"Well, that was certainly a spirited discussion," said my master. "And I apologize if some of you didn`t like the book. For the next one you can draw lots as to who chooses and we`ll take turns."

　　"Master," said Stacy, "I thought it was a good choice."

　　"Master, it wasn`t a bad choice, it just wasn`t my cup of tea."

　　"Or some other people`s," he said, with a knowing grin. "Don`t worry, it definitely gave us plenty to discuss. This next one I think you`ll enjoy more. I`ll see you all next cycle."

　　Everyone had been much friendlier today. Not quite sickeningly so, but noticeable, and class had been significantly better as a result.

　　"Lucy," said the woman who had been talking with Stacy last cycle, and who had ignored me, but, now, also a member of the nay group, "I want to thank you again for breakfast."

　　"Not a problem. I figure if we`ve got a group this big its better to have it catered. And it saves me time. This was definitely a lot more enjoyable than I thought it`d be."

　　"Well, to make up for the last time," she said, "welcome, glad you`re here." Her smile just stretching over the line of believable.

　　"Thank you. I`ll see you next cycle."

　　More smiles and goodbyes from the people filing out. The last one, Abigail, currently my most favorite member of the group. Annoyed with me and not bothering to pretend. Walking out without saying goodbye.

　　"Hey Abbey, can I talk to you for a quick second." Abigail considering, and then taking the seat next to mine. Our master glancing over, and then wandering a short distance away.

　　"So how far did you get?"

　　Abigail not answering, clearly thinking about what to say. "The sewers are pretty dirty."

　　"They certainly are, but they`re right here in town." It wasn`t entirely to punish you.

　　"I`m almost to six," she said. "That five to six jump in experience was a little annoying."

　　"Good work. You should see the ten to eleven one. But stick it out, six gets you this." Drawing on the desk with my finger, a simple picture, changing the color of the writing for each piece of the object. "Seems very simple, but its tremendously useful and fun."

　　"Fun," she said, shaking her head. "You actually go out and do this because you like it, right?"

　　"Sometimes in life you have to do something because you`re obligated or because you have no choice. That`s your situation right now. But you`re working toward a defined goal and if you stick with it, you`ll reach it. As for me, I very much enjoy the challenge. And if I didn`t like doing something, I wouldn`t keep doing it."

　　"I feel like a glorified exterminator."

　　"There`s no sport in hunting rats, but there`s more interesting stuff further down. At least the rats are good practice for using the shield. You`re putting the rune on that knife I gave you, right?" Nodding in confirmation. "You`re putting the defense one on your clothing, right?" A slight shake of her head. "What are you using to draw the rune on the knife?"

　　"Dirt, grime, whatever`s available."

　　"I guess keep doing that for the time being, but as soon as you hit six its a lot easier. But, let me let you in on a secret, you see what I`m wearing today, it looks very ordinary and non-threatening, right?" Skeptical look from her at that. "Its meant to look at that way. Enchanted," tapping my shirt, "and each one of these," kicking up my feet and waving them back and forth.

　　Abigail frowning. "Why are you telling me this?"

　　"I guess what I`m saying is, keep at it."

　　"I will." The girl standing up to leave.

　　"Oh, Abbey, thank you for not faking today. It was a little strange. Not bad, but a little creepy at first."

　　"They`re still getting used to you. They all have horror stories about getting chased out of various places, or getting pushed around, mugged or even killed. I wouldn`t take it personally."

　　"I`m not, but I don`t understand the mentality."

　　"What`s not to understand? They don`t want to be hassled. I`ll see you next cycle." Turning to walk out.

　　Cupping my hands around my mouth to amplify my voice. "Then they should do something about it." Glancing back at me before continuing on her way. Getting out of my seat and chasing after her.

　　"Abbey, hold up, I want to show you something." Checking the time, quarter to ten. No harm doing it.

　　Her frown back in place. "What?"

　　"If you genuinely don`t want to get hassled, eight shouldn`t be your goal. I`d recommend thirteen for what I have on my shoes. Master, I need to destroy something."

　　"Feel free," he said, gesturing at the room. Abigail`s glum resignation starting to crack at his nonchalance.

　　Carve.

　　"This is what you get at eleven." Casually, slowly bringing my hand down on the wooden chair back, and easily slicing through. Down, through the back, and turning to the side, peeling off the corner of the seat. Abigail`s eyes wide. "You need to be real careful with this one, anything on your hands and wrists gets shredded to pieces."

