡±


    Most of the merchants went to save their flaming wagon while the a smaller group swarmed me. Even though I was covered in blood and really just wanted a moment to unload some food, I managed to swallow everything down (literally) and pretend like I was fine.


    I don¡¯t know what I was suppose to say or do, probably something suave, but what came out was:


    ¡°Uh, hi there.¡±


    ¡°Hello there, brave warrior!¡±


    A round man in a tan overcoat, slightly balding, came forward out of the group of people who had gathered around me. He had taken out a handkerchief, or maybe just some scrap of cloth, and was giving it to me, saying ¡°For your hands and sword.¡±


    I took it, grateful that someone here was being sensible.


    As I wiped myself off, the man continued. ¡°My name is Lars Mather, and I lead this once merry band of merchants. We are most grateful for your timely intervention. We had hired mercenaries to guard our wagons, but it turns out they were in league with the bandits who attacked us.¡± He shook his head sadly. ¡°Troubling times we¡¯re in, when you can¡¯t even hire good guards.¡±


    ¡°To be attacked so in the open so boldly, I should think so.¡±


    He nodded, his eyes gleaming hopefully. ¡°Yes, exactly. Since you have been so gracious to help us, and if you are going in the same direction, would you perhaps be interested in replacing our mercenaries?¡±


    I guess getting straight to business would be something a merchant would do, huh?


    ¡°Where are you headed?¡±


    ¡°To a city south of here called Albeling.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m traveling with companions, if you don¡¯t mind them tagging along, and they are amendable, then I wouldn¡¯t mind.¡±


    ¡°Companions? Are they of your caliber?¡±


    ¡°Er, one is and two aren¡¯t.¡± That was a guess about Solomon, but since he could make a city from a hill, I figured it was likely true. He might actually be more powerful than me, head-to-head.


    Lars hesitated a moment.


    ¡°If it helps any, you may take any food or necessities they consume out of my wages.¡± I offered on the fly.


    The merchant cheered up at this and agreed to having them tag along.


    I then politely excused myself from their group to find my own. Solomon had already arrived and was standing well outside the merchant¡¯s caravan area, watching with detached interest as burly merchants hauled away bandit bodies, while Dignity and Atlas could be seen some distance off jogging to catch up with us.


    ¡°Sorry for leaving so suddenly like that.¡± I apologized as I approached him.


    He waved his hand dismissively saying it was fine.


    ¡°This country has changed,¡± He informed me. ¡°Before I was¡­ cursed, it was a leading power in the region. They¡¯d have never let their border towns be attacked and left to rot or merchants suffer under bandits on a main road like this. Apparently they¡¯ve lost a lot of their power in the 200 years since I¡¯ve been gone.¡±


    He shook his head, regretful. ¡°I am sorry I suggested going south.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s alright, it¡¯s not like you could have known.¡± I patted his shoulder. ¡°Apparently the mercenaries these guys hired were with the bandits. The head merchant asked us to replace them. I said I¡¯d talk with you before I agreed. What do you think?¡±


    ¡°Hm¡­¡± He tilted his head, eyes narrowed and I thought I saw his eyes flash yellow. Did he use a magic skill just then? ¡°They don¡¯t appear to be anymore dishonest than what is common with merchants. But if they¡¯re headed further south, it may be bad for us. With the quality of the country having dropped so significantly, I¡¯m not sure it¡¯s safe in the city we¡¯re going toward.¡±


    Aw, his concern was touching! ¡°Is there another country we could go to that might be better?¡±


    He scratched his chin, thoughtful. ¡°We could head west, but it will add quite some time to our journey if a large city is what you¡¯re after. I only picked this route because it was the nearest.¡±


    ¡°How close are we?¡±


    ¡°Another two days, I think.¡±


    ¡°And the other place you¡¯re thinking?¡±


    ¡°A week if the weather is good. And there¡¯s no guarantee it¡¯s any better there than here.¡±


    I groaned. Safety was important but I really didn¡¯t want to walk for a week without a better understanding of what was going on in the world.


    ¡°I think we should just keep going as planned then. Even if something nasty is brewing, the two of us should be able to handle it right?¡±


    ¡°Yes indeed. It would be quite impressive if there was anything in the immediate area that could best me.¡± He said, totally immodest about his own powers. ¡°Speaking of things I¡¯m good at, what are the terms for protecting this caravan?¡±


    I stared at him blankly.


    He sighed, looking put-upon. ¡°Did you not ask for particulars?¡±


    ¡°Er. I did say he could take any living necessities you guys used out of my wages.¡±


    He clucked his tongue in disapproval. ¡°I see you don¡¯t know how to negotiate a proper business contract. It¡¯s a good thing I¡¯m here.¡± He put his hands on my shoulders, a glint in his eye. ¡°Leave this to me. If there¡¯s anything my people are good at, it¡¯s getting a good deal.¡±


    ¡°Er.¡± I felt sorry for the merchant but¡­ ¡°Alright, just don¡¯t fleece the guy too badly, ok?¡±


    ¡°Excellent!¡±


    I¡¯d never seen him so jovial as he went to haggle our contract. He practically skipped into the caravan.


    As he left, Dignity and Atlas finally caught up. Dignity collapse in an exhausted heap in front of me, wheezing out a: ¡°That. Was. Mean!¡±


    ¡°Sorry, buddy.¡± I ruffled his hair apologizing.


    Atlas, however, stood a ways off. He had an uncertain look on his face.


    My Kobold friend, still a heap on the ground, turned to him and waved him over, ¡°Don¡¯t be scared, it¡¯s just Angela in her armor! Doesn¡¯t she look super strong?!¡±


    Oh, I see. He hadn¡¯t seen me in my armor. And other than popping food into existence, had never seen me change either. The only person who found that normal had been Dignity.


    ¡°Since you¡¯re both here, I need a favor.¡±


    ¡°Hm? Sure!¡± My Kobold friend stood up and shook off the road dust like a dog. ¡°What do you need?¡±


    I pointed to a small cluster of trees and bushes. ¡°I¡¯m going over there, I need you both to keep watch. Make sure no one comes over unless it¡¯s Solomon.¡±


    They both followed me over, Atlas keeping behind Dignity. Even with the Kobold¡¯s reassurance, he was still alarmed at my change.


    Once at the spot in question, my body now mostly blocked from the merchants, I took off my helmet. I stood there for a moment, took a deep breath in, and then threw up in the bushes with abandon.


    Oh, what? Did you think I was over that whole ¡°slaughtering the bandits¡± thing? You were woefully mistaken.


    I¡¯d seen too much death in two days. I wasn¡¯t use to it, and I didn¡¯t want to be use to it either. But at the same time, I didn¡¯t want to be losing my lunch every time I got put into this kind of situation.


    My Knight class was designed to kill. Mostly the undead and evil, sure, but it worked just as well on regular fleshy people too. I had very few skills that could just stun or knock someone unconscious and was seriously regretting it.


    After I was done, I rinsed my mouth out with some water I¡¯d stored away and drank a fizzy strawberry drink (technically a dessert) to get the taste out and help settle my stomach. I also put my helmet away, taking the lower speed and defense hit, and replaced it with my cloak and bunny mask. I really didn¡¯t want to be stuck in that helmet for who-knows-how-long if I could help it.Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    My bunny mask had an immediate affect on Atlas, so much so that I almost laughed. His cautious, timid personality changed into one of wide eyed wonder. Before he could stop himself, he walked right up to me and grabbed my hand.


    ¡°Yes?¡± I asked, amused. Charisma boosts were powerful things in this world.


    He opened and closed his mouth, stunned by his own action, before managing a quiet, ¡°Cute!¡±


    Dignity, who¡¯d been standing close enough to hear him, scolded: ¡°Angela is always cute! And soft!¡± He paused, squinting at the mask. ¡°But the mask helps bring it out, I guess.¡±


    At least someone had a sense of aesthetics in this world! All wasn¡¯t lost! Thank you for giving me hope, Dignity!


    I patted Dignity on the head, pleased with his praise. He giggled in response, happy at the attention.


    We walked back to the merchants, negotiations completed. Solomon had an exceedingly smug look on his face, while the head merchant looked like he¡¯d been put through the ringer. Poor guy. Trying to make a deal with a devil, and come out on top, was no easy matter.


    ¡°Ah, Angie!¡± Solomon called out to me as we approached. ¡°I¡¯ve just finished discussing about our guard contract with Mr. Mather here. He¡¯s quite generously offered to feed and shelter us on the way to the city for free, and our pay will come from a percentage of his profits.¡±


    Mr. Mather had found another handkerchief and was wiping the sweat from his brow, looking stressed and unhappy. He¡¯d unexpectedly found himself up against a better businessman and had lost.


    ¡°That¡¯s very kind of you, Mr. Mather. We won¡¯t abuse your generosity.¡± Solomon rolled his eyes, knowing I added the last bit as a jab at him.


    ¡°O-of course, my pleasure.¡± Lars Mather stuttered, the full force of my mask bearing down on him. He was blinking furiously, and I could see him struggling not to stare in open amazement at me.


    Ah, I felt bad, it was like I was tricking him. I mean, I was, but¡­


    Tapping my mask, I explained. ¡°It¡¯s an enchanted mask. My face is¡­ well¡­ people react poorly to it. I¡¯ve even had people scream at me when they saw it. So this mask is enchanted to make people a bit more friendly to me. It doesn¡¯t do anything else, you have my word.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡± This time he was looking at the mask specifically, curious. ¡°Enchantment that causes people to like you? That must be quite complex. Where did you get it?¡±


    ¡°I-it was a gift. For long-standing service to the Gods,¡± I made up on the fly. Technically true. If you count game developers as a kind of god. And do they have pantheistic religions here? I should have checked first!


    ¡°Extraordinary! Are you perhaps a holy knight of some kind? I¡¯ve heard knights of religious orders are bestowed special gifts for their services.¡±


    Oh thank God, I¡¯d somehow guessed correctly! And what¡¯s more I¡¯d learned something good: Holy Knights did exist here.


    ¡°Yes, I¡¯m a Holy Knight. I¡¯m currently on a special Quest for Knowledge,¡±¡ªthe knowledge to get back home, that is!¡ª ¡°and the gods have blessed me with companions to aid me in my Quest.¡±


    That last part was wishful thinking. I had no idea if the gods of this world were helping me out, messing with me, or even cared I was here.


    The Merchant¡¯s eyes went round. ¡°Amazing! To be part of a Holy Quest! It will surely bless my business by helping you!¡±


    Er, if we¡¯re getting a percentage of your profits, it¡¯s more likely a demon will be blessing you. But of course I¡¯m not saying that out loud.


    ¡°Well then, I must help my companions sort out the damages. Please keep watch, Holy Knight Angie!¡±


    ¡°Sure.¡± With that, the fat little man went off to help his fellow workers. He was quite eager to tell everyone about the Holy Knight with the ¡°terribly scarred face¡± who he¡¯d so wisely and cleverly managed to hire to protect them the rest of the trip. He had no idea I heard every word of what he said, my Mewnin ears being exceptional as they are.


    I couldn¡¯t help but wonder if my lies were easier to accept with the mask. If even Solomon was effected¡­


    Speaking of the devil, he had saddled up next to me, still looking pleased at how well things had gone.


    ¡°That was quite the clever lie you thought up there.¡±


    ¡°Oh? You aren¡¯t mad? Didn¡¯t I break some Demon law or something, lying?¡±


    ¡°Hm? Goodness no. If demons couldn¡¯t lie, how would we ever get anything done?! No, no. Lying isn¡¯t the problem, it¡¯s WHEN you lie that¡¯s the problem. Perjury, for instance, isn¡¯t tolerated. But we have no obligation to tell Mr. Mather who we really are or what we¡¯re up to, since it¡¯s got nothing to do with how well we can guard his caravan.¡±


    ¡°Ah¡­ basically, truth is on a ¡°need to know¡± basis with demons?¡±


    ¡°Yes, exactly that.¡±


    Well, that explained things.


    ¡°It¡¯s not like I was lying completely anyway.¡± I added off-handedly.


    ¡°You mean the Quest for Knowledge bit?¡±


    ¡°Hm? That too, but I meant the Holy Knight thing.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± He gave me a horrified look.


    ¡°Oh, did I not mention this before? Sorry! I wasn¡¯t trying to keep it a secret. I actually am a Holy Knight.¡±


    His lips puckered in angry annoyance. ¡°Well, no wonder my magic doesn¡¯t work on you. Holy Knights are strong against shadow magic, though you¡¯re the first I¡¯ve met who is totally immune to it. What god do you serve that¡¯s giving you so much power?¡±


    ¡°Eh? God? I don¡¯t think I serve any.¡±


    I actually stunned him into speechlessness for a moment.


    He then flailed his arms at me in disbelief, ¡°What?! That doesn¡¯t make any sense! You might as well call yourself water and not be wet!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s true though!¡± I pouted under my mask, arms crossed and feeling defensive. ¡°I told you I came from another world didn¡¯t I? Things just work differently ther¡ª¡±


    ¡°Would you stop that!¡± He interrupted suddenly.


    ¡°Stop what?¡±


    ¡°Being so adorable in the middle of an argument!¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t help it, it¡¯s the mask!¡±


    ¡°Gah! Then take it off and go back to being ugly!¡±


    ¡°YOU WANNA DIE?!¡± I lifted my fist up to punch him, but was interrupted by laughter.


    A sturdy woman had walked into our argument and was getting a good chuckle at our expensive. When we both turned to look at her in surprise, she waved her hand apologetically.


    Gah! How long had she been there?!


    ¡°Sorry for interrupting you.¡± Rather than sorry, she sounded amused. ¡°I thought I should introduce myself. I¡¯m the daughter of the Head Merchant, Ceil. I¡¯m in charge of food and bedding, so come to me if you need anything.¡±


    There was definitely a family resemblance. She had Lars¡¯ roundness, but none of his fat. She was one of those people who, if she¡¯d lived a cushier life, would have looked much younger than her actual age. As it was, the merchant life had been hard on her, her face weathered and starting to wrinkle.


    ¡°Thank you very much.¡± I said nodding my head at her introduction. ¡°I¡¯m pretty good at cooking myself, so if you¡¯d like some help with meals, please let me know.¡±


    She brightened up. ¡°Really?! That¡¯s marvelous! Since we¡¯ve got to wait for repairs on the wagons anyway, I was thinking of making some lunch. Would you like to help?¡±


    ¡°Er, sure.¡± And was promptly pulled away by Ceil to help cooking.


    The Merchant¡¯s daughter had an iron grip on my arm, preventing me from trying to escape, and was chatting with me as we went.


    ¡°It¡¯s really nice to have another woman in the group! I¡¯ve been surrounded by sweaty men for weeks now. Not a single one wants to help with the domestic chores and they¡¯ve been piling them on me.¡± She complained in that amicable way women do, then glanced up at my face, er, mask. ¡°I¡¯ve never heard of a woman being a Holy Knight before, but seeing how you skewered that bandit that was going after me, it¡¯s a well earned title. Is it true your face is scarred?¡±


    ¡°My face scares people.¡± It was the simple truth. If the merchants mistook that to mean a facial scarring or whatever, good for them.


    She patted my arm sympathetically. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, what a terrible thing to live with. Hiding your face all the time must be a huge inconvenience for a warrior.¡±


    Yeah, no kidding! Whose fault is that?!


    No, seriously, who? If you¡¯re going to drag me into a foreign world at least let me blend in with the locals!


    We reached a wagon that had remained relatively untouched. She climbed inside and pulled out a pot, pan, and a other cookery.


    ¡°Did you lose all your horses?¡± I asked the question that had been bothering me for a while now.


    ¡°Hm? Horses?¡±


    ¡°To pull the wagons.¡± I hadn¡¯t seen any horses or large animals around to pull the wagons.


    She laughed. ¡°Oh, goodness! What merchant would waste money on horses? These are enchanted to move on their own. And I¡¯m the one who enchanted them!¡±


    ¡°Horseless carriages¡­¡± I muttered to myself, amazed. They¡¯d totally side-stepped the engine. I wondered if they¡¯d already created something like Ford¡¯s automobile, or if skipping the engine phase had also meant they went a different direction with design too.


    ¡°Is it very hard to enchant things?¡±


    ¡°Oh, is enchantment not common where you come from? Here, it¡¯s more like it requires a fair bit of education, which requires money.¡± She hopped down from the wagon, having handing me what she wanted and now able to carry the rest. ¡°Only merchants and land owners really have the spare money for it. My father was pretty forward thinking for his day though, he insisted I get educated on business and enchantments along with my brothers.¡± She winked. ¡°Puts us ahead of the competition.¡±


    Hm, I hadn¡¯t thought much about what role women play in this world. There weren¡¯t many societies that didn¡¯t keep women home-bound early on in their development, so I wasn¡¯t surprised to find out something similar was going on here. It was just annoying. I¡¯d found another area I stood out.


