The first person to recover from their shock was Bera. She took a moment to swivel her head from Zharia to Áine and then at me. Coming closer slowly, she leaned forward and leveled her eyes to Zharia’s head. “Ehhm, well, hello there, pretty one. I’m going to have to kindly ask that you don’t start any fires inside here,” she said sweetly and slowly.

Zharia turned and regarded the woman talking to her. For a moment, I was concerned that the riled-up firebird would ask if she could burn the innkeeper next. Surprisingly, her flames died down, and she landed on the bar beside me.

Bera hummed happily when she saw the fiery spirit calm down. “Is there anything I can get you, little one?” she asked Zharia.

“Can you provide me with a flame to consume, poison lady?" Bera winced when Zharia called her poison lady. I wasn’t sure why Zharia had called her that, but it looked like there was a story there. Without missing a beat, she hummed a quick tune and pulled out a candle glued to a metal. She produced a small red stone, and after a second, the candle was lit. Zharia wasted no time and flew to the top of the candle and seemed to inhale some of the flames.

“Is that good enough for you, dear?” Bera asked, eying the bird ‘eat’ the candle fire.

“Yes, it will do. Thank you,” Zharia chirped back.

In the corner of my eye, I saw Sam regain her composure and give me a weird look. The room was still annoyingly silent, and nobody had looked away. Thankfully, for the next ten minutes, nobody bothered us. I eventually managed to introduce Sam to Zharia after managing to convince her we were messing around. Zharia didn’t sound like she fully understood, but there was no more talk of burning Sam’s hair.

I even managed to introduce Áine to Bera. The innkeeper was delighted to know that Áine liked the apple juice and promised to bring out other juices next time. Eventually, after the greetings had died down, I asked Bera a question. “Do you know if there is any butcher in town to whom I can offload some beast corpses to?” I asked her.

Bera hummed lightly before replying. “I might be willing to buy it off you. It’ll depend on the kind of meat, though. Not every creature is really fit for consumption,” she said, her eyes showing curiosity. I asked her if she had a tarp or something to cover the floor so I could show her.

After disappearing into the back and promptly coming back with a black sheet that looked like it was made of silk. I hesitated, not wanting to stain such an expensive cloth. She waved me off lightly and told me not to worry. Trusting her, I made the bodies of the pig and the wolf creature appear. They landed on the sheet with a heavy thud and were already beginning to drip blood.

Bera gave me another weird stare before she bent down and began inspecting the bodies. This time, a few people were hovering nearby curiously. There were two of the guards to my far right. One had a brief look of awe, while the other was sending brief glances my way. It seems I was back to being a suspicious individual again.

Bera stood up after having thoroughly examined the bodies. “I can’t do much for the zilva wolf, but the ember boar is great. Looks like the guy had just matured. Their meat is good for just about everything. It has a natural spice that helps when cooking," she said while wiping her hands on a gray rag. "I can give you eight silver since it’s large enough. The wolf you can bring to Arlen. The fur usually sells for a silver or two. I must say, though, it looks like they charged the wrong boulder.”

Sam practically beamed at the boulder comment. She was obviously proud of her deadly fists. I agreed on the price, and the crowd gawked again when my little dragon came out. This time, I could feel an obvious strain on my mana. I suspect that if the dragon was a true familiar, I may not have been able to summon him for long. After more jaws dropped after my dragon ‘kirbied’ the wolf's corpse into his mouth, Bera managed to surprise me. She placed her hand on the edge of the silk, and after a moment, the silk quickly wrapped itself around the pig's body. She then proceeded to pick up the massive silk-wrapped pig and walked to the kitchen. Seeing this feat of strength made me think that Bera was definitely more than she looked.

After receiving the coin Bera promised me, I re-absorbed Zharia and Áine and said our goodbyes. The following trip to the butcher was a dry affair. The gruff man showed no reaction when I plopped the bloody corpse onto his counter and merely offered me a silver and a half. After blandly agreeing and having dropped more coins in my pouch, we made our way back to the guildhall.

