I pushed open the front door, my face set in a sour mood and shoulders sagging.

  The conversation with Edwin had left me with more questions than answers, on top of the mental tiredness of my first overnight hunt and stay in Riftside. It had been an experience, but the commander’s warning had been like cold water thrown on heated metal before it could be hammered.

  All I wanted now was to collapse onto something soft and not think for a while. Unfortunately, we didn’t have a single piece of furniture aside from the bathtub the house had come with.

  A blur of movement caught my eye as a towel-wrapped figure darted from the bathroom and into the common room.

  "Don't look!" Eryn's voice called out, her feet pounding up the stairs, as I stood wide eyed, my mouth slightly open.

  From upstairs, Knut's voice boomed.

  “Allowed out yet?”

  "No!" came the simultaneous shout from Eryn and Nabeeh, who appeared at the top of the stairs, similarly clad in just a towel. She glanced at me as she descended, barely touching each step, stuck her tongue out playfully, and disappeared in the direction of the bath.

  “Her legs are quite slender," Roq said. "Not good for fighting at all. Terrible muscle development for combat purposes. Eryn’s were much better.”

  "Shush,” I said, not trusting myself to say anything smart. My mind was a jumbled mess, and two half-naked young women didn’t do much to help in that regard.Too tired to make it to my room, I simply placed Roq on the mantle and dropped to the floor in front of the unlit fireplace, sprawling out on my back, and staring at the ceiling. The wooden beams above seemed to swim as I replayed the day’s events in my mind. The long trek back, the mind gems, Edwin’s warning, the Guild’s attention, and a very real possibility of being taken against my will. If the wrong people found out about Roq, that is.

  "Are you alright?" Roq asked, his voice surprisingly gentle in my mind.

  I sighed, not quite sure how to even answer that question.

  "I'm not sure, Roq. It seems like things tend to get out of control when you least want them to."

  "Let me put this in perspective for you,” Roq said. "Your storage is filled with valuable monster carcasses. Your pockets are heavy with mind gems. You wield not just a soul weapon, but THE soul weapon. Me, Roq the magnificent. The fallen star of doom. Or whatever we said. So monsters are trying to kill us? What's new! Humans want to interfere? Good! Let them come! They’ve already tried once, what’s a few more times?"

  A small chuckle escaped my lips.

  "I'm fairly certain every human tastes different, unlike monsters. Those tend to taste the same, except the ones with mind gems, which has a very distinct flavor. And the ones with class gems? Delicious! At least the Platemaw was. Though nothing compares to that lightning kitty. The most exquisite meal I've ever had.”

  I laughed outright now, the tension in my shoulders easing slightly.

  “Better than blueberry pie?”

  “Incomparable. And I can only imagine what the hive mind will taste like," Roq mused dreamily. "All that power... And if you're still unsure whether you're okay, you just saw your girlfriend in nothing but a towel. I don't understand why that would matter, but your heart rate increased significantly, so I assume it's a positive thing. Unless you were thinking about fighting her? No, that doesn't make sense. So I ask again—are you okay?"

  I nodded, a genuine smile spreading across my face.

  “Alright, Roq. I am okay now. Thank you for putting things in perspective."

  I pushed myself up to sit and called upstairs, "Knut! Eryn! I need to talk to you!"

  Knut stomped down, still in his plate armor and reeking of monster goo. “Problem?”

  “Let’s wait for Eryn.”

  A good while later, she descended the stairs wearing the blue dress Ma had given her, and I made a mental note to take her shopping. The dress looked lovely on her, but she deserved her own clothes, ones she had chosen herself. Especially after the windfall of mind gems we got from our last run.

  "What's wrong?" Eryn asked, settling on the floor with Knut and I, but significantly further from the northerner’s unwashed armor.

  “I finally talked with Edwin, and I want to tell you about it before Nabeeh finishes her bath," I explained, keeping my voice low.

  It took a while but I relayed Edwin's warnings, the Guild sending their higher ups, and our need to keep a low profile. Eryn's brow furrowed with concern while Knut grunted thoughtfully, his massive hand stroking his dirty beard.

  "So they're watching us now?" Eryn asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

  “Possibly, but unlikely," I said. “Not yet anyway. Unless my little disappearance in the dungeon has triggered too many bells already. But Edwin thinks there might be Guild spies in Dawnwatch, and he's worried they'll take too much interest in me, or, you know, us." I looked pointedly at Roq where he rested on the mantle.

  Knut nodded solemnly.

