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10. Yes, Strings Attached

  I knew I had messed up. Of course I had, Quiraion’s Blessing only hid my own nature as Godtouched from others. Of course the implication was that other Godtouched things could be detected by anyone with the capability. Of course, I didn't think about replacing my crutches. The bear skeleton could have worked as an alternative material, hell I could have asked Medea to climb and snap off some tree branches but no, I was so busy thinking about the carriage and how to explain my origins that the skeleton had completely slipped my mind. Cold Blooded

  And now I was staring into cold eyes that crackled with golden lightning. Those eyes belied a lack of mercy that went beyond just emotion dampening. My skill tried and I opened my mouth to say something, anything, then closed it again. Cold Blooded

  “I'm Godtouched too!” I blurted out at last. The monster in oversized human skin didn't soften her expression but she did raise an eyebrow.

  “I see. Interesting. And did you come to New Delport with the intention to harm the city, its people or its interests?”

  “No! I swear I just came here because I was afraid I'd die in the great forests.” Words flowed from my mouth before I could compose them and I just told her all about my attempts to escape the forest. How I had fled from Medea twice and then how I had spent the night in a cave before taming it. I spoke about the carriage and how I had never seen anything like that before. I spoke of everything other than I was Godtouched, my skill simply didn't let me. I kept speaking as she stared silently at me. I was talking about my before the other woman raised her hand to silence me but I somehow managed to miss it.

  “Enough!” The voice was like a thunderclap. “I don't care about how you precisely arrived or why you are a Godtouched of Lord Quiraion of all the divinities. I don’t meddle in the affairs of gods. They may be great, but they’re fickle, and it’s unproductive to speculate about their plans. I'll inform the relevant authorities about the spider-scorpions expanding northwards—that's not your concern. Just answer me one thing before I decide what to do with you: Will your presence bring undue danger to New Delport?” The voice was like a weight that settled upon my shoulders and threatened to smother me until there was nothing left. A part of me wondered if a skill was in use. Maybe I should reconsider Intimidation

  I clamped shut, turning the question over in my mind. The Knife of Quiraion

  “I… honestly don’t know,” I finally admitted, voice barely above a whisper. “It’s vague. I don’t really understand what being Godtouched means for me.”

  “Fine.” The woman’s tone hardened even more somehow. “Normally, if you weren’t Godtouched, I’d throw you out into the streets and let you figure out how to survive. Best case? Maybe you’d make it by begging or stealing or just selling yourself—not that anything is a guarantee. A bad case? You’d die, of course. Though even that’s not the worst of it. You’d just be another warm body, and there are always those with classes that thrive on working on people like you. Either way, you’d be out of my hands, and that would be that.”

  The pressure eased slightly as the woman stood and began to pace, her steps echoing in the cramped office. I flinched but kept my head down, grateful for the small reprieve. No wonder that other guy had left so soon.

  “But for the Godtouched…” The woman’s steps slowed. “The standard policy is exile. Unfortunately, at your current level and stats, you wouldn’t survive—not even without your injuries. Yes, girl, I can tell how pathetic you are even without skills. And no, your pet wouldn’t stand a chance either.”

  The woman paused, her voice laced with a less overwhelming irritation. “And that leaves us with a problem. The gods don’t take kindly to seeing their precious Godtouched executed outside of open conflict. Forcing you to leave in your current state skirts dangerously close to that line. Which means, much to my dismay, I have to tolerate your presence. I am happy about it. Are we clear?”

  I gave a small, quick nod, my body trembling. Cold Blooded

  “Now, one more thing.” The woman’s words were slow, sharp and deliberate. “While the gods may frown upon anyone killing a Godtouched with full knowledge of their nature, there are other fates the gods will turn a blind eye to. Far worse fates in fact.

  “For example, let’s imagine a hypothetical Godtouched—a little girl. A weak, defenseless little girl. Now, suppose someone finds out what she is. What do you think a bad man would do? You see, Godtouched tend to have blessings, abilities that set them apart from others. Or at least, they have the potential for such. That makes them… valuable. And to a bad man, that means opportunity.

  “Our bad man might decide to kidnap our hypothetical Godtouched and deliver her to a criminal who specializes in brainwashing and binding. Under this criminal’s care, our little Godtouched would become nothing but an obedient shell. Her identity, her sense of self—all of it wiped clean, replaced with an all-encompassing desire to . She’d lose everything, reduced to doing whatever her master demanded, no matter how cruel or vile. And the gods? They would not give her a second of attention as long as whoever is breaking her still tries to get her to do whatever the gods asked her.”

