Fenrir spent most of the next few days either training with Katari or hunting and exploring the surrounding terrain. He might not be back for several weeks and while there was plenty of preserved food, all agreed that fresh meat was much better than the dried variety, and thanks to Safara's expertise refrigeration was as simple as a rune circle in a small storage room that any of the succubi could recharge when required. Once they had finished moving all the soldiers' supplies under a more-or-less solid roof, the succubi went about making their temporary home a more comfortable one while taking care to ensure that the castle still looked deserted from the outside. Safara searched her own books as well as any relevant ones she could find in the castle's library for a means of effectively disguising Fenrir and those he intended to take with him.

  While on his hunting trips, Fenrir practiced his stealth and the little magic avaible to him. Nelith had shared with him what she knew of the capital (not much, except by reputation) and the nation (considerably more, but still of limited use for this trip), and the ck of information had him surprisingly on edge. Mavenia being the holy city of the Church of Marstolle was both good and bad for them. On the one hand, it meant he would be able to acquire an accurate picture of the Order's leadership and how much the battalion he had killed would be missed, and what he would have to do to keep their deaths from being investigated too closely if that was even possible. On the other, it meant that there was a non-zero chance that one or more of the Saintesses would be in the city at the same time as him, not to mention numerous other heroes of varying strengths and abilities.

  This st concerned him not a little. While his God's Eye seemed to be at the least exceedingly rare, he would not be terribly surprised to learn that any number of the more powerful heroes had lesser versions of the ability. He had in fact come to expect that if he were to be seen by any of the Saintesses, they would immediately recognize him as a Dark creature regardless of any attempts he could make to disguise himself by means magical or mundane. He kept his worries to himself for the time being, however. His specutions were rgely useless until Safara reached a conclusion one way or another, and until then there was no point in burdening anyone else with them.

  'It's a pity my entrance into this world happened where and when it did. I'm not sorry I saved the succubi, but I would have preferred to do it in a different manner given the choice. I've put myself directly in front of a crosshair, even if there's no one at the other end of the scope ...yet.' He cut off that train of thought there, knowing that without a better understanding of the Vigil as a whole and the temperaments of their leadership elements specifically, trying to form a pn to erase the target he had painted on his back was an exercise in futility.

  'From what I've been told, it seems that I came in on the tail end of a massive war between the Light and Dark. If the Dark Goddesses are to be believed, Dark was winning until the Light gods, whoever they may be, cheated by giving their heroes crazy abilities and ridiculous power, so much so that they came to be called the Saintesses. I'm apparently their response to this, along with some other elements they've tweaked. More dungeons if I remember correctly, more monsters, and probably some other stuff they didn't tell me about. At least that's what I'd do in their shoes. I wonder if more monsters means Dark-races in general, or if it refers to the less intelligent or civilized ones specifically... I digress.

  'After a big war, you'd expect people to be mostly focused on rebuilding, but the resurgence of Dark creates a wrinkle I'm not sure how to account for. If I'm lucky, it's drawn most of their forces out to deal with the increased activity, and if I'm not it's caused them to tighten security in the cities themselves, more guards, more heroes kept closer to home, that sort of thing. That would be annoying at best and catastrophic at worst, but either way I'll have to try. The clock is ticking and the longer I can avoid detection by the Saintesses the better my chances of survival. I'll have to deal with them eventually, but I'd like to have a little more of a safety bnket before I do, not to mention the fact that I'd like to engage them on my terms, not theirs.'

  He stopped on a shoulder overlooking the pass where the castle y, situated on a knob which jutted out from the other side of the valley. He could just make out movement in the courtyard. This high, the wind was fiercer and the trees no longer grew. Perhaps a thousand feet above, snow still covered the rocks even in the height of summer. He had climbed this high mostly for his own amusement as the prey he sought was most common down among the trees, but the prospective views attempted to entice him even higher. The rgest mountain he could see rose behind the castle, but the one he climbed was also greater than most, and the slope which faced the pass was less precipitous than its brother across the way.