  “No surprise. Guild love and fear strong adventurers. Politics." He spat the last word like it tasted foul.

  “And Nabeeh?” Knut asked, looking towards the bathroom.

  "I don’t want to risk them taking you,” Eryn said. “Let’s tell her Edwin knows about your ability to sniff out gems in carcasses, and he asked you to keep it secret to avoid drawing attention. Would make sense he’d want to keep such a valuable adventurer here, and it’s close enough to the truth without revealing Roq just yet.

  Knut nodded in agreement.

  "Good idea,” I said.

  This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

  Just as we reached the consensus, Nabeeh came walking into the common room, wrapped in a towel and her hair dripping wet. She let out a contented sigh, a blissful smile on her face.

  "Being clean and warm is the greatest luxury in the world," she proclaimed, before her expression shifted to suspicion as she took in the three of us huddled on the floor. "What's going on?"

  "Good news and bad news," I began.

  “For Rift's sake, let her go put some clothes on first!" Eryn interrupted, slapping Knut's leg as his gaze lingered appreciatively on Nabeeh.

  “What? Men appreciate pretty women. Good for self-esteem. Or something. No?”

  She slapped his arm next and Knut merely grinned, unrepentant, watching Nabeeh's towelled backside as she retreated up the stairs.

  I seized the moment to pull Eryn close, pressing a kiss to her temple and whispering in her ear, "You have the loveliest ankles and shoulders I've ever seen."

  She smiled and playfully pushed me away, but the pleased flush on her cheeks told me she appreciated the compliment.

  Knut rose to his feet with a groan.

  “Time for wash."

  "Wait," I said. "I need you here for this conversation."

  "Why?” Knut asked before gesturing to his filthy armor. “Dirty.”

  "Because I know how long your baths take, and I want to talk this hour. Not the next, or a few later."

  Knut sighed dramatically, but settled back down.

  "Fine. But beard maintenance important. Date with doctor tonight."

  “Yeah, I might use the bath first, then. Don’t want to wait all dirty for several hours.”

  “What? You too? Betrayer!” Knut boomed but it was all in good humor.

  When Nabeeh rejoined us, now properly dressed, she sat pointedly far from Knut and raised an eyebrow.

  "So what's this about good news and bad news?"

  I started with the bad.

  "I spoke with Commander Edwin. He's concerned about the hive mind theory and thinks the Guild might be sending people to investigate." I paused, choosing my words carefully. "He asked me to keep my ability to detect mind gems in carcasses a secret. The Guild might try to... utilize me if they knew."

  Nabeeh nodded, seemingly on the same page.

  "That's fine. I already said I’d keep it a secret. Besides, I’ll be happy to take credit for any extra awesomeness." She winked at Knut. "It's what us nobles do, isn't it?"

  Knut chuckled, his eyes crinkling at the corners.

  "And what's the good news?" Nabeeh asked, leaning forward eagerly.

  "We're rich," I announced. The others' eyes widened, and I quickly amended my statement.

  "Well, maybe not rich rich, but..."

  I began counting off on my fingers.

  "We had fifty storage slots between the four of us. Five were used for non-carcass stuff, and we should really start bringing backpacks by the way. That left us with forty-five slots for carcasses. We got fifteen Glowcaps with mind gems, two Bramblebacks, one boar with a mind gem, three Ruptureborn, and twenty-four Treeshakers, of which we turned in fifteen for the quest, leaving us with nine. I made sure to keep the ones with mind gems, of which there are five."

  I paused for a breath.

  "That gives us an insane twenty-one mind gems from the hunt itself. Plus the ten gems as the quest reward. And thanks to my charm and exceptional bargaining skills..."

  "You mean my suggestion and your failure to lay low?" Roq interjected mentally.

  "Too bad you can't tell them," I thought back, grinning.

  "What?" Eryn prompted, noticing my expression.

  "Since the Screechers weren't mentioned in the quest description, Harold ruled it was mislabeled and a danger to us, and doubled the reward. We got another ten mind gems, bringing our total to forty-one."

  The room fell silent as they processed this information.

  "That's..." Nabeeh's voice was hushed with awe.

  "That's ten mind gems each."

  I nodded, unable to contain my smile.

  “More or less, yes.”

  "We're not normal, are we?" she whispered.

  Knut, and Eryn exchanged knowing glances.

  "We're far from normal," I agreed. "We're exceptional."

  Nabeeh let out a whoop and jumped to her feet, stumbling, before catching herself on Knut and breaking into an enthusiastic but completely off-beat dance, shouting, “Too rich to sit on the floor!" and starting to sing an Azbarian song.

