One of the ladies, a clear gigan given her massive stature even in a chair. Sitting even a head length maybe two more than Lalant as he stood and at that, therefore three compared to Borenger. The other one was about a dwarf woman’s typical size; five feet and four inches tall. She spoke first “Sir Lalant, pleased to make your acquaintance. And who is this one?” As she said this, her tone was awfully hostile.

  “There is only one chair, Borenger. Stand beside me when I sit down.” Lalant used a transmission technique to essentially speak to Borenger discreetly, who blinked in reply. “Ladies, this is my apprentice; Borenger Ala-Mak.”

  The giant lady swung a fan open and covered the bottom portion of her face. “I did not know you were in the practice of training Kyreneans?”

  “Do not make the mistake of an assumption; Borenger is very much a vrilya-”

  “But he lacks fay blood, does he not?”

  “I see you’ve become more experienced in that gigan sight of yours. You are right, he is a pure-blooded dwarf. But he has a unique physique - a total accident of birth!” The gigan hummed and Lalant continued. “I originally took him as an apprentice to experiment on vril control, but I found that he can perfectly utilize physical vrilya techniques.”

  “Oh, how interesting!” The lady extended her arm, indicating for her to sit. Borenger wanted to move but Lalant did not move yet. “You may sit.” After she said this, Lalant moved and sat down more carefully than he typically would, not making much of a sound when sitting at all.

  “This must be a manners thing, so this lady is some sort of noble?” Borenger studied the trio at the table and stepped forward, where he noticed the presence of another vrilya leaning against the wall in a portion of the room he was only now able to see, though he restrained his reaction.

  “As you know Lalant, work that requires an outsider to the Imperial armory means discretion.” While the noble lady said that, her eyes were trained on Borenger.

  “I do, no worries. I’m the God of discretion, people don’t even know what that ‘Holy Star Slasher’ looks like.”

  “That’s because no one calls you that.” Borenger almost rolled his eyes when Lalant called himself the Holy Star Slasher.

  “I’m aware I can trust your Sir Lalant, it is simply something I must state.” She uncovered the bottom portion of her face. Though it was still veiled Borenger could vaguely see her lips and as she noticed, they curled. “I need you to handle an investigation against a noble.” Her eyes darted back to Lalant as she finished.

  “That isn’t exactly what I expected, though knowing myself I imagine this sort of investigation entails far too much danger?”

  “Right, too many kitties have been lost. Though I can still provide one, that will be all if you cannot protect it.”

  “Got it. I accept.”

  Borenger swung his head to look at Lalant who showed no apparent worry as far as he could tell. His jaw dropped but he feigned a cough and recomposed himself. “He obviously knows her already.” He thought, wondering who she could possibly be. Perhaps she was his long lost half-gigan daughter. Granddaughter?

  “To the details then.” As if it were a command from the noble lady the dwarf sized woman produced a multitude of documents. From what Borenger sees, they are after multiple people. “These are all important figures within this region and the county of Belkay - this territory used to be of Belkay and many of those who had their titles stripped or retained are on this list.” The dwarf spoke as she arranged the figures, though two in particular stand out. “These two, naturally, are who we need you to investigate. Master Selja of the Nazari Trade Guild and General Fierenand. All that we know of them is that they are direct contacts and that the General employs efficient counter espionage agents.”

  “I see, any goal?”

  “They have some kind of connection to our traditional ally on Obregault; the Burkan Republics.” As the Gigan herself said this, Lalant straightened his back.

  “Pretty big deal. So we need to find ourselves in Nazari?” As Lalant said this the lady simply nodded. “What are we getting here, about three hundred ureygols?”

  “That sounds reasonable.”

  “T-h-three hun? T-t-t-hth-th-hun?! THREE HUND-!?” Before Borenger could finish stuttering, Lalant smacked him in the face with the sheath of his sword.

  “Shut it!”

  “Owowow s-s-sorry master.” Borenger gently checked his nose to make sure it wasn’t bleeding.

  The noble lady giggled, causing Borenger to blush which burst the dam making his nose bleed. Lalant simply sighed as he stood up and bowed. “Forgive my student, my lady.”

  “Consider it as if nothing happened. You have your mission Sir Lalant. Depart as you please.” She covered herself with her fan so that she could remove her veil and drink tea. With that Lalant practically shot out of his seat and escorted Borenger out of the room. As they exited, the two of them noticed that the entire guard detail could have invaded the room in just a few minutes.

  They exit the apartment complex and return to the now dark streets. “I didn’t realize this was a lights-off city.” He sighed and used his internal vril to artificially enlarge his pupils. “How are you holding up?”

  Borenger can accomplish the same technique but not to the degree a fay blooded vrilya could, yet. “Fine.” The two walked through the darkness, where few walked about except with lights. Naturally, they generally avoided the two vrilya given how suspicious it was to travel in this way.

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  As they silently entered the inn, Borenger sat down on his bed. “Master, was that Princess Roriana?”

  Lalant’s ear’s twitched and though Borenger could no longer see in the dark he figured they blushed. “You’re too observant for your own good, you sure you ain’t some kind of fay blooded thing?”

  “You flatter me - so it is true?”

  “That’s right, but don’t dare mention it unless she reveals herself. Though I figure she already knows.”

  “Why is that? She was looking at me so maybe she knows but how? I only guessed because of her beauty.”

  “I mentioned this some time ago but all beings contain some amount of vril, dwarves like most animals compared to the other races are sort of like rocks - you in particular, are built like a rock.”