Last night, Brelten told us to come back tomorrow, and we could get the two pouches I picked up identified. Stepping inside the guild building, Talis noticed and waved us over. “Hello again, Cyrus and Sam. Brelten informed me you might be stopping by. I believe you wanted to see our appraiser?” Talis asked politely. Studying the man, he still looked slightly nervous around us. Hopefully, in the coming days, it’ll die down and return to normal.

“That’d be right. I ended up picking up some items that appeared when I came here. Figured it's time to find out what they did,” I said casually. If I act like nothing's wrong, surely things will acclimate to my level.

“I’ll lead you right to him if you’ll just follow me,” Talis continued neutrally. When I turned to look at Sam, she simply shrugged back. We found ourselves entering one of the side rooms from earlier after he led us downstairs. He left us at the door and returned to the front desk. When we entered, I saw the sleeping man from last night. He was no longer asleep and was wearing a simple blue robe. The room itself was basic, with only a desk and a couple of chairs in the center. Lining the back walls were tables, which I can only assume were for displaying items.

The man nodded his head when we sat down in front of him. “Hello there. You two are the ones from last night. I’ve been instructed that you're looking for an appraisal,” said the man in an easy tone. His posture was laid back and relaxed. Examining him, I couldn’t spot anything remarkable. His hair was short and brown, and his eyes a light blue. While not ugly, he wasn’t handsome either.

“Yes, I’m Cyrus, and this is Sam,” I greeted back. Sam waved her hand at the mention of her name. “May I have your name?” I asked. It’d be rude not to learn the name of the person whose services I planned on using frequently in the future.

“Ah yes, sorry, that was rude of me. I’m Guild Appraiser Winslow,” he said. His posture never changed, and he stayed leaning slightly in his chair. “Would you like some basic knowledge about my role and the services I offer to adventurers of the guild?” he asked.

I responded with a nod. “Very well. I am a member of the guild staff who has been specifically trained in identifying and recognizing any and all items. Whether the items in question are magical, mundane, or something in between, I should know it. I have an appraisal skill, an identification skill, and a few other specific skills at tier two. I also help with the selling and buying of items in the guild. It can range anywhere from a new sword to skill stones. If you require specific materials for a profession, whether you wish to buy or sell them, I’m who you go to. Another thing I can assure you of is that all purchases are absolutely private. When we log our acquisitions, we only mark the day and the location of where they came from. If you were to require a certain skill stone that we don’t currently have here locally, I’ll put in a request that will only say that it is to be delivered here and on the day the request was made and fulfilled. Not even the guild master can force me to reveal information about who buys or sells what,” he rattled off in an easy cadence. The speech was practiced and easy.

I didn't have anything to hide with my bags today, but seeing that privacy was a valued concern was reassuring. I retrieved two pouches from my inventory, and Winslow didn't seem phased by their sudden appearance, likely due to his job.

He picked up the white pouch with a gold thread seal, and a purple eye symbol appeared on his head, causing me to blink rapidly. Winslow encased the pouch in a transparent energy cube using two hands before returning it to the desk. He repeated the process with the orange pouch adorned with a smiling pumpkin face before hovering his hands over both pouches. Finally, he dropped his hands back to his side, and the purple eye symbol vanished.

“I must ask before I tell you what they are. Did you happen to find these around an area that had recently been subjected to an ether storm?” he asked inquisitively.

Was that why the forest was completely silent and devoid of life for a while? I wonder how he could tell. “Yes. We traveled through the Yidelwoods about a week ago. These two items were nearby one of our stops for the night,” I responded. His eyes widened slightly at the revelation but otherwise showed no reaction.

“Hmmm, well, that explains it. Ether storm items tend to have a specific magical signature present. Generally, the items themselves have some of the most random effects known. When I was appraising the pouches, I could feel the erratic nature of the magical enchantment. The two item’s effects, while unusual, are no more stranger than the usual,” he said while relaxing deeper into his chair.

“So, what do they do?” Sam asked. I could tell her curiosity had peaked. Strange magical items sounded cool. The very idea of having two mundane objects carry some special magical effect was thrilling.