　　"I see what you meant about appearing non-threatening," she said. "But why`d you show me that?"

　　"You`re my family, whether either of us likes it or not, and because of that I`m obligated to look out for you. I know you have your current goal but you`re going to be here for a long time. I don`t want you to be content living on scraps."

　　"Scraps are better than crawling around in the sewers."

　　"There`s a much bigger world out there than the sewers."

　　Putting a hand to her forehead. "I`ll keep that in mind. Master, I`ll see you next cycle. Lucy, thank you for breakfast." Abigail turning and managing to leave.

　　"How did you like your second class?" said my master, who had wandered back over.

　　"It was much better. Thank you for what you did."

　　"What do you think I did?"

　　"I assume you spoke with them, which is why they were acting so much nicer."

　　"Why would you assume that? Maybe they had a real change of heart. Your breakfast certainly did something to win some of them over."

　　"Maybe. Although I had that brought here mainly for me and Vesper." The wolf, fat, happy and laying on his side giving his tail a single wag in acknowledgment. "And you."

　　"Abigail definitely appreciates it."

　　"Yeah." Sighing at that. "She`s got to be flat broke. Letting her get breakfast and, likely, with that doggie bag she took, lunch and dinner isn`t a bad thing, either."

　　"See, you`re already doing good here. And, you`re welcome." Nodding at that. "So that thing you learned," he said, selecting his words carefully, "did it work?"

　　"Its currently a work in progress, but yes. I`m never going to be able to repay you."

　　"I wouldn`t ask that, but I do hope you`re going to keep coming."

　　"I`ll be here."

　　***

　　Approaching the West Gate via a long circuitous route. Library to one of the restaurants near my apartment to place an order, the apartment for a wardrobe change, over to the east side to chip away some at the obstruction, back to pick up lunch and then to the West Gate.

　　Arriving a couple minutes early to the gate and - how about that - Julie already standing there. The girl not in the most practical clothing for the field, but outfitted with the essentials, a backpack and what looked to be a solid pair a shoes. Her eyes immediately on me, then going to Vesper. Back on me.

　　"Julie, hi-" Stopping at her upheld hand.

　　"This is only for today," she said.

　　"That`s fine." Wasn`t really sure you`d show at all. "This is Vesper. He`s a dog, but he`s not a regular dog, he`s smarter than the average dog." Vesper giving me that look that meant he was annoyed, his ears going slightly flat.

　　"That`s a wolf. A grey wolf." Vesper`s ears returning to normal. "Is he yours?"

　　"I`m just looking after him." Vesper catching my eye. "We`re looking after each other. He`s coming with us today. You ready? Join up and let`s get going." Reaching out my hand.

　　Juliet Harper. Turning to head outside the gate but the girl staying put.

　　"You said the pay would be five gold," she said.

　　"More, probably."

　　"Can I get any of that up front?"

　　"I don`t have any money on me right now." The girl giving a little huff, blowing a stray hair out of her face. "We haven`t even left and you`re already having second thoughts. Why`d you even show up?"

　　"I want to know why you wanted me to come." Crossing her arms. And still not moving.

　　"It was a spur of the moment decision. There you were, ripe for the picking. And, having thought about it a bit more afterward, I want a Blood Mage." Squinting her eyes. "Let`s get going, we`re going to be on the road for a bit."

　　Harper looking at the ground, visibly preparing herself, and then joining us outside the gate. The three of us setting off to the west.

　　"Magus," she said, after a couple minutes of pleasant silence.

　　"What?"

　　"Magus," she reiterated. As if her reiteration would help. The girl holding up a finger and staring off into the distance. "`Magi control the fundamental components of life. Unlike an Empath, who merely restores bone and sinew to their original function, or a Druid, who plays about in the dirt, the powers employed by the noble Magi give them a firm grasp on the underlying truths of being and allows them to command their very nature." Returning her attention to me. "Blood Mage is a pejorative. It makes me sound corny and tryhard."

　　Pain in the ass Blood Mage. Literal skulls sitting around on display in your apartment.

　　"Okay. You sounded like you were quoting something."

　　"I-" looking uncomfortable at being called out, "I actually was. Its from the introduction of the Magi novice primer James gave me when I first got here. I reread the whole thing this morning so I`d be ready for today."

　　"You learned your magic from a book?"

　　"The basics." Giving me an owlish blink. "I started writing my own spellbook afterwards. How else would you learn magic, if not from a book?"

