Owin kept checking over his shoulder, but it seemed increasingly obvious that nobody was following them anymore. As they got farther from Vraxridge, people quickly disappeared. If someone was still following them, they would have to be invisible, and Owin was confident Althowin would notice something.

  The forest had ended at a creek. Both continued south, curving around the edge of Vraxridge. Beyond the forest was all farmland, just like the fields he had already been walking beside.

  “Plenty of people live out in places like this,” Althowin said. “A majority of people are gathered around the portal circles. The first major cities all formed around them and continued to grow. There are other cities around. Mostly on rivers and the coasts. There are millions of people all over the place.”

  “I don’t know what that means,” Owin said.

  “Millions? It’s a lot.” She turned onto a smaller gravel path that cut between two fields. “Verdantallis is massive. A lot of people never travel. They live in the same city their whole life and never go outside or they only portal from one place to the next. It’s easy to miss things that way.”

  “When I went to Oriathria from the Forest, I didn’t see anything but trees and animals. I didn’t see anything like this.” Owin couldn’t see far now that they were between fields of tall crops. “Is it just Brukiya like this?”

  “With farms? No. They’re in every country. Everyone needs food. You didn’t see any in the Great Forest because nobody lives close to the towers. Not anymore. I don’t know if it was the portals or the heroes that made people move.” Althowin reached into her jacket, pulled out a thing of water, and took a long drink. She corked it and offered it to Owin, then made a face and slipped it back into her jacket. “What has surprised you most?”

  “About what?”

  “The world. Existence. Life.”

  “I don’t know. I haven’t really thought about it. One second I didn’t exist and the next I was being attacked. It took me a long time to really figure anything out. I’m still figuring some things out.”

  Althowin nodded to herself as she looked out over the field. “Like what?”

  “People, I guess. When I left the great forest, all I wanted was to kill Siora and Nikoletta. And now, I don’t know. I’m still angry when I think about them, but what would killing them do? It wouldn’t bring back Artivan.”

  “Are you aware that I don’t know who any of these people are?” she asked without turning. The edge of a building was visible in the distance and she craned her neck to try to see more.

  “I heard you met Siora. She's a Void Nexus hero.”

  “Is she?” Althowin opened her index and scanned through it for a moment before chuckling. “Actually, Siora is a member of the Alegarra Alchemy Incorporated Hero Company.” She made a noise. “That’s not the actual name, is it? Just Alegarra Alchemy Inc. Who let me name this?”

  “Yeah, right. She’s part of that group.”

  Althowin closed her index. “I remember her. Scars on the face and neck. A lot of scars.”

  “Some of those were Artivan. Some were me.”

  “She seemed nice enough. Everyone has a past. Everyone is somebody’s villain. You think you would consider me a friend if you had just seen me launch your leader into the sky? Someone in Magna Regum is fuming right now, considering how they can get revenge. It’s probably not one of their normal heroes. They don’t care about what happens in the big scope of things. This time, it’s Egnatia. People’s pride will often get in their way. I’m guessing it’s no different with the two you mentioned.”

  “What’s pride?”

  “Hm.” Althowin scratched behind one of her fox ears. “It’s how people see themselves. Who they think they should be or how they think others see them. If Siora was always told she was a tough, serious soldier, she’ll always want to be one until she realizes she needs to change.” Althowin stopped at the edge of the field. “This is a terrible definition. There are some words people know just because they hear it and learn it through use. Some things are difficult to explain if you haven’t tried before.”

  “Where are we?”

  Althowin crouched and looked at Owin. “My pride stops me from working with most people. Because of who I am and because of what I’ve been through, I only want to work with the best.”

  “Then why are you working with me?”

  Althowin smirked. “I think you’re going to enjoy finding the answer to that question.” She gestured to the house nearby. “We have arrived.”

  “I figured that out.”

  There was nothing else nearby. A few buildings surrounded the house, but none looked like a palace someone would live. Various equipment or bundles of things were stacked near the doorways.

  “This is a friend’s farm.” Althowin stood, stretched, and headed toward the house. “He has no outside communication, so he might be surprised to see us.”

  Althowin walked right through the property, up the stairs, and knocked loudly. “Hey, old man! Open the damn door!”