He picked up the white pouch first. “This pouch has been labeled as Chef’s Mini Seasoning Pouch. Apparently, it carries a refilling source of different seasonings that one can pull from the bag to use. It refills once a day and may be used several times to grab different spices. Simply open the pouch and reach in, thinking of what you want to pull out. I was able to identify basic pepper and salt, along with onion powder, garlic powder, and something called paprika,” he said while holding up the small pouch.

There was only one thought on my mind. Sam punched me hard on the arm, and I yelped out in pain. I shot daggers her way, giving her the ‘what the heck was that for’ look. “You’re telling me while we were stuck roasting gamey pig meat in the forest, we could have seasoned it?!” she yelled angrily. It wasn’t like I was supposed to know we had a magical seasoning bag. Completely unfair. It wasn’t like the meat we ate was that horrible.

“How am I supposed to know random magical crap out of the blue, huh? Didn’t see you pulling out your magic food bag and making us a meal. You even made me cut the meat with my claws!” I retorted. She continued to give me a mean glare before turning her nose up and snorting.

Winslow simply smiled at our exchange before coughing lightly to get our attention. He set the first pouch down and moved on to the one with the face. Picking it up to display it so that the smiling jack-o'-lantern face faced us. “This one is also of similar use. It's labeled as Trickster’s Bag of Sweet Treats. Three times per day, the owner can pull out a couple of pieces of candy. It regenerates every twenty-four hours. I must say, while strange, these objects are surprisingly useful. Usually, the effects are so random on these kinds of items that you’ll go through dozens and dozens before a good one pops up,” he said while putting the pouch back down. “I’m going to assume you don’t want to sell these? The candy pouch may be niche, but the pouch of seasoning would be useful to many adventure parties.”

I furiously shook my head no and caught Sam doing the same. First, they were my first magic items. Second, I wasn’t going to give up my potentially only source of sweets in this world. Winslow chuckled lightly. He told us to come to him whenever we had more items to appraise, and if we ever had the money, we should ask him about buying gear and skills. We bid him goodbye and made our way back upstairs to sit at one of the tables. Sam snatched the candy pouch from my hands the moment we sat down. Ignoring my protests, she undid the thread on the pouch and reached her hand in. She pulled her hand out and dropped three pieces of candy on the table. One looked like an unbranded candy bar, while the other two were tootsie pops. Before I could even twitch a finger, she snatched the candy bar and tore it open. She gave a small moan of pleasure as she bit into the chocolate.

I grabbed the pouch back and clutched it close to my chest. “Ruuuude! Can I at least have a piece before you devour it?” I snapped. She ignored me as she took another bite, but before I could open my mouth again, she snapped off a piece at the bottom and tossed it to me. My complaint died as the delicious chocolate began melting in my mouth. I wasn’t sure what brand of chocolate this was, and I didn’t think there was one. The candy did taste good, though. It hit differently than when we ate Bera’s pie. It was sweet but in a completely different way that only a bar of chocolate-based sugar can be.

Looking up, Talis was eyeing us with a look of absolute confusion on his face. After a moment of thought, I grabbed the pops and headed over. He blinked a few times at my approach, the question obvious, but he didn’t look like he wanted to ask it out loud. “Hey Talis, I got something for you. Think of it as my way of apologizing for the small awkwardness from yesterday,” I said while handing him the two pieces of candy.

“Oh, uh, thank you. There's no need. I am the one who should be apologizing, really,” he stuttered, clearly not expecting me to give him something. I denied him trying to give back the candy and told him to try it. He hesitantly unwrapped the one that was cherry flavored and put it in his mouth slowly. His eyebrows did a small dance as he processed the flavor. There was a brief moment of confusion, and then his face brightened. “Oh my, thisth if so gooth, thankss you.”

