A bit after dawn, sunlight streaming through the canvas. Reaching out a hand and finding nothing. A shuffling sound nearby signaling Daniel in the process of getting ready. Doing a quick stretch, hands over head, and getting out of the roll. Popping out of the tent for a quick second and reentering. Pulling on my clothes, the last clean set of underwear, and beginning to buckle on my armor.

　　"When we get to the city," said Daniel, "I want you to make sure to buy a tent before we leave."

　　"Am I tempting you too much?"

　　"Yes."

　　"...yes, sir."

　　"You and Magpie are going to be sharing it on the way back."

　　"That`s what I figured."

　　His hand reaching out to touch my face, steady and reassuring, soothing the sting of rejection and stirring up the closeness from last night. Then withdrawing and leaving the tent. Getting lost studying the stitch pattern on my pack. Deep, calming breaths. Unclenching my hands and resuming the process of buckling on the last pieces of armor.

　　About to head out, but first checking the time. Ten till. Should be plenty to test Rune of Focus. It enhances a worn item. That doesn`t sound very restrictive. Maybe try it on this pouch. Drawing the rune and trying to infuse it with mana. Not taking. Dang. Okay, so the pouch doesn`t count, and my shirt counts as armor, and not a worn item. So it definitely means something like this necklace, but that`s already enchanted and probably can`t take another. Not enough surface area to draw on, anyway. Which means there are only six potential slots. Head: a necklace or hairpin or hat. Hands: rings or gloves or a bracelet. Belt. And then feet: shoes, or an ankle bracelet, or a toe ring. Trying my left boot. Drawing the rune, infusing. There, the spell taking. The next time Daniel gets hit by Rune Trap there`ll be a much better chance of him not getting away.

　　Drawing all the others, knife, armor and then Runic Shield on my skin. Carve. Activating all four. Puncturing, letting the mana drain out and then touching the ground to make sure. Back to regular hardness. Removing the evidence of the runes. Gloves back on, bandanna and cloak. Heading next door to Anderson`s tent and poking my head in.

　　Magpie stretched out, her head in Anderson`s lap and one of his hands lightly playing with her hair. Clearing my throat. Anderson glancing up, clearly annoyed, clearly telling me to make myself scarce. Magpie giving a couple slow, shallow bobs before disengaging. Looking over her shoulder.

　　"Ten minutes." A bit of saliva trickling down her chin. Getting on all fours and crawling onto him.

　　Exiting the flap. Wandering a bit away and taking a seat. Stuck listening to them again. Definitely managing to get back at me for those morning calisthenics the other day. Great job Magpie, but fuck you. Gonna get you back twice.

　　Twenty five minutes later Magpie coming over, fully clothed and armored. Had been picking through the crumbs of what was left of my provisions. Lemonade emptied yesterday, apples gone the day before. Just hardtack and some jerky.

　　"Finally. Let`s go to breakfast."

　　"I was wondering," she said, with a shy glance, "if I could have a leaf."

　　Pulling out the other half of mine, eaten twenty three minutes before.

　　"Thank you."

　　Heading to breakfast.

　　***

　　Late afternoon, almost at the city.

　　We`d seen it a ways away. Much further away than it had appeared. Sizable. Lumeer had been a large frontier town seven years ago and as we`d gotten established the character of the city changed, starting from the center and rippling out. At present, it was a medium sized city. Tasnanca was considerably larger, a shining jewel against the looming mountain range behind it.

　　Didn`t think of the mechanics of it before coming out. Figured it would be, well, less big than this. And there`s no address on the letter, just the name. Velmar Inkathius. That better not be a common name. Ask around, see if people know, hopefully it`ll be easy. And, if they`re difficult, see how much they`re going to want in bribes. Hopefully cheap. And, if not, take them down for a little discussion in the sewers.

　　A sudden thought. They better not speak a different language.

　　"So the first thing you need to understand about these people," said Anderson, to our group in the rear as we were approaching the city entrance, "they speak their own language."

　　Figures.

　　"But they also can speak our language, so we shouldn`t have trouble communicating."

　　"Yeah, but that means they can talk shit to our faces."

　　"Probably, but I wouldn`t worry too much about that. Anyway, the second thing you need to understand, we`re an oddity around here. Back in Lumeer its maybe thirty seventy us and them. Here, its all them. So be polite, be respectful and," looking at me, "if they do talk shit to you, let it go."

　　"Yes, sir." Like hell.