  Noticing that the sun was already well on the decline, Fenrir decided to postpone any more mountain climbing for another day and began the long descent back to the castle. Once back down in the pine belt, a short detour provided him with the prey he sought, a brace of rabbits which he caught using magic. 'I'm not sure whether these count as foes, but if they do it puts me that much closer to earning that sorcerer css and either way it's practice, which I can always use more of.'

  After a delicious dinner prepared by Lilli and Yumiko, he settled back into his now customary spot against the wall next to the hearth. The evening hours were quickly becoming a favorite time of his, listening to the succubi as they talked and ughed. Safara and Katari spent the evenings in the kitchen as well, and like him they both listened to the stories and banter. Unlike him, however, they did not occasionally join in when they had something to say.

  Safara generally tried to disappear into her books, ostensibly still in search of a disguise for him, but Fenrir suspected it was more to avoid appearing to listen. Katari had taken to sitting in front of the fire and staring into the fmes. He saw a wistful look occasionally appear on her face while she listened, and he knew she wanted to be a part of the succubi's group but didn't know how to begin to become so. 'If she's still this awkward after we get back from our little scouting mission, I'll step in, but hopefully over the course of the trip she can begin to bond with Kira at least, and that'll give her an in, so to speak. Safara, on the other hand...' He eyed her for a moment. 'She's clearly not used to socializing, at least not in a casual manner like this, and so she tries to run from it as much as possible. It doesn't help that several of the succubi don't quite seem to have forgiven her for being part of the group that was hunting them. If she doesn't sort it out herself, I'll eventually need to do something about that. She doesn't need to be best buds with them, but I do want them all to get along, at least.'

  None of the succubi had bothered to use chairs. Instead, they had id out bnkets and furs on the floor directly in front of the hearth, and they lounged there, sometimes sitting, sometimes lying down, often using one another for cushions. Fenrir had noticed that casual contact between them was far more common than he had been used to in his old life. None of them seemed to mind ying a head on another's p, stomach, or shoulder, and casual gropes and fondles, while not constant, were certainly not rare, and were usually met with a giggle and a returning fondle if they were acknowledged at all. Aimi was the most frequent offender, but all of them did it to some extent.

  Sometimes one or another would choose to sit next to him, instead. Chellise had done it the most, but with the exception of Violetta and Koreen, all of them had settled in beside him for part or all of an evening over the st few days. It usually turned out that he took one of his companions to bed, so to speak, slipping out with them once the evening wound down to ske their mutual lust, not to mention the succubus' hunger. If the castle turned out to be a viable base of operations, Fenrir resolved to set up a room specifically for sex, as the messes they often ended up creating were much less fun to clean up than to make, and the comfort of the rooms they usually used left something to be desired.

  Tonight, his attention was attracted soon after everyone had settled in by Safara snapping a book shut with a sigh. She appeared to deliberate for a moment, before coming to stand before Fenrir. With an almost unconscious curtsy, she said, "I'm afraid I have bad news, E'nas."

  "Yes? Go ahead."

  "There's no way to fully disguise you, so far as I can tell. The best I can do is weave a spell into a cloak that will make its wearer less conspicuous, I think."

  Fenrir raised an eyebrow. "You think?"

  "In theory, that's how it should work," Safara shrugged uncertainly. "The spell was only designed to make everyday objects more difficult to notice, so even if I scale it up as much as possible, there's no guarantee that it will be effective enough to make any real difference for you in particur, and I'm not even entirely certain that it will affect the wearer if I weave the spell into a cloak. It could just make the cloak less noticeable, and the wearer would remain just as obvious as before."

  Fenrir digested this information for a moment while Safara nervously wrung her hands, waiting for his response. Distantly, he noted that Nelith and Katari had pricked up their ears, both interested in their conversation. "Well, it seems we'll need to test it to make any further progress on this tack. How long would it take you to make a cloak with this spell?"

  "Two or three hours, if I can find a cloak rge enough for you."