I laughed at his garbled words, and he pulled the candy out while he lowered his head, blushing lightly. I wished him a good day and told him we’d be back later tonight to talk to Brelten. Another chuckle almost escaped my lips as he only half paid attention to my words. I shook my head at Sam’s now slightly chocolate-covered face and motioned for her to come on. Before we left the building, I had the little dragon suck both pouches back up. He appeared for one second and was gone the next with pouches in his void stomach. Was still a weird thing to have to deal with. I’ll probably name the little guy later. I’m still not entirely sure if he's alive, but I was going to just assume so and treat him like such. There wasn’t a weight on my soul the way Zharia or Áine inflicted. Gah, even accepting the idea that I can now feel my soul was beyond weird. An entire life being atheistic, and now I’m the adopted scion of a god and carry magic spirits in my soul. I shook my head as we walked.

Sam gave me a questioning look, but I told her it was nothing. I wasn’t sure what else we should do today, but I figured until we learn more from Brelten, we could just hang out at the inn. It wouldn’t hurt to read more information from the primer. Sam agreed quickly, and we headed back to Oleanders. The morning crowd had died, and now there were only a few people sitting and nursing drinks. We waved to Bera as we came in and sat down at a table for once. We both pulled out our books and began studying.

Several hours passed, Bera came, and we got some refreshing fruity drinks midway through. Closing the book, I stretched and slumped lazily in my chair. I knew that the world so far hasn’t been too off base from all the different novels I’ve read, but damn. I finally got my answer as to what the tiers were. This world was a damn pseudo-cultivation-esque system.

Despite the levels of ascendency being put into tiers, instead of the usual metal-based system more commonly used, it wasn’t too different. Everybody born in Inoria had a certain number of skill slots. The amount of skill slots correlated to what tier was achievable if said person ever strived to raise their tier level. The lucky few mortals who were born with all slots could theoretically reach tier five and achieve minor divinity. For every two active skills, you were able to use one passive. Ten actives and five passives were required to break from mortality.

It turned out, on average, the common folk would only have at most four actives and two passives. And those who had the maximum amount of skill slots had to work the hardest. The Grand Weave identified someone on the path of ascendency the moment you acquired a skill. This was called the first step. The half step was when one of your skills achieved rank ten and reset to the next tier. A full step occurred when all skills reached the next tier, and the person underwent their first evolution. Usually, nothing visibly changed for most of the populace. Certain races, like the beastkin and demons, underwent a more drastic change. I finally understood now what Cal meant, that I probably wouldn’t look like him when I evolved. The specific powers and perks you had affected how one’s evolution looks. Thinking back, the guard captain, Bera’s swift eye change, and even Brelten’s glowing emerald eyes could all be explained now.

Apparently, the first-tier evolution changed the body just like the way cultivator literature said it would. Minor strengthening in all aspects, along with the cleansing of the body's impurities, happened at the moment of breaking through to the next tier. As a Reborn, we didn’t have to deal with any impurities. Unlike normal people, our bodies were given to us fresh and new. It was why we were supposed to expect rapid growth.

Yay, for us, we get cheat-like bodies that don’t have to deal with disgusting gunk oozing out. The one thing I did learn was that besides oozing black tar, the real kicker was barfing up our organs. Tier one changed the body's digestive structure and removed the need for any sort of waste processing. As we ascended to the higher tiers, the more our body released its fleshy shackles and shifted to a magical whole.

Another thing I learned was that Sam and I wasted our kills of the pig and wolf. Unlike most beasts and spirits, we humanoids were horribly inefficient in absorbing ambient mana for cultivating. What we should have done was sit down and use the mana we got from the kills and do some meditation. We were supposed to look inward and slowly use the energy to carve mana channels throughout our bodies. This was why, more than just the more abundant options of skills at their disposal, people who had higher skill slots naturally had more mana than people who had lesser. Every new skill, whether active or passive, was a chance to deepen our pool of mana.

Around the second tier, we had to start worrying about a mana core. Our organs would be replaced slowly until there were only our hearts left. Food would break down into the new cavity in our body. And would be used for all other functions except pumping blood. Personally, it might be freaky to cut someone’s stomach open and not have any entrails fall out. Once we reached the fifth tier, our blood would be completely replaced with mana, and by then, we’d just be a shell housing our core.