　　"We`re going to be staying at a friendly establishment on this side of the river and the merchants will be finding their own lodgings. We don`t need to hold their hands anymore until we hit the road again, so once we get in consider yourselves on leave. But Grace, Lucy-"

　　"We know," said Magpie.

　　"Fifteen feet," said Anderson, smiling.

　　"We know."

　　"Not saying you don`t. Just a reminder."

　　"We know." Both of us at once.

　　Following the merchant caravan inside the city onto a wide boulevard. The guards carefully looking at me while entering, but not moreso than any of the others. Meeting up with Daniel`s group on the inside, the merchant wagons continuing on in their direction.

　　Heading through the city in the direction of the river, our group getting glances from the townsfolk in their brightly colored, loose clothing. Curiosity, but no real mistrust. The jabbering of their language surrounding us from all sides.

　　Heading north and entering an area, rougher and seedier. Cafes here and there on the streets, the familiar sweet smell in the air. Scantily clad women outside of some of the establishments, smoking pipes, either tobacco or the other. Toughs crawling the street, but making way for our heavily armed group. The buildings each with one of two decorations: a prominent stylized red dragonshead or a smaller, more discrete, orange caret, point up.

　　Walking by a side street and noticing a symbol on one of the stones. Exactly the same as one of the symbols that gradually had been disappearing from Lumeer for the past nine months, essentially all gone now. Safe house. Keeping an eye out for more and seeing them. Dead end. Danger. And there, entrance. Tasnanca, by all appearances, still has an active and thriving Thieves Guild. Magpie also noticing them and, likely, Blindside over on the other side of the group as well.

　　Arriving at our destination, a five story building. Wide red banners with a green symbol, the same colors as House Ishtar, framing the entrance. Big double doors. Coming into the entryway, filled with the smell of incense, and the other sweet smell. Hushed lighting, and there, dominating the room, a statue of their thing. Beautiful, long hair, robes, a big, wide, tight lipped smile.

　　Waiting for a moment in the entry, and then a woman coming from another room, deep red robes with green trim.

　　"Welcome, brothers and sisters," she said, "you must be tired after your trip." Her statement taking them all in. Then looking at me. And back to Daniel.

　　"Yes, we are," said Daniel. "We thank you for your generous hospitality."

　　Each of the members of the group going up to the statue and leaving small offerings. Coins, flowers, other tidbits. Are they holding back because of me? Pretending? Lies like that are poison to the soul.

　　Walking up to the statue and pulling out my knife. Removing my right glove and cutting my palm. Feeding it blood. Not its favorite bodily fluid, but only by a matter of degrees. The other offerings had elicited little, but unmistakable pleasure radiating from the statue at mine. Rune of Mending to seal the wound. An offering freely given and easily healed. No permanent damage done, no sacrificial child`s flesh irrevocably stolen, their feelings, their futures, erased. Letting the ravenous thing clean off the remainder. The tight lipped smile of the statue beginning to part, beginning to reveal the points of its tearing teeth.

　　"Its surprising to see such a generous offering from one of the uninitiated," said the woman. "Your devotion to her is noted."

　　"Devotion? I`d never worship this thing."

　　This is pure quid pro quo. A masquerading demon that consumes blood deserves no devotion and, despite assurances, will never grant mercy. Keep that sort of thing at arms length and tightly chained. Better yet, forgotten entirely, entombed beneath the sand.Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

　　"But I don`t see any reason we can`t get along."

　　Amusement radiating from the statue at that, its customarily cruel laughter a set of melodious chimes.

　　"I see," said the woman, her eyes on the statue. "In that case, welcome. Follow me, I`ll bring you to your rooms."

　　Falling in with the group, going with the woman through a bar area, patrons being waited on by nigh unclad women, and then heading upstairs into the brothel proper. Each of the men being given their own room, leaving Serena, Daniel, Magpie and myself.

　　"When Roy said you knew what you were doing he really meant it, didn`t he?" said Serena, "I hope you`ve been having a good time so far, but now that we`re finally here we can hit the town. First though, you two come with me, and bring your stuff with you to get cleaned, they`ve got a bathhouse like back home."

　　Magpie and myself in one room, Serena and Daniel sharing a room across the hall. Removing everything but the dirty clothes from the pack, getting a handful of coins and joining Serena back in the hall. And onto the streets.

　　"You`re sharing a room with Daniel?" Managing to keep heat out of my voice.

