After a trip to the village headman to collect our reward, a paltry fifteen gold each, we started back on the road to Itlan. The trip back was uneventful, and because the village was relatively close to the city, short. Millicent spent the entire trip flattering the hedge wizard, Darvish was his name, and praising his creations. The man seemed unused to compliments, particularly from women, so he had no hesitation when it came to explaining every technique he used and trick he’d developed to her. When we dropped him off with the authorities, she told him she’d write him, and he looked more content being dragged away by the guards then I imagined he’d been when we’d found him in that cave.

From there the group parted ways. Nica went to her family’s home deeper in the city, Tib went to stay in the diplomats quarter where he rented a room from a cousin, Millicent and Patience went to the Stray Cat Tavern, which is where I’d rented a room as well, but I had other business before I headed that way. I walked to the edge of the merchant's island and caught a raft over to the artisan’s. From there I weaved through a few alleys, dodging a potter carrying an oversized vase as I did, and found my way to Lorona’s tailoring. When I walked in she was sitting behind a counter, delicately sewing colorful feathers onto a dress. I stayed still and silent, not wanting to break her concentration.

Congratulations! You’ve increased the skill Stealth!

Well, that was nice, but it also indicated she didn’t know I was here. I let out a small cough, and that caused her to stop what she was doing and look up. Lorana was an older woman with a dark complexion and hard eyes. Nica had recommended her when I’d asked the party about finding a good tailor, and I figured I should trust the local. Of course it turned out that Lorona was a distant cousin, but from what I’d seen of Itlan, not recommending family for something was considered a terrible insult.

“Can I help you?” she asked, squinting at me.

“Hi, I’m Cor, I just wanted to see if my order was ready?”

“Ah yes, the one with the odd proportions and the even odder fabrics.”

“That’s me.”

“One moment.” She walked away from the counter and into a back room, then returned holding a bundle of clothes. “Try these on,” she said, shoving the bundle into my arms, and gesturing for the circular curtain on the side of the room. I walked in and took a look at what I had. It was a good mix of shirts, pants, and a jacket. The first thing I noticed though was the matching suit made of the glossy black fabric I’d been so enamored with. I tried that on first, and was pleased to find it fit perfectly. I reluctantly took it off, then tried the rest of the pieces. They were all exactly what I needed. I hadn’t been too comfortable wearing the dwarven clothes since I arrived, and the outfit I’d first been wearing when I was transported here was starting to show some real wear and tear, not to mention the fact that it was covered in bloodstains. When I was finished trying everything on, I put the black suit back on, shoved the rest of the clothes in my bag and stepped out.

“It’s all perfect.” I said.

“I know,” said Lorona, not looking up from the dress she’d returned to working on.

“Three gold five silver, right?”

She nodded.

I placed the money on the desk. “Thank you, glad Nica recommended you.”

That seemed to make her pause for a moment, but she quickly resumed her work.

I walked out onto the main street, feeling more put together than I had since I’d arrived. Even though I was wearing long sleeves and pants, the material breathed so well that I didn’t feel overheated. I made my way through the streets, my bag over my shoulder, sword and dagger at my side. Because of the way the islands had shifted I was forced to cut through one of the seedier merchant districts on the way back to the tavern.

As I cut through an alley, I suddenly found myself cut off on both sides. Two large men stood in front of me, brandishing wicked looking swords and giving off a general air of malice. There was a short one standing behind me, holding just a knife.

“Going somewhere pretty boy?” he asked.

I decided to play along, putting on what I hoped was an air headed expression. “You think I’m pretty?” I asked with a smile.

The two larger men snickered, and the short one got a bit flustered.

“No, I just-”, he shook his head. “Listen. Give us the bag, and all the money you have.”

“Why? Are you selling something?” I asked innocently, resting my right hand on my sword hilt.

He stepped closer, bringing his dagger up as he did. “No you moron, I’m robbing-”

I cut him off with a swift jab of my left hand, its speed increased by 30% thanks to my ‘Left Hand Free’ ability. He stumbled backwards, and I followed up with a kick to his chest that threw him backward and left him heaving on the ground. I whirled on the other two who were slow to react. I jumped against the wall to the left of them, and launched myself off kicking the one on the right in the face. Before the last one could strike me I cast a heavily reduced stone toss spell with my left hand, blinding him with stone dust, before following up with a swift knee to his crotch. I let out a slow breath, steadying myself, and found a smile across my face.

I struck the two larger ones a couple more times to make sure they stayed down before walking back to the short one who had started to crawl away. He made a desperate swipe at me with his knife, but I flash stepped a foot out of range before it reached me, then followed up by grabbing his arm and slamming it onto the ground, forcing him to drop his weapon.

I hauled him up and slammed him by the collar into the wall. “So, are you robbing me cause you’re broke or because you wanted to?”

“Don’t kill me man!”

“Your money, give it to me.”

He nodded and took a small pouch off his waist that he handed to me. Inside was a smattering of silver pieces, a pair of heavy gold earrings, and a few rings.

“Guess I wasn’t your first mark today, huh?” I asked.

He nodded.

I gave him one last hard shove into the wall, and let him crumple to the ground. I’d been a bit more violent than I’d intended, and I felt a little twinge of guilt for that, but they’d tried to rob me, turnabout's fair play.

Congratulations! You’ve resolved an encounter with humans (Lvl 5-7) non-lethally! You gained 250 xp!

Between the loot and the XP I almost wanted to thank them for robbing me, but them being alive seemed thanks enough. I made my way to the edge of the island and hopped onto the next one. It wasn’t much further before the Stray Cat Tavern came into view. I’d call it a medium-seedy establishment. It had decent ale, at least according to Patience, and the roof didn’t leak too much. The sign above the door had the image of a black cat hissing at an oncoming hand. I walked in, gave a nod to Patience and Millicent who were sharing a drink at the bar, and took the stairs up to my room.

I walked in to find Zevrack, continuing to tinker with his latest project. The room we shared was the only one there with two beds. He had tools, raw materials, and paper scattered all throughout the room. I wasn’t in there too often, so I didn’t mind stepping over jagged metal too badly, the only rule was that it stayed off my bed.

I tossed my bag down, and took a quick inventory of everything I’d acquired. I was up to fifty three gold, getting close to my next level, and my gear was all in decent shape. I took out a whetstone to buff out a small notch in my dagger.

Zevrack eventually looked up from his project, seemingly in a daze and glanced over to me. “Welcome back! How was the adventure?”

“Interesting. Turned out it was more of a home invasion.”

He cocked his head. “Aren’t they always?”

I nodded. “Kind of. The cave the monsters came out of was a hedge wizards house. He was just experimenting.”

“Experimenting?” he asked with a glint in his eyes.

I smiled and described everything I’d seen, holding almost all of his attention aside from the occasional tweak of whatever device he had nearby.

“Millicent spoke with him?” he asked.

“At length.”

“I have questions.”

“She’s at the bar now with Patience. Want to head down?”

He nodded.

“Oh, one more thing.” I pulled out the pouch of stolen goods. “Someone tried to mug me, and I took this from them. Would you mind seeing what you can get for it next time you visit Elle in the market district?”

He nodded. “Twenty percent.”

I sighed. I was already paying for the room, and the food. “Sure. Just be careful. I’m not sure how recognizable the jewelry is.”

He nodded and we headed down to the bar.