  "Is the spell particurly difficult or expensive? If not, it may be worth simply enchanting a bedsheet for testing purposes."

  "Hmm... yes, I think that should work. It is somewhat difficult, but using a sheet would make it easier, and if doesn't work the way we want, we won't have ruined a cloak for nothing."

  "Ruined?"

  "Well, not ruined exactly, but there are very few substances which can handle more than one enchantment. If I weave this spell into a cloak, it can't be used for any other enchantment."

  "I see. Well, tomorrow you can weave that spell into a sheet that Lilli can find for you, and then we'll test if it'll be viable or not." Safara began to turn away, but looked back as he said, "And Safara? Good work."

  She blushed prettily in pleased surprise, mumbling, "But we don't even know if it will work yet..."

  "Doesn't matter. I'm grateful for the effort you've expended either way. You gave it your all, and that's all I can ask of any of my followers."

  The next day Safara reported her success a little before lunch, so after they ate Fenrir donned the sheet, one side now decorated with runes which glowed slightly as he wrapped the cloth around himself. As they had expected, there was little effect upon the ones who saw him don it, but for this very reason Fenrir had been careful to ensure that not everyone knew about the experiment. As agreed, he moved towards the kitchens where he knew he would find Lilli, who had been apprised of the experiment but had not been present for any part of its implementation thus far, and Yumiko, who knew nothing about it.

  Safara preceded him into the kitchens, ostensibly for a book she had left there, but really to open the door for Fenrir. A door opening by itself would naturally attract attention which might interfere with the enchantment. As they stepped inside Lilli gnced at Safara, but her eyes seemed to slide over Fenrir without really seeing him. He had taken care to ensure he was entirely covered by the sheet, aside from his face, that being overshadowed by a makeshift hood. He did notice that Lilli's brows seemed to contract slightly as she looked at him, as though her perception was being strained in some way.

  Yumiko, on the other hand, barely gnced up before returning to her work, her eyes resting on him only for a fraction of a second, and like Lilli, seeming not to really notice him at all. Stepping to where he was in both their lines of sight, Fenrir reached up and lowered his hood. Nothing happened for several seconds, then Lilli's eyes came to rest on him, her frown returning as her eyes insisted on something her mind did not want to accept. After a moment, however, her eyes won the battle, and she suppressed a gasp as she recognized the nondescript form before her as Fenrir.

  A quick gnce revealed that Yumiko remained unsuspecting, though now her brow slightly furrowed as well when she looked directly at him. He slowly approached until he stood directly before her, Lilli watching with interest, though as directed she avoided giving Yumiko any hint as to what was occurring.

  Fenrir hummed audibly, causing Yumiko to look up. "Did you say something?" she asked Lilli.

  "No, why do you ask?" the older succubus answered, hiding a smile.

  "Oh, I just thought I heard someone," Yumiko answered unconcernedly. The next moment she almost jumped out of her skin as Fenrir suddenly appeared not two feet from her when he spoke.

  "Hello, Lilli," was all he said, but it was enough to break the illusion.

  "AHHH!" she screamed in fright, the sheer volume forcing Fenrir to fold back his ears in discomfort. "Master?! Where did you?!- How did- What?!?"

  Fenrir could not suppress a chuckle at her reaction, but he sobered quickly. "I apologize for frightening you. We are testing out the effectiveness of my disguise, and so we needed you to remain unaware of it beforehand. Now that you both are aware of me, I would like to ask you both several questions."

  Yumiko exhaled, the shock leaving her, though the hand she slowly lowered from her mouth still shook slightly. "That was... please don't do that again. I thought..."

  Now that the need for secrecy was past, Safara came forward from where she had been surreptitiously watching the proceedings as Fenrir replied, "I would not have done it if it had not been necessary. It's important that we understand the limitations of this spell if we don't want it to fail at a crucial moment."

  "I'm not doubting you, Master. It's just that having you suddenly appear out of nowhere like that was terrifying." Her voice dropped to a murmur as she continued, "Kind of like when we first met and I couldn't heal Koreen..."

