I stood next to the river, looking towards Calvinville.

With the meat sold, Mula and I considered our options for entering the city, “I bet I can Water Walk to the harbor, it doesn’t look as guarded.”

Mula shook her head and pointed to the guards at the bridge, then at a guard patrolling the harbor, “They are using Magic Vision. This one thinks they will see Tamana even if Tamana is invisible.”

I strained my vision, and I thought I could vaguely make out one of the guards at the bridge had the telltale glowing irises, but couldn’t tell, “I guess it would make sense at least one guard would have Magic Vision up to keep people like me from sneaking in.”

Mula looked into the water, “This one also saw some fish people watching in the water.”

I looked at the river, and felt it would make sense they would have Unagon guards patrolling it. This made me wonder if they had Neery guards too, but I hadn’t seen any flying around.

I turned to the Grounder tunnel entrance. It hadn’t closed, unlike the gate at the bridge, but still had several guards. It also wasn’t lit at all, so even if I got past the guards I’d be blind and any light I used would give me away.

I shook my head, “You think we should just go in the normal way?”

Mula shook her head, “Tamana is Golem. Tamana’s old master uses Golems to fight, so these people will not like Tamana?”

I shrugged, “Calvin is probably a Golem too. Maybe he’s nice to Golems?”

Mula didn’t look convinced, “This one will look some more.”

I watched Mula leave, then turned back to the river and watched the activity on the river. Even during the night, the river didn’t sleep. There always seemed to be at least one or two boats waiting to dock and unload goods, which, in a way, reminded me of my old job back on Earth. Of course I was loading only a couple of things into my work truck to deliver somewhere, but it was similar.

I wondered how my family was doing. I… actually missed them. My parents, despite my extreme introversion, still did all they could to help me. I… I hope they hadn’t taken my death too hard. I know they had hoped I would have broken my shell and given them grandkids someday. Yeah my older brother already had a kid, but I could tell they wanted that for me too. I didn’t actually hate kids, and a part of me had always hated myself for not dating.

I looked at myself. Having kids meant something entirely different now. It hit different knowing I’d be the one carrying the child. I didn’t see it happening as I didn’t care to become human… er… an Ieroquin. In reality, I felt it would be wrong having children in place of the original Tamana. It felt like I would be stealing something precious from her.

I looked at the floating fortress above me. Maybe I should get more done to change me than just fixing my face. Maybe I wouldn’t feel so guilty if I wasn’t reminded every time I saw my reflection what I had stolen? I could become my own person?

I… liked that thought. For all I hated the original Tamana’s looks, it was still who she was. What had made her, her.

Mula came back, this time from the river. She looked excited, “This one thinks she has found a way inside!”

I stood up as she came to a stop next to me, “Cool! What’d you find?”

She pointed to a barge a distance up the river, “This boat has magic items. Tamana can hide with them and the guards will overlook Tamana?”

I considered her idea. At a distance it would make it so I could use my invisibility and they’d think it was magic from the items. Once I got up close I could use my magic to hide my magic aura. It would be risky with my limited magic supply, but it was possible. Probably.

I nodded and made my way up river, “Hopefully the Unagon guards don’t go too far from the city.”

Mula searched the water, “Perhaps this one will wait until Tamana is safe to follow.”

I wondered how easily other people could see her with Magic Vision, “Yeah, maybe it’ll be better if I go alone. Maybe you can fly over?”

I wished I had enough magic power to fly but that was a skill that took way more magic and skill than I had. 

Mula nodded and moved back a little, “This one wishes Tamana good fortune.”

I gave her a smile, even though she couldn’t see it through the mask, then began walking upriver, “Thanks!”

I turned my attention back to the ship in question had its sails stowed so it was drifting along at the slow speed of the river. I probably had five minutes before it would get close enough to the docks to drop its anchor and wait for inspection. 

I could already see the small magic powered paddle boat that went from ship to ship inspecting cargo preparing to come and meet it, and it was this that I’d have to worry about the most and, if I could get past them, I’d be free to enter the harbor.

I used Water Walk and soon arrived at the side of the ship then used my Magic Vision to look at the crew on board. It wasn’t a large ship, and looked more like a personal ship than a cargo ship. Its design looked typical and I didn’t see anything noteworthy. There was a cabin on top where I could see the helmsman, an Avree with mediocre magic. To the aft I saw a Fodder watching ahead, the anchor in his hands, ready to be thrown overboard. The deck itself was illuminated by a magic lamp, making sneaking around impossible without using invisibility.