The idea of being able to rise to the level of godhood was… exciting. When I thought about it, I felt my blood sing as if to say that there could never be anything else. I wasn’t sure how I truly felt about it, but I wouldn’t turn down the chance.

As I stood up and stretched, I looked down at my clothes. I haven’t changed them since I put them on, and honestly, I could use a bath. Sam was still reading, so I didn’t bother her. I walked to the bar and waited till Bera finished serving a pair of elves ordering drinks.

She walked over and leaned on the counter. “Finished reading that hefty book there? Could have mistaken you two for a pair of scholars, with how long you guys were going at it,” Bera commented jokingly. I gave a small chuckle. Sam of old could have easily been a scholar, but new Sam? I shook my head. I don’t think scholars feel such thrills at crushing beast skulls with giant fists.

“Yeah, I've got a lot to study up on. Not having any idea how things work sucks, so we dug in and tried to absorb all the knowledge we could. I’m taking a nice long break for now. Figured I’d take you up on getting a bath,” I said while fishing the ten copper out of my pocket. She scooped it up and winked.

“Just take that door to the right. Head down the stairs, and you’ll find two doors. Use the left, and it’ll open up to the washing room. The one on the right holds the restroom.”

I went back to Sam and let her know I was taking a bath and left for the door on the right. Wasn’t sure how I didn’t notice this door before, but having a bathroom made sense. Idly I noticed that I had to use it at this moment. Hopefully, it wasn’t a wash-with-your-hands scenario. The time spent in the woods was not kind to the leaves. After finishing my business in the restroom, which had a bidet-like device, I took the other door to the washing room.

The floor was bare stone and with nothing much inside. There was a bowl in the center of the room, large enough to fit someone bigger than Sam. I approached the edge, not sure how I was supposed to wash with nothing. At my feet was a small golden plate that had gems embedded into it. The left gem was a large blue crystal with two smaller crystals next to it. The smaller crystal was a lighter blue, and the other, firetruck red. The right large crystal had no smaller ones next to it but was a smokey black. Getting used to the magic equivalent of technology was going to take a while.

Figuring out the basin wasn’t hard. I simply had to channel magic into the crystals. The bigger blue one filled the tub with water and stopped when I cut the mana flow. The smaller crystals were used for heating or cooling the water. Turns out I could change the water to be boiling all the way to feeling like I skinny-dipped in a frozen lake in winter. The black crystal seemed to evaporate the water. I took off my clothes and relaxed properly for the first time in a while.

A knock on the door startled me awake. I splashed my limbs in the now cold water briefly as I tried to recognize my surroundings. “Cyrus? Are you alright in there? It’s been about two hours, dear. I’d rather not have to bust the door down because you passed out or drowned,” came Bera’s voice with obvious concern.

Vaguely, I noticed that I wasn’t pruned or even cold in the water. Benefits of awesome perks, it seems. As another knock came, I focused. “I’m alright. Looks like I ended up falling asleep, sorry. I’ll be out momentarily,” I called back. There was a muffled response that I couldn’t parse, but thankfully, there was no worried Bera busting the door down. I activated the black crystal and slowly got out. There wasn’t anything to wipe myself down, so I used my old shirt as an impromptu towel. I suctioned it back into my inventory and popped out a fresh set of clothes. They were an exact copy, but they were fresh. Besides, I didn’t think anyone really complained about wearing the same type of clothing here. When I exited, I was greeted by Bera with her hands on her hips.

“Well, as long as you're okay. If you're going to take a longer bath, I’d like a heads-up next time. It’d be a shame if you somehow drowned in my tub,” she lightly scolded me. I could only placate her by promising to do just that and not to worry. Heading back up, I sat down beside Sam, who was now at the bar.

“Enjoy yourself there, Cy?” she asked.

“It was relaxing. You should try it,” I said back. In a lower voice, I whispered in her ear. “I accidentally fell asleep while lying in the water. Bera came and almost threatened to break the door in if I didn’t respond. Would have been embarrassing as hell.”