  "Ah. I apologize for that as well. It was not my intent to frighten you then, either. I should have been more aware of myself."

  Yumiko took several deep breaths in an attempt to calm herself. "Anyway, what were those questions you wanted to ask?"

  "Well, let's start with when I entered the room. What were your impressions? Did you think Safara had entered alone, or...?"

  Lilli spoke up first. "I knew she wasn't alone, but I didn't notice who was with her until you lowered your hood. Now that I think about it, it's certainly odd that it didn't even occur to me to wonder who had entered with her. It's as if I had a perceptive blind spot when it came to you."

  "That would have been the spell," Safara interjected, looking eted. "It worked better than I expected!"

  "Hold on there," Fenrir cautioned. "She's accustomed to seeing me. The real test comes when someone who's never seen me before does so. That's when I really need to remain unnoticed. I remember you mentioning that the stranger the object of the enchantment, the weaker its effect. But Yumiko, your turn. What were your impressions?"

  It turned out that Yumiko had not noticed him at all until he had hummed, and then she had thought it had been Lilli. It was only when he had spoken that she had realized there was anyone else in the room at all, aside from herself, Lilli, and Safara. Upon further examination she realized that she had been dimly aware of there being someone standing in front of her when Fenrir lowered his hood, but like Lilli, her mind had refused to question it or examine him more closely.

  After he had gleaned all he could from Lilli and Yumiko, he tested the cloak on several others of his group, and got a decent grasp on how it affected him and those around him. If someone knew its effect and that he was wearing it, the cloak/bedsheet's enchantment could not fool their senses. If they knew of its effect, but not that he was wearing it, it could still fool them, but the illusion was tenuous at best, and slight noises or even too sudden movements could break the effect. More powerful individuals were also more difficult to fool. Something he wanted to test but could not satisfactorily do at the moment was to see whether the cloak would be able to let him pass unnoticed among people who were not accustomed to seeing anything like him, especially Light-race people who would be more than likely to fear him if they did see him.

  Once dinnertime came and went and everyone was once again gathered in the kitchen before the fire, the talk mostly centered around his experiment. Yumiko was not the only one he had inadvertently frightened in the course of his tests, and Kira began reting the details of one of the scares, to general amusement and the chagrin of Aimi and Nelith. Meanwhile, Fenrir gathered Safara, Lilli, Nelith, and Katari about him to discuss the cloak and how they could best utilize it. It was apparent to all of them that without knowing how well the cloak could hide him from the average person, it would be foolish to rely too heavily upon it. That its efficacy faltered when meeting higher level targets was also a concern, as it was these individuals that Fenrir most wanted to remain undetected by.

  "So as far as I can tell, your cloak isn't going to be much use when you actually meet anyone who packs a punch, and it might not even be very helpful in hiding you from the average peasant. Is it even worth bothering with?" Nelith asked, causing Safara to wilt somewhat.

  "I myself may not be able to make use of it, but I'm certain it will prove useful," Fenrir replied. "If, say, Kira were to wear it, even without using her Sneak ability, I figure she could pass unnoticed by anyone under around level twenty-five, if my calcutions are correct. I may be off by a couple levels, but if what you tell me is correct, most humans never get far above level ten, the exceptions being mostly adventurers and heroes. That means that regardless of whether I can move freely, this cloak has doubled, possibly tripled the numbers of my party that can, at least to a point."

  "Oh, right, I didn't think of that. But that still doesn't solve the problem of you not being able to even approach the city."

  "I don't necessarily need to, though. It was always a possibility that I wouldn't be able to do anything in the light of day. This way, at least you can be my proxies, to go where I cannot. I would prefer to investigate myself, of course, but you go to war with the army you have," Fenrir shrugged. "And don't assume that I have no other means of stealth. I believe I have previously mentioned that I am able to pass undetected by all but the most observant for a short period of time."