  “It’s still insulting when you say it like that…”

  “Gigans cultivate vril in a peculiar way, this is why the fay elders regarded them as honored shamans and seers. Their peculiarity is to see the threads of fate and have obtained a myriad of mystical abilities.”

  “Right, gigan sight. But she is a princess-”

  “All noble ladies go under some amount of such training, though it is not as if her highness is going to become a priestess - she is prodigal when it comes to such things. Though when you saw her looking, maybe it was not that you recognized her beauty but because she let you recognize her presence.”

  “Her presence?”

  “Ah, it is too faint of a thing for a Vrilya let alone a dwarf to detect. But as I understand it, many gigans can implant ideas in others’ minds without them even recognizing it as a foreign thought.”

  “That’s insane… you’d think it would be heard of.”

  “Well it is uncommon but like I said, her highness is incredibly skilled. It is why she remains unmarried.”

  “Because her value rivals her brothers.”

  “That’s right.”

  Borenger lied down, satisfied that his curiosity was sated. “I’d like that ability.”

  “It is probably possible, I recall something like that existing in my great-great grandfather’s time.” Lalant sighed, recollecting the memories of his far off youth. “Y’know if this path takes us to Obregault, I will be sure to introduce you to my niece.”

  “Your niece? Is she pretty?”

  “You know me too well boy, she is older than you but I am sure you will match together well. I hear from my sister that she hates men.” Lalant chuckles.

  “Why would I be a good match then?”

  “You can handle a beating.”

  Borenger winced at his words, imagining what such a fay lady looks like. “Is she worse than you?”

  “Certainly.” Lalant smirked as he tortured Borenger’s mind with tales of his niece as they both drifted to sleep.

  The next day the two stirred in the early morning and they gathered their things. The Princess afforded them as much time as they felt like taking, naturally this meant that Borenger would undergo new stages of training. Though Lalant was a relatively hands off master he wasn’t always this way, after all Borenger recalled many of the beatings he received as a child and the strict drilling that came with it.

  The two met in a secluded field under a tree. Lalant looked over the vast plain, it was pretty much an oak savannah but instead of oak trees the trees were like a smelly girl’s hair mixed with a palm tree given the region’s arid climate. “This spot will do.” Lalant began to stretch and Borenger followed suit after laying down his stuff. The warm up was simple, consistent. A small amount of running, making sure the whole body moved properly through crawling and shrimping on grass.

  After a few minutes with barely any sweat on their bodies they began to drill many techniques. Lalant was known for his swordsmanship but when unarmed they primarily trained wrestling, albeit it looked wild and free form given vril manipulation and the enhanced agility vrilya have.

  Three hours of training unarmed, then a break for eating. After that they would train with weapons and then finish with another meal before wandering around for the day and returning to sleep. As this schedule moved on, Lalant was progressively less able to easily exploit flaws in Borenger’s stances. His martial arts were much improved.

  “I am glad to see I was right to let you get around on your own devices.” Lalant lowered his sword as Borenger clasped his knees while breathing heavily and dropping his broken weaponry.

  “Damn, they still break too easily.”

  “Don’t get too frustrated, I always break them on purpose.” Lalant chuckled and he tossed Borenger a dagger. “Consider this a reward.”

  Borenger examined it and was surprised by its rugged shape, but he understood what it meant. “kyrene metal?”

  “Exactly, I have held onto it for around eighty years when I received it from my father. I believe a distant relative of mine was a Kyrenean.”

  “Thank you Master, I was left in a tight spot the last time.”

  “Well, don’t thank me yet. I expect you to be fighting tougher enemies. Like that shifter you got into a scuffle with the other day.”

  “You think I will see her again?”

  “Soon, since she can see you as we speak.”

  Borenger wanted to look around but knew that if Lalant was speaking so casually, it meant he shouldn’t reveal it. “I hope to be able to share your senses one day.” Borenger bowed.

  “Now I think you might!” Lalant bowed as well and chuckled. “Make sure to meet me here tomorrow night. We’ll head to Belkay after you deal with that merwoman.”

  “I’m not sure I can do it without killing.”

  “Then kill. You’ll have to do it eventually during this job.”

  “Really? But she…”

  “Preserve your own life, you might as well kill the Kyrenean and anyone else who you think will trouble you as well.”

  Borenger stood silently and Lalant casually left. As he was left to himself to think about his situation, he decided he’d convince the other three warriors to give up on their feud. First it would be the gigan. So he went back to where he recalled having fought him, fortunately bandits rarely give up their ways when all you do is beat them and take their stuff.

  As he was disguised in a cloak, the gigan and the two dwarves ambushed him with the gigan blocking his front path and the dwarves from behind. Once the cloak fell they lost their confidence. “Dammit, it's that vrilya.” Regardless, they took their stances.

  “I’m not here to take your things.”

  “Ah, so you’re here to give us our money back?”

  “Your money? I know full well we might as well be in the same career, though I only take from idiots who try to fight me.”

  The gigan snorted. “You’re so arrogant. You think you can take us on only with a dagger?”

  “I see your eyes are still working.” Borenger drew the kyrenean dagger and took a forward facing stance. “I only need you to not interfere with me later, do you need to be mutilated again?” Borenger smirked and the Gigan raised his arms. He couldn’t see it but he could hear the two dwarves approaching carefully.

  He noted that the two dwarves were using spears the last time they met. So he couldn’t carelessly allow them to approach and a gigan is not as slow as one might imagine, given the immense strength provided by their ancestry. “I might take that big dude’s club or at least half of it.” Of course, Borenger intended to restock his small armory.

  So he quickly dropped his butt down and leaped backward.