She shook her head and gave a light giggle. We spent the next hour eating and discussing what we read in the book. After we ate, we had about an hour before we were supposed to meet up with Brelten. Away from some buildings, Sam finally showed me her new skill. Whenever she started to move fast, her feet had a light distortion. Her steps looked like she was kicking off the surface of a pond. She was faster, not incredibly so but noticeably. She also claimed that she felt a better sense of balance. From what we learned about skills from the primer, when she raised its rank, it’d get more powerful. Currently, all of our skills are at tier zero. We’d have to go hunting for some monsters soon.

Sometime later, we just got done discussing what happened throughout the day and what we learned. Brelten gave us a wry look and admitted he already heard about our little performance in the inn. He shook his head and admonished us lightly for already causing chaos. We did learn that when we pulled items out of thin air, people had a right to be shocked. Storage devices or skills were not seen often and were rare enough. Generally, only the wealthiest or the more powerful had one or the other. I mentioned how Arlen didn’t even blink when I plopped a wolf's corpse on his table, and he laughed, saying that the man wouldn’t be disgruntled if the building came down on his head.

Brelten sat back and regarded us for a moment. “So, I’m going to guess that besides the clothes you're wearing, you don’t have any equipment?” he asked. We shook our heads, and he stood up. He moved his desk and chairs back and then stood slightly away from us. “Want to try wielding a weapon? You briefly told me that your world no longer used weapons like ours anymore. I’m gonna assume that you guys have absolutely no training whatsoever.”

None of us really wanted to discuss the concept of guns here, not wanting to taint the image of a magical fantasy world. I confirmed his suspicions, and he conjured up a small armoury worth of weapons. Eventually, after a few practice swings with a sword, I put it back down and picked up a simple spear. It had a leaf blade tip, and the shaft was on the shorter side, measuring at only five and a half feet. The shaft itself was made of waxed black wood. Sam grabbed a weighty basic iron hammer. The thing looked heavy, but she didn’t show much strain holding it.

“The weapon looks good on you, Sam,” he complimented. Turning to me, he inspected me and shifted positions to get a better look. I felt awkward holding the weapon. I’m sure somebody on the internet somewhere is having an aneurysm due to the way I’m holding the spear. “I’m surprised you wouldn’t prefer a range option, Cyrus. Generally, those with summoner-type magic prefer to be in the background. Your kind doesn’t normally deal well at the front lines the way a tank or a warrior would.”

I looked down at my feet and noticed there was a sling and a bow. He was probably right, but; I didn’t think I wanted to spend years practicing how to fire an arrow correctly. Currently, my only attack option was using Zharia to burn things, and that didn’t seem like it’d hold in all scenarios. I wasn’t going to kid myself and play around at being some master swordsman. Not when it could easily be a matter of life and death.

“Spears seem easier. I don’t have nor want the kind of strength needed to wield giant heavy weapons like Sam. And I’m certainly going to never be some pugilist,” I started, giving Sam a wink. She flexed her biceps in response. “In our old world, spears were the weapons of choice for the common man. It didn’t take much training to brace and point your sharp stick at something. This way, I can engage in melee while my summons takes care of range support while not risking being completely up close and personal. And I don’t think I’m going to suddenly be a competent archer all of a sudden.”

He gave me a beaming smile. “ Good, I approve of your reasoning. Still, it wouldn’t hurt to have some range option, especially if your summons in the future are also ranged combatants. For now, at the lower tier, a spear will work just fine. Maybe later, you can get yourself a basic wand or staff with an inscribed spell. They are not the cheapest, but they’ll be a great boon,” he advised.

My little nerdy heart was ecstatic about magic wands and spell staves being real. He waved his hand, and the rest of the unchosen weapons disappeared. When he saw my raised eyebrow, he pointed to a golden bracelet that was hidden before by his sleeve. I guess I couldn’t be too surprised someone titled as a guild master would have a storage device. I wondered if he had a large storage space.

In his hands appeared a round shield made of wood and a four-pronged mace. I almost took a step back as Brelten suddenly had a vicious grin. His eyes glowed bright green as he smiled evilly at us. “Come, let’s see if you're any good with those things in your hands. I promise to go easy,” he said, whispering the last part of the sentence.