　　"I, uh, I guess I used a book to start, too." There were books on the table, at least. Her face shifting a few degrees closer to the color of her hair. "Anyway, Julie - Ms. Harper - Ms. Magus - after thinking about it, after weighing my options, I still do want to recruit you. And I absolutely will not tolerate you working at Sam`s anymore."

　　"About that, what happened? They were talking all kinds of trash after you left. You really do know how to make an impression on people."

　　"I don`t know what you heard, but I got into a thing with the Director. It was pretty bad. I was in the process of joining Ishtar at the time and I ended up getting kicked out because of it. He was real pissed off and the feeling was mutual."

　　"Ishtar?"

　　"They get a lot more shit than they probably deserve, but, regardless, that`s done. I went to Sam to try and get my situation sorted but now I`ve got Stormhawk breathing down my neck."

　　"You`re not exactly doing the best job of selling this."

　　"Like you said, I know how to make an impression on people. They want me to join them - I`m actually dating one of them - but overall the house is filled with meatheads. I could deal with some of them, here and there, but the entire house, all the time? No, thank you."

　　"If you`re so popular," she persisted, "why are you wasting your time with me? You want a Magus, okay, fine, you could have asked James or Derrick. They both have significantly more experience than me."

　　"That`s true, they do. Is that what they told you? Do you really think I have some ulterior motive?"

　　"Nnnnn-ot really. You ripped that guy`s eye out right in the middle of town. If you had something horrible planned I doubt you`d even waste your time luring me out here." Using a hand to cover her smirk. "I told James about how we met at the gala and he didn`t really believe it at first, either. Like I`d misremember that encounter."

　　"I really am sorry about that."

　　Giving a dismissive wave of her hand. "He came around. Actually, the conversation started with me trying to convince him and he ended up convincing me."

　　Feeling some of the previously unknown tension that had been gathering between my shoulder-blades dissipate. Slowing cracking my neck.

　　"You want the completely cynical, honest truth why I picked you and why I`d never pick James or Derrick?"

　　"Yeah," she said, after studying me.The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

　　"I don`t think men and women can be friends."

　　"I," looking down at her feet, "I don`t agree with that."

　　"Fine. Its only my opinion. Men and women get along in all kinds of ways. As acquaintances, colleagues, associates or mentors. Certainly as lovers, which goes beyond friendship in a number of ways, but which is different altogether. But genuine, platonic friendship? I don`t think that`s possible. I`ve never experienced it, at least, and I don`t particularly feel like hamstringing myself trying to make it work."

　　Vesper bumping into me.

　　"I`m not talking about you. I know you`re technically a guy, but you`re a dog." His ears going flat. "Okay, sorry, I know you don`t like me calling you a dog." Pain in the ass dog. "I`m just saying, I know your type and I ain`t it." The wolf glancing back in the direction of the gate, his tail beginning to wag and starting to dance on his front paws. "Hey, bud, I mean, I can try, but I don`t think you`re going to be very welcome at Haven after what you pulled. I`m probably not going to be welcome at Haven, either, come to think of it. Find another one. Plenty of bitches in the sea."

　　"Lucy?" Harper`s question causing both of us to look in her direction. "You said he wasn`t yours but you can hear him, right? Like I can with Sassafras."

　　"Huh? No. But when he wants to communicate he`s good at making himself clear. Like I said, he`s smart. Most of the time." The wolf revealing his teeth at my insult. Giving his head a pat in apology. "Where is your little guy, anyway?"

　　"Oh." Harper looking at Vesper, then back to me, "If you say so. Sassafras is here." Patting her chest, near her heart. "He`s a piece of me. I don`t want anything happening to him out here so I`m letting him rest."

　　"He`s- I had no idea. Honestly. In that case, I`m really sorry about what I threatened to do. Truly."

　　"Forget about it." The three of us continuing to walk. "So do you want a friend, or do want someone to help you with this?"

　　"We`ll see what happens. You want to know the other cynical reason why I wouldn`t choose either of them?"

　　"Go for it."

　　"How long has James been here?"

　　"Maybe four years."

　　"Exactly. He`s also got like a foot on me. Do you think he`s going to listen when I say anything, beyond humoring me? I`d probably have to kill him just to get him to take me serious and then I don`t think he`d be very inclined to help. Or I`d have to start sleeping with him." Bringing my hands up at her absolutely murderous expression. "Which I have no interest in doing. Very happy with my current situation. Actually, I killed mine once before we started dating. It may have ended up strengthening the relationship, but I very much doubt that`s the norm."