　　"Yeah. He`s been stressed because of you. I`m looking forward to helping him unwind."

　　Trying to stay calm, but unable to keep the underlying emotion from slipping out. "Its been stressing me out, too."

　　Serena catching a whiff and warily taking me in. Taking special note of all the dried blood splattered on my clothing. Probably some decent splotches on my bandanna from the way she`s looking at it. Had thrown myself in today with gusto after abandoning my no attack policy. Her eyes lingering on my hand, now resting on the hilt of my knife.

　　"I`m not supposed to tell you this," she said, choosing her words carefully, "because its against the rules, but you`re, what`d that woman call you, uninitiated. You`re off limits. Ordinarily you`d be helping out at the nightclub, serving drinks or collecting coats. Something easy, at any rate. A trip like this isn`t a normal environment for new recruits, so you`re undoubtedly feeling some added pressure because of it.

　　"The way it used to work, we`d bring people in, innocent people - yeah, try not to laugh, innocent people - get `em all riled up and then they`d give in to their desires. That`s what gets Liz`s statue off. But that`s all been an open secret for years. Usually the only people who show up know exactly what they`re getting themselves into, but we`re still supposed to keep our hands off until they become full members. Because of Liz`s statue and also because it helps to weed out shitheads. Every now and then we get some fresh face who don`t know up from down, and we`ve gotta go through the motions, but they usually wise up pretty quick. Usually a fifty fifty shot they stay afterwards. I`m glad we didn`t have to do that with you, that whole routine makes me want to puke.

　　"So, with you knowing that, my advice is that you tough out your provisional membership. Its worth it. There are a lot of really good people in the house. And its not that Daniel doesn`t like you, he`s just a stickler. That`s how it is, and that`s how he is. You seem like a breath of fresh air and I don`t want you to wash out because you feel like you`re being unfairly snubbed. I`m genuinely glad you came along with us on this trip."

　　Considering her earnest, open expression.

　　"And don`t tell anyone I told you this," she said, seriously, looking at both me and Magpie, "because its against the rules."

　　"You hear something?" said Magpie.

　　"I didn`t hear anything. But, yeah, I`ll try. I appreciate you letting me know."

　　"Good. Here it is."

　　Entering the building, a couple people at a desk, the same as back home, but much more humid in here. Cubbies instead of lockers. Depositing all the dirty clothes and pack to be washed. Pull chain, cold water, spending some time cleaning off all the dirt from my poor, heat abused hair. Then out into the bathouse proper, about half full. But not open air. Shame.

　　"I think I`m just going to sit here the rest of the night."

　　Serena and Magpie nodding wordlessly, our first bath after days on the road, the hot water relaxing muscles we didn`t even know were tense.

　　Breaking our silence after a few minutes.

　　"What`s the house even like? The first day I was nervous but you guys seem different than what I thought."

　　"Well, don`t let this outing mislead you," said Serena, stretching a bit, "but there are actually more women in the house than men. And most of them are really great, but as far as stuff like this goes their priorities are all out of whack. More for me, I guess. We only got Grace here and she`s been stuck with you."

　　"Hey Magpie, is that right?" Magpie opening one eye.

　　"Mag-" Serena looking back and forth, then getting excited. "Wait, was that actually your guild codename? I like it."

　　Magpie blowing bubbles in the water before responding. "Yeah, that`s it." Opening both eyes and giving Serena her full attention.

　　"How`d you get that out of her?" said Serena.

　　"Asked her."

　　"I guess that is one way," said Serena.

　　"Hey Lucy, that reminds me," said Magpie. "What`s up with your name?"

　　"Her name?" said Serena, looking back and forth again. "Wait, Hugo mentioned something about that. Is it actually..."

　　"Macarthy."

　　"Yeah, that." Serena shaking her head. "I`m sorry, but that name`s cursed. Especially now. You really managed to come in at the wrong time with a name like that."

　　Giving her a noncommittal shrug, trying not to glare.

　　Hey Magpie," a smile on Serena`s face at that, "you knew him, what was Macarthy like before he went crazy?"

　　"Mac was..." Magpie hesitating. "I didn`t really know Mac that well. I saw him around, here and there, but nothing more than some short conversations. He was above me, out of my league. He and my mentor were some of the guild`s main enforcers, and according to him Mac spent a lot of time out in the field. But when Mac was around he got on pretty well with everyone in the guild."