As it turns out, not at all. Neither Sam nor I struggled to really use the weapons given to us, but Brelten was an unbreakable bulwark. Our every lunge or swipe was blocked with his shield. Despite being made of wood, I strongly suspected that it was harder than the surrounding building. He would punish our futile attacks with a solid smack from his shield or a chop from the shaft of his weapon. I wasn’t sure how long we tried to land even a single hit on the guy, but by the end, we were both panting hard. There was a distinct lack of sweat on my end whilst Sam was covered. Demon biology was weird.

He dismissed his shield, smacked the head of his mace on the ground, and leaned on his weapon. “Not the worst I’ve ever seen. You guys are obviously tier zero. You do have surprisingly higher stamina than I thought, which must be another trait of your condition. Cyrus, you handled it well despite having no training. Your stance is crap, and you need to get used to maneuvering the weapon when you have both hands gripped,” he said dryly and without any condescension. He looked over Sam's recovering form. “For you, Sam, I can see where you're going with a hammer. I think you suit the weapon well, which shouldn’t really be a surprise. As you move up in ranks and tiers, you should be mindful of the weight of your hammer. You’ll probably struggle with what all melee-focused adventurers struggle with. That is to say, your strength will only grow, and when you acquire body-enhancing skills, you’ll have an awkward period where your weapon will feel off.”

All in all, it wasn’t a bad session. We returned the weapons and limped our way back to Bera’s. I promised to have Áine heal our wounds when we sat down. Sam said she’d take the healing and then go and wash up herself. The nighttime crowd was bustling as last night as we entered the inn. More than a few people honed in on us and our disheveled state. We sat down at the bar with more than a few swallowed groans. Bera approached us with a worried look in her eyes.

“What happened? Did you guys get into a fight?” she asked concerningly.

“Something like that. We just had a brief training session with Brelten. The dude is a mean combatant. Nothing too serious, but more than a little sore. Never held a weapon before till he forced the sudden spar,” I said bitterly.

She swiveled to regard Sam’s equally distraught state. She then chuckled before turning back to me. “Well, that's good. I was afraid you guys got into a fight with someone. He’d certainly explain why Sam over there looks like she's rocking a busted lip. Is there anything I can do to help?” she asked nicely.

Her concern was sweet. I’m sure most innkeepers were not this warm. There was no doubt that if trouble ever started at the inn, she would not be left wanting on willing bodies to help out. I fished out some coins to pay for Sam’s bath and have a meal brought out now and one later when Sam got done.

She accepted and told Sam where to go for a wash. “Are you going to be okay making your way down the stairs, Sam?” she asked, putting her hand on Sam’s arm.

“Don’t worry, I’ll just have Cyrus fix me up before I relax in the tub,” Sam replied. By now, the feeling of eyes drilling into the back of my head was becoming annoyingly common. Before Bera could ask the obvious, I channeled my magic and summoned Áine.

Áine did a small twirl in the air before she went over and put her tiny hands on Sam’s head. A couple of audible gasps echoed throughout the room. Those who were busy chatting before were now staring silently as their friends nudged them in our direction. Áine’s glowing green hands dropped before she came over to heal me next. Sam audibly groaned as she stretched and rolled her shoulders. Having a healing fairy was definitely a cheat. I felt the aching of my bruised body disappear as Áine’s magic flowed through me. I closed my eyes midway through the process. I mentally thanked Áine, and I felt her boop me in the nose before disappearing. When I opened my eyes, it was to a familiar sight.

Behind me, a loud voice shouted out. “He has a healing skill! The guy can heal!” It was impossible to tell who it came from with the thick crowd. The man's words brought murmuring to the crowd. Sam’s lips thinned as she took in the room. Suddenly, there was a commotion as the crowd was forced to part. Three people in guard uniforms came and stood next to us.

“We’d like you to come with us,” said the lead guard sternly, her arms crossed over her chest.

What the hell did I get myself into now?