They really haven’t thought this through. I mused as we rode in the sweltering midday heat.

The ground beneath Arion’s hooves was soft sand, which slowed our travel significantly. I’d intended to wait for the girls to show signs of preparing to attack me, but I was tempted to take them out now so I could get out of this heat. Darius was right about traveling at night, it was far better than being scorched under the vicious desert sun.

As I began toying with the idea of just darting them all and extracting the blood I needed for my experiment, Amara, the only human in our group, tumbled from her horse dramatically. Playing along, I dismounted Arion, and rushed to her side.

Crouching down beside Amara, who looked like she’d fainted, I kept my head down and quickly jabbed the girl with a hypodermic dart I’d filled with the paralyzing poison. Sensing the fast approach of someone behind me, I dove to the side, twisting around to fling a second dart at the orc whose sword was mid-swing towards my back. The orc’s body stiffened and the momentum of her swing sent her tumbling to the ground next to Amara.

Seeing this, Viv let out an angry yell and slammed her wooden staff down onto the sand, and I tilted my head in confusion as she shouted the word “Fireball.”

Laughter bubbled up from deep inside me as a fist-sized ball of fire shot towards me. With a lazy flick of my wrist I sent the fireball careening into the sand.

“Did you just throw a fireball at a Kitsune?” I asked, lips twitching as I rolled a dart between my fingers.

“You- ah, fire blast.” Viv screamed out. Smirking, I raised a brow as a wave of fire flew towards me.

Does she not realize that as a Kitsune I’m naturally attuned to fire? As amusing as this is, the paralyzing effect of my darts will wear off soon, so I need to end this.

With an exaggerated yawn, I allowed the wave of fire to flow over me. It felt hot, but I knew it wouldn’t burn me, as I’d directed it to split and move around my body.

Stepping past the fire, I flung the dart at Viv, and rolled my eyes in annoyance when she avoided being hit by leaping to the side. Though, she couldn’t dodge my second dart, as I softened the sand she stood on so that her feet sunk down to the ankle, impeding her movements.

I’m really starting to like this transmutation stuff, I thought as I strolled over to check on the fallen Viv.

“You’ve barely scratched the surface, disciple. What you are doing is simply manipulating the surrounding matter, 'tis little more than a parlor trick.”

“If you keep spying on me, I’m going to think you’re some kind of pervert.” I responded to the god whose voice appeared within my head.

“I am here to warn you from the path you’re about to partake in. Torture such as that which you intend to indulge in is not permitted in Kaledon. The non-citizen Amara has called out to the gods that she is being held captive against her will, and thus your actions are being observed. You are yet to move beyond combat, thus no punishment shall be dealt.”

“How did you know I wanted to experiment on them?”

“It is a natural step in one's path to gain knowledge.”

“How would I be punished?” I asked curiously, as this information was new to me.

“As a citizen, torture and false imprisonment would result in your being fined or placed into a digital prison for a set amount of time dependent on the severity of your crimes.”

I pondered that before asking my next question. “And players?”

“A monetary fine or removal from Kaledon for a set period.”

That was a little disproportionate, wasn’t it?

“The consequences for players seem rather unequal, we get prison, they just have to spend time out of Kaledon.” I sent to the god, twirling a dart between my fingers as I scowled down at my three victims.

“Time removed from Kaledon is double the time imprisoned within, most non-citizens elect to serve their sentence in a digital prison for the reduced amount of time.” The god replied in a bored tone.

“Can I dart them with Scorcher venom, give them an injection and then extract their blood?” How exactly was torture determined in a world such as this?

“Subjecting them to the venom would be allowed in the context of combat, your other actions would be deemed forced experimentation and thus not permitted.”

Letting out a sigh of disappointment that I wouldn’t be able to conduct repeated testing of Leo’s saliva on live subjects, I put my dart away.

It would seem I’d have to return to my original plan of finding a suitable animal to conduct my experiments on. Unless- “What if someone volunteered I could do it?”

“If consent is not gained through forceful means.”

I nodded, filling away that bit of information as I knelt next to Amara. The woman’s body was slowly regaining some movement, and she’d managed to turn her head in my direction. Her eyes were wide with fear as she watched me pull a vial from my pouch, and I smiled at her, patting her cheek lightly.

“I hope you learned something from this experience,” I told the girl as I forced her mouth open, pouring the contents of the vial down her throat.

Hearing a muffled groaning, I turned my head to see Nim, who was also recovering from the paralyzing effect of the dart.

It seems the effect of the paralyzing poison in the hypodermic darts Tink made could only keep them down for a few minutes. It's better than the few seconds the darts dipped in the poison provides, but I should see if there is a way to make the poison more effective with a lower dose.

After feeding the orc the same poison I’d given Amara, I stood and walked over to where I’d left Viv. Tilting my head, I stared down at the girl for several long moments, counting down the time it took for her to show signs of recovery.

Crouching next to the girl, I poured a third vial of paralyzing poison down her throat, then removed her belt with its pouches, and the few pieces of jewelry she wore.

Once I was sure I’d removed anything that could be used as a bag of holding or weapon, I dragged the girl over to where the horses were and unsaddled Chiron. It took a bit of effort, but I was finally able to drag the girl up and across her horses back.

After tying her hands and feet together under his stomach, I gave the horse a hard smack to his hindquarters, sending him cantering away with the girl.

“I didn’t torture her or hold her captive.” I shouted, looking up at the sky, but got no response.