    ¡°Good for your father then! Letting a good mind go to waste because it¡¯s in a woman¡¯s head is stupid.¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t it?! I wish more people understood.¡± She grinned, happy at my endorsement. ¡°It worked out well for us too. My brothers are magic inept. I mean, if they try they can, but really they don¡¯t have the spirit for it. I was the only one who had the ability and the drive.¡±


    We¡¯d found a spot off the side of the road, and got to the business of getting everything set up and ready. I was surprised by the amount of fresh food she had: unsalted meats, vegetables, even butter. I almost asked the stupid question ¡°How¡¯d you do that without a refrigerator?¡± when my brain caught up and responded with ¡°Magic, stupid!¡±.


    Right. All the areas that science made easier in my world, magic seemed to replace in this one. If you could enchant an item to keep something cold inside it, why bother inventing a refrigerator? If you could enchant it to move, why bother with the engine?


    I wondered if it was really a good thing though. Science, technology, and the industrial revolution had contributed to a higher standard of living, greater mobility, and a more educated work force. With magical enchantments as a ¡°quick fix¡± to life¡¯s problems, might the population here tend to be creatively stagnant? Without the engine, for instance, would you even consider the idea of a train? The fact that they were using wagons implied they hadn¡¯t.


    We¡¯d reached the point where we could actually cook. Could I even cook without my cooking set from the game? I hadn¡¯t tried yet, now that I thought about it.


    We were making a simple beef stew. Even without my game cooking ability, I understood how to make that. I¡¯d been living on my own a few years so cooking was a survival skill for me.


    The results were interesting. Without the cooking set my skills suffered somewhat. I was a little slower, more clumsy, and I had to concentrate more on what I was doing. It was almost like how I cooked as a human, almost but not quite. For instance, I¡¯d never peeled a potato with a regular knife before, but my hands knew how to do it anyway. I just had to concentrate to keep from nicking myself.


    So without my equipment, I got a stiff penalty, but I was still capable of doing the task. I was relieved, considering how layering my accessories had gotten me poor results before. It seemed that areas where my skills and this world overlapped, some kind of compromise had to be made: sometimes the ¡°world¡± won, sometimes the ¡°game¡± won.


    Why was that? I wanted to know, but I had no one to ask.


    ¡°You really are good at cooking.¡± Ceil commented, bringing me out of myself. We¡¯d done the hardest parts and now just had to wait for everything to cook through.


    ¡°Ah, I¡¯ve been on my own for quite a few years now. If I couldn¡¯t make a beef stew at this point, I¡¯d be ashamed of myself.¡±


    Her eyes crinkled in an amused, unspoken laugh. She seemed like a cheerful sort of person. I was glad I¡¯d saved her.


    ¡°The handsome man with you, ah, Solomon was his name? Are you to¡­ together?¡± She¡¯d attempted to ask this casually but I caught the significance. Oh no, I thought in horror, was she one of those people: a nosy romantic? Perhaps that¡¯s why she¡¯d asked me for help to begin with, to see what she could fine out.


    ¡°Oh, God, no! Didn¡¯t you hear him call me ugly?¡±


    ¡°Is that what you thought? I heard him say he¡¯d rather look at your face than a mask.¡± She gave me a cheeky grin. Definitely a nosy type then.


    ¡°Wha¡ªno, he really meant that I was ugly. Trust me on this. He¡¯s a very good friend of mine. There¡¯s just no way! I mean, I¡¯d be surprised if that guy could even attract a girl with his personalit¡ª¡±


    Pain shot through me as a fist gave me a firm hit on the top of my head.


    ¡°I¡¯ll have you know I¡¯m quite popular with the ladies.¡± Solomon had knocked me on the head with his fist. I had no idea how long Solomon had been there, but based of Ceil¡¯s facial expression, I suspected she¡¯d done this to me on purpose. She was shaking all over with suppressed laughter.


    ¡°Gah!¡± I rubbed the top of my head, eyes tearing up. ¡°You say that, but look how you treat a lady! You bully!¡±


    ¡°You barely qualify as a woman, much less a lady.¡±


    I gave a ¡°See what I mean!¡± look at Ceil, who seemed to just find that funnier.


    Solomon ignored both of us,¡°Now that you¡¯re done, I was wondering if I might have a word with you?¡±


    ¡°Fine, fine, fine¡­¡± Even though I complained, I was relieved. The merchant¡¯s daughter might have a go at me again if I stayed. I followed him out and away from the caravan, feeling slightly worried how I¡¯d deal with her over the next two days.


    Dignity and Atlas were waiting for us. Solomon had us huddle together and I shortly found out why he was being so secretive:


    ¡°We need to get our cover stories straight.¡± He announced to the group, Dignity nodding in agreement with him.


    ¡°Eh? Don¡¯t we already have a cover story?¡±


    ¡°Barely.¡± Solomon grimaced. ¡°It¡¯s fine to say you¡¯re a Holy Knight on a Quest, but that won¡¯t help the rest of us.¡±


    ¡°But I said¡ª¡±


    ¡°Yes, yes, that we¡¯re ¡°companions¡± given to you by ¡°the gods¡±. But that¡¯s a really flimsy story and anyone will see through it if they ask the right questions. And once one part of your story falls apart, they¡¯ll question other parts too. And if they insist on you removing that mask, pandemonium is going to break out.¡±


    ¡°O-oh, I guess that¡¯s true.¡±


    ¡°Right. So. We¡¯ve got to think up good back stories, right Dignity?¡±


    ¡°Right!¡± The Kobold spoke up, raising his little hand as if he was being called on in a classroom. ¡°And after we do, if we add anything we need to make sure we tell everyone else. So first up is: location!¡±


    ¡°Correct! I recommend saying we¡¯re from the east. When I was there last, there were tons of smaller countries. So many, people don¡¯t even bother keeping track of them this far out west. We could just be from there and no one would question any gaps in our knowledge or wonder about weirdness from Angie.¡±


    ¡°¡­b-but the east is just one big empire??¡± Atlas spoke in quiet, puzzled confusion.


    We all stared at him, surprised. He¡¯d not spoken much, so we hadn¡¯t expected anything in terms of conversation participation.


    ¡°And how do you know that?¡± Solomon asked, eyes narrowing.


    ¡°P-papa was a Professor, so I know s-stuff. But t-the Empire is pretty well k-known.¡± The elf stumbled over his words, face beat red and obviously intimidated by Solomon¡¯s sudden attention. He scooted closer to me, as if seeking protection.


    ¡°Really? So there¡¯s something more than fear between those ears, how useful!¡± Solomon complimented sarcastically, earning a punch in the shoulder from me. He cleared his throat, rubbing the spot I hit him, and continued, ¡°Anyway, what about past the dwarves mountains to the south?¡±


    ¡°P-past the Southern Mountains?¡±


    ¡°Yes, there should be island countries past those mountains. Unless something happened to them too.¡±


    The pale haired elf shook his head. ¡°I n-never heard anything about i-islands.¡±


    Solomon furrowed his brow, thinking. ¡°The island countries weren¡¯t well known, even¡­ back in my day. Hm. Yes, I think the risk is worth it then. Unless you meet a dwarf on the southside of the mountain, it¡¯s unlikely anyone this far north would have even heard about the islands, much less people living on them. So, this is our story: we¡¯re from an island far to the south that no one in this area has heard of. And if they ask for a name, tell them it¡¯s in Mermish. Agreed?¡±


    ¡°Mermish?¡± I asked curiously.


    ¡°Mermaid language. Not many land people can speak it fluently. It sounds like nonsense to the untrained ear.¡±


    ¡°Can you speak it?¡±


    ¡°A few words, enough to get by around merfolk. For humans and elves, I can do a fair imitation and trick them easily into thinking I¡¯m fluent.¡±


    ¡°Ah, than I guess it¡¯s a good idea, how about you two?¡± The two younger folk in our group nodded in agreement.


    ¡°Still though,¡± Solomon mumbled aloud, shaking his head in wonderment. ¡°An Empire to the east¡­ frankly, I never thought any one of those countries had it in them. What¡¯s the name of the Empire, Elf?¡±


    ¡°Sagewind.¡±


    The Demon furrowed his brow at this. ¡°Hm? Isn¡¯t that an Elfish name?¡±


    ¡°Y-yeah?¡±


    ¡°Elves don¡¯t go conquering and Empire-ing people!¡±


    ¡°Th-the green-eyed ones d-do. Definitely.¡± Atlas said this with such conviction that Solomon¡¯s eyebrows shot up.


    ¡°Interesting, interesting¡­¡± Solomon muttered to himself, seemingly unconcerned with his audience. ¡°Elfish conquerers. Who knew? They must be furious. Well, I¡¯d side with the Empire just on principle then.¡±


    Atlas¡¯ eyed Solomon darkly. ¡°T-the Empire is bad, you know. You shouldn¡¯t side with them.¡±


    The demon snorted. ¡°Why should I care what you think?¡±


    ¡°Because they m-murdered my family, burned d-down e-everything, and s-sold me as if I w-were n-nothing.¡± He almost yelled a Solomon, stuttering more as he went along, hands in a tight fist. ¡°T-they¡¯re e-evil, I h-hate them!¡±


    Dignity grabbed Atlas¡¯ hands, squeezing them in sympathy. His family being murdered by monsters, the Kobold understood better than anyone what the elf was going through.


    ¡°Oh.¡± Solomon blanched, looking horribly uncomfortable, and then awkwardly patted the elf¡¯s shoulder in what might have been genuine sympathy. ¡°Well. Yes. Understood.¡±


    He cleared his throat again and attempted to regain his composure, ¡°Moving on! We need individual back stories too, and I already have mine: I come from a well to-do merchant family who lived near the temple Angie trained at, and have been good friends with her since we were children, which is why I¡¯m not bothered as much by her appearance. When she left, I followed her to gain more worldly experience and gain business connections.¡± He pointed at Dignity. ¡°And yours?¡±


    Dignity stopped consoling Atlas and saluted ¡°at attention¡± stiffly. ¡°I¡¯m Angie¡¯s Page! Regular boys didn¡¯t wanna train under her because they¡¯re scared of her face! So I was contracted to Angie, ¡®cause Kobold¡¯s don¡¯t care about their masters looks!¡±


    Solomon nodded, satisfied, and then turned backed to the elf. ¡°What should we do about him, hm? I was thinking of just continuing the slave theme¡ª¡±


    Atlas vigorously shook his head in rejection of that idea.


    ¡°¡ªbut he doesn¡¯t like it.¡±


    ¡°Of course he doesn¡¯t like it!¡± I responded in annoyed exasperation and then, ¡°Why not give him equal status now that he¡¯s free at least? He could be a student or something...¡±


    ¡°A student? Because his father was a Professor? That¡¯s stupid. Why would a student be following around a Holy Knight?¡±


    I poked Solomon repeatedly in annoyance. ¡°Stop shooting down my ideas and just think of something better then! I know you¡¯re a natural when it comes to creative lying.¡±


    ¡°Well if you¡¯re going to butter me up like that¡­¡± He closed his eyes and thought for a moment. ¡°He could be the youngest son of a fellow merchant family. He¡¯s too shy and scared of everything, so he was entrusted to me. My job is to make the boy more outgoing through extensive travelling while teaching him the tools of the trade.¡± He opened his eyes and looked at Atlas, ¡°Acceptable?¡±


    The elf seemed thought for a moment before slowly nodding.


    ¡°Excellent!¡± He clasped Atlas¡¯ shoulders and gave the boy an enthusiastic shake. ¡°If I¡¯m forced to endure your company because of Angie, I might as well turn you into someone who¡¯s more useful than just a walking geography lesson.¡± The Demon¡¯s eyes got an almost dangerous glint in them. ¡°Remember: it may be a cover story, but expect to be treated as a real apprentice by me.¡±


    ¡°Be nice to Atlas!¡± Dignity said, alarmed on the boy¡¯s behalf.


    ¡°I¡¯ll be nice in equal proportion to his ability to learn and adapt to my teaching.¡±


    I frowned. ¡°Seriously, Solomon, don¡¯t bully him.¡±


    Solomon gave me feigned look of shock. ¡°How can you treat me, your best friend, with such callous distrust?¡±


    ¡°Because, Mr. Moral Paragon of Virtue, you called me too ugly to be a lady not less than 10 minutes ago.¡±


    ¡°I was only being truthful.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, well, that¡¯s all I¡¯m doing too.¡±


    He covered his heart with his hands, looking wounded, and then grinned at me with a wink.


    ¡°Ho ho, well said! I won¡¯t bully the boy, not that I intended on doing that¡ªmuch¡ªto begin with.¡± He got serious. ¡°I will be strict though. Unlike you, my furry friend, most people must be strong if they wish to survive in the world. I will make him strong, and that strength will make him useful. Because even elves can be useful if you train them enough.¡±


    Well, at least this way I didn¡¯t have to worry about Solomon¡¯s bigotry causing any serious problems with Atlas anymore.


    ¡­


    Probably.

 7: The World At Large

    It took the merchants the better part of the day to fix their caravan. The wagon that had been set on fire was used for scrape to help repair the one that had been toppled over. The rest of the charred wagon was taken apart and stored away to be sold in the city¡¯s market or used for firewood.


    I learned a lot of interesting things about how enchantments worked as they took apart the wagon: first, different parts of an object could be enchanted to do different things. The wagon¡¯s main body was enchanted to be lighter so it could carry more, while the wheels and axis were enchanted to move on their own. The roof was enchanted to repel water and wind. However, each part could only have one enchantment on it.


    When an enchanted item was broken, you needed to take off the enchantment. Apparently the enchantment would continued to work¡ªor attempt to work¡ªfor as long as the item existed. So unless it was totally destroyed the item had a high probability of going hay wire and hurting someone.


    Ceil was tasked with removing enchantments on the burnt wagon and re-enchanting new pieces as needed. (This was the primary reason she was brought along, wagon enchantment repair.) To put an enchantment on an item, required writing the spell on a paper, putting that paper on the part in question you needed enchanted, and then placing your hand on it and speaking the incantation. The paper would then disappear and the words were left on the part being enchanted.


    Removing them seemed to be the same process in reverse, but with a different incantation. Interestingly, the paper would re-appear when removing the enchantment. Ceil burned each paper as a safety measure, because (in her own words) ¡°magic sometimes has a mind of it¡¯s own¡±.


    That was a little alarming to hear from a native. What did she mean by ¡°sometimes¡±? I asked Solomon about it later and he further explained: ¡°Hm? If you¡¯re not careful it¡¯s possible for magic to go wild. Mostly inexperienced casters and enchanters have that problem though.¡±


    He didn¡¯t seem terribly worried about it. Maybe it was just one of those things people lived with ¡°on the daily¡± and so didn¡¯t view it as a potential hazard? I don¡¯t know, but as someone who only recently had the ability to use magic, I couldn¡¯t help but feel at least a little anxious about it.


    Anyway, once everything was repaired, the caravan moved on. We had only a few hours of daylight left and the merchants were trying to reach a ¡°way station¡± a few miles south of the cross road. Way Stations were placed at certain distances on main roads to give protection to merchants and travelers from roaming monsters.


    Ah yes, speaking of monsters¡­ when we told the merchants about the town to the north being totally decimated, we learned about ¡°Monster Migrations¡±. These happened every ten years or so, with some years being less severe then others. On the really bad years, monsters would group together in ¡°Monster Armies¡± and would destroy everything in their path. And, yes, this included any unfortunate towns that were in their way.


    Over the years, countries had gotten a pretty solid idea where certain Monster Migrations were most likely to happen, and thus knew where to watch for Monster Armies. Most Cities and Towns near these areas were well prepared for them.


    But the town we¡¯d run across wasn¡¯t near any of one of those carefully recorded paths. In fact, the town was well known because it bordered the Cursed Lands, which everyone (monsters included) avoided. It was only ¡°safe¡± because it was right next to something dangerous.


    There shouldn¡¯t be Monster Armies in that area. And though I suggested maybe bandits or an invading (human) army had been the real culprit, they assured me everything I¡¯d described sounded like a Monster Army. Specifically, one made up of mostly Orcs and Goblins. I was told those were the worst Monster Armies to face, because they had near-human levels of intelligence and were better organized in their destruction.


    The Merchants spent the first half of the trip to the Way Station worrying about my news. Monster Armies meant a bad Migration season and then the Armies appearing in places they shouldn¡¯t be, meant a crack-down on travel. And that meant merchants were in for a lean season.


    As for myself, I had a terrible feeling I was somehow responsible for the Monster Army moving through that town and massacring everyone. I kept repeating to myself that the timing was off so it couldn¡¯t have been me. It was just a really awful coincidence. Right? But I couldn¡¯t quite shake the idea that I was at fault.


    I walked along side the caravan as a guard, moving in a slow circle around it in an attempt to protect it from all sides. My companions would occasionally walk with me to talk. Dignity shared juicy gossip he heard from the merchants (including some rather funny guesses about my face and past). Atlas would quietly walk with me, nodding or shaking his head to any questions I asked. Solomon ended up being my most frequent visitor, which surprised me. Sometimes he¡¯d talk to me, but other times he¡¯d just walk quietly along side.


