He’s a weird one.

 

It was the most accurate descriptor that Mist could think up to describe her new saviour. He was Soulbound, apparently capable of incredible magic, but he didn’t seem strong. He’d let Pelos run away during the night, who knew why? Maybe they really couldn’t stop him from leaving.

 

A familiar black cat ran across Mist’s path as they walked the last stretch towards Bellstrow, the town clearly visible in the near-distance.

 

She’s even weirder. What’s her deal?

 

Truly, Mist didn’t really know what to make of things. She wanted to believe that Peter was a good person, especially considering she’d thrown her lot in with him, but he kept company with that cat, who’d sooner leave Peter in a dungeon to rot than intervene herself, and who didn’t seem to give a single damn about anyone other than or including him.

 

She certainly doesn’t seem too fond of me. 

 

Maybe Mist just didn’t know them well enough. Seles might just be a bit rough around the edges.

 

No, that was her trying to cope.

 

The cat was bad news. She could sense it. Anyone who could leave someone to their fate like that was unreliable, regardless of her reasons. Mist would at least understand if the cat was scared, but from what she could intuit, she wasn’t weak or cowardly. She’d killed that huge bear as if it was nothing, and gathered materials for an entire campsite in a ridiculously short time. She was clearly powerful, but hadn’t lifted a finger to save her friend.

 

Maybe ‘friend’ wasn’t the right word. Again, all the more reason to keep an eye on them both.

 

Mist did feel both happy and relieved to be approaching a new town, though. She’d gladly never visit Craggor’s Hill again, and beyond the relief of her freedom, there was a different kind of liberation that came with arriving at a place where no one knew your name. 

 

She was glad she was arriving with two people that did know her, and at least one that seemed concerned for her wellbeing.

 

She’d rather that than be alone. 

 

“My room’s on the other side of town. I need to get there without running into my boss, or anyone that knows me from work, though.” Peter sounded tired as he spoke, more exasperated than anything. “There’s a long way, but it’s kinda complicated to get through all the backstreets.”

 

Peter had explained this all to them as they walked, the fact he’d made a delivery for a courier’s agency when he’d gotten captured, and that if he turned back up to his boss without the money, he’d likely send a letter to confirm whether the delivery arrived or not. 

 

Peter, who barely escaped from that place with his life, did not want his boss sending a letter, nor did he trust him with the truth.

 

Considering that, it’d be a lot easier to avoid his boss until he had the money that he would’ve been paid for the delivery. Then he could pass it off like nothing happened. 

 

Only, the longer they waited, the more likely his boss sent that letter, and all hell broke loose anyway.

 

“You can probably just use your glamour, you know.” 

 

Mist nearly jumped out of her skin. Where there’d been a cat, there was now a girl about a half-head taller than her, walking in the space between Mist and Peter. You didn’t get used to that shit, people just spawning from out of nowhere right in front of you.

 

“Shit, you’re right. That’s a good point. Maybe we don’t need to go round the edge of the town after all.”

 

“I don’t know why I’m giving you solutions. You don't have that many spells to keep in your head, is it so hard to remember what they do?”

 

Peter seemed to blush a bit, cheeks scarlet. “It’s been a day! I’m not used to being able to do anything, why would I suddenly keep perfect track of all my brand new, overwhelming options?”

 

“Mortals must be overwhelmed quite easily.”

 

“Wait,” Mist blurted, not able to contain the thought. “Did you just say you’ve only been Soulbound for a day?”

 

“Your ears are working,” Seles nodded, her side eye practically weaponised. “Good job!”

 

Mist ground to a halt, looking between the two of them like they’d just told her the sky was pink. “You didn’t think to mention that you have a day’s experience as a mage before giving me magical conjured herbs to chew on?”

 

“I already tried them on myself,” Peter said, “I knew for sure that they worked.”

 

“What if I was allergic!”

 

“Then at worst you’d have come out in hives,” Seles interjected, squinting at her. “I don’t like how inquisitive you are. I taught him the spell, so it’s safe. That’s all there is to it.”

 

Mist stared straight ahead, watching the bustle of the busy street drawing closer. She lingered with her mouth open for a moment… then put her foot in it. “It feels more as if you just don’t like me, honestly, or anything that I say.”

 

Seles nodded. “That’d be correct. You’ve given me no reason to like you.”

 

“Got it.” 

 

Mist sighed. It tracked that there’d be a complication like this. Things couldn’t just be as simple as finding a group she could trust.