  The woman stopped and turned, her fulminating gaze piercing through me. “That is the kind of responsibility knowing someone is Godtouched brings. A burden I wish you hadn’t placed on me. I wish you had kept it to yourself. But what’s been said cannot be undone, and I know you weren’t lying.”

  “See to it that no one else learns of your true nature unless it’s absolutely necessary.”

  I swallowed hard; mouth even more dry. The fate the woman described—of a hypothetical Godtouched turned into a hollow puppet—felt uncomfortably similar to what I had done to Medea.

  “So here's what I propose, I'll see that you have lodgings and food for now. Tomorrow you will be tested. Augury skills are rare and if it is as good as you claim then you can join the guild’s forensic department. Afterwards, a day or two later, we shall get you healed, and it will not just be your legs because even I can tell you have other problems and I'm just a simple warrior.” I was skeptical that the woman was just a ‘simple warrior’.

  “You’ll almost certainly need a day or two to recover then. Extensive healing like that requires adjustment time. In the meantime, we’ll keep a tally of your medical expenses along with rent for the duration. That debt will be turned into a short tenure as a Guild member—a fair exchange that benefits us both. This way, I won’t have to explain your status as Godtouched to the other Guild stakeholders. I can mark you as an attempt at poaching good, desperate talent. And, given your blessings, the truth. That is of course, assuming you don’t fail tomorrow. If you do then I will send you off with the cheapest ship that I know won’t you.

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  “Also we will work on a cover story for you that doesn't have so many holes or hints about your true nature. And don’t worry about Navidson. I’ll see to it that he doesn’t say anything he shouldn’t to the wrong people.”

  The woman stopped, folding her arms across her chest. “Of course, if you find this arrangement unsatisfactory, let me know. You’re free to leave right now. I doubt you can pay for a ship ride, so it’d be the Great Forest again for you. But it’s your choice. The gods won’t care if you are suicidal.”

  “Err, it is a satisfactory arrangement! Thank you so much, miss…?” I squeaked.

  “Valdima but from now, it is Valdima for you. Anyways, you are dismissed. Rev, please escort Anya here to a guesthouse.” She called out and I jumped as Rev saluted from right next to me. I hadn't even noticed when he had come back.

  I was being levitated by Rev again but now he seemed a lot more talkative and open.

  “For the rest of this evening, I’ll be your guide and protector,” he began, his tone light but steady. “It’s my responsibility to make sure you remain intact. So, I think we should start over.”

  The man straightened slightly, offering a small bow. “I’m Reven’Tar de Anglio—Rev, for short. I’m a senior journeyman of the Security Guild, which you’ll possibly be joining as an recruit. It’s a pleasure to meet you.” He finished with an easy grin, a stark contrast to the stiff, fake smile he’d worn before. It made for an odd sight, a tall man lightly bowing before an ungraciously floating girl.

  I studied him cautiously, unsure if this sudden warmth was genuine or just another act. Still, there was no harm in pretending for now.

  “Anya,” I said softly, giving a slight nod. “So, what exactly is going to be expected of a fresh guild recruit like me?” I didn't exactly have time to research the guild before, for obvious reasons and I had wanted to get out of the scary woman’s presence as soon as possible to ask her.

  Rev didn’t say anything, and it wasn’t until I felt the shift in air and sound that I realized we had already left the Guild Hall, blinking as Rev gently deposited me into a carriage. A moment later, he floated himself in, settling opposite me as the carriage lurched into motion. I glanced at the driver’s seat.

  “There’s… no one driving,”

  Rev didn’t seem to hear—or more likely, ignored me—resuming our conversation without skipping a beat.

  “Since the time of the Catrian Empire, we never had a standing army of our own. We always had outside help, first from the empire and then from mercenaries. Mercenaries that founded the first guilds.” I nodded, though my mind was still catching up. I hope the guildmistress did not give me brain damage.

  Rev continued, fingers tapping idly against the carriage wall. “The nice thing about New Delport is that can walk into a guild, flash enough coin, and hire people for nearly any task.”

  He tilted his head toward me. “But that’s not where the real money is. Every five years, the Illustris Council releases municipal contracts to the guilds. Some guilds specialize in espionage and assassination, others in hunting down creatures that stray too close to the city. There are naval guards who fend off pirates, law enforcers who maintain order—you get the idea.