    When I pointed out he was visiting me the most, he bristled and accused me of being stupid and how he was just being friendly, as per the agreement. He then avoided me for a solid hour, whether from anger or embarrassment I never did find out. I wondered if all Demons were that touchy or if it was just him.


    Off in the distance I heard a shuffling sound. Playing it safe, I kept myself between the sound and the caravan. The sun was near the horizon when I realized the sound had gotten louder quite suddenly. Whatever it was, it was getting closer, fast.


    ¡°Something¡¯s coming this way!¡± I called out to the head wagon, where Mr. Mather¡¯s was sitting.


    ¡°Eh? I don¡¯t hear anything?¡±


    ¡°Ah, you¡¯ll hear it soon. It sounds like something on four legs.¡±


    Mr. Mather noticeably paled. ¡°Do you think we can out run it?¡±


    I listened, and then shook my head.


    ¡°Pretty sure they¡¯ll catch up to us even if we hurry.¡±


    He muttered in alarm and then called the caravan to stop and started barking out instructions. The wagons got into a tight circle. The Merchants pulled out long rods and started hammering them into a rough circle around the wagons.


    Seeing my curious look, Mather¡¯s explained. ¡°Monster Repellent Rods. Works on most of the low level monsters, but stronger ones have been known to get past them. Considering there¡¯s a Monster Army on the move¡­¡± He grimaced. ¡°I¡¯m not optimistic. I¡¯ll be counting on you to get rid of the worst of them.¡±


    A long mournful howl echoed through the trees and surrounding area. The merchants gave a cries of alarm, running back into their wagon circle and pulling out weapons from storage.


    I turned to Mather¡¯s, who was sweating bullets and holding a sword unsteadily. It was clear he had very little practice with weapons.


    ¡°Dignity, Atlas, stay with Mr. Mather. I¡¯ll go a little bit ahead and meet whatever is coming.¡± I said, trying to project confidence, and then looked at Solomon. ¡°Do whatever you feel is best, I trust you.¡±


    I walked a bit farther in, where trees and bushes would cover my figure somewhat. I pulled off the mask and put on my helmet. I could hear whatever was coming; they were starting to spread out. Most likely the enemy was intending to circle the wagons.


    Sword and shield out, I thought carefully about what I wanted to do. I absolutely couldn¡¯t let monsters attack the wagons. While it was risky fighting without proper planning¡ªas I¡¯d recently re-discovered¡ªI could do some basic maneuvers without depending on the Game Fight skill (as I¡¯d come to think of it).


    I lifted up my sword and smacked it on my shield, activating the skill ¡°Taunt¡±. I yelled loudly in the general direction of my unknown foes: ¡°Hey, you cowards! You gonna hide in the bushes all night or you gonna come out and fight? Or are you frightened of lil¡¯ ol¡¯ me? SCARED-Y CATS! WIMPS! YOUR MOTHERS SMELL OF ELDERBERRIES!¡±


    Alright so I¡¯m not great at verbal taunting on the fly. Fortunately, the spell worked anyway: there was a pause from the enemy and I could almost hear them pivot and start a mad rush towards me. A grunting, howling mass of rage was on it¡¯s way.


    The bushes shook and suddenly I was surrounded by monsters.


    Oh yes, they were definitely monsters. They reminded me a bit of griffins, except their top half was a wolf and their back half was a scaly lizard. Their heads reached up to my collar bone, and each reptilian eye was focused on me. There was five of them.


    The one nearest toward me gave a deep growl and launched itself at me, red mouth filled with teeth ready to rip me in two. I jumped straight up, surprising it, and came down like a rock with my sword pointed to the ground. I severed the aggressive monster¡¯s spinal cord in one bloody movement.


    It collapsed in a dead heap, causing the other four monsters to pause. You could almost see the little gears in their monster brains turn as they realized something half their size had killed one of them with relative ease.


    Seeing their hesitation, I decided to use an area of effect move called ¡°Sword Sweep¡±. It was a simple physical two-handed sword attack everyone learns when they choose the Knight Class. It involved taking a step forward and swiping to the side, with every enemy in range getting hit. Usually it was a slow attack, but my racial and Armor boosts made it significantly faster. All the monsters saw was a pointy blur before they realized they¡¯d been cut.


    The one on the left had been closest, getting the full brunt of my swing. His neck was deeply cut, right through his wind pipe, and he fell in a gurgling gasp. The next two were bleeding heavily and the last came away with only a minor scrap.


    They¡¯d had enough! Whimpering in pain and terrified by an unexpectedly strong enemy, they backed away from me and turned tail and ran.


    I took a step forward to run after them, thinking it unwise to let monsters that size go and possibly harm anyone else, when I heard a voice behind me say: ¡°I¡¯ll deal with them.¡±


    I turned around in surprise, just in time to see Solomon ¡°unfocus¡± his body and swiftly fly over me making a be-line towards the monsters. Shortly after, I heard several strangled monster voices cry out in terror, pain, and then nothing. Complete silence.


    Solomon floated back more leisurely to me, focusing himself until he was back into his ¡°human¡± disguise.


    ¡°T-thanks.¡± I sputtered, both surprised he¡¯d followed me and at how quickly he¡¯d killed three monsters. ¡°I could have chased after¡ª¡±


    ¡°No.¡± He shook his head. ¡°I can travel a lot faster than you when I¡¯m in my original form, and dealing with monsters of that class is a simple matter.¡±


    I frowned. ¡°If that¡¯s the case, should I have stayed back and let you take care of them?¡±


    ¡°A businessman going around chasing after monsters? Our story will never hold up!¡± He chuckled, waving his hands dismissively. ¡°No, no, you must be the point-man. I¡¯ll just coral the stragglers as needed.¡± He threw six large bloody canine teeth at me. ¡°Here you go.¡±


    ¡°What are these for?¡± I asked, awkwardly catching them.


    ¡°To prove you killed them. In my time you could trade them for money.¡±


    ¡°Really? Money?¡±


    ¡°Yes. Culling the monster population was a full time job for some folks back in my day. They even formed special guilds in some countries just to keep track of the rewards. I can¡¯t imagine they¡¯ve stopped using that system with the monster population being larger and more aggressive now.¡± He walked over to the two dead monster and popped their teeth out like it was nothing. How strong was this guy?


    ¡°Though¡­ I¡¯m still confused about why the monster population got as big as it did. As long as you¡¯re hunting them on a frequent basis, they should never leave their territory or gather together in anything resembling an army.¡± He handed me the four teeth he¡¯d just extracted. ¡°I¡¯ve been trying to find out but the Merchants seem to think it¡¯s always been this way. Very strange. Perhaps someone in the city will be better informed¡­¡±


    Putting my helmet away and getting my mask back on, we walked back to the circled wagons. A cheer of relief came from the merchants when they saw us come back safely.


    When I showed the Head Merchant the teeth we¡¯d collected, he was impressed. Solomon had been right. In fact, the guilds he¡¯d talked about had spread to every corner of the known world. Many were directly supported by the government, while others were more mercenary based (only hunting monsters by local request).


    ¡°Ah, but next time you should get a piece of hide too.¡± Mr. Mather kindly informed us. ¡°The payout is a little bigger that way, since it¡¯s extra proof of the kill. Some people don¡¯t bother but I¡¯ve always believed in getting the most out of any venture.¡±The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.


    I didn¡¯t see Solomon give the Merchant a smug grin or the Merchant grimace slightly in response.


    The sun had set, but the caravan kept on. Between the Monster Army and the monster attack any thoughts of camping over night out in the open were dismissed. If Solomon disappeared for a short time, no one but me seemed to notice. He came back and gave me five scaly hides, his finger over his smiling mouth, in a secretive gesture.


    We arrived at the Way Station late into the night. All of us gave a ragged cheer at the warm lights and fortified walls. I¡¯d completely lost the ability to stay up late, my body now in-tune with the natural rhythm of the day, and I was practically sleep walking by the time we got there.


    I don¡¯t remember much about getting in, just two large gate doors opening, a big building, a rough fellow with a lamp guiding us, and then¡ªto my utter and complete joy¡ªa real honest-to-God bed. Then nothing as I passed out from exhaustion.


    I woke up feeling heavenly and made the mistake of thinking I was in my own cozy bed for a few seconds, before my senses came to me. I tried not to feel disappointed at finding myself still in this other world and sat up and gave a big stretch.


    Much to my surprise, I found both Dignity and Atlas under the covers with me. I scratched my head, wondering when they¡¯d gotten there, and realized I was still in my Quicksilver armor. Right. There¡¯s no way anyone could take it off me. I groggily switched out what I was wearing, back into my more comfortable armor set. I¡¯d change it again if I needed, but for now I wanted to eat breakfast in something comfortable.


    The outfit change startled Atlas awake, but as always Dignity remained asleep. That Kobold could probably sleep through an earthquake, jeesh!


    ¡°Morning.¡± I greeted the Elf with a yawn.


    He looked at me, terribly confused for a moment. ¡°Your armor¡ª¡±


    Oh right, he never did get a proper explanation.


    ¡°Ah, I¡¯ve got some special magic that lets me swap outfits quickly.¡±


    Sitting up, he rubbed the sleep from his eyes. ¡°Special magic¡­¡±


    ¡°Yep. So what are you guys doing in my bed?¡±


    He lowered his hand and blinked slowly, dazed and still not quite awake. ¡°Not enough rooms for everyone,¡± He said in a sleepy whisper, ¡°so we had to share. Solomon wouldn¡¯t let anyone but us sleep with you.¡±


    Solomon¡­ oh, where was that guy anyway? Had he managed to weasel himself into a room of his own?


    ¡°Well, let¡¯s get up then. I don¡¯t know about you, but I¡¯m hungry.¡±


    Atlas scooted out and I had to shake Dignity pretty hard to get him up too. There was a small rough desk in the room, and on it was a pitcher of water, a towel, and a large bowl. I walked over and stared at it in confusion, before my sleepy brain caught up to me and I realized this was meant for my hands and face.


    Woah! Civilization! It was one step away from running water! Now if only they had something fancy like soap!


    Taking off my mask (which had somehow stayed on my face while I slept), I washed my face and hands, drying them off with the towel. Dignity watched me closely and imitated what I did, though he had to get the stool to stand on to do it. Atlas followed Dignity.


    I put the mask back on, draping the hood over my head, and gave them both a thumbs up. We all shuffled out of the door and headed towards the noise at the end of the hall.


    It turns out we were on the second floor, and I got a good look at the building as we walked down the stairs: A big dining room with long cafeteria styled tables and bench seats, all made of wood. The place was packed with people, mostly humans (though I saw a few elves too). Just based off the people eating, I could see why there¡¯d not been enough rooms.


    It¡¯d been a while since I¡¯d been around this many people and I felt momentarily overwhelmed. The urge to turn around and escape to my room was strong enough that I hesitated as we walked down.


    ¡°Angela?¡± Dignity asked, worried, tugging on my pants.


    ¡°Ah, sorry. Do you see Solomon or our merchant group anywhere?¡±


    Dignity looked out among the mass of people and then pointed.


    Sure enough, there was Solomon. I wasn¡¯t sure how I¡¯d missed him, to be honest. His dark skin and hair made him stand out like a sore thumb around the paler, lighter haired humans and elves.


    ¡°Solomon, Mr. Mather, good morning!¡± I greeted them after winding my way through the crowds. The Merchants shuffled around, with some of them already having finished their meals, leaving altogether, to make room for us.


    Bowls of bread, cheese, and hard boiled eggs lined the center of the table along with stacks of plates, cups, and pitchers of water. It was clear based off the people around me, this was a free-for-all kind of breakfast. Dignity couldn¡¯t reach anything without standing on the chair and reaching, so I plated everything for him.


    In case you¡¯re wondering, I¡¯d gotten a good system of eating with the mask. I¡¯d push my hood forward as far as I could to cover the side of my face and then lift my mask with one hand and eat with the other. You¡¯d have to get really close to notice my face wasn¡¯t human looking. It¡¯d worked, even with several sets of Merchant eyeballs on me, trying to catch a glimpse of my ¡°dreadful¡± face.


    I cast glances at people around me, attempting to figure out how much I was allowed to eat before I was viewed as being greedy. There were knives with the cheese (which was just a big wheel you¡¯d cut into). I took the knife to slice my bread, eggs, and (of course) cheese and make it into a lumpy sandwich. People watched me curiously as I combined my items and then imitated me once they realized how well it worked.


    ¡­


    Had I just introduced the sandwich to this world?


    No, no. Let¡¯s not get full of myself!


    Solomon refused to eat anything at the table, complaining it was low quality and not worth his time. The Way Station staff glared daggers at him, and I agreed with their thinking: just because it was simple didn¡¯t make it bad. When I pointed out as much, he just snootily proclaimed he was a person of status and shouldn¡¯t be subjected to such unrefined ¡°staple foods¡±.


    We argued for a solid ten minutes about it, before I managed to convince him to try a sandwich. After taking a bite, his eyebrows went up, and he greedily ate the rest. Once he was done, he scornfully announced that with some creative thinking the offerings weren¡¯t too bad. He then quietly made himself a second sandwich.


    After everyone had woken up and eaten, we all went to find our wagons. As we made our way outside, Solomon tapped me on the shoulder.


    ¡°Hm?¡±


    ¡°About our agreement¡­¡±


    ¡°Huh? What agreement?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ve forgotten already! Tut tut and my, my!¡± He grinned and pointed to his ears.


    Oh no¡­ I had totally forgotten! The deal about touching my ears all day¡­ Stuff kept happening to distract me, how¡¯d he stay so on-point, especially about something so nonsensical?


    ¡°But I can¡¯t¡ªpeople will get super suspicious!¡±


    ¡°Oh, I know.¡±


    ¡°Th-then the deals off?¡±


    ¡°Absolutely not, let¡¯s just modify it a bit, shall we?¡±


    I deflated. Of course he wouldn¡¯t let it go.


    I sighed. ¡°What do you have in mind?¡±


    ¡°What if we spread the time out?¡±


    ¡°Eh? How so?¡±


    ¡°So we take the day and spread it out over, weeks¡­¡±


    ¡°Well, I¡ª¡±


    ¡°¡­months¡­¡±


    ¡°¡ªhey, wait a min¡ª¡±


    ¡°¡ªyears. However long it takes.¡±


    My eyes narrowed. ¡°You didn¡¯t agree to this deal knowing I couldn¡¯t keep it, by any chance, did you?¡±


    He rounded his eyes, attempting an innocent look. ¡°Oh, I would never do that.¡±


    Why, that sneaky¡ª! He most certainly did it on purpose.


    I just have to accept I¡¯ve been out maneuvered, I thought glumly. He¡¯d gotten me good and now I¡¯d just have to bid my time getting back at him.


    ¡°Alright, I guess that¡¯ll work.¡± I grumbled. ¡°It¡¯s not like I¡¯ve got any choice anyway.¡±


    I got a good look around the Way Station now that it was daylight. The building we¡¯d been in, something like a hotel, was three stories tall and made of rounded sturdy logs. There was a smaller building next to it, which I assumed to be a shop based off what people were carrying out. There was something akin to a parking lot, like what you¡¯d see in truck stop only without pavement, filled with wagons very like what our Merchants had.


    There was a noticeable quality difference in the wagons we passed and the ones the Merchants I was with kept. The majority of the wagons looked in need of repair and like they¡¯d been beaten on. I could hear snippets of conversation from people:


    ¡°¡ªrumor about the Monster Army? A whole town was destroyed up north.¡±


    ¡°Damn King raised the taxes again! And for what? Certainly not to deal with the bandits¡­¡±


    ¡°¡ªthis might be my last trip, I can¡¯t afford repairs anymore¡ª¡±


    ¡°Haven¡¯t seen it this bad in years. Southern crops destroyed by monsters on top of a drought!¡±


    The cycle of conversation continued in a depressing cycle along those lines. If the Merchants were any indication, this country sucked. High taxes, apathetic king, and monsters over-running everything.


    The Merchants I was with did a quick check of their belongings and headed out. It took some time just getting to the exit because of the crowds of people and we ended up waiting in a line of other wagons at the gate.


    I¡¯d been stealthily avoiding Ceil through most of yesterday¡¯s trip, but today I decided to talk to her.