 

Ignoring Seles as best she could, she stared past her at Peter. “I’m gonna leave you two to it. If this is like any other town in Mataro, there’ll be a bounty board by the local guilds. Go there and find a posting if you wanna make some money. Maybe we’ll find a way to get your hand back while we’re at it, too. Meet you in an hour or two.”

 

Peter nodded at her. “Got it. That’s a good idea, actually. I haven’t thought about bounties or quests in forever, they were all way beyond me.”

 

Mist wasn’t listening. She took off with alacrity, leaving the other two behind, her body lightly protesting at the strain as she did so. While what the medicine had done for her stiffness seemed to be lasting, her body was still aching and tired after the rigorous treatment she’d been subjected to, and it would likely be a good while before she started to feel truly okay again.

 

Whatever. Mist wasn’t gonna let it get her down. She wasn’t gonna let this complication with Seles ruin things for her, either. She’d earn her place in this group, and then she wouldn’t have to worry about braving it alone. 

 

It’d felt easier with Pelos there. They hadn’t spoken much, but the two of them had been incarcerated together, and she felt concern for him born out of that alone, plus the extensive interrogations he’d suffered during his time there. A lot of it had gone over her head at the time, but she knew that whatever he was, whatever he knew, it was important to their captors.

 

Didn’t matter now. Mist walked down the packed streets of Bellstrow, feeling her stomach growl as she did so. She had eaten her fill of bear, but weeks of gruel had definitely shrunk her appetite, and now, she could feel a familiar, creeping hunger beginning to set in.

 

Mist searched for an ideal target, though with the amount of market stalls that were propped up in the town centre, it wasn’t long until she found one. 

 

Reaching down, Mist ran her middle finger along the bottom of her sleeve until she found a specific groove in her armour, then pressed the button.

 

A small metal string shot out from her leathers, almost imperceptible to the eye, travelling about three feet before finally latching onto a container filled with watermelons.

 

With a flick of her wrist, she sent the container toppling, extracting the wire and retracting it into her armour with another quick button press. She watched the stall owner rush around in a hurry to pick up all of the fallen melons as she reached out in the ensuing distraction and pocketed what she needed, making away with three apples, a small loaf of bread, and a wedge of soft cheese.

 

No one saw her, she was sure. Something like this was more of a morning routine than a task to her at one point in time, and as she walked away, she saw a system notification flash up in the corner of her eye.

 

[Stealth success! +12 xp. Level 32 Shadowfoot. Progress to 33: 10950/11800 xp.]

 

She shrugged off the notification as she bit into an apple, finding it to be juicy enough and just about ripe. Anything tasted like heaven compared to bear meat and gruel.

 

The apple barely scratched the surface, and she was about to tear into the bread when she came across a man on the corner of the street. Dishevelled and worn, his knotted, scraggly beard sagged towards the ground as he sat in his own dereliction, alone, eyes vacant.

 

Mist went and sat with him. Offered him the bread, an apple, and after a short bout of internal deliberation, the soft cheese she’d been so glad to score not moments ago. 

 

He seemed pretty fond of the cheese.

 

Mist smiled.

 

// 

 

“You know? I’ll hand it to her. Bounty board was a pretty good idea. There’s a lot of quick money up for grabs here.”

 

“You really need to work on your tact more…” Peter was staring between the different sheets that had been written up on the board, his hair a lot blonder than usual and his eyes a solid, bright blue, just two of the effects of the [Glamour] spell that was running over his body. Seles stood beside him; she’d taken the liberty of disguising her hair, leaving it both glossy and dark but not glinting with the life of however many souls. 

 

The two of them had walked right past the warehouse where he worked without anyone noticing him, and he was sure that having a hand missing made him look even less like his usual self, so he didn’t bother to hide the fact. When they’d come to the board, Seles had begun reading the sheets with surprising enthusiasm.

 

“Look at this one! They want a mage capable of halting an entire stream to stem its extreme current, and labourers capable of digging a whole new path for it in that time. I wonder if it’s an estuary?” She rubbed her chin. “How far are we from the sea here, anyways? I should really buy a map, or go for a long fly. I still have no idea—”

 

“How’s this helpful?” Peter would have minded less if she didn’t get on others for how contributory what they were saying was. “I can’t stop an entire stream with magic, can I?”

 

“No… But—”

 

“Then why are we talking about it?”

 

Seles tutted. “Alright, fine. We’ll just look at all the boring ones that you can do without my help, in that case.” Seles stared; Seles frowned. “Just what can you do with your current level, anyways? None of these listings really seem geared towards someone of your… calibre.”