I couldn’t see any cargo on the deck, so assumed it was underneath. My Magic Vision was nowhere near strong enough to see through walls yet, so I wouldn’t have any idea what was down there. I guessed Mula knew what was inside because she had already gone in. A shame she hadn’t mentioned how many people were inside, but she wasn’t the type to naturally think tactically.

As both men on deck had their full attention forward, I decided to wait where I was, hanging onto the side hoping he wouldn’t walk over and look over. If that happened or I got on right now, the Fodder would see me, so I’d have to wait until he dropped the anchor and moved up front.

A minute or two later, I heard the helmsman make the call to drop the anchor.

The Fodder turned to face the water behind him, and threw the anchor over the side. He didn’t even wait for the chains connecting the anchor to the boat to stop unspooling before turning back around and walking to the front of the boat.

I peeked over the side and watched the Fodder move to the front, watching something in the distance.

I used the opportunity to slip on board. The deck was pretty bare, with only some supplies needed to run the boat and maintain it near the cabin in open crates. The back of the cabin itself was open and aside from the ship’s wheel, I saw bedding that was probably for the Fodder considering its size.

Closer to me, was a set of stairs leading to a door that led inside the ship.

I swallowed. I had no idea who was below decks or if they were awake or asleep, where they were, or how many. It was a small boat that looked private, so my hopes were that it was a lord or rich merchant that was sleeping and no one else.

I ran towards the stairs then crept down them. Once at the bottom, I put my ear to the door, enhancing my hearing with magic, and listened. 

I heard two people talking, a man and a woman. They weren’t talking about anything interesting so I stopped my enhanced hearing and moved away from the door. Even now I could faintly hear them if I focused on the door.

I crossed my arms as I thought. It sounded like they were just on the other side of the door and I wondered how close they were and where they were looking.

I heard footsteps on the deck above, and judging by the light footsteps, it was the helmsman.

I was stuck. I couldn’t go back up the stairs without the helmsman seeing me, and the two talking inside would probably see me go in. So, I turned invisible and pressed myself against the wall. I’d only have inches of room to let him pass me by, so I’d have to be on my toes and dodge him if he got close.

Moments later, the helmsman walked down the stairs. He didn’t appear in a hurry, which made me worry my invisibility would run out. I also wondered if I’d gotten the magic right. Invisibility was one of the harder magics I’d learned, and any mistake could make me at least somewhat visible.

The helmsman made it to the door and entered the boat without slowing.

I followed in right behind him and looked for a place to hide as he approached the man and woman I’d heard before.

I found myself in a short hallway. Directly across from me was another door, which was open, that led into what could only have been the owner’s bedroom. Other than that, there wasn’t much in the hallway as either end turned to go around the stairs and further into the other side of the boat. If I wanted to see what was back there, I’d have to go exploring.

I ignored the middle aged rich looking man and woman while resisting the temptation to look inside the room, and headed for the back of the ship, listening as I moved along just in case there was anyone else down here.

I rounded the corner and found just a large storage space. Most of the hold was empty, with only a few crates and barrels filled with food and a goat. 

I blinked in surprise at the goat as I hadn’t expected to find an animal down here. I guessed they used it for milk? Its udder did look bloated with the stuff.

I slipped behind some crates and released my invisibility. There was only a single dim magic lamp hanging in the center of the hold, so there were plenty of deep shadows for me to hide behind.

I heard a thumping as something bumped against the side of the boat not long after I settled in. It looked like the inspector had arrived.

I debated on if I should use Still Life, my skill that hid my magic aura from all but the most trained Magic Eyes. I’d used most of my magic when I was invisible, so I felt I should take as much time as I could to recover. Hopefully the owner of this boat was super talkative and they’d be up on deck for a while before coming down… And I heard footsteps going down the stairs.

I waited and listened. If the inspector could see through walls with his Magic Eyes, I was probably already screwed, but if not, I still had some time, especially if they stopped to check out the bedroom first.

I heard more talking, but I felt so nervous I didn’t pay attention. Until this point, if I got caught, all I’d expect was a beating, then sent back to my outcropping to recover. This time… this time if I got caught I’d be imprisoned and probably taken in as a spy for Ignatio. After that I’d probably stay imprisoned, or maybe executed.

I’d lost track of time and I noticed the voices growing louder.

I cursed at myself for letting myself be distracted and used my Still Life skill.

Moments later I heard them enter the hold. I couldn’t see them from my position, but I assumed at least one of them was the inspector.

I heard one of them walking around the room, “Your jewelry are the only magic items in your possession?”

“Yes, although my wife and I hope to acquire some during our stay in Calvinville.”