    ¡°What country do you and your father come from?¡±


    ¡°Selderhimn. It¡¯s south of Pabril, which is to the west of here. Every other year we do a major trip through all the human countries to trade and get news.¡± She shook her head sadly. ¡°Sacrington wasn¡¯t this bad even two years ago. But the old King was running the place then, so perhaps that¡¯s why.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡± So there¡¯d been a change over in authority in this country. ¡°What¡¯s Selderhimn like?¡±


    Her eyes lit up at my question. ¡°Oh it¡¯s a great place! It¡¯s a southern country. Things are green most of the year there, lots of rain, nice warm weather. I miss that the most when I travel to other places, especially this far north.¡± She gave a fake shiver and chuckled. ¡°Selderhimn is mostly known for its orchards and fruits though. My family exports those directly but for trips like this we¡¯re selling fruit wines rather than produce. They last longer and you get more money for them.¡±


    ¡°Do you guys have to deal with monsters too?¡±


    ¡°Who doesn¡¯t?¡± She sighed, frowning. ¡°But my country supports the Adventuring Guilds¡ªthat¡¯s what we call the groups that kill monsters¡ªunlike here.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°In Selderhimn all the Adventure Guilds get local and national support. Lords often donate land or finance Guild buildings. The King uses a portion of the taxes to pay adventures to deal with monster problems in places that can¡¯t afford to directly hire. Monster Migrations are still problems, but we haven¡¯t had a Monster Army in over 50 year because of our system.¡±


    ¡°And here?¡±


    ¡°Guilds are pretty much mercenaries here. Pay or nothing. They¡¯re heartless. Smaller towns either pool their resources to hire someone now and again or fight off monsters on their own. And I heard¡ª¡± Her face twisted in disgust. ¡°¡ªthat the new king actually taxes the Guilds.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s, uhm, bad?¡±


    ¡°Of course it¡¯s bad!¡± She shouted and then blushed when several people turned to stare at her. ¡°Sorry. Ahem. Look, taxes aren¡¯t just about getting money, they¡¯re also about controlling merchant and client behavior. As an example: in Selderhimn the King heavily taxes peach imports, but has no tax at all on peach exports. Why is that?¡±


    ¡°Er.¡±


    ¡°Because foreign peaches directly compete with our local peach orchards. To protect local peach farmers from outside competition, the King put a high tax on foreign peaches. Few in Selderhimn bother importing peaches now, even though they¡¯re technically able to, because the tax makes it unprofitable to do so. Instead we buy from local orchards, which are better anyway, and we export our peaches all over the world. In fact, some of those wines I talked about earlier are made from those protected peaches.¡±


    ¡°R-right.¡± Ceil was definitely a merchant¡¯s daughter.


    ¡°So. When all of Sacrington¡¯s Guilds are for-profit, and you start taxing that profit, what do the Guild members do?¡±


    I thought for a moment. ¡°Only take on jobs that pay them a lot?¡±


    ¡°Yes, exactly. Even weaker Guild members won¡¯t be as eager to take lower paying requests, when they know a portion of that is going into the King¡¯s pockets.¡± She pressed her lips into a thin line. ¡°Frankly, the current King ought to be ashamed of himself. If he¡¯s going to tax the guilds, at least put that money back into strengthening the nation¡¯s defenses against monsters. But from what I¡¯ve been hearing he just hordes it all.


    I don¡¯t understand why the people here tolerate it, they should just rebel and¡ª¡±


    ¡°Ceil! Watch what you¡¯re saying!¡±


    ¡°Oops, hello, Father!¡±


    Mr. Mather had walked over while Ceil was talking.


    ¡°Don¡¯t ¡°Hello Father¡± me! Do you want us to get in trouble with the local authorities?¡± We were still in line waiting to get out. Mather looked pointedly at a man in ill-fitted armor, who was scowling in our direction.


    ¡°Oh!¡± Ceil¡¯s eyes grew wide and she spoke overly loud, ¡°Er, no talk of dissension here! King¡¯s great! Super guy! Wouldn¡¯t hear a word against him!¡± She chuckled weakly and spoke quietly to her father: ¡°So it¡¯s that bad, huh?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± Mr. Mather replied sourly. ¡°I¡¯ve come through this area many times before but this is really the worst I¡¯ve seen of it. We¡¯re going to hurry through our business in the city as quickly as possible and head south before circling back for home. I¡¯ve heard the road from the Southern Mountains is better guarded because of the dwarves.¡±


    ¡°Ah, dwarves would never tolerate monsters or bandits on a road they travel on.¡± Ceil nodded in understanding. ¡°We don¡¯t usually go that way though, do we?¡±


    ¡°No, and I¡¯m afraid it¡¯s going to cut into our profits to take the longer route south. But at this point I¡¯ll be happy if we come out even, what with one of our wagons being destroyed and the increased taxes.¡±


    Father and daughter than started discussing cost-saving strategies to help offset the losses of taking a longer route. I wandered away once I realized I wouldn¡¯t be any help and I couldn¡¯t understand half of what they were talking about so I also wouldn¡¯t learn anything.


    It felt like eternity before we finally left the Way Station. Apparently we all decided to leave at the same time and the Way Station staff was having a hard time keeping things orderly. I was relieved to get out of the crowd and onto the roads.


    The road to Sacrington, the capital city, had a steady stream of traffic that got progressively more crowded. Merchant wagons bustled alongside horse drawn carriages of every shape and size.


    Unlike with Solomon¡¯s City, Sacrington was far more spread out. First it was farm land, then it was little towns, and then there were buildings that got closer and closer together. I thought we might have walked into the city without me realizing it, but it turned out all this was ¡°spill over¡±.


    The city had expanded, right over the city walls. The walls in question weren¡¯t as obvious as you might think, because of the amount of buildings clustered up next to them. They were tall, thickly bricked, and very well guarded. It wasn¡¯t until we slowed down to a crawl did I actually realize we¡¯d arrived at the wall, and thus the city.


    All the Merchants got into a neat line, waiting to get through the gate. Apparently there was a security checkpoint here and a ¡°gate tax¡± that needed to be paid as well. Thinking back on the conversation I¡¯d had with Ceil earlier, I wondered at the wisdom of taxing people for simply entering the city.


    The guards reminded me of DMV workers: slow and frustrating. I saw at least one person make the mistake of hassling the gate guards, only to find themselves standing in line for twice as long as the rest of us. Note to self: don¡¯t mess with the gate guards if you¡¯re in a hurry.


    Once through, Mather guided the group to a small but well-kept hotel. As per the agreement with Solomon, Mather paid for a room for us to stay in. He estimated it¡¯d take two days to unload everything and get it sold. Once that was done, he¡¯d pay us and we could go our separate ways.


    Dignity had been extremely excited to finally be in a real city. He stared at everything and asked every question under the sun. I was grateful to have the Merchants around, as he was able to ask them the bulk of the questions and get answers.


    Atlas was quiet per usual but stayed as close to Solomon as he was allowed. Unlike Dignity, the elf seemed to get more nervous and jittery the farther in we went. Solomon took no notice of the behavior change, instead focusing on stuffing business and worldly knowledge into the elf¡¯s head at every turn.


    For myself, I was both happy and disappointed. I¡¯m not sure what I was expecting, really. Of course the cities here would be different. Where there should be paved roads, there was cobblestone instead. Skyscrapers were replaced with squat square buildings that were only a few stories high. Running water was replaced with large elaborate fountains. There was no electricity but perhaps you didn¡¯t need any if you could depend on enchantments.


    The most startling difference was the lack of a garbage disposal system. Trash was left all over the place, some places worse than others. My eyes watered in some areas of the city because of the lack of cleanliness.


    Still, it was a city. There had to be educated people here: scholars, scribes, or historians. And one of those people might have a clue about how I got here and how I could get home.


    At least, I really hoped that was the case.

 8: Bard Hero

    The Bard¡¯s View


    He was sitting in a little corner of a larger square. It had originally been used as a city square of sorts, but as the city expanded a bigger one was built and the old one was re-purposed.


    It was located between the Noble living quarters and Merchant housing, so people with expendable income often walked through this area. Entertainers of all sorts had gathered in the square to gain a street audience, make a meager living, and if very lucky catch the eye of a wealthy patron.


    But Ben had been shunted to the outskirts of the square. There was no chance of any wealthy patron¡ªmuch less anyone else¡ªfinding him there. It hurt to be shunted by one¡¯s peers, deemed a nuisance, and treated like a leaper.


    But he wasn¡¯t there to make money or become famous. He wished fervently that the gods would grant him that too, but his real purpose came first.


    Ben looked more like a beggar than a musician: dirty, scraggly bearded, with worn out clothes that hinted at a richer past. The only thing still in good shape was the lute, still glossy and in-tune as the day he bought it.


    He strummed a cord, thinking what he ought to play. A nice melody, gentle and uplifting¡­ that¡¯d be good¡­ He took a deep steadying breath and played:


    It was a sound totally unlike any other heard in the world: Loud, fast, cords vibrating so quickly they were almost invisible. His head swayed back and forth to the rhythm, as if possessed by his lute, dirty hair flopping around like a dying fish on land.


    There were no genre for the music he was playing in this world. ¡°Noisy¡±, ¡°Chaotic¡±, ¡°Nonsensical¡±, was the only feed back he ever got from an audience. Universally his style was paned and dismissed.


    But he played on. Absorbed in the hidden melody, in the effort it took to move his fingers from one string to the next, to get the beat faster¡ª


    A shadow fell over him and he almost stopped in surprise. Where they back to complain? Was he getting kicked out again? His hands and mind worked furiously, the tune switching to a more tortured sound (for those with the ear to hear it).


    But the person was tapping their foot now, and he realized with glee that this person was enjoying his music.


    Someone out there liked what he was playing! A tear ran down his messy face and into his disheveled beard. For even one person to appreciate what he was doing lifted his spirits beyond measure.


    Three more sets of feet joined the original, all listening quietly. He played and played and played, and the person stayed.


    And then he stopped. He was afraid his fingers would start bleeding, despite his impressive callouses, and he didn¡¯t want to ruin the precious strings on his lute with blood.


    His first visitor clapped enthusiastically, while the others were more begrudgingly polite. He glanced up and did a double take:


    There was a person¡ªa woman probably¡ªwearing lightly fitted armor, a cloak over her head, and a very strange mask. It was completely white, with no visible eye holes. And he was fairly certain the imagine drawn on it was suppose to be a rabbit.


    The mask absorbed all his attention. He literally couldn¡¯t tear his eyes away from it, even if he¡¯d wanted.


    ¡°That was amazing!¡± Came a voice through the mask, and he believed she meant it with all his heart. Yes, it was definitely a she, a woman, he was sure by her voice.


    ¡°That reminded me of music from my wo¡ªhomeland. Yeah. It¡¯s got a great beat! Wish you guys had electric guitars because I¡¯m pretty sure you¡¯d do some amazing things with one.¡± He didn¡¯t know what an electric guitar was, but that mask wouldn¡¯t lie to him. If he could get his hands on one, he truly believed he¡¯d play it fantastically.


    ¡°What on earth do your people listen to, if this is considered good music?¡± There was a man too, he just noticed. He was tall, dark skinned, dressed exceedingly well, and exuding an air of aristocracy.


    Ben tightened his grip on his flute instinctively, as if seeking reassurance. Nobles always treated him the worst when they hated his music. He¡¯d had to nurse quite a few bruises from them.


    Rather than being insulted, she chortled. ¡°I don¡¯t want to hear that from someone who lives in a place that hasn¡¯t invented an acoustic guitar much less an electric one.¡±


    The Nobleman raised a brow, frowning slightly. ¡°I can¡¯t really argue from a stance of ignorance, so I¡¯ll refrain from commenting on your musical tastes in the future.¡± He then glanced down at Ben, eyes narrowing somewhat. Ben shifted uncomfortably under the stare, it seemed unnaturally harsh for a reason he couldn¡¯t quite explain.Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more.


    ¡°Well, if he has done you the favor of reminding you of home, then you might as well tip him. Street musicians like that kind of thing and this one obviously needs any tips he can get.¡±


    Ben perked up at the mention of a tip, choosing to ignore Nobleman¡¯s contempt. People had thrown money at him to get him to shut up, but never for liking what he¡¯d played. This might actually be the first real tip he¡¯d ever gotten.


    ¡°Ah, good point. Give me a moment.¡± She turned around, cutting him off from a view of her mask.


    He felt slightly disoriented. Hm? Why¡¯d he been so totally confident in everything she¡¯d been saying?


    The woman turned back around, mask facing him again, and held up a small statue.


    ¡°Sorry, I don¡¯t have money just yet, but this should work pretty well in it¡¯s place. Do you have appraisers or pawn shops in the city? If you sell it to them you should get a decent amount in return.¡± She handed him the strange statue.


    Ben decided right then and there he¡¯d go do that at the soonest opportunity. It sounded like an excellent idea. And with the money he got, he should be able to get a good meal and maybe some new clothes.


    ¡°What on earth is that?¡± The Nobleman asked the question everyone but Ben was thinking.


    ¡°It¡¯s a Lucky Cat Statue.¡± And then masked woman explained further when she saw no one understood. ¡°It¡¯s¡­ you know¡­ a statue shaped like a cat, holding up it¡¯s paw? It¡¯s meant to be good luck! Ah, stop looking at me like I¡¯m crazy, I¡¯m not the one who thought it up!¡±


    Ben looked down at the statue. It was a shining gold, heavy, and if he squinted he could see the form of a cat, with one paw raised. Two jeweled eyes stared up at him and around it¡¯s next was a silver bell.


    The Nobleman bent down and gave it a harder look. Ben felt a shiver pass through him; for a moment he thought the brown eyes flashed an eerie yellow. ¡°Ah, it does appear to have some kind of enchantment on it. And it¡¯s base parts would sell for a high price, ugly though it may be. Are you sure you want to be giving this to a bard?¡±


    The woman muttered in annoyance, ¡°Ugly, huh?¡± before saying more loudly:


    ¡°Naw, it¡¯s fine. I¡¯ve got more. And this guy is a visionary, way ahead of his time. People like that don¡¯t often get rewarded like they should, so this is the least I can do.¡± She turned to Ben, and he could feel her smile radiate through the mask. ¡°Keep up the hard work! You have true talent, and don¡¯t let anyone convince you otherwise. I hope my Lucky Cat helps you continue your musical career!¡±


    ¡°T-thank you, I will treasure your words, always.¡± Ben held his lute and the small statue close to him. His doubts about his musical abilities evaporated under her kind, encouraging words.


    ¡°Er, oh? Uh, well, carry on then. We¡¯ll be going now.¡± She awkwardly ended the conversation, apparently embarrassed, turned on her heel sharply, and walked away. The Nobleman followed her in a somewhat lazy manner, while still keeping up.


    ¡°Good luck!¡± Said a boy, startling Ben. There were two: one who looked about six years old and another who was a teen. The younger one patted Ben on the shoulder and smiled encouragingly, while the older one simply nodded his head.


    ¡°Oy, you two, don¡¯t get left behind!¡± The sharp Nobleman¡¯s voice called to them. The little boy made an annoyed face, but they both promptly left to catchup with the two adults.


    Oh, they¡¯d been with the woman then. He¡¯d just not noticed them because¡­


    ¡­because¡­?


    He scratched his head in confusion, looking at the cat statue once again. It really was ugly: Fat with a strange empty staring face. The man said it was valuable but¡ª


    ¡°Oh, what¡¯ve you got there?¡±


    Ben jumped, looking up, and then relaxed.


    It was just Cale Aster, his fairy friend and traveling companion. Cale was small, topping 8¡± in height, with fiery red hair that had white tips and bright sunny yellow eyes. His wings looked were parted like a dragonfly¡¯s and he wore loose fitting pants with a jacket. He was hovering above Ben¡¯s head curiously.


    Cale Aster spent the day searching the city while Ben attempted to make a living off his lute. He was back a little early, which likely meant another failed attempt today.


    ¡°Ah, a tip from a pleased listener.¡± The fairy lowered himself to get a good look at the statue Ben was holding up.


    ¡°Woah, what an ugly mug!!¡± Cale Aster laughed at it¡¯s funny face, but then tilted his head in curiosity. ¡°Hmmmm? It¡¯s got a strange enchantment on it?¡±


    Ben eyed the statue in mild alarm. ¡°Is it dangerous?¡±


    ¡°Naw, just strange like I said. It¡¯s written in some weird language I¡¯ve never seen before. Lemme touch it!¡± And before Ben could respond, the fairy did just that. Two tiny pale hands glowed red as they touched the surface of the Lucky Cat.


    Cale Aster¡¯s hands popped off the cat, and he shook them like they were burning. ¡°Wow! There¡¯s some crazy magic in that thing!¡± He blew on his hands dramatically.


    ¡°What did you get from it?¡±


    ¡°Hmmmmm?¡± The fairy stared at his hands, red eyebrows bunched up in thought. ¡°Guidance? Victory? What the **** am I even looking at here?¡±


    ¡°Oh, so it really is lucky then!¡±


    ¡°That''s it, luck!¡± He snapped his fingers and then frowned. ¡°Huh? But how¡¯s that even possible? Luck isn¡¯t an element¡­ You shouldn¡¯t be able to enchant something with it¡­¡±


    ¡°Ah, I hadn¡¯t thought of that but it¡¯s true¡­ Could you enchant something with luck now that you¡¯ve absorbed it from this thing?¡± Ben pointed to the Lucky Cat.