  Owin stayed off the porch. If someone angry came out, he didn’t want to be too closely associated with Althowin. Although, there was no one else nearby and there wasn’t anyone stronger than Althowin. Owin frowned. He wished Shade was with him.

  A man opened the door. He didn’t look all that special. He was far taller than Althowin, but everyone looked tall to Owin. Whoever he was, he was shorter than Chorsay. The top of his head was bald, ringed by brown and gray hair. He had yellow eyes, and . . . his ears were pointed.

  Owin approached slowly, trying to get a better look. As Owin stepped next to Althowin, he saw the man's prosthetic legs. His right was entirely metal while the left was metal up to his knee.

  The man looked down, regarding Owin. “You were serious.” His voice was deep. It didn’t match his calm, smooth elven face.

  “When’s the last time I lied to you? What are you doing inside? You’re losing sunlight.”

  “I was eating, Al. Let’s get a drink.” He stepped aside and let Althowin step past.

  Owin stayed outside, staring up at the man. He opened his index, used Examine, and nothing appeared. After trying three more times, he scowled.

  This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  “Are you going to come inside?”

  “Who are you?”

  “I’m going to close the door if you don’t come inside.”

  Owin hurried inside and continued staring at the man.

  “Leave him alone,” Althowin said from deeper inside.

  Owin looked down the hall where Althowin had already found a chair for herself. She was pouring something into two wide glasses.

  “I meant water or coffee. I still have work to do,” the man said. He left Owin and joined Althowin at the table.

  His house was brightly lit with the curtains open. Through every window, Owin could see crops. As he reached the table, he looked around the dining room, at the numerous swords, maces, and spears decorating the walls.

  “I can tune up the legs since I’m here. Have they been fine?”

  “Yes.” Despite his objections, the man took a sip of his whiskey. “Will you introduce us?”

  “Owin,” Althowin said. She drained the whiskey and poured another. “Meet Zezog.”

  Owin’s eyes widened.

  ***

  Subterranean Dungeon

  Second Floor

  Siora was . . . impressed. The first floor had gone incredibly well. That alone wasn’t a surprise. Their party was unusually big, which left half of them sitting out during most fights. Ernworth and Katalin hadn’t done a thing yet, but that wasn’t as big of a surprise since they were Althowin’s apprentices.

  What was most impressive was Potilia. How a citizen was level 80 was beyond Siora’s understanding. But however it happened, one thing was certain: Potilia absolutely hit harder than anyone else in the party.

  “This is the first place with the claverstan,” Potilia said as soon as they left the stairs. “They’re like an expedition party from below to investigate a dragon, so we can either fight them for the experience or ally ourselves with them to have help fighting the dragon. I think with all of us here we could fight them because we shouldn’t need their help, but I also think that leaving them alone would be fine because there are a lot of other claverstan we will have to fight in the dungeon as we get farther.”

  “We can discuss it when we camp. Is there a good spot before?” Sylmare asked.

  Lera and Cixilo, the other Nimble Hogs, laughed and whispered things to each other.

  Siora didn’t have anyone like that. No one to tell secrets to. No one to laugh with. Elas and Titus had been her closest friends, but even they had only been assigned to her by Sylmare. Would they have ever considered themselves to be her friends?

  While they were still waiting their turn, Veph had made sure everyone knew she was going in first. She had her own plans and priorities entirely separate from everyone else. As soon as Veph entered the dungeon, Sylmare had changed. She had gone from a silent servant into a talkative, playful friend with Potilia.

  Siora didn’t understand. Sylmare had always been around Void Nexus. Whether she was acting as Veph’s right hand or running trainings for new recruits, she was a constant in the headquarters. People took her very seriously, and Siora was sure she had never seen Sylmare smile.

  And yet, as soon as Veph was gone, she was laughing and talking with Potilia. Nobody else. Not a word to Siora.

  There had to be something she simply didn’t understand because Potilia had also gone from a nervous, stammering mess to a talkative encyclopedia as soon as Sylmare loosened up. The two obviously knew one another rather intimately.

  Something hit Siora, bringing her attention back to her surroundings. Katalin had an eyebrow raised.

  “Something bothering you?”

  “I don’t know,” Siora said.

  Ernie gave her a look. “I—”

  Katalin elbowed him. “Go talk to Cix.”

  Ernie rolled his eyes but didn’t complain. He walked away, muttering something to himself.