　　"You`re pretty fucking weird, you know that?"

　　"I`m aware."

　　Walking for a bit more, sharing the silence and the view.

　　"As far as today, I`m not expecting much from you. But where you`re at today, and we`re you`re going to be a month from now are two completely different things."

　　"I don`t know if its going to last that long."

　　"Have I already convinced you to come next cycle, then?"

　　"You definitely are weird," she said, giving me a sideways glance. "When you did that thing to that guy the other night, you were all amped up when you threatened him, but when you actually went and did it, you were way more calm."

　　"How`d you know that, the same way you know I`m coming around a corner before I get in sight?"

　　"Yep."

　　"Care to fill me in?"

　　Glancing the other way, muttering to herself, then looking back. "I can feel it," she said. "Like that merchant wagon we just passed, there`s three people total, the one inside is probably sleeping, his heart rate is low. When you`re right next to me even small changes are noticeable. Further out its vague, but the shape of people is pretty easy to tell apart from monsters, even at a distance."

　　"How about them?"

　　"Them. Quite the way you said that word." Shrugging at her. Not going to apologize. "Physiologically, they seem to be identical to us."

　　"I guess that`s not really a surprise." Ten fingers. Ten toes. Die when they bleed out. Just like us.

　　Continuing on until we`d arrived at our destination. No merchant wagons in sight and the clear, blue sky empty except for a single hawk flying high overhead.

　　"We are going to be fighting these things." Pointing south of the road, at the triceratops looking creatures with the spiked tails.

　　"I don`t know how much I`m going to be able to help."

　　"I came here knowing that. Since you were so kind as to explain some what you can do, let me show you some of mine. First let me see your shoe, now your clothes, this axe, here you go. Because of what I did to your shoe, you`ll have an easier time affecting these things with whatever you`ve got. But that`s not your job, your job is removing the horns with that axe. They`re very sharp so be careful, both the horns and the axe. And, most importantly, help Vesper keep watch. We`re going to start here and head south. There`s a monster down at the swamp that way I want to collect some venom from."

　　Harper holding the axe with both hands, looking not very sure of herself.

　　"Don`t worry, I`ll show you this first fight and ease you into it. Then, when you want, help where you can. We`ll go for about four or five hours and then take a break for lunch."

　　Turning and walking south, straight at one of the beasts. Time to try the new dagger out. Undoubtedly better for these than the flaring one. Getting closer and getting its attention. Here`s the charge. Dodge, strike to the eye. That went right in. Blocking the attempted head swipe with the shield. Stabbing again, deeper. Blocking the tail. Third strike. Down. Backing off, checking, yeah, its dead.

　　Glancing over at the very surprised Harper and then waving. The girl jogging over.

　　"You were completely fearless," she said.

　　"I`ve been fighting these things for the last couple cycles, their attack patterns are predictable at this point. Definitely not a bad thing, by the way. Okay, I`m going to start going really hard. Try and keep- oh shoot, the tick is going to hit in three minutes. Don`t worry about the horns on this one."

　　Disjunction. Creating the pebble, putting it in my pouch.

　　"Okay, now I`m going to get going. Keep up, contribute if you see the need, otherwise horns and, most importantly, keep your eyes open. Ready?"

　　"Ready," she said, looking and sounding much more ready.

　　***

　　"What`s that spell you were using?" My question coming around bits of my sandwich.

　　"The one that makes them bleed out the eyes?"

　　"No, that one`s pretty scary but it makes them too unpredictable. The other one."

　　"Oh," she said. "Well, that first one disrupts healthy tissue. Its the most basic spell I have, quick to cast, but it doesn`t really do all that much damage. Mainly its used as setup. By itself its most effective against mucosal tissue, so eyes, nose and mouth. That other one you`re talking about alters their heart rate. Its more expensive."

　　"Is that what that does? I`ve been wondering what that was. They get all stupid and uncoordinated when you do that. I was wondering if-"

　　The tick hitting. Level 18.

　　"Oh, sorry, just leveled. Give me a second."