    The fairy HMed and HAWed for a minute, thinking deeply. ¡°Naw, too risky. It¡¯s in a different language. I¡¯d need some idea what the language means before I could safely replicate it.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s too bad.¡±


    ¡°Right?¡± The fairy sighed, crossing his legs mid-air and leaning back. ¡°We could make a killing enchanting luck on items and selling them.¡±


    ¡°The person who gave it to me suggested I sell it, what do you think? Should we?¡±


    ¡°Sure. We need the money. And I don¡¯t think we¡¯ll need the extra luck it gives anymore so it¡¯s not worth keeping.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean we don¡¯t need the extra luck? I could sure use some!¡±


    The fairy ¡°tsked¡± at his friend. ¡°Think Ben! We don¡¯t need the statue, we need the person who gave it to you. They¡¯re either powerful enough to do new enchantments like this, or they know the one who did. It¡¯s the crazy-strong enchanter we need, not the ugly lump of lucky gold!¡±


    Ben gave a wide grin of understanding. They¡¯d finally gotten truly lucky, whether because of the statue or the gods, he didn¡¯t care. What mattered was he¡¯d finally found the person he was looking for: someone generous, kind, and¡ªmost importantly¡ªpowerful enough to beat the Witch.

 9: Witch Way Shall We Go?

    ¡°Other worlds are purely theoretical. Exactly how would one travel to a theory?¡±


    ¡°Moving between stars? Isn¡¯t that the realm of the gods?¡±


    ¡°No, it¡¯s just not possible, stop bothering me with such nonsensical questions!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s a question better taken to a Temple than a Scholar.¡±


    And many variations of the same. That was the best we could get out of the intellectual elites within Albeling, if we could even get them to talk with us at all. It was utterly depressing. There were no tales of travelers from other worlds, not even from myths. The closest they got was gods living among mortals on the sly, and that happened so infrequently that many considered them fairy tales rather than historical.


    As suggested by the more open minded scholars, we went to the city Temples to see if any of the Priests or Priestesses had ideas. The results were not much better. The most definitive answer we got was from an elderly Priest running a small Temple that went like this:


    ¡°Hm? Traveling between worlds? Sure, gods could do that easy. It¡¯s not like they¡¯re restricted by magical laws the way mortals are. The problem is which god did it. Based on the scenario you¡¯re giving me, it¡¯s either a capricious or mysterious god. The first does things for kicks, to amuse themselves, and won¡¯t help you unless they get something from it. And what can you give a god they don¡¯t already have? Tough situation. The second are notorious for talking in riddles and being purposefully vague, which makes asking them almost pointless. Though at least they¡¯ll respond, most of the time. I can give you a list and you can try anyway if you like. My god, by the way, is a respectable harvest god with a solid record of answering prayers. Would you like to buy an amulet?¡±


    We went back to the hotel that night, my spirits at an all time low. All I learned was that I most likely got brought here by a god. And even that wasn¡¯t certain, it was just the best explanation people could think up.


    I sat down at the little desk in my room, furry fingers intertwined with my forehead resting on them.


    Was I going to be stuck here the rest of my life? Was my old life as a human really over? Would I never see my family again?


    My eyes started to tear up at the thought.


    ¡°Angie?¡±


    I jumped, startled, and then felt stupid for it. It¡¯s not like I was alone in the room, Dignity, Solomon, and Atlas were with me.


    ¡°Yeah?¡± I responded to Solomon, forcing my voice to be even. I was extremely glad my mask was still on, so no one saw the tears. Having people worry about me would have just made me feel more miserable.


    ¡°I think we aren¡¯t going to find any good answers in this city.¡±


    I laughed sourly. ¡°No kidding.¡±


    ¡°We ought to try other cities. Maybe ones that aren¡¯t human majorities.¡±


    ¡°Really? What¡¯s wrong with humans?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not humans specifically. Every race focuses on things that directly effect them, ignoring or forgetting anything unrelated to them. If we focus too much on what humans know about the world we will very likely miss something crucial.¡±


    ¡°Ah¡­ good point. Where did you have in mind?¡±


    ¡°I was thinking of heading towards the Southern Mountains, like our Merchant companions. There¡¯s a big dwarven city down there and we could ask around. Then beyond that is Fairy Country and further out is Merfolk Colonies.¡±


    ¡°Eh? What about the elves?¡±


    Solomon scowled slightly. ¡°Yes, yes, we¡¯ll get to them eventually. Even angels if need be, but have some mercy, won¡¯t you? Let me get use to the one elf I¡¯ve already got to deal with before thrusting me into a nation filled with them.¡±


    Atlas had been writing out a math problem on a newly bought chalk board we¡¯d gotten yesterday and looked up at the mention of elves.


    ¡°W-we should go w-west for elves.¡± He volunteered quietly.


    ¡°Why west?¡±


    ¡°E-elves that w-way are n-nice. Better t-than Sagewind anyway.¡±


    ¡°I thought it was all human country till you got to the Elderhills?¡±


    ¡°Mostly, y-yes. But there are pockets of e-elves too. T-they travel a-all over and d-don¡¯t really h-have a country, I heard.¡±


    Solomon closed his eyes thoughtfully for a minute. ¡°Traveling elves¡­ they might actually be useful then. And tolerable in small numbers¡­¡± He opened his eyes and nodded. ¡°Right, we¡¯ll head west if we can¡¯t find anything in the south.¡±


    Atlas nodded, pleased his suggestion had been accepted and then went back to his math problem.


    Solomon had gone from ¡°cover story¡± to genuine teacher in less than a week. And though he¡¯d probably die before admitting it, I suspected he did actually like teaching the elf, and sometimes even Dignity too. (Though they still argued with each other when given the chance.)


    Speaking of cover stories¡­


    ¡°If we¡¯re going south,¡± I asked. ¡°What¡¯ll happen to our cover story?¡±


    Solomon rubbed his chin thoughtfully. ¡°I¡¯ve been doing some reading, and I think we could get away with saying we¡¯re from beyond Elderhills, which is dwarf country. There¡¯s a huge lake over there and a forest, which was producing strong monsters even in my day. I guess the spike in the monster population starting spilling over into Elderhills and the dwarves were having none of that. Now they¡¯ve got fortress cities and towns circling the lake; built by dwarves, populated with humans, to keep the monsters in check.¡±


    ¡°Fortress cities¡­ the people must be really tough.¡±


    ¡°Indeed. Just the kind of place that would produce a person like you.¡±


    ¡°Like me?¡±


    ¡°Yes, a person who¡¯s obscenely powerful while at the same time completely ignorant of the world.¡±


    ¡°Ha. Ha. Thanks.¡±


    ¡°Everything else can remain the same. Though I think you should study up on monsters. It¡¯d be a good idea to know the most common ones and how to defeat them anyway.¡± He then walked over to a pile of merchandise he¡¯d bought earlier in the day, most of which were books. He pulled out 5 thick volumes and handed them to me.


    I paled.


    ¡°You want me to read all of those?¡±


    ¡°Yes, and try to be fast about it. Knowing how to kill monsters may help you out in a pinch.¡± He paused. ¡°And I suppose it could be useful for saving people since you seem inclined that way.¡±


    I took the heavy stack and looked at the top one: ¡°Monsters: A Beginners Study Guide¡±. I groaned internally. I didn¡¯t mind reading for fun, but I hated studying. Even if it was good for me.


    I¡¯d learned when I met the merchants that I could read the local language just fine, and when I¡¯d gone into the city I¡¯d discovered I could read foreign languages too. I only had trouble with words that had no correlation to the English language and some really ancient texts I¡¯d seen in one of the Temples we visited.


    My ¡°Game Fight Skill¡± got turned into ¡°Game Skill¡± in my mind after this. It made me wonder what other ¡°cheats¡± it was giving me that I didn¡¯t know about yet.


    The next day we had a knock on our door, and found Mr. Mather¡¯s on the other side. As he¡¯d promised, he unloaded the stock he needed within two days and now had the money to pay us. Apparently he¡¯d gotten more than he¡¯d expected, which made our portion larger too.


    Solomon looked immensely pleased, so much so that I wondered about it. Had he meddled somehow in the Merchant¡¯s business interactions to increase his profit return? After all, our pay was only as good as what the Merchant made, and Solomon was a greedy guy so of course he¡¯d want more money. But when did he have the time for it? He was with us all of those two days, so¡­


    We said our goodbyes to the merchant caravan, and I was a bit sad to see them go. I¡¯d learned a lot about the world from them and they¡¯d treated us kindly and paid us more than fairly. I was lucky to have met them, otherwise the trip to the city would have been a lot more difficult.


    I almost forgot to mention this too, but we¡¯d submitted our bits of monsters to the local guild the first day we¡¯d arrived. After dealing with them, I understood Ceil¡¯s distaste for how they functioned here. We couldn¡¯t get paid unless we fulfilled an official request, and we¡¯d only get the full amount for completing the request if we were guild members, and we could only be guild members if we paid a monthly fee.


    We managed to find a request that worked with our monster kill but skipped the membership and took the reward cut. There was no point in joining if we weren¡¯t staying in the area. And on top of all that hassle, the king taxed what little we¡¯d gotten!


    By the time we were done, we¡¯d made enough to take ourselves out for a nice dinner and stay at a hotel. Yay.


    Having cold hard cash from the Merchants was wonderful though! You might be surprised by this, but none of my game currency had transfered over. Money in the game had it¡¯s own special location, rather than being in my regular inventory. And apparently if it wasn¡¯t in my inventory, I didn¡¯t get to keep it.


    I did have a lot of random valuable stuff, gold and jewel based items, I thought would get us money. But Solomon advised against it after appraising an item I¡¯d given away as a tip earlier. First, they all had strange enchantments on them and somehow that was both dangerous and valuable. Secondly, getting gobs of money in one kind of currency was pointless when you¡¯re ¡°nation hopping¡±. Exchange rates were a thing here too, and you could lose money if you weren¡¯t careful.


    So all my valuables stayed in my pack, to be used for emergencies only, on Solomon¡¯s order. Well, he was the businessman of the group so I wasn¡¯t going to argue!


    As for the money we got from the Merchant, Solomon insisted we by local perishable and raw goods that were hard to transport. My pack could perfectly preserve anything put into it, and things of all sizes could be stored too. In his mind, it was the perfect transportation system, and would allow us to keep a steady income without depending heavily on local currency. This took him a few days, since he had to find the goods he wanted and then haggle their prices down to something ¡°reasonable¡±.


    We also bought a lot of other stuff too. The Merchant hadn¡¯t been joking about making a lot more than he¡¯d expected. The more things we bought the more I realized we¡¯d actually done really well for ourselves. Props to you, Solomon!This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.


    First, we got a lot of daily necessities. Everything was portable, from a miniature enchanted stove, to sleeping bags. He even found soap, much to my everlasting joy. (I¡¯m not going to even tell you how long it¡¯d been since I had a proper bath or shower at this point.) He also bought books and writing utensils, to get himself updated on current affairs but also to teach Atlas more thoroughly. (And Dignity by proxy, since he listened in on anything ¡°of interest¡±.)


    Second, he invested in a small enchanted wagon. This was the second most expensive thing Solomon bought. I questioned the wisdom of an enchanted wagon, as walking was obviously cheaper, but he insisted it¡¯d make our lives much easier. We could store more things, have a place to go in bad weather, and a safe place to sleep at night. That sounded nice, especially after living in the wilderness for weeks, so I agreed and let him do the shopping (since he¡¯d get the best deal).


    I face-palmed when I saw Solomon drive up with his newly purchased wagon.


    Utility my furry butt, this was clearly a luxury vehicle! Whereas the Merchant wagons were a sturdy square shape, made of plain wood and tarp, this one reminded me a bit of a boat with wheels. It had a round stylish metal roof, with small round windows, plush seating, and even small enchanted lanterns hanging from the center ceiling inside. It was a dark mahogany color, with accents of red throughout. And it was probably as close to a sport¡¯s car as you could get in this world.


    I tried to argue over the wagon purchase and lost horribly. The main reason being you could only return it if it was defective, and it was in tip-top shape (it better be for the price we paid). The other reason was that every single person in my party liked it. Even Atlas got bubbly over it.


    It turns out guys across worlds love their version of a sports car.


    While the items we¡¯d be reselling were in my Pack, the other things we bought were stored away in our ¡°sports wagon¡±. This was so everyone could access them as needed. The comfy interior seats could be folded out to make beds while also having hidden storage areas underneath. (At least he got a PRACTICAL sportswagon.)


    ¡°Ah, excuse me! Excuse me, miss Knight!¡±


    I¡¯d been putting things away when I realized someone was calling for me. When I turned around, I found myself facing a good looking young man a few years my junior. He had shockingly blond hair, milky brown eyes that dropped, and the sort of face you might see in a shaving commercial.


    He ran up to me and started shaking my hand enthusiastically. ¡°I¡¯m so glad I caught you before you left! Really, I thought we¡¯d find you quicker considering the mask you wear, but it still took us a helluva time!¡±


    Who was this person????


    Solomon had walked out of the ¡°sportswagon¡± at the noise, followed by Dignity and Atlas. While the latter were simply curious about the new person who¡¯d arrived, Solomon was frowning and glaring pointedly at the overly familiar handshaking.


    ¡°Who are you?¡± He asked sharply.


    ¡°My Lord!¡± The young man stiffened into a solute, letting my hands go, apparently mildly terrified of my friend. ¡°I am the bard you tipped barely a week ago!¡±


    Woah, seriously?! That scruffy lute player? The one who looked like he¡¯d rolled in a pile of mud? That one??


    Even Solomon was surprised, forgetting his annoyance. ¡°Really? You look like a totally different person.¡±


    ¡°I clean up well sir!¡±


    Understatement of the year!


    ¡°Introduce me!¡± A small figure zipped down from the sky and hit the bard on the head.


    The bard rubbed his head and said huffily. ¡°I was getting to that!¡± And then more formally: ¡°This is Cale Aster, my fairy friend and traveling companion. I¡¯m Ben Grave¡ª¡±


    I stopped paying attention to what else he said, my eyes fixated on the fairy.


    FAIRY! IT¡¯S A REAL FAIRY! AAAAAAAHHHHH! It¡¯s so small, it¡¯s so cute! It¡¯s eyes are so big and round! Look at the lil¡¯ wings! The little pants! They looked like those pants Aladdin wore! He was like a little Arabic fairy, but red and pink and white and just adorable in every way possible! He was like a living doll!


    IloveitIloveitIloveitIloveitIloveit!!!!


    And so on and so forth. My hands trembled with excitement. It was like something out of a fairytale, the good kind. I wanted to touch him, pet him, snuggle with him. Dress him in cute little outfits¡­ my inner six year old was struggling to free herself with a vengeance.


    Well, it goes without saying I have a weakness for certain mythical creatures (as well as any small fluffy animal). My favorites were (obviously) fairies, unicorns, and dragons. Dragons being the ones I wanted to meet the least here, since with my luck they¡¯d be the kind that terrorize villages and eat virgins.


    The fairy Cale Aster floated over to me, apparently aware of my intense scrutiny.


    ¡°Nice mask¡­¡±


    ¡°Y-yeah?¡± I stuttered, entranced. How did he fly? His wings were too thin to lift his body weight and they only seemed to move when he changed directions. (I want to touch them, gah!!)


    ¡°Do you mind¡­¡± He was so close I could see the membrane lines on his wings, glistening in rainbow colors. ¡°¡­if I touch it?¡±


    He then touched my mask without waiting for a response. Too adorable little hands glowed red on contact of my mask.


    ¡°Hey you little¡ª¡± Solomon caught the fairy by the wings, yanking him roughly off. ¡°¡ªwhat the hell do you think you¡¯re doing?¡±


    Cale Aster attempted to look innocent. ¡°Nothin¡¯!¡±


    ¡°Do I look stupid?¡±


    ¡°Naw, you look like a dem¡ª¡±


    Solomon¡¯s free hand shot out and engulfed the fairy, choking off any further comment.


    ¡°If I were you,¡± He said, deathly calm. ¡°I¡¯d ask myself what¡¯s more valuable, my life or saying any damn thing that came into my head?¡± He then viciously squeezed the fairy, until his cute round eyes started to bulge.


    ¡°Don¡¯t hurt him!¡± I cried out, alarmed. Nooo! My first fairy encounter can¡¯t end with the fairy being squished like a bug!


    ¡°My Lord, have mercy!¡± Ben had collapsed on the ground, bowing so deeply his forehead touched the ground, grabbing Solomon¡¯s shoes. ¡°He didn¡¯t mean anything by it! He¡¯s just a fairy, he can¡¯t help it! Please! Sir!!¡±


    The disguised demon eyed the grovelling bard, me, and the fairy. He gave the fairy a calculating look. ¡°Since we understand each other¡¯s nature, let¡¯s come to a¡­ mutual understanding, shall we? You keep what you know to yourself and I¡¯ll refrain from popping you like ripe fruit, sound good?¡± The fairy nodded quickly, clearly fearing for his life. Solomon opened his fist, releasing the fairy, apparently satisfied with the agreement.


    The fairy hastily flew out of arms reach from Solomon, wobbling and wheezing as he went. Once he was a safe distance away, he started cursing in a very un-fairy-like manner. ¡°************! This is why people hate you ********! Can¡¯t take a ********* joke to save your lives! ***** ****!!!¡±


    Ben shakily got up, looking intensely relieved the worst was over. ¡°Thank you, sir. He can be careless sometimes but I swear his heart is in the right place.¡±


    I smacked Solomon on the shoulder, upset. ¡°What the heck, man? WHAT THE HECK??? REALLY?¡±


    He was totally unphased by my nonsensical protestations.