With a shrug, I returned to the other two girls and stripped them of their possessions before tying them to their horses or, in the orc’s case, behind her horse. I hadn’t been able to drag the larger girl over the horse, even with the help of some ropes, so resorted to tying a rope around the Clydesdale in a makeshift harness and making Nim into an orc sled.

Deciding to leave sorting through my loot until later, I draped the three extra saddle bags over Arion’s back and took a moment to check on Leo who was safely tucked away in his basket. Seeing the Leosaur cub curled up contentedly, I took Arion’s reins to begin leading him back to Hathus.

As we walked, I kept my focus on the soft sand beneath our feet, hardening the sand just enough to make it easier to walk on.

By the time I reached Hathus, it was nearing dusk, and I was beyond exhausted. As I trudged through the city heading towards the camp site administrator, a familiar voice booming over the crowd caught my ear.

“What does she mean give Killian back his gold? Betting on her? Someone better fucking explain this shit to me right now.”

Markion. Pushing through the crowds, I tried to locate my brother's voice.

As I got closer to the source of the shouting, the crowd grew thicker as people gathered to see what was happening. Shoving my way through the crowd with low growls and bursts of flame towards those who refused to make way for me. I reached the front of the crowd just in time to see my brother swing his ax in an attempt to remove Bastian’s head from his shoulders.

That's a little bit of an overreaction. I mean, I was going to hit them with a diluted poison, but killing our own guild members is going a bit too far. I cringed when I finally caught sight of my raging brother. His muzzle was pulled back in a snarl, spittle dripping from his lips. He’s literally frothing at the mouth, did he catch rabies or something?

Markion raised his ax ready to swing it towards Roderick who’d lunged in front of the dwarf, holding up his shield defensively, only for the Minotaur to stiffen as a yellow feathered dart imbedded itself into his left butt cheek, the loin cloth he wore offering no protection against the sharp needle.

With a loud thud, my brother fell to the ground, sending up a cloud of dust which momentarily blocked my vision of the group.

When the dust cleared, I strode forwards, one hand on Arion’s reins and my second holding another dart.

“Kadia,” Darius called, stepping away from the group.

The look of relief on his face sent pangs of guilt shooting through me.

“Hello.” I said after a few seconds of trying to find something suitable to respond with.

“Hello? That’s all you’ve got to say? You just up and disappear, an all ya got to say is ‘ello?” The dwarf, who was lucky he still had his head, shouted, coming out from behind the Draekin.

In response, I flung the dart I held at him and he joined my brother on the ground. Tossing a second dart at the down dwarf, I watched in satisfaction as his body began to shudder as the diluted venom worked its way through his body.

“Killian,” I called, grabbing another dart. “You may as well come out and get yours.”

“Er, can I ask why you want to dart me?” The archer said, glancing down at his fallen friend.

I sneered, my ears pinned back against my head. “I didn’t die from predators attracted to my smoke bomb, the blood was from something I’d killed. I was napping inside a crevice in the rock when you showed up with the dwarf and started talking shit about me.”

A look of realization and possibly guilt crossed the archers face.

“Somebody explain what the fuck is going on.” Darius demanded, a look of growing anger on his face.

“I think we should talk somewhere else,” Dorian interjected, his eyes darting around the crowd. “The town guards are approaching.”

I narrowed my eyes at the healer. I hadn’t forgotten Bastian and Killian’s mention of his own part in their little bet.

Half an hour later, after having bribed the guards and paid the camping fee for a night in a double camp site, I found myself standing across from Darius and Roderick inside the guild leader’s tent.

The others were left to settle the mounts and pitch their tents, but I’d told them to leave Arion alone, as I wasn’t entirely sure I’d be staying with the group. This comment had caused a tense atmosphere to creep over the group and I was thankful that Markion was sleeping off the effects of the paralyzing poison.

After the pair had finished tearing into me over my crazed dash through the desert, I was finally given the chance to explain why I hadn’t waited for rescue and instead went off on my own.

“Kadia, I assure you, my men weren’t trying to be cruel or hurtful. I can see how you may have seen it that way, but I promise you, it was not their intent.” Roderick claimed, rubbing a hand over the horned ridges that ran along his forehead. “Bets like that are common among the guild and hunting groups, they weren’t just betting on you. They’ve likely got bets running on each other as well, how long each one will last in the dungeon, which of them will die first, and how they’ll die. It’s all done in good humor.”

The Draekin looked over at Darius who gave a nod in agreement.

“Roderick is telling the truth, Kadia; however, normally such betting is done with the full knowledge of those being bet upon. Bets like this typically take place during meals, an act of camaraderie, if you will.” Darius added, reaching out to place a hand on my shoulder. “No one here thinks you are weak, Kadia, no one is looking down on you. We’ve all been where you are now, and it’ll only be a matter of time before you catch up to the rest of us.”

I nodded, not meeting either man's eyes as I stared at the ground, feeling even more ashamed of my actions after hearing what the guild leader and commander had said.

“I understand,” I murmured.

“We’ll leave it at that then, and next time, I expect you to come to me with any issues you may have, opposed to running off on your own.”

“I will.” I agreed.

“Now, tell me about these new friends you mentioned in your note.” Darius asked, holding up the note and giving it a little wave.

Brushing a hand over my eyes, I looked up at the pair with a teary grin as I began telling them about my trip into the desert with the wannabe thieves.