　　Name: Lucilia Macarthy

　　Profession: Runemage Level: 18

　　Sex: Female

　　Experience: 198,781 (17,124)

　　Age: 20

　　Until Next: 46,969

　　Health

　　87

　　Mana

　　93

　　Stamina

　　41

　　Spirit

　　9

　　Strength (STR)

　　59 (4)

　　Constitution (CON)

　　66 (8)

　　Dexterity (DEX)

　　70 (15)

　　Agility (AGI)

　　88 (19)

　　Discipline (DIS)

　　79 (14)

　　Aura (AUR)

　　85 (17)

　　Logic (LOG)

　　76 (18)

　　Intuition (INT)

　　79 (19)

　　Wisdom (WIS)

　　49 (-1)

　　Influence (INF)

　　79 (14)

　　Name

　　Trainings

　　Bonus

　　Armor Use

　　6

　　29

　　Physical Fitness

　　19

　　68

　　Simple Weapons

　　19

　　68

　　Arcane Symbols

　　24

　　74

　　Magic Item Use

　　19

　　68

　　Harness Power

　　19

　　68

　　Mana Control

　　19

　　68

　　Runemancy

　　19

　　68

　　Arance Lore, Decomposition

　　5

　　25

　　Arcane Lore, Shaping

　　19

　　68

　　Arcane Lore, Transference

　　8

　　37

　　Survival

　　15

　　60

　　Perception

　　19

　　68

　　Climbing

　　15

　　60

　　Swimming

　　14

　　57

　　First Aid

　　15

　　60

　　Trading

　　19

　　68

　　Stalking and Hiding

　　19

　　68

　　"What`d you hit?" she said.

　　"Eighteen. That reminds me, I never asked, where are you at?"

　　A pause. "Eight."

　　"You`re keeping up real well, what have you been doing?"

　　"You`re making it easy. Ever since James rushed me to eight in order to get Sassafras, not much. I was working for one of the merchant companies, the job sucked and the money sucked worse, and then James got me that job at Sam`s for the past couple cycles. The money was better but the job still sucked. What`d you get at eighteen?"

　　"What did I get? Hmm, I got, oh, that`s right. I can make those little enhancements permanent now."

　　"Permanent?" she said. "That sounds lucrative. How much could you sell those for?"

　　"Probably a lot." Waving my hand at her expression. "It`s apparently not an easy or simple process. I dunno how it tough is, exactly, I haven`t-"

　　Vesper interrupting me with a low, deep growl.

　　"Listen, dog, I already gave you-" The wolf not paying attention to me. Looking off to the north, his fur standing on end.

　　"There`s a group coming this way from that direction," said Harper. "Right now."

　　Enjoying a brief moment of panic.

　　"Forget the food, get your stuff and let`s go. South through this forest and into the marsh. Then east. If they follow us, let me know. If they follow us all the way into there, they`re signing their own death warrants."

　　Helping her to her feet, both of us grabbing our stuff and then doubletiming it south.

　　"We`re putting some distance between us," she said.

　　"How many?"

　　"Fou- no, three and an animal. There are some monsters in front of us, turn in that direction."

　　Changing course. Should have gotten around to buying that second wand. Continuing to head south or southeast depending on her directions.

　　"How far now?"

　　"They were following us but they got out of my range a few minutes ago." Her eyes wide and cheeks flushed. "It is always this exciting?"

　　"Not usually, but you saw I made some enemies the other day. You know what you were saying earlier, about me making it easy? That`s because I wasn`t so paranoid about having to watch my back the entire time." Glancing around. "You know what? Forget the marsh, let`s go due east into the hills and then north to the city. An animal means a Ranger: they`re built for tracking and they`ve got phenomenal night vision. The sun`s going to be down in less than an hour."

　　***

　　"I know there was some bullshit and I`m sorry about that. You did great today, please say you`ll stick around."

　　"Stick around?" said Harper. "You said five gold. I thought that may have been an exaggeration but here I ended up making almost twice as much." Taking a piece of meat from her plate and tossing it to Vesper.

　　"You`re getting more than that, I still need to sell the stones."

　　"Well of course I`m sticking around. I`m sorry I held you back today."

　　"You didn`t."

　　"We both know if I wasn`t there you were going to fight those people."

　　"Nope." Harper, in high spirits and just on the other side of tipsy, momentarily deflating. Taking a bone from my plate and tossing it to Vesper. "Always fight on favorable terms. If there`s one thing that`s gotten beaten into me, its that there`s no shame in retreat."

　　"What happens when you can`t run?"

　　"Surrender is always-" Surrender? Came the mocking voice, halting me mid sentence. My paranoia, my increasingly better judgment. Surrender isn`t going to help. Look at what happened to you.

　　"Surrender?" prompted Harper, after several moments had passed.

　　"Is an option. One of many."