    ¡°The only way to get fairies to listen to you is through brute force. I did what I had to.¡±


    Cale Aster made an ugly (but adorable) face at Solomon, but didn¡¯t dispute what was said. I had an uncomfortable feeling there was some truth to Solomon¡¯s method.


    ¡°Also,¡± The demon turned to Ben, changing the subject. ¡°I¡¯m not a Lord. I¡¯m a traveling merchant.¡±


    ¡°What? Really? But you have that air of nobility!¡±


    This seemed to please Solomon immensely, for he rubbed his chin and chuckled slightly. ¡°I do, don¡¯t I?¡±


    ¡°Setting that aside,¡± The demon cleared his throat. ¡°What was that about hiring Angie?¡±


    Eh, had he been saying that? I suddenly felt guilty for not paying proper attention.


    ¡°R-right!¡± Ben nodded, more than ready to move the conversation along. ¡°We¡¯ve been seeking an exceptional strong warrior, enchanter, or mage for quite some time now. After we met in the square, we made some inquiries. I had no idea Holy Knights could be women, but her reputation is stellar: wiping out a whole group of bandits and five mid-point monsters! I also heard she¡¯d laid to rest an entire town up north. A truly compassionate individual!¡±


    I got the distinct feeling I was being buttered up. I opened my mouth to clarify that I hadn¡¯t done all of that on my own but Solomon spoke first.


    ¡°You do realize that hiring someone of her reputation will cost you.¡±


    I looked at him in surprise. He was going along with this, seriously?


    ¡°O-of course, sir!¡± Ben put down his backpack, which I only then noticed had his lute slung across it. After some digging around in the backpack, he withdrew a rather heavy bag that jangled loudly. ¡°This is all my money. If you¡¯ll help us, you can have it all, upfront.¡±


    A look of greed slide across Solomon¡¯s face so quickly I almost missed it. Oh boy. Outside of myself, the only other thing that seemed to motivate Solomon was acquiring boat loads of money.


    Solomon took the bag from Ben and opened it, eyebrows shooting up. He picked out an almost pencil thin piece of metal and examined it closely. ¡°Oh, not coins but bars. Gold bars. Very nice! But they¡¯re no good to us,¡± He put the gold bar back before continuing, ¡°Trying to exchange them for actual currency will be difficult. We don¡¯t know the right people¡­¡±


    The fairy spoke up: ¡°We have a contact in Stenfistung, it¡¯s along the way.¡±


    Solomon looked at me, eyes shining in a way that made me suspicious. ¡°Let¡¯s listen to their request. For such a sum, they must be in dire need.¡±


    In case you¡¯re wondering (because I was and asked about it later), gold bars could be used as an alternative to currency, but it was only used for buying in bulk or shady black-market deals that wanted to avoid being traced. Stores wouldn¡¯t take them because of their high currency value. So you needed a Lord, Wholesale Dealer, or Bank to exchange them for anything, and all those people would charge you out the nose for the privilege if they didn¡¯t know you enough to trust you.


    All that aside, I was fairly certain Solomon just wanted the gold, period. I suspected he was very wealthy prior to being cursed and he was eager to regain whatever wealth accumulation he¡¯d lost in the past 200 years. (Also: greed. Plain ol¡¯ greed. I mean, he is a demon¡­)


    ¡°What would you need us to do?¡± I asked Ben & fairy-friend politely. I planned on giving Solomon a stern talking to later for letting himself get carried away with his own avarice.


    ¡°Right!¡± Ben answered eagerly. ¡°Fairies are being enslaved by a Witch in Fairy Country. We¡¯re trying to get rid of her and free everyone.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s awful! How many need saving?¡± I was genuinely appalled. Even if they¡¯re adorable in every way and you really want to keep one as a pet, they¡¯re actually people. You can¡¯t go enslaving people, no matter how tempting!


    ¡°All of them. The entire fairy population.¡± Cale Aster interjected, looking genuinely heartbroken. ¡°She¡¯s one helluva Witch, let me tell you. She even got me for a time. Ben¡¯s the only reason I got free.¡± He floated over and patted the Bard on the head affectionately.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t really do anything.¡± Ben objected, looking embarrassed.


    ¡°You did enough.¡± The fairy smiled whimsically, and then switched to a more business-like expression. ¡°Well, will you help?¡±


    ¡°Er, that¡¯s, um, that¡¯s a lot of people to save¡­¡± I hesitated. It¡¯s not that I didn¡¯t want to save them, because I did. It¡¯s just¡­ well¡­ look, nothing I¡¯d battled so far indicated I was so awe-inspiring powerful I could stop a Witch who¡¯d enslaved an entire population. In the game I could resurrect when I died, but there was no such assurances here.


    Ben saw my hesitation and grabbed me by the hands, eyes round and pleading. ¡°I believe you can do it!¡±


    That¡¯s some entirely unfounded faith you¡¯re putting in me, I thought panicking. I glanced at Solomon, seeking a sensible voice, and was horrified to see him looking thoughtful. He was seriously considering this request!


    ¡°Exactly how did she enslave them?¡±


    ¡°Music. Enchanting, spell binding music.¡± Cale Aster scrunched his bright eyebrows together in anger, even as he joked.


    ¡°Ahh¡­¡± Solomon nodded in understanding, and then added as way of explanation for me: ¡°Fairies love music. They¡¯ll come to listen to anyone singing or playing. If you¡¯re really good they sometimes reward you for your performance. But they¡¯re also very clever and powerful, even if you now they¡¯re weakness it doesn¡¯t mean you can exploit it.¡± He cocked his head. ¡°To enslave with music¡­ she must be a very skilled mage and enchantress. And very powerful, if she¡¯s got the whole fairy population under her control.¡±


    ¡°I did say, didn¡¯t I? I know my enemy at the very least.¡±


    ¡°Angie¡¯s strengths don¡¯t lie in breaking enchantments of that sort.¡±


    Phew, he was speaking sense! Finally!


    The fairy gave Solomon conspiratorial wink. ¡°Even if she can¡¯t, I bet you can...¡±


    Solomon gave the fairy another calculating look. ¡°True, I most likely could. But you only asked to hire Angie, not me.¡±


    I started tugging on Solomon¡¯s shirt sleeve, a sinking feeling developing in my gut at the direction this conversation was going.


    ¡°Eh?¡± Ben spoke up, confused. ¡°But Cale Aster, what can a Merchant do against a Witch?¡±


    Cale Aster and Solomon ignored us both.


    ¡°Aw come on, you¡¯re traveling with a Holy Knight! Act a little holy why don¡¯t you!¡±


    ¡°You know perfectly well I don¡¯t work for free, ever.¡±


    The fairy pouted cutely. ¡°Fine, fine, but I¡¯m not selling you my soul.¡±


    ¡°Only gods need souls, I want something useful.¡±


    Cale Aster rolled his eyes, ¡°Right right, just tell me what you want.¡±


    ¡°I want your loyal service.¡±


    ¡°My what?¡± The fairy¡¯s whole body tilted in the air, surprised.


    ¡°You want to free the fairies, and I¡ª¡± Solomon glanced at me. ¡°¡ªhave my own ¡°quest¡± to complete. I would request your whole hearted support in completing it.¡±


    ¡°I go free after the quest is complete?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    The fairy righted himself, and gave the Demon a hard searching stare. I thought I saw his eyes flash bright, similar to Solomon when he appraised something. His face split into a huge, knowing grin.


    ¡°Oh my, oh my! How many different things are tying you down right now, eh Mr. Merchant?¡± He cackled evilly at Solomon¡¯s sour expression and then paused, asking, ¡°All the gossipers call you Solomon, is that your actual name?¡±


    Solomon folded his arms, holding his head high in an attempt to look lordly. ¡°It is.¡±


    ¡°OH MY GODS!¡± The fairy was laughing so hard now he was actually tumbling around in the air. ¡°THE Solomon! For real?! HAHAHA!¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t get it, what¡¯s so funny?¡± Ben complained, feeling left out. I felt for him. I didn¡¯t understand either. I knew I was ¡°tying¡± Solomon down, but what about those other ¡°things¡±?


    After a solid minute of hysterical laughter, Cale Aster managed to calm himself down.


    Wiping tears from his large yellow eyes, he sputtered out: ¡°I¡¯ll do it! I¡¯ll do it! This is the best entertainment I¡¯ve had in ages! THE Solomon! Unbelievable! I¡¯ll even throw in my silence for free, just for laughs!¡±


    Solomon grimaced, but nodded, raising his hand¡ª


    Uh oh! I tried to interrupt: ¡°Solomon, wait a¡ª¡±


    ¡ªhe snapped his fingers, the now familiar sound of a match lighting accompanying it. ¡°Deal. Your service will be appreciated, even though your attitude is sure to be annoying.¡±


    My mouth fell open. He¡¯d just agreed to us both fighting the Witch without once consulting me.

 10: A Dignified Response

    Dignity was a very smart Kobold.


    Had anyone been paying attention to the Kobold species, they would have concluded he was the smartest one in the whole world. But no one kept track of that kind of thing; Kobolds were ¡°house fairies¡±, magical servants who were good at cleaning, not thinking.


    The fact that no one was aware of how exceptionally smart he was did not bother Dignity terribly much. The goal was not to be praised by strangers, but to use this new intellect to serve his favorite person.


    His favorite person was Angela. A furry person he¡¯d found in the Cursed Woods, just inside the Idiot¡¯s territory. He¡¯d traveled with her for weeks and learned all kinds of secrets about her, things that even the Idiot didn¡¯t know (which pleased him immensely). Dignity knew Angela was actually human, that she¡¯d worked at something called a ¡°retail¡± store, and that there was ¡°technology¡± rather than ¡°magic¡± in her world.


    He was worried about this non-magical world, because he couldn¡¯t live there. Kobold¡¯s depended on magic to exist. Without it, they died slowly. Angela wanted to go back to that dreary world, which meant he needed to go too. But if he did, he¡¯d die. And like any sensible being, he didn¡¯t want to die. (This is why he was secretly relieved when the Idiot failed to grant Angela¡¯s first wish.)


    He¡¯d put in a lot of thought about Angela, how she got there, and why she was there to begin with. When civilized men had, like him, concluded that level of transportation must be in the realm of the gods, he was not completely happy to be proven right.


    Oh, the gods! He didn¡¯t want to get involved with them. No Kobold did. Being so close to nature, they understood the natural order in a way People did not. And the one thing every Kobold knew: don¡¯t mess with the gods if you can help it. This was not out of hatred, but fear. Every Kobold had a primal fear of the gods.


    Dignity did too. He really didn¡¯t want to get involved with any of them, even the nicer ones. But if they brought Angela to this world, changed her very species, then he knew they could do the same for him. How he was going to talk a god into doing what he wanted, he didn¡¯t know. So far all he could figure was begging and groveling.


    Still, he continued to ponder his possibilities.


    Putting that aside, he was currently watching the Idiot make an idiot of himself.


    Even though there¡¯d been a truce between them, he still didn¡¯t like the demon named Solomon. Something about how that guy acted rubbed him the wrong way. Dignity struggled to pinpoint which ¡°thing¡± was the culprit, but since there were so many to choose from he found it difficult and had given up. He promised himself he¡¯d think more on it later (as he often did).


    ¡°I¡¯d like to speak with you in private for a moment, Solomon.¡± Angela had spoken in a dangerously neutral tone.


    ¡°What, right now?¡± The demon raised his eyebrows, scandalized by the rudeness.


    She placed a vice-like grip on his arm. ¡°Yes. NOW.¡±


    And before he could argue further, dragged him away from the new party members, calling back: ¡°We¡¯ll be back in just a moment! Sorry!¡±


    Dignity took a step to follow and then hesitated. He could sense the Idiot was in trouble and of course he wanted to be there for that. But leaving Atlas alone with two strangers seemed like a bad idea.


    ¡°Oh, I hope we didn¡¯t cause a rift in the group!¡± Ben commented, worried. He was the kind of guy who naturally understood group dynamics.


    ¡°A little strife builds character.¡± Cale Aster said dismissively.


    Ben shook his head in response to this. He got along well with everyone, even Cale Aster (a remarkable feat unto itself), but that didn¡¯t stop him from disagreeing with his fairy friend¡¯s ethical beliefs (or lack thereof on occasion).


    The fairy saw Dignity¡¯s uncertainty and flew lazily over, asking, ¡°Is this the Page Kobold the Holy Knight owns?¡±


    ¡°My name is Dignity and I¡¯m Angela¡¯s FRIEND.¡± And then he added to keep up appearances, ¡°¡­and her Page.¡±


    The fairy dropped half a foot down in surprise.


    ¡°Woah, a Kobold with proper sentence structure!¡±


    Cale Aster flew back up and stared intently at Dignity, his eyes flashing oddly bright.


    ¡°HEY!¡± The Kobold protested, upset at the fairy¡¯s intrusive use of the Observe skill. It was stronger than it should be and left him feeling somewhat violated and goose-pimply. Even the Idiot had the manners not to go looking into people without warning.


    ¡°Now, now! I was only peeking at your attributes, not into your soul.¡± The fairy cackled, amused by a joke only he understood, his whole body swaying mid-air. ¡°But you are I-N-T-E-R-E-S-T-I-N-G. All your mental attributes are through the roof.¡± He flew down and poked the Kobold in the forehead. ¡°What¡¯s with this noggin¡¯ huh?¡±


    Rubbing the spot that had been poked, Dignity glared at the fairy in annoyance. ¡°What¡¯s it matter to you?¡±


    ¡°Just curious.¡± He shrugged. ¡°There¡¯s something kind of odd about that Holy Knight you serve.¡± He palmed his forehead suddenly. ¡°That¡¯s right! I got totally distracted by the Prince! I should go take a peek at the Knight too!¡± Before anyone could respond, he zoomed away towards where the two had walked off.


    ¡°W-wait!¡± Dignity cried out, following hurriedly, forgetting Atlas.


    Ben raised a hand and started asking, ¡°Prince¡ª?¡±


    ¡°Ah, never mind.¡± The musician gave up, letting out a long-suffering sigh. Until Cale Aster¡¯s curiosity was totally and thoroughly satisfied he¡¯d be useless for anything else. It was an annoying trait, but it was also why the fairy was a Regnal.


    Ben turned to the young elf and gave an awkward smile. ¡°So, uh, what part of Sagewind are you from?¡±


    The elf¡¯s eyebrows lowered and his lips turned pencil thin. Ben immediately realized he¡¯d asked the wrong question.


    Dignity caught up with the fairy, who was hiding behind the large wheel of their wagon. He could hear the conversation:


    ¡°¡ªit¡¯s very unlikely we¡¯ll lose.¡±The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.


    ¡°What because you¡¯re a¡ª¡± Angela lowered her voice, ¡°a demon? You know that doesn¡¯t mean you¡¯re invulnerable.¡±


    ¡°I am well aware.¡± Solomon grimaced, remembering his defeat at the hands of that loathsome person so many years ago.


    ¡°Then you should know that a Witch who can control an entire population is no small thing. That kind of power is end-game boss stuff¡­¡±


    ¡°Pardon?¡±


    Angela grabbed her head in annoyance and frustration. Dealing with people so thoroughly divorced from her reality sometimes made it difficult to get across certain ideas.


    ¡°I mean, the Witch must be crazy powerful. The kind of power that can destroy continents if it¡¯s left unchecked.¡±


    Solomon blinked. ¡°Ah, similar to a Regnal then?¡±


    ¡°¡ªa what?¡± Despite still being upset, Angela couldn¡¯t help being curious. She still often found herself in situations where she¡¯d missed something considered common knowledge.


    ¡°A being of extreme power, who can destroy countries and fundamentally alter the laws of nature.¡± Solomon replied dryly, as if quoting from a text.


    She hesitated, slightly fearful at the answer. ¡°So, er, do these regnal-types exist, or are they just stuff used to scare small children?¡±


    Solomon chuckled. ¡°I should hope they exist, otherwise I¡¯m going to have an existential crisis.¡±


    Angela held up her hands, shocked: ¡°Woah, woah, are you saying YOU¡¯RE a regnal-person-thingy?¡±


    ¡°Of course?¡± The disguised Demon looked as surprised as Angela did under her mask. ¡°Isn¡¯t that obvious?¡±


    ¡°Huh, is it?¡±


    ¡°It is?¡±


    They were both staring at each other, equally baffled into speechlessness.


    Cale Aster, meanwhile, had gotten an eye full. Literally. He was rubbing his eyes like crazy, mumbling to himself.


    Dignity had caught up to him, but seeing he was too late to stop the fairy, had decided to eavesdrop instead. (Whether this was his plan from the beginning, the world will never know.)