  Katari spoke up, rather hesitantly, "My lord, why are you going in the first pce? You have never told me. -I don't mean to speak out of turn!" she hastened to add as he turned his head to look at her. "It's just that I could better assist you if you told me what it is you wish to do."

  "That's right, I never told you why I was going on this trip, did I?" Fenrir realized. "To put it simply, the soldiers I killed that you were tracking were in turn tracking these succubi. If we do nothing, eventually someone's going to come asking inconvenient questions, such as 'Where did all our soldiers go?' and 'Hey, isn't that their stuff you've got there?' and even 'Hang on, don't we usually kill monsters like you?' To avoid this, we intend to go investigate what their leadership is like so we can formute a pn which will keep them from coming to snoop around and possibly discover us. If we're really lucky, Safara can just report that they were lost in some catastrophe or other and that will be the end of that, but I'm not holding out much hope for such an easy resolution. While we're there, I also intend to investigate the general temperament of any other people in power. I'd like to know just how dangerous it would be to set up our base of operations here."

  Nelith grinned at his phrasing of possible 'inconvenient questions', but Fenrir saw Safara wince as he said the word 'monsters', dropping her eyes guiltily. Katari nodded thoughtfully, saying, "So you need to be able to get close to figures of importance, which if I know anything about humans will not be easy. Particurly the Cult of Marstolle."

  "They call themselves the Vigil of Marstolle, don't they?"

  Katari snorted. "I care not what they call themselves. It is because of them that Dark-races are reviled so. It is true that some Dark-races are little more than unthinking beasts who thirst endlessly for blood and sughter, but they would have the world believe that all of us are so."

  Safara cringed further as Katari unknowingly repeated what she herself had believed not long ago. Fenrir pced a comforting arm around her shoulders, saying, "I see. Well, now I feel even less bad about killing them all, or I would if that were even still possible. But back to the topic at hand. Currently, I think the wisest course of action would be to have Safara take point in the investigations. She knows the most about what to expect, and with an S.E.P. cloak she can likely slide into all sorts of pces she wouldn't otherwise be able to get to. I would obviously stay as close as possible, and I may even poke around a bit under cover of night, but unless the cloak is more effective than it currently appears it will be, I'll have to stay on the sidelines for this one." He looked around at a trio of confused faces, one of which was still blushing from the close contact.

  "Um, what does S.E.P. mean?" Nelith asked.

  "Somebody Else's Problem. The cloaks will need a name, preferably one that isn't too obvious. The idea is that when you put one on, you become somebody else's problem to everyone who sees you, so they don't bother about you because it's not their problem. If you take issue with that name, we need not use it. We could call it Wallflower instead, or even Sight Unseen. Or, one of you could come up with a name. I don't need to be the one to name it, but the enchantment does need some sort of name."

  A silence fell for a moment as they psed into thought. Eventually Nelith spoke. "I actually kinda like S.E.P. It's funny to think that the reason the cloaks work is that they just make you into someone else's problem."

  Katari smiled a little as she nodded. It briefly occurred to Fenrir that this was the first time he had seen her smile. It was, he decided, absolutely adorable. Safara shrugged helplessly. "That's really not how the enchantment works, but sure, we can call it that. More importantly, what do you mean I'll ...take point? Does that mean take the lead? I have no idea how to get what you want, though. I barely understand what it even is."

  "Oh, don't worry, I don't expect you to walk in blind. Most likely we'll do some initial reconnaissance first, then form a gamepn based on what we find. If you really don't feel up to it, we can find some other way."

  She swallowed hard, then her expression hardened as she made up her mind. "No, I want to help. I owe you that much, at least."

  Fenrir tried to hide his surprise. 'She owes me? Pretty sure I should be the one in the wrong here, at least from her perspective. I more or less kidnapped her, killed her friends, or, well, acquaintances, and have shown no sign of ever being willing to let her go home. I guess I did save her from the yeti, but she wouldn't ever have been in danger from them if it hadn't been for me. Oh well, if that's what she wants to think, I'm not going to disabuse her of the notion. If it makes her more loyal to me, she can think what she likes. I need to be sure I can trust her not to betray me by the time we reach Mavenia. Otherwise, I'll have to brand her with Mark of Submission, and for some reason I don't really like the idea of that.'