  I looked incredulous at Eryn who just shrugged and started clapping along as Nabeeh twisted around the room.

  “Her singing sounds remarkably like a mating call for monsters.”

  “Ehh, let’s keep that to ourselves for now. Don’t want to spoil the moment, buddy.”

  Finally, breathless and beaming, Nabeeh flung her arms around Eryn in a tight hug before dropping back to the floor.

  "I just knew my luck would turn around coming here!"

  "Happy," Knut grunted, a full smile visible through his beard.

  “And this brings me to my breakthrough," Eryn said.

  I reached into my pocket and handed her six of the twenty mind gems we’d received as quest reward, knowing that was how many she needed. She immediately popped one into her mouth, closing her eyes and breathing steadily as the monster energy flowed through her.

  I passed ten to Nabeeh, who accepted them with reverent hands.

  “Knut, let’s head over to Pa tomorrow to get the monsters dissected," I said.

  “What do we do about our the house? It needs quite a few things to make it a home,” Eryn said.

  “How about we put in five gems as an investment in the home, leaving nine for each of us?” Nabeeh suggested.

  “Fine by me,” I said.

  “Too expensive,” Knut said. “But fine. Golden bird make money. Can spend some.”

  The others nodded in agreement and started talking about what the house needed.

  "What about my share?" Roq asked.

  "What do you mean?"

  "I want my share of the spoils too. I've been part of slaying these monsters, and you wouldn't have even found those fifteen carcasses if not for me. Secondly, I like pie and other stuff, like pillows. And thirdly, what if I need something specific for my breakthrough? Materials, potions, magic spells..."

  "I'll pay for whatever you need," I assured him.

  "But that'll slow down your leveling."

  I nodded absently, considering this. Eryn raised an eyebrow at me, and I shook my head slightly.

  "We can't trust Nabeeh with knowledge about you yet. Not with Edwin's warning fresh in our minds. It would be foolish. But I'll talk with Eryn and Knut about it."

  “Fine. But it’s only fair I get a share, being the most useful being in the party and all.”

  "Knut, what will you do with your share?" Eryn asked.

  The northerner stroked his beard thoughtfully. "Keep four. Build savings. Six for your class gem. As promised."

  Eryn's face softened.

  "Thank you, Knut. I promise I'll put my gems toward your class gem as soon as I have mine."

  Nabeeh looked between them in surprise.

  "Wait, you're actually giving gems to each other? Is that a thing?"

  Eryn and I nodded.

  "Knut has been helping us get classed," I explained. "Once we are, we'll help him with his breakthrough next. That is the deal we have.”

  “That is extremely… kind of you?” Nabeeh said, looking at Knut as if he’d suddenly sprouted horns.

  Knut shook his head.

  “Best deal for me. Without golden bird, four mind gems in one trip, big deal. Investing six to make party strong? Good investment."

  "An investment we will return," I reiterated firmly. “And rather sooner than later. You know that.”

  Nabeeh's expression grew uncertain.

  "Am I... expected to do the same?"

  Eryn laughed and shook her head.

  "No, of course not. The beginning of our party was... unique, so we don’t expect you to do anything you don’t want or are uncomfortable with. If you want to invest into something, we will repay you, if not, there are no hard feelings. You pull your weight, so it’s not like you’re leeching gems off us."

  Knut nodded, and I found myself thinking back to how we'd hired Knut to help us hunt when nobody else would party with him, all because he'd been part of Benedict's group during the disastrous run that got Marcus killed.

  "Good," Nabeeh said, visibly relieved.

  "I'll reach level sixteen with these gems. It's a huge deal for me. I haven't leveled up since... well, since before my wedding." Her laugh was brittle. "The bridal gift was enough gems to get me to level twenty and a class gem for the breakthrough. Should have gotten them in advance."

  "Now you won't need them," Eryn said warmly. "Not if you stick with us."

  Nabeeh smiled, a genuine expression that lit up her entire face. Then she bit her lip and raised her eyebrows at Eryn.

  "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

  "Shopping?" Eryn guessed, her eyes gleaming.

  "Oh yes, sister!" Eryn exclaimed, high-fiving Nabeeh.

  Knut and I exchanged amused glances as Roq's voice bubbled with excitement in my mind.

  "Yes! Shopping! I want fabric for a new pillow, a rhubarb pie, and a cup of dog's milk!"

  I groaned but couldn't help smiling.

  “How about two out of three?”