    The fairy swooped down to Dignity and pulled rudely on his long, thin ear. ¡°Hey Kobold!¡±


    ¡°Shhh! You want to get caught?¡± The Kobold hissed quietly and added: ¡°Don¡¯t pull on my ear either, that hurts.¡±


    Cale Aster blinked and then shrugged, continuing in a whisper. ¡°Sure, whatever. What is that Holy Knight?¡±


    ¡°Angela.¡±


    ¡°Yes, but what is Angela?¡±


    Dignity glanced around nervously, unsure of the correct answer and finally said, ¡°¡­human?¡±


    The fairy smacked him, hard, on the head. Dignity covered his head with hands, eyes watering from pain.


    ¡°Do I look stupid to you?¡± The fairy got very close to the Kobold¡¯s face, pupils turning into pinpoints, an unnaturally wide smile on his face. ¡°Think carefully before you answer: What is Angela?¡±


    The Kobold crouched down, his thin tail wrapping around his legs, shaking. Cale Aster wasn¡¯t very tall by even fairy standards, but he was none-the-less very powerful and knew how to threaten someone when needed.


    A hand shot out and grabbed the fair by the wings.


    ¡°And why might you be threatening Dignity here, hm?¡± Solomon narrowed his eyes and gave the fairy a rough shake.


    ¡°Gah!¡± Cale Aster kicked his little legs angrily at the indignity. ¡°Lemme go! You can¡¯t prove nuthin¡¯!!!¡±


    The fairy had made a fatal error and forgotten that Solomon was close by (his flighty mind was one of the many reasons he couldn¡¯t beat the Witch). Demon¡¯s were generally sensitive to power, but in this case Cale Aster had blasted so much power that anyone with any talent for it would have spotted him a mile away.


    Dignity made a run for it and hid behind Angela.


    ¡°Cale, you weren¡¯t threatening Dignity were you?¡± She patted Dignity on the head in reassurance, shocked that anyone but Solomon would make a real attempt to bully the Kobold.


    The fairy went limp when he realized he wasn¡¯t escaping the Demon. Cale Aster gave Solomon a dirty look, feeling bitter that Giant Folk always had the physical advantage, even if he was their equal in every other way.


    ¡°Fine.¡± He folded his arms, sulking. ¡°I wasn¡¯t gonna do anything to him. I was just trying to get him to tell the truth.¡±


    ¡°By threatening him?¡± Angela felt her starry eyed love of fairies start to turn brittle and break.


    ¡°What information were you trying to get out of him?¡± Solomon asked, completely unconcerned for the Kobold¡¯s wellbeing.


    ¡°I just wanted to know what Angela¡ª¡±


    Solomon¡¯s eye twitched.


    ¡°¡ªactually is.¡±


    Angela¡¯s body tensed, furious that he¡¯d threatened Dignity over something so stupid.


    ¡°That¡¯s no excuse to¡ª¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s a Mewnin.¡± Solomon cut her off.


    ¡°A what?¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s from another world.¡±


    ¡°SHE¡¯S WHAT?¡±


    Solomon let the fairy go, Cale Aster doing complex aerobatics in the sky, screaming obscenities into the sky in his excitment.


    ¡°Er, is that wise?¡± Angela whispered, saddling up next to him.


    ¡°Fairies are eccentric. They always have something that sets them off. It¡¯s better to go along with it, unless it¡¯s seriously dangerous.¡± He grimaced. ¡°Why do you think I did what I did earlier? I¡¯d never heard the end of him if I didn¡¯t use full force right at the beginning.¡±


    ¡°¡­but won¡¯t he tell everyone about me?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think so, but we¡¯ll check to make sure. Cale Aster!¡± He called out, and the fairy immediately stopped what he was doing and zoomed toward them.


    ¡°Yes?!¡± He was practically hopping in the air, eager for more information.


    ¡°Are you going to tell anyone about Angie?¡±


    The fairy stopped what he was doing and tilted his head.


    ¡°Is it a secret?¡±


    ¡°Would you tell everyone if it was?¡±


    ¡°Eh¡­¡­¡­¡± He eyed Solomon, and then gave Angela a long thoughtful look. ¡°Oh, I suppose not. Except for Ben. Everyone else though¡­ What could they offer me in exchange for such high quality information? Nothing, is what. I haven¡¯t come across anything this interesting until meeting you, and before that it¡¯d all been the same-old-same old for ages.¡±


    ¡°And you said you¡¯d keep my secrets for free.¡± Solomon added pointedly.


    ¡°Pff, are you trying to say she¡¯s your secret?¡±


    The demon¡¯s eye lids lowered and his eyes almost glittered. ¡°Among other things.¡±


    The fairy rocked back and forth at this, ¡°oh-ing¡± as he swayed, and then suddenly straightened up. ¡°It¡¯s blurring the lines of the agreement a bit, but since I¡¯m already partial¡­ sure. I¡¯d like to tell Ben though. He really can keep secrets.¡±


    ¡°Wait to decide on telling him until we¡¯re out of the city.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°She can take the mask off once we¡¯re away from people.¡±


    The fairy blinked and then grinned. ¡°Oh, a surprise! I love surprises! Sure!¡±


    Angela took a step forward. ¡°Hey Cale?¡±


    ¡°Cale Aster.¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°My name is Cale Aster, not Cale.¡±


    ¡°Oh. Sorry. Cale Aster?¡±


    ¡°Yeah?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t threaten my friends.¡±


    ¡°What friend of yours was I threatening???¡±


    ¡°Dignity. You threatened Dignity.¡±


    ¡°Oh? He¡¯s just a Kobold though, who cares?¡±


    Angela¡¯s whole body vibrated with anger. She was so furious she didn¡¯t know how to put it into words, so it just poured out of her body. Air was swirling around her feet, faster and faster, until everyone around her started to get pushed away and even the Wagon started to creak under the strain.


    ¡°Let me repeat myself: Don¡¯t threaten my friends. Don¡¯t threaten Dignity. Understand?¡±


    The words vibrated out of her at an odd timber, and the fairy¡¯s hair stood on end. He could feel the air around him constrict and tighten.


    ¡°Calm down woman! I won¡¯t threaten any of your pals, even if they¡¯re Kobolds! Holy ****!¡± He practically wheezed the last bit out, face purpling as the air squeeze out of him.


    Like someone had snuffed out a candle, the wind stopped and the air loosened. The fairy dropped a few inches, gasping.


    Arms folded, Angela nodded concisely. ¡°As long as we understand each other.¡±


    ¡°Wow!¡± Dignity ran up to his ¡°furry friend¡±, jumping slightly as he went. ¡°How¡¯d you do that?¡±


    Angela¡¯s shoulder dropped slightly and her head tilted. ¡°I don¡¯t know?¡±


    Solomon was dusting himself off. ¡°That¡¯s probably the most impressive use of the Air Element combined with the Skill Intimidate I¡¯ve ever seen.¡±


    ¡°S-skill?¡±


    ¡°Skills are actions modified with magic. Anyone can be angry, but if your anger produces or is augmented by magic, that¡¯s a kind of skill. There are hundreds of thousands of skills. Some are unique, some aren¡¯t. Intimidate is pretty common, but that was an stronger version of it.¡±


    ¡°Oh¡­ so there are skills here too? And they¡¯re basically the same as in the ga¡ªmy world. Wow! That means I learned a new skill! Amazing, I didn¡¯t know I could do that!¡±


    Cale Aster spoke up, giving a weak chuckle, ¡°****, glad to have helped.¡±


    She eyed the fairy, still distrustful. ¡°Yeah well, how about helping without making me furious?¡±


    ¡°Will do.¡± The fairy gave a shaky thumbs up. He now perfectly understood why Dignity was so obscenely smart for his species: he was siphoning power from a Regnal. The lucky *******! Why Angela had contracted to a Kobold and put all that power into making said Kobold smart, Cale Aster had no idea. That went against all common sense.


    What he did know was fascinating times were ahead. Three Regnals bumping into each other by chance? Ha, not likely! This just reeked of meddlesome gods. And where gods meddled, chaos ensued. So of course he had every intention of being there for that, deal with the devil or no.

 11: On the Road Again

    ¡°Angie,¡± Solomon said getting back on track. ¡°Are you afraid of the Witch?¡±


    ¡°Of course I¡¯m afraid! All I¡¯ve fought is monsters and bandits at this point. There¡¯s no way I could fight a Witch with the power to enslave an entire species and come out alive. I¡¯m not a god!¡±


    ¡°How are you so stupi¡ª¡± Cale Aster started saying, but shut up when he got a sharp look from Solomon. He floated a little higher, attempting to get out of the Demon¡¯s reach. ¡°Never mind. Just gonna hang out up here, out of everyone¡¯s reach. Don¡¯t mind me.¡±


    Solomon sighed and crouched down, drawing a line in the hand with his finger. On the left side he put a 1 and on the right he put a 200. I crouched down to watch, Dignity doing the same, confused but curious.


    ¡°In our world,¡± He began teaching, ¡°The world is divided many different ways. One way is by using Physical, Mental, and Spiritual Attributes. If someone is skilled in a few of those attributes they are average.¡± He started creating diagonal lines across the horizontal one. He had a total of 6 lines evenly spaced out. He pointed to the second line to the left. ¡°This is the average. This one to the right is above average and so on.¡± He went all the way to the right, to the very last line before the 200. ¡°This is where the Regnal¡¯s start.¡±


    The line looked like this:


    1 ¡ª | ¡ª | ¡ª | ¡ª | ¡ª | ¡ª | ¡ª 200


    A  AA                  R


    ¡°Where¡¯s Dignity on this?¡±


    Solomon pointed to just to the right of the ¡°above average¡± line.


    I chuckled and gently pushed Dignity. ¡°Smarty pants.¡±


    Dignity giggled and blushed.


    ¡°That¡¯s only by one measure, mind you. He¡¯d be stronger by other methods of measurements.¡±


    ¡°What about you?¡±


    Smirking, Solomon drew another line with an arrow that went PAST the 200 mark and made a circle. ¡°Some where over here.¡±


    1 ¡ª | ¡ª | ¡ª | ¡ª | ¡ª | ¡ª | ¡ª 200 ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª> o


    A  AA                  R


    I blinked several times. ¡°H-how is that even possible¡­?¡±


    ¡°Because I was already powerful at birth and I¡¯ve lived a very long time since then.¡±


    ¡°Really? How old are you then?¡±


    He thought about it for a bit, ¡°Do you know, it¡¯s been so long since I¡¯ve thought about my age I¡¯ve genuinely forgotten?¡±


    ¡°¡­that¡¯s, um. How do you forget¡ª?¡± After some mumbling I finally settled on, ¡°You don¡¯t look that old.¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s actually a decrepit old fart, ya know! Practically legendary in the right circles.¡± Cale Aster added cheerily from above, apparently still listening despite the distance. ¡°But even being a powerful old man, the moment he got punted out of the world stage, everyone forgot him.¡±


    ¡°Just because I¡¯ve lived longer than you doesn¡¯t make me decrepit, old, or flatulent.¡± He gave the fairy a disapproving frown but then sighed sadly. ¡°But the rest is sadly accurate. Really. So disappointing. After all this time, I thought my reputation had more staying power.¡±


    ¡°You were always pretty sneaky, even back in the day. If you work in the shadows you die in the shadows too.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s¡­ surprisingly insightful coming from you.¡±


    ¡°Excuse you, just because I¡¯m still young and handsome¡ªunlike some people¡ªdoesn¡¯t mean I haven¡¯t been around enough to know my stuff.¡±


    ¡°..I¡¯m just going to pretend you didn¡¯t say that.¡± Solomon mumbled grumpily and then returned his attention to me. ¡°Now as I said¡­ anything beyond this line,¡± He pointed at the second to last line on the right, ¡°Is classified as a Regnal, right? I hope you see how obviously powerful a person on this end is compared to everyone else.¡± He pointed at the 200 number at the end of the line. ¡°And you are right here.¡±


    ¡°That¡­ I don¡¯t think that¡¯s right.¡± I frowned. ¡°I mean, I know I¡¯m physically more powerful than I was in my world, but I¡¯m not¡­ I¡¯m not this Regnal-powerful. I don¡¯t feel like it anyway. I mean, how can you even be sure? Maybe you¡¯re mistaken?¡±


    He raised his eyebrows. ¡°Oh, I very much doubt I¡¯m mistaken.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°I Observed you shortly after meeting you. Anyone who can Observe properly would notice the same thing.¡±


    ¡°Can¡¯t anyone observe me if they see me?¡± The way he was phrasing it was weird and I knew I was missing something.


    ¡°Ah, no. You need to be at least above average in your intelligence, wisdom, and spirit. And when you start, you can only do simple observations. The first, most obvious being physical attributes, then later mental, and the very last spiritual.


    The gap between mental and spiritual is quite large. Most people never get there, no matter where they are on this line. So while a large portion may observe your physical attributes, which are quite impressive to begin with I might add, fewer would know your mental and a select few would only see the spiritual.


    The nuisance above us has unfortunately mastered this, to a degree that even impresses me.¡± He pointed to Cale Aster above us.


    The fairy gave a cheeky grin and waved.


    ¡°Oh. You¡¯re not talking about simple observation then, you mean something like a skill.¡±


    ¡°Not ¡°like a skill¡±, I am referring to a skill. Why would I be talking about anything else?¡±


    ¡°S-sorry.¡± I blushed under my mask. ¡°People could only use skills in certain places on my world, otherwise it wasn¡¯t possible. I¡¯m not use to being able to use them everywhere.¡±


    ¡°Location specific? How annoying.¡±


    ¡°Annoying AND interesting! Tell me more!¡± Cale Aster was skipping in the air, inching closer in his excitement.


    ¡°No.¡± Solomon said firmly, waving his hand in a ¡°shoo¡± motion. ¡°Talk about it later. You¡¯ll have the time.¡±


    ¡°Aw¡­¡± The fairy stopped skipping and started floating side-ways, listless. ¡°You¡¯re no fun.¡±


    ¡°Anyway, I know how powerful you are based on what I see through Observe. You are definitely a Regnal, by every method except perhaps raw experience. You are new to this world and you just don¡¯t know much. I¡¯m working to fill that gap.¡± That was code for forcing me to study. I¡¯d foolishly thought all those books were for him and Atlas. Luckily he couldn¡¯t see my grimace under the mask. ¡°My point about all this: even though the Witch is a Regnal, the chances are slim she is more powerful than I am. Not many have lived as long as I have. And even if she were, three Regnals against one makes things extremely lopsided in our favor. It will be hard, of course, but the chances of dying are low.¡±


    ¡°And if that is not enough,¡± He looked me dead in the eye, utterly serious. ¡°Rest assured I will simply not allow her to kill you. I will not allow it to happen. Trust me, Angie. You will be fine. I would not have agreed otherwise.¡±


    Still crouching, I clutched my knees for a moment, thinking. I looked at the line in the sand and back at Solomon. That little circle was so far to the right.


    There was no other way I could think of it: Demon Prince Solomon was a ¡°world ending¡± Boss. The kind of big boss you fight in games that requires several parties to destroy. And I¡¯d stumbled upon him while under a curse and wished him into being my best friend. No wonder he threw such a horrible tantrum when we first met. He was use to being the top-dog and he¡¯d been reduced to a Princess in a Tower. (Really, how powerful was that person who cursed him?)


    What the frick? I thought my luck was horrible, but being stuck in that forest might have been the best thing that ever happened to me. If I¡¯d had to wander the world by myself, right at the beginning with no understanding of how anything worked, I¡¯d have been screwed.


    I gave a firm nod.


    ¡°Right, I do trust you.¡±


    I then smacked him on the shoulder.


    ¡°Friendship term number 5¡ª¡±


    ¡°What? Why?!¡± He gave me a wide-eyed horrified stare.


    ¡°¡ªdon¡¯t make life threatening or life altering decisions all on your own. At least check with me first.¡± I paused and added: ¡°Of course don¡¯t wait to check with me if your trying to save someone and have to make decisions on the fly. That could get you killed and I don¡¯t want that either.¡±


    He grumbled. ¡°I wish you¡¯d just forget about those terms¡­¡±


    ¡°What terms?¡± The fairy asked from above.


    ¡°It¡¯s just part of the deal I made with Angie.¡± Solomon waved his hand dismissively and then stood up, straightening his shirt with a tug. ¡°Well, lets finished loading the wagon. We¡¯ve got a long trip ahead of us.¡±


    And indeed we did. Sacrington, the country we were currently in, was shaped like an ax. It was wide on the top and narrow on the bottom. So while it only took two weeks by foot to get to Sagewind to the east or Pabril to the West, it took a month and a half by wagon to get out-of-country in the south.


    Ben and Atlas were ¡°conversing¡± when we got back.


    ¡°¡ªI¡¯m just saying, they aren¡¯t all bad. You can¡¯t judge a whole nation by what the military does. Or even just a part of the military.¡±


    Atlas, with his hands in white-knuckled shaking fists, retorted, ¡°And I¡¯m j-just saying I don¡¯t c-care if the majority are s-saints. The m-minority that aren¡¯t r-rule them and f-fight for them. I hope they all burn in the depths.¡±


    ¡°¡­Sorry about the hold up guys.¡± I interrupted awkwardly. I felt like I¡¯d walked into the middle of a really nasty argument.