 

It was true. None of the bounties called for a minimum level of five. If a listing was so simple that someone of Peter’s level could do it, it likely didn’t have any kind of restriction at all. “Yeah, I know. I’m completely unqualified for most of these jobs, and anyone with a level one [Identify] could likely see that. ”

 

“Hmm… good thing you’ve got that [Glamour], then.”

 

That was true. The spell allowed him to modulate some of the details of his class, which was likely to come in handy here. Every job that paid even remotely decently had a level requirement of 12 or more, which Peter considered to be a pretty ‘average’ level for common workers and an entry point for aspiring adventurers. 

 

In the twenty plus range were jobs that might require some specialised knowledge or fighting experience, and in the thirties were a handful of listings that were more difficult or specialised, often calling for specific class-based qualifications. One listing asked for a Creation Priest of level 30 or above to sanctify a graveyard where the dead were reported to be stirring, and another seeked a skilled alchemist with at least rank 40 in multiple skills to accompany a group of dungeon divers on an expedition.

 

The listing also specified that non-humans need not apply. Peter scowled as he moved on to the next.

 

Realistically, any of these were going to be out of his depths by normal means, and Soulbound magic only could take him so far. So Peter was relieved when Mist actually turned back up, greeting the pair of them as she strode over to the board and leaned against the side of it, looking tired.

 

“Any luck yet?” she asked, frizzing her dirty hair as she did so. She wasn’t the only one, they could all use a bath.

 

“Nothing good. Closest I’ve found is a job to get catcoons out of a barn, and even that I’d have to lie about my level for.”

 

“Seriously?” Mist frowned. “Well, I don’t really wanna use my system to sign up for anything, but if you take me along with you, I’m sure I could carry you through a bit harder of a quest. I’m not terrible in a fight.”

 

“You didn’t seem to be faring much better than me when we were fighting for our lives, and I was down a hand.”

 

“That was my first time moving properly in weeks. Cut me some slack.” Mist shook her head in dispute. “I’m not bad. I’ve got gear that helps me fight, though a lot of it needs a tune up. It’s not my main skill, but I can definitely deal with catcoons.”

 

“Hmm…” Peter wanted to take her at her word—he had no doubt that she was more useful than him, everyone in this world was. Only, if she turned out to be wrong and they got in danger… 

 

Peter had a feeling that Seles wouldn’t abandon him to die, but could the same be said about her saving Mist?

 

His musings on the topic were brought to a halt as Seles herself tapped him on the shoulder, ushering him over to the right side of the board. “What about these?”

 

“Not interested.” Criminal bounties. Peter hadn’t even bothered to look at them.

 

Seles pouted. “Why not? Most don’t even have hard level requirements, and the pay is really good!”

 

“I don’t wanna be put in a situation where I need to kill someone else. I’m still dealing with the last guy I killed.”

 

“Ugh.” Seles threw her hands up. “Fine. Go chase around for scraps instead. I’m sure you’ll be able to pay back your boss in time by hunting catcoons, and pay your rent, and have souls to synthesise more herbs, and eat.”

 

Peter wanted to stick to his guns. He didn’t feel comfortable with more bloodshed. Seles was right, though, even if it pained him to admit it. By the time he factored in every cost he currently had, plus the time pressure, taking a criminal bounty made more sense.

 

He still didn't want to. He continued to search for an alternative, but each listing was less promising than the last.

 

Peter considered his position. Most criminal bounties like these were dead or alive, but the way they shook out was more often than not ‘dead’ from what Peter understood.

For a long while, they stared at the available listings, Mist enthusiastically trying to offer him different quests. None of them were good enough. Eventually, Peter finally succumbed to his rationality and began to look over at the right side of the board, where the criminal bounties laid.

 

Mist fell silent when he started to read through them, not making any effort to join in this time. She tried to pipe up with another, alternate suggestion, but the words died in her mouth. 

 

Seles, however, hummed and purred with placidity, pointing out and magically marking listings she found interesting, as well as ones that were recent.

 

The incremental search through the flyers eventually led him to a magically renditioned sketch of a gnarled, mean-looking orcish man, said to have robbed five carriages between here and Caltrox, cutting a man down in his most recent robbery.

 

Apparently, he was still at large.

 

Peter murdered the voice in his brain. Wordlessly, he pulled off the listing and crumpled it up, stuffing it into his pocket.