  “That’s us, by the way. The Aurum Bolt Guild. People call us the Security Guild because we always get the policing contract.”

  I let out a breath that swirled in the dirty air. The history lesson explained a lot: the tourist-trap notifications, the sickening inequality, the air of corruption that seemed to choke the life out of everything. No wonder the Guildmistress cared so little for anyone without money. If mercenaries were running the city at the behest of robber barons, it made sense.

  ,’ I thought grimly. The thought chilled me—what would have happened to me if I hadn’t been Godtouched? Well, the guildmistress had mentioned me selling myself casually. I suppressed a shudder. As if to further illustrate the point, I spotted a small gaggle of what looked I assumed were sex workers loudly arguing with a fat angry man. As I watched, the man activated some sort of skill and the tallest of the bunch fell to the ground and spasmed in pain. Jeering, the man rifled through her pockets and—

  Rev’s voice pulled me back. “Now that this lovely little digression is done, I’ll answer your earlier question.” He leaned forward slightly. “As an official recruit, you’ll start small. Petty criminals. Pests that have gotten too bold. The likes of that. If you were a grunt that is, you are forensics so you'll just be investigating and mucking around with corpses.”

  His eyes sharpened, a hint of warning slipping into his otherwise casual tone. “Of course, that’s assuming you don’t get fired or sabotage us in any way. I’d strongly advise against the latter.”

  For just a moment, Rev tilted his head toward me. His mane of curly hair flared up behind him, catching the faint light in a way that sent a flicker of instinctive dread through me. Cold Blooded

  Before I could react, he straightened. “We have arrived.”

  The ‘inn’ that we had stopped at was more reminiscent of a modern hotel than anything. Two menacing grunts flanked the entrance and large lamps with painted floral patterns lined the perimeter of the building. I knew what was coming and interrupted Rev hastily.

  “Thanks but you don't need to carry me, I can move on my own.” The first time I was not expecting it and then I was too overwhelmed by the Guildmistress but now that my emotions were somewhat in control, I protested. I had learned to not take excessive favors from anyone who could demand recompense in the future and I was already deep in debt. Rev shrugged and walked into the building as I struggled for a moment before following him.

  I expected a hotel lobby and I was not disappointed but I was sad when I noticed that it was a one. Everything was bathed in a soft light and a black and silver uniform adorned the attendants as they escorted guests and carried luggage to levitating round stone platforms that were effectively just elevators. What was the rule about putting Godtouched in debt traps again?

  “I have a reservation for a single room for two weeks as a representative of the Aurum Bolt Guild.” Rev flashed the receptionist, a stuffy looking man, one of his fakest smiles.

  “Ahem, yes. Do you possess anything we can use for verification?” The man even snooty. Rev searched for his badge for a solid minute and even I was feeling judgmental when he proudly presented it before the profoundly unimpressed receptionist. He gave it a once over and after presumably using a skill to verify its legitimacy, nodded.

  “Third floor, room 337. Is it for you, for the young lady or both?”

  “Just the lady and her pet, also she has an extensive biomancy treatment scheduled for this week so she'll need additional food delivered to her room, preferably lots of protein.” Rev then turned to me.

  “This is goodbye for tonight. Try to have a good night's sleep. And try not to let your pet damage anything, it will be added to your debt.” I despaired at the loan sharks as Rev left so fast that a gust of wind blew my hair.

  “Ma’am, do you want company for the night? We have men, women, intersex people and more exotic options available.” I squawked and vigorously shook my head, face burning.

  “Very well, we hope your stay at the New Delport Regency is pleasurable.”

  Later as I lay in a blessedly soft bed after the best meal I had in my life (some meat that I couldn't really identify), I found my thoughts wandering. Once a class had, through its description, told me that factory farming of humans for levels was at least not unthinkable in this world. Add in my conversation with Valdima about what can happen to a weak Godtouched and I was fully convinced that this world wasn't anywhere as nice as a naive part of me had hoped. Yes it was awful, awful in a different way because of how skills and stats changed the game. I mean I didn't think my old world was better in any way; I didn't even miss it that much but it was a known place with rules that I was familiar with. Here, personal power was directly martial power and that meant that in this world, no one cared that I was mixed race or a girl or who I liked but that I was personally weak. An entirely new form of discrimination that superseded the bigotries that I was familiar with. To not be ground under the dust here, I had to be stronger. Far stronger.

  ‘Peace will elude you’, so proclaimed the trait that was my biggest asset and my worst liability. And not for the first time, I cursed Quiraion.

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