I heard the one who was probably the inspector walk to where I was hiding behind the supplies and begin looking through them, “If you need more supplies, ask the dock guildmaster and we’ll take care of that for you.”

“We will only be here for two days before returning to New Dubai, so we should be fine.”

The men left the hold, and I finally breathed a sigh of relief. Somehow my magic had lasted long enough and now all I needed to do was wait until I could use invisibility to escape.

Eventually, I heard another thump on the side of the ship. It looked like I had fooled the inspector, which helped me relax quite a bit. Now I wondered how long it would take before the boat moved to the docks. It wasn’t large, so it probably wouldn’t have to wait long for a space to open up.

I heard the owner go into his bedroom and close the door. It was pretty late at night, so it was possible we weren’t moving until the morning, which I really hoped wasn’t true. It was only a matter of time until someone came to fetch some food and I didn’t really want to have to keep turning invisible while waiting for someone to grab some preserved meat or a piece of fruit.

A little later, an hour I guessed, I heard the anchor being pulled back into the boat. Ten or so minutes after that I heard the boat thump against something. 

The helmsman came down and knocked on the owner’s door, “We’ve arrived, sir.”

There was a reply I couldn’t quite make out, and the helmsman ran back up the stairs.

I poked my head out from behind the barrels. Only the goat was in here, and she stared at me, bleating softly. I smiled at the goat, I’d always thought they were funny, and moved to look into the hallway. No one was here either, so I didn’t turn on my invisibility until I reached the base of the stairs. 

I slowly made my way up the stairs until I could see the deck. Here I saw both the helmsman and the Fodder attaching the boat to the dock. There was a dock worker helping them but I saw no one else immediately nearby. The dock itself was moderately busy despite being late into the night, and fairly noisy as men chatted while they did their work.

I ran across the deck and jumped onto the pier, landing almost noiselessly. From here I sprinted to the dockyards and warehouses, making it with a little time to spare with my magic. Once there, I found a dark space behind a small warehouse, and dropped my invisibility.

Mula floated from above and settled next to me, “This one is happy Tamana made it safely!”

I turned to Mula, not quite feeling safe yet, “You know, the bad thing about sneaking into places and not needing to kill anyone is that if everything goes right, it can be pretty boring.”

Mula thought for a moment, then nodded, “This one gets pretty bored because most people cannot see her.”

As someone with a face like I had, I was kinda jealous, “Yeah, but you’re hot. I’d love it if no one could see me.”

Mula scowled at me, “Tamana should not think this way! Tamana is a good person and should make many friends! Someone who hates Tamana for having an undesirable face is not a good person!”

I shook my head, “I don’t really want friends anyway.” I looked at her, “Well, you’re a pretty good friend.”

Deep down I wondered if Mula was only being nice to me because I was the only one who could talk to her on top of being bonded to my spirit. If we found a way for other people to see her, or she broke her bond, would she stay my friend?

Mula looked like she was considering something, “Maybe Tamana feels more friendly after fixing the birthmark on her face? Let’s go now.”

I turned to look at the floating fortress above us now, “No way we’ll have enough money, but I guess it won’t hurt to ask.”

Mula nodded, giving me a warm smile, “Yes! Let’s go! We can look at the city while we go too!”

I looked to the city, the streets looking more deserted the farther away from the docks one went. There were also plenty of shadows that the magic lamps lining the streets couldn’t reach, so sneaking along if I needed to wouldn’t be a problem.

I remembered something, “How about a tailor? I still need new pants.”

Mula looked annoyed at my request as she glanced at my legs, “Maybe once Tamana’s face is mended, we can look for more womanly clothes?”

I… actually didn’t care either way, but if it would make her happy, I might as well, “Sure. Once we get my face fixed…”

Still… On second thought, women had much more fashion choices than men. Perhaps… Perhaps it might be fun to try it out? I only needed to be in spy mode for missions. During my off time there wasn’t anything that said I had to dress like I was always dark and brooding.

I turned my attention back to the city, finally excited at finally getting back to civilization. The only thing I needed to watch out for was anyone using Magic Eyes, but other than that… wait… they didn’t require passports or anything to go into the city, did they? 

Oh well.

I’d worry about that if it ever came up. For now, I’d enjoy the sights. Maybe find a way to make some more money. Do some shopping.

Alright! Time for another poll. So, Tamana wants to change her height, maybe, so I was thinking since I let my readers choose what she looked like to begin with through polls, I'd let you choose how she changes herself too. She's currently 6'1", or 185cm. Poll won't close until the proper time of the story hits. If there's a tie, I'll split the difference, but I have a feeling it'll go to one of the extremes.