    Ben looked up at us, relief clearly written all over his face. Atlas, however, looked sullen and annoyed. Oh boy, this kid¡­ I hadn¡¯t pressured him about his past. I¡¯m not a therapist, I don¡¯t know how to help someone through that kind of trauma. I was worried my meddling might make it worse. But after hearing that I really wondered if I needed to sit down and talk to him even if I had no special training.


    Solomon clapped his hands, as if to get everyone¡¯s attention. ¡°We¡¯ve come to an agreement. Let¡¯s finish loading and be on our way, shall we? We¡¯ve got a long journey and I¡¯d rather get this started sooner than later.¡±


    Atlas gave Ben a rather nasty look before turning around, picking a random package off the ground, and grumpily getting into the wagon to put it away.


    Cale Aster floated over to Ben, eying the elf curiously. ¡°What¡¯d you do to tick him off?¡±You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t mean to.¡± Ben gave a sad sigh, shoulders slumping. ¡°He seems to think everyone in the Sagewind Empire is some kind of monster.¡±


    The fairy sat on Ben¡¯s head, treating it like a chair. ¡°Eh? The Sagewind Empire is nice, isn¡¯t it? Why¡¯d he even think that?¡±


    ¡°The Sagewind Empire killed his family.¡± I said, feeling the need to defend Atlas¡¯ behavior.


    Ben blanched and Cale Aster whistled. The Fairy looked down at his human friend and commented: ¡°Put your foot in horse**** there, didn¡¯tcha?¡±


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª


    After loading the sportswagon, we immediately set out to leave the city. Solomon ¡°drove¡± the sportswagon, taking turns showing everyone how to do so as well, except Cale Aster (who he didn¡¯t trust). The fairy complained loudly about it but Solomon refused to yield. The fairy eventually grumpily complied to the demon¡¯s wishes. (I suspected Cale Aster was actually a little afraid of Solomon, so didn¡¯t push his luck.)


    Solomon¡¯s reasoning for teaching the rest of us how to drive was as follows: ¡°If you think I¡¯m driving us the entire way south, you¡¯re all delusional. I¡¯m not some servant!¡±


    I was really anxious about letting Atlas and Dignity drive. Atlas wasn¡¯t even 15 years old yet (in my world that was the earliest you could get a driver¡¯s permit) and Dignity looks like a 6 year old (though it was hard to say whether his appearance reflected his actual age). Wouldn¡¯t people find it a little weird to have a child driving? Or is that just me?


    I really don¡¯t understand the ethics of this world sometimes.


    The road south was in far better repair than the northern roads we¡¯d been on. At least a half mile outside the city was wide cobblestone, making the ride somewhat smoother. Even once it turned to dirt, it was clear they made efforts to fill in holes so the bumps weren¡¯t so dangerous (ie, ¡°accidentally bite your tongue off¡± kind of danger).


    The other thing was the roads were pretty busy all the way down. I¡¯d barely seen anyone in the north on the roads until we were close to the city, and the people I¡¯d seen were mostly human. This road was not only bustling, the kinds of wagons and drivers were much more diverse and in much better shape.


    Dwarves and elves mixed heavily with the human population. I wondered where the non-human races hid themselves, because within the city proper I hadn¡¯t seen this many. I gawked openly and only my mask saved me from appearing rude to everyone driving by.


    Humorously, our sportswagon got quite a few admiring stares. There was even an occasional ¡°Where¡¯d you buy that?!¡± from passerby¡¯s. While Solomon¡¯s face remained mostly neutral to the attention, I occasionally saw a glint in his eye and a smug smile tug at his lips.


    I humorously thought, ¡°Show off!¡±


    The first day passed by without anything of interest happening, but the second day we came to a sizable fork in the road. I had assumed we¡¯d be taking the main road all the way down but Solomon turned us onto the smaller side road.


    ¡°Why are we turning off the main road?¡± I asked, surprised.


    ¡°I¡¯ve been thinking, we need to do some training.¡±


    I tilted my head in confusion.


    ¡°I¡¯m confident we won¡¯t lose, but I¡¯d rather our fight be short. The shorter the better. For that we¡¯ll need to practice fighting as a group. This road passes nearby several towns that have been hiring adventurers to fight local monsters. We won¡¯t get much money for it, but we¡¯ll get practice.¡±


    I raised my eyebrows. ¡°Wow, you really thought that out. Why didn¡¯t you mention it sooner?¡±


    ¡°Hm? I wasn¡¯t trying to hide it, if that¡¯s what you¡¯re implying. It just wasn¡¯t worth mentioning.¡±


    I sighed. Right, right. Demon nature: don¡¯t mention things until you absolutely have to, and none of my terms technically prohibited him from behaving that way.


    ¡°Anyway, training is important. Especially if we¡¯ve got a fairy in our group.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s Cale Aster have to do with it?¡±


    ¡°Fairies are notoriously difficult to work with, even when they¡¯re bound by an oath. They just do whatever they want, and if you¡¯re not prepared to fight with a wild card like that, it can cause major problems.¡±


    ¡°Ooh¡­ oh! I didn¡¯t know that.¡± I thought for a moment.


    ¡°You know, I¡¯m really glad we became friends. You¡¯re really smart and forward thinking. I¡¯ve always been a ¡°go with the flow¡± kind of person. Without you, I¡¯d be lost trying to figure anything out.¡± I gave him a cheerful pat on the shoulder. ¡°Seriously, thank you. Thanks for all the hard work you do.¡±


    He blinked rapidly, as if surprised. Coughing, he turned his head, and mumbled awkwardly: ¡°O-of course, who do you think I am?¡±


    Goodness! What was with that reaction? Does he think I take him for granted? I felt a little guilty. Maybe I should express my gratitude more often from now on.


    As I¡¯m taking note of my own behavior, we start down the less used road.


    ¡°I¡¯m going to let everyone else know, ok?¡±


    ¡°Bring Atlas up here after you do.¡±


    ¡°Sure.¡±


    As we traveled we rotated driving for practice. I use the term ¡°driving¡± fairly loosely at this point. The Merchant wagons had simple enchantments and required the driver steer it at all times. I¡¯d assumed all enchanted wagons were like that.


    But this sportswagon was not only fancier than that, in some ways it was actually better than mechanical cars from my world. It actually had a ¡°self driving¡± system. Granted, it was a simplistic: it only worked on single roads at low speeds. When it came to a cross roads or a large object it would simple stop moving and wait for the driver to decide what to do. This made it useless in cities crowded with people and millions of alleys, but it was great for long stretches of country roads.


    Ah, even though I¡¯d objected at first. I was starting to really like this sportswagon. Magic really has it¡¯s benefits!


    The side road we¡¯d taken was a single, low traffic road. We could set a speed and let the wagon do the bulk of the driving. But Solomon (and I whole heartedly agreed with him) didn¡¯t believe it was safe to depend too much on the self-driving feature, and required someone be up front at all times.


    And, by the way, Dignity ended up being the best driver out of all of us (except Solomon). I understood why Solomon didn¡¯t have any problems letting him drive now, despite being so childlike in size: Kobold¡¯s nature was service. Train them to do something, and they¡¯d do it really well. Dignity, being extra intelligent for his kind, was even quicker at picking up tasks.


    Well, uh, good for him then!


    Solomon had decided sometime ago that magic would be part of Atlas¡¯ ¡°fake¡± education. His logic for why seemed a bit forced if you ask me (¡±If I¡¯m going to do something, I¡¯m not going halfway.¡±), but since it was beneficial to the elf I didn¡¯t point that out. Whenever Atlas was practicing ¡°driving¡±, Solomon would sit outside with him and have him practice magic too.


    I eavesdropped a lot during these lessons, since I had no formal education on magic (despite being able to use it) and was interested in the process.


    First, Solomon figured out Atlas¡¯ base magic affinity. Teachers started from affinity because it was easier and then work to the other magic types later. Solomom used his Observe skill to figure out Atlas¡¯ affinity, but there were enchanted tools that could be used too.


    Secondly, the Teacher had the Student attempt three basic ¡°spells¡±. Each spell corresponded with a type of magical ¡°class¡±: mage, warrior, and enchanter. People generally had a natural talent for certain classes. And just like affinities, it was easier to start with the one you had a natural talent for.


    And lastly: lots of practice. I guess magic was like anything else: if you wanted to get good at you, hard work was required. There are no short cuts (er, I don¡¯t count obviously). Though, and this is just my observation, based on Atlas¡¯ progression, the amount of time you dedicate to practicing magic directly correlated to how powerful you could become.


    This definitely explains why Solomon is so powerful. If your spiritual power dictates the complexity of magic you could use at the beginning, but time was required to perfect it, then a very old being would be extremely powerful. Especially compared to humans, who had a limited time to learn.


    Hm? In that case, is that what gods are in this world? Purely spiritual beings with a lot of time on their hands? Does that mean, if Solomon lives long enough, he¡¯d eventually be a god?


    ¡°Hey Solomon?¡± I asked at a rare moment when no one was nearby to listen.


    ¡°Hm?¡±


    ¡°How long do demons live?¡±


    His brow furrowed. ¡°I¡¯m not really sure. Surface dwelling demons usually die unnatural deaths or get tossed back into the underworld. And contact with the underworld is limited. Why do you ask?¡±


    ¡°I was just curious¡­¡± Giving a weak chuckle, I made a verbal hasty retreat.


    ¡­oh boy.


    I mean, I¡¯d gotten hints of his reputation before our deal was made, and I suspected if he was left to his own druthers he¡¯d almost certainly end up being an evil-type god. At best a Loki-type god. In fact, all Demons would end up that way, most likely. No wonder Angels went out of their way to keep them in line. ¡°Demon Gods¡± is a terrifying thought.


    ¡­


    Yeah, let¡¯s not dwell on that too much.


    Moving on, Atlas is a mage who specializes in fire (a subset of energy). I was told that¡¯s standard for elves, which surprised me. In my world, elves are usually forest people into nature. Fire is the total opposite of that. Well, I guess that explains why the Sagewind Empire was able to expand like it did. Lots of well trained fire mages ready to burn towns to cinders.


    The second day we camped out rather than finding a Way Station. We wouldn¡¯t usually do something that unsafe, but Cale Aster was extremely impatient about seeing my face under my mask and was getting impossible to deal with because of it. I couldn¡¯t tell if he was just personally curious or if not being able to blab everything to Ben was driving him crazy. Possibly both. Either way, the safest place to show my face was out in the middle of no where.


    After we¡¯d had a nice dinner, I awkwardly got everyone¡¯s attention by saying: ¡°Er, right. Ben and Cale Aster. Since we¡¯re going to be traveling together for a while¡­ it¡¯s probably best if you see my face.¡±


    Cale Aster¡¯s face lit up and he pumped his fist in excitement, saying ¡°YES¡± as he did. Ben had the decency to only look mildly curious. Thank you, Ben.


    ¡°Just¡ª¡± I liked my lips nervously as I reached for my mask. ¡°¡ªpromise not to scream, ok?¡±


    And I took off my mask.


    I have to admit watching Cale Aster¡¯s reaction was fun. His eye¡¯s somehow tripled in size and he had to cover his mouth to muffle any sound. He actually flipped backward in the air, he was so surprised.


    Ben¡¯s whole body tilted back slightly, his jaw tensing and his lips turning very flat and thin from keeping his mouth shut.


    Sigh. At least they didn¡¯t scream. That¡¯s better than the responses I¡¯d gotten so far.


    After a moment, Ben managed to control himself enough to ask, ¡°A-are you perhaps cursed?¡±


    I slapped my forehead with my hand. ¡°No, I¡¯m Mewnin. It¡¯s a race of people. Mewnin aren¡¯t monsters, they¡¯re cute. CUTE. It¡¯s a blessing to be as cute as a Mewnin.¡± These people have no taste! NO TASTE AT ALL.


    ¡°To **** with that! That¡¯s a monster¡¯s face! Who¡¯d think you¡¯re cute? What drugs are you on?!¡± Cale Aster had recovered enough that he could finally speak. Yes, I¡¯d actually shocked him into momentary silence.


    ¡°Look, don¡¯t you guys have cats or dogs in this world? Think of a human combined with a cute dog or cat. That¡¯s a Mewnin.¡±


    ¡°Looking like a dog or cat wouldn¡¯t make you cute, it¡¯d make you a monster! Only monsters are a weird mish-mash like that. It¡¯s not natural. It¡¯s monstrous. M-o-n-s-t-e-r-o-u-s.¡± The fairy retorted, in equal proportions amused and confused by my explanation.


    My shoulders slumped. Whatever. With a mental death grip, I continued in the firm belief that Mewnins were actually cute. The fact that if a Mewnin was caught walking around in my own world would get called a monster too, I completely ignored. Yep. I was in total denial but I didn¡¯t care.


    ¡°Anyway..¡± I rubbed the side of my forehead, feeling a slight headache coming on from this well-worn, but stressful, topic. ¡°¡­I¡¯m Mewnin. As far as I know, I¡¯m the only one. There are no other¡¯s like me. And the reason is because I don¡¯t come from this world.¡±


    Ben¡¯s eyebrows raised. ¡°What do you mean, ¡°not from this world¡±?¡±


    ¡°Hm? Exactly what I said? I¡¯m literally not from around here, not anywhere. I wasn¡¯t born on this planet. I was minding my own business at home, fell asleep, and woke up in the middle of a forest. I¡¯ve been stuck here trying to find a way home since then. Dignity and Solomon have been helping me.¡±


    ¡°T-that¡¯s¡­ that¡¯s amazing.¡± The young man¡¯s eye grew round and sympathetic but also¡­ excited? ¡°I¡¯ve never heard of anything like that happening before¡ª¡± He reached into his bag, grabbing a pile of papers and a quill pen with some ink, mumbling, ¡°A Monster Knight lost their way¡­¡±


    ¡°Eh, what¡¯re you¡ª?¡± I began to ask.


    ¡°Song.¡± Ben cut me off, as he scribbled furiously on the paper. ¡°This would make a great song.¡±


    Oh right. Ben was a real musician. He could play and write music. There was no standardized musical notes in this world, from what I¡¯d gleaned from light conversation with him. So Ben was not only making his own music, but he¡¯d created his own unique writing system for music. And he¡¯d created a totally new genre of music, on top of that.


    I had a few years of singing in a choir under my belt, so I understood basics about reading music. I¡¯d also taken an extracurricular class during highschool on classical music. I was the sort of person who knew just enough to understand a musical genius when I saw one, without being one myself. And Ben Grave was a musical genius. Definitely.


    Cale Aster gave a slight chuckle and shrugged. ¡°He¡¯s gonna be useless ¡®till he¡¯s done.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡± I tilted my head, impressed.


    ¡°Yep. He¡¯s always been like that. Totally loses himself. He¡¯s sadly average as far as humans go with magic, but his skill with music is amazing. It¡¯s a good thing I met him when he was just starting out, imagine how boring he¡¯d sound with out my advice?¡±


    I gave a grunt and kept my face neutral. I¡¯d heard all about that. The reason Ben had such a unique sound was entirely Cale Aster¡¯s fault. The fairy believed the only way to beat the Witch was to break the enchantment on the other fairies. And since his spell had been broken by Ben¡¯s music, he believed that Ben¡¯s music could break the spell on the other fairies too.


    The problem was that Ben was a totally normal human being. He just didn¡¯t have the raw power required to do what Cale Aster wanted. He needed his music amplified and enchantments on his instrument to offset the ¡°problem¡±. And that¡¯s where they were stuck. Cale Aster could easily amplify Ben¡¯s music, and do a few other things, but the exact effect they needed for enchantments was elusive.


    My Lucky Cat had given Cale Aster hope. The enchantment on it was fundamentally different from anything he¡¯d ever seen before and he thought by learning it he could finally get an enchantment to beat the Witch.


    The moment we¡¯d started traveling, he¡¯d asked me for other items like the Lucky Cat. At first I¡¯d pulled out low level trinkets, since I was wary of the fairy. But after five of those it was clear he was just researching. He¡¯d simply touch them and mutter for a long while before requesting more. Eventually I went through 100 random objects in my pack. I even let him touch my armor and cloak, since those had enchantments on them too.


    He reminded me a little bit of a programmer trying to figure out a bug in the code.


    Anyway. The music Ben was playing was so different because it was suppose to be the exact opposite of the Witch¡¯s tunes. Basically, she played smooth gentle music so Cale Aster had Ben playing something jarring and fast. I mean, I liked it, but I felt bad for Ben. He was being put into poverty because his music was too different and Cale Aster wouldn¡¯t let him play anything else.


    At least let Ben play normal music to make a living, you selfish little fairy!


    Anyway, I guess it¡¯s a good thing Ben¡¯s so obsessed with music. Rather than being truly bothered by me like I¡¯d expected, he was more interested in ¡°my story¡±. I didn¡¯t know it then, but that¡¯s pretty much how it would be with Ben. Music was his life, and he would do just about anything in pursuit of it. Befriend a bullying fairy, fight a Witch, and even travel with a ¡°monster knight¡±.