　　"Really?" Disappointment in Serena`s voice. "I`d figure with a codename like, what was it? Something intimidating, letting you know death was coming for you. I`d figure with a name like that there`d be horror stories."

　　"You`re talking about the name he used as an enforcer? Everyone in the guild just called him Mac. But no, I don`t have any bad stories about him. He actually saved me, one time, out in the field. I got separated and lost underground during guild training, and then got in way over my head. He appeared out of nowhere, patched me up, and then escorted me a real short distance back. He told me to be more careful and vanished."

　　Sitting in silence for a few more moments, her words festering.

　　"He didn`t go crazy." Both turning to look at me. "I was at the gala and I got killed by the thing that attacked it. It looked like Macarthy, but it wasn`t him. It was a thing, a monster."

　　"Are you sure about that?" Serena`s incredulous smirk sending my blood a few more ticks northward.

　　"I know what I saw."

　　"Well, if that`s the case, where`s Macarthy now?"

　　The silence stretching on.

　　"Who knows? Probably skipped town. Anyway, I`m done, turning into a prune."

　　***

　　Back at the place we were staying. Serena out on the town with Daniel and a couple of the others. The rest taking advantage of our lodging`s accommodations. Had firmly declined the request to go out, claiming tiredness. Sitting in the smoke filled barroom with Magpie, relaxing in our freshly laundered clothing and starting our third pints. The first two downed back to back.

　　"Did you know about that shit Serena said?"

　　"About them keeping their hands off? Yeah, but I thought it was more a suggestion than anything serious. Seems obvious in retrospect. They were significantly more friendly after the trial period." Magpie taking a drink. "Bee never stood a chance."

　　Taking a drink of my own. Staring off into space.

　　"You know what you need to do? You need to get laid. You`re super frustrated. Hugo`s been great the past couple days and you`ve been dealing with the cold shoulder from Daniel."

　　Opening my mouth to counter the claim but unable articulate or even form a rebuttal. Instead taking a deep gulp from my pint.

　　"How about those guys over there? They`ve been glancing over. Let`s go talk to them. You pick the one you want and I`ll take the other."

　　Not even entertaining a glance. Instead reaching for my pint again. Her doing the same.

　　"You`re really hung up on Daniel, aren`t you?"

　　"I don`t think I`m drunk enough for this conversation." Pounding mine down.

　　Rolling her eyes, but then doing the same. Empty pints on the bar. Definitely beginning to feel uncoordinated, the alcohol starting to catch up.

　　"Wait." Getting a mischievous look. "Wait, wait, wait. No, don`t tell me, I think I got it. You`re a virgin, aren`t you?" My flat, exhausted look causing her to collapse into giggles. "I know, that`s totally ridiculous. There`s no way. But you`re still crushing on him like one."

　　Two more pints appearing. And down a sip.

　　"Hey Magpie, you want to hear something crazy?"

　　"Yes, I do," she slurred.

　　"I`m talking totally unbelievably crazy. Like, you`d have to be an Augur to even think I was telling the truth, and even then you`d just assume I thought it was true because I was crazy. That`s how crazy I`m talking. So pretty fucking crazy."

　　"Lay it on me."

　　Another sip down.

　　"I`m Macarthy. The Macarthy. Mac."

　　"Yeah?" Squinting at me with one eye and getting a goofy grin. "I don`t think so. I just saw you in the bath and you`re missing something he`s got." Tilting her head off kilter. "But maybe there`s a resemblance. Hugo said you weren`t related to him, but you are, aren`t you?"

　　"I`m not related. I`m Mac."

　　"I hate to break it to you," she said, totally deadpan, "but Mac doesn`t have a set of tits, either."

　　"Well I got `em now." Hitting the bar with a bit too much force.

　　Magpie catching another case of the giggles. Trying to stabilize her chin. "I can call you Mac, if you want. For fun."

　　"I`ll prove it."

　　"Sure, sure." Taking a sip from her pint.

　　Putting my hand on the bar, palm down. Concentrating, really tough to cast, getting double vision. But fourth time`s a charm. Tracing.

　　"What are you even doing?"

　　"Look at my hand."

　　Pointing at the one palm down. Putting my finger on it, some black streaks appearing. Puzzlement on her face. Coloring the entire back of the hand black. Looking at her with a serious expression and pointing several times at the hand.

　　Chewing on her lip. Looking at my hand. Looking at my face.

　　"You`re going to have to help me upstairs, I think I`m too drunk for this conversation."