  Aloud he said, "Well, looks like we'll need four cloaks. One rge one for me, and three others of a more normal size."

  "I'm pretty sure there were some cloaks amongst the soldiers' things. I should be able to find those without too much trouble, but I don't know where we'll find a cloak that will fit you, Master," Lilli said, standing and dusting herself off.

  "As to that, I have an idea. Katari, how is that yeti hide coming along?"

  "I am smoking it now, my lord. I can have it finished in another day."

  "Excellent. I'll make my cloak from that, once it's ready. Any other questions or concerns?"

  There was a general chorus of negatives, and the small group got ready to disperse. As she stood, Nelith commented quietly to Fenrir, "You know, Chief, you use some pretty strange expressions sometimes."

  True to her word, Katari had the hide ready by the end of the next day. Turning it into a cloak and enchanting it took another day. While he would have preferred to work with less haste, the deadline for the expected report by the now dead commander back to his erstwhile headquarters was swiftly approaching, and he felt he was running out of time to gather information and still execute a pn which could successfully throw the Vigil off his trail. Even with the accelerated pace, he was pleased with the appearance and feel of the new cloak once it was done, a thick and heavy but silky soft white furred cloak which he could pull around himself to almost entirely encase his body, with a hood of the same soft but thick yeti fur.

  Since the S.E.P. enchantment pulled mana from its wearer and the environment to function, Fenrir asked Safara to include a way to toggle it off or on, and after a bit of experimentation she discovered a way to easily do so, adding this function to each of the cloaks she enchanted. Among the old linens left behind by the castle's previous occupants, they had discovered a bolt of dark blue silk in nearly pristine condition, and with Yumiko's help Fenrir had lined the interior of his cloak with some of the fabric. Since the rune circle was drawn on the inside of the hide, this made it not only more comfortable to wear but also effectively hid the runes, making it appear to be just a mundane cloak to the casual observer, albeit a rge and beautiful one.

  They pnned to travel light, relying on Fenrir to hunt most of what food they required, so once the problem of disguises was solved it didn't take long for them to prepare for the expedition.

  So on a frosty morning about ten days from the initial advent of the great wolf into the world of Ruyanei, he found himself with a thick cloak about his shoulders and a rge pack on his back, ready to set out into the very heart of one of the Light's greatest strongholds. His companions stood ready about him, saying their goodbyes and allowing Lilli to fuss over them, even Safara and Katari, the tter of which did not seem to quite know what to make of the attention.

  Fenrir was speaking with Nelith. "Remember to have your panic bags ready as soon as possible. Your best defense while I'm gone will be to remain undetected, so if someone you can't easily handle does stumble on this pce, do not hesitate to leave it behind."

  Nelith rolled her eyes. "Yeah, I get it. We'll be fine, Chief, we've been living by our wits for quite a while before we found you. We know when and how to run. Frankly, I'm more worried about you, considering where you're going."

  Fenrir smiled. "Fair enough. Well, if you promise to exercise caution, then so will I. Deal?" He held out a hand to shake on it.

  "Deal." As though moved by a sudden impulse she held his hand to her cheek, closing her eyes as though to cement the feeling in her memory, before abruptly turning away, a noticeable blush dusting her cheeks.

  As he bemusedly watched her swaying hips retreat to where Kira was trying to convince Lilli that she had packed everything she would need, Fenrir realized that she had not shaken his hand. 'She didn't even seem to consider it. Are handshakes not a thing here?' He shook the thought from his mind and raising his voice slightly, called, "Alright, the day's not getting any younger. Form up, it's time we got going."

  With a st round of goodbyes, his companions moved to his side, and without further dey they set out on the trail, towards Mavenia, dangers, and adventures of which, as yet, they knew nothing.

  TheBestofSome