  “What’s going on?” Katalin asked.

  “I . . .” She let the word hang for a moment. The others were already advancing forward from the small cave holding the stairs. It was rather square, as far as caves were concerned. Ernie was the last to leave. He lingered for a moment, glancing over his shoulder until Katalin shooed him away.

  “Say it.”

  Nothing could embarrass her anymore. Not truly, at least. She had killed innocent men, harassed a scared goblin, been nearly killed and humiliated by the same goblin, and now . . . and now she was part of the world’s weirdest adventuring party. Would honesty hurt?

  “I don’t think I’ve ever had a friend.”

  “What are you talking about? What are we?” Katalin reached behind her head, adjusting the knot of her headband. She continued staring at Siora the whole time. “You don’t know?”

  “What?”

  “Most people answer questions when they’re asked,” Katalin said. “So, if you have no friends, what are we?”

  Siora grabbed the pommel of her family’s sword. She ran her thumb over the polished metal. “I don’t know.”

  “I do. This is friendship. Alright?”

  Siora just stared at her. It was like her mind wasn’t moving.

  Katalin raised another eyebrow. “Are we going to let everyone ditch us? You really should be the one leading. Sylmare and Potilia weren’t even heroes before we entered the first floor.”

  “Sylmare is Veph’s right hand,” Siora said quickly.

  “And? We’re not part of Void Nexus.”

  “She’s a higher level.” Siora squeezed the pommel. Katalin wasn’t lying, but reality was clear. Even after everything she had gone through, all the training, all the pain, Siora was only in the middle of their party. Both citizens were stronger. Cixilo was nearly the same level, leaving only Lera, Katalin, and Ernie at lower levels.

  “Stop thinking about all this other shit,” Katalin said as she gently punched Siora’s arm. “Levels just show total attribute scores, and spells and shit. It doesn’t mean she’s actually more talented, more knowledgeable, or more experienced in a real sense.”

  “It seems like Potilia knows everything,” Siora said.

  “Yeah. You might be right about that one. She’s kind of a freak. Her intelligence is way too high for a berserker.”

  “I thought she was going to be deficient.”

  “It’s off balance enough that I’m sure she was close to getting classified that way earlier in her life.” Katalin grabbed Siora’s arm and started dragging her toward the passage to the next cave. “If you don’t want to lead for now, spend the time trying to get to know the others. You can’t make friends without talking to others.”

  Siora grunted.

  “Stop being grumpy. You’re going to become a Shard Hero.”

  “We’re all going to be Shard Heroes if this goes well.” Siora furrowed her brows. “I’m not grumpy.”

  “Sure.” Katalin pushed Siora’s hand off the sword’s pommel. “Relax. Have some fun. You can be serious when we get to the difficult floors.”

  Potilia’s face appeared in the passage to the next section of the cave. “What are you two doing?”

  “I told you to leave them alone,” Ernie said.

  “Why?” Potilia’s eyes widened. “D-did I interrupt something? Sorry!” She pulled her head back. “Are they mad at me?”

  “No,” Ernie said. He cast them a look. “Maybe.”

  “We’re not mad, Po. Come here,” Katalin said.

  Potilia reappeared. The others had stopped, waiting in the next section. Siora could see them in the faint light, gathered and waiting, probably doing their best to survive awkward small talk.

  “Do you need something?” Potilia asked.

  “Siora needs to be our leader,” Katalin said confidently.

  Siora scowled.

  “I, uh, I . . . I have been following Sylmare, and, uh.” Potilia kept looking over her shoulder.

  “Siora is a soldier. We don’t need a berserker and umbra leading. Your knowledge will be helpful, and Sylmare is good at coordinating with other classes. But the person up front needs to be a tank and Lera isn’t strong enough to be the leader for all of us.” Katalin walked away, patting Potilia on the shoulder. “Got it?”

  “O-okay.” Potilia took a step closer to Siora. “Did you ask her to do that?”

  “No.” Siora sighed. “Why do you know so much about this dungeon?”

  Potilia looked over her shoulder again. “Books.”

  “Oh, right.”

  “Come on,” Ernie said. “I don’t want to watch anymore of this awkward conversation. Get moving.”

  Siora took the opportunity to rush forward. Any excuse to escape another conversation with Potilia was a good excuse.