Orion spent the night at The Little Sip. This time he didn’t wake up to grunting from the room over, though still groggy from the outside reek. Struggling up, he decided that he would no longer spend his nights at this Inn: although it was the cheapest, he figured he could live more lavishly now that he was a Seeker. Dim light beamed through the window, reflecting his mood. It wasn’t midday yet, so he’d done better than yesterday at least. Within five minutes, he had washed and was ready, his maroon bag slumping over his butt. In it were his finger knife, a med-kit, two gold coins, and a few silvers.

He slinked through alleys and reached a foggy Hexham’s road, through which he walked to the market. After restocking his dry rations, Orion sold his shortsword for a longer, lighter one, costing six silvers.

He sat on a bench and wondered whether he should work with Kora. His intuition told him her attitude wasn’t an act meant to bluff, rather she believed herself a dragon and him a sheep. He smoothed his messy black hair and remembered her patting him - the audacity of that girl! Regardless of his peevish mood, he got up and headed to the Seeker’s building. He couldn’t waste any chances he got considering his astronomical goal.

Easing away his creases, Orion walked through the doors. After some thought, he wore a poker face to give Maya no joy in teasing him. If she knew his identity, she wouldn’t even dare think of such provocations. Likewise, if she knew his identity, he was sure to be shackled and sent to the capital in no time.

“Oh goodie, it’s my favourite Seeker,” she shouted, putting down her book. “Don’t forget humble ol’ Maya when you become famous, young buck. Your lady-friend is upstairs by the way,” she said as he walked past, ignoring her.

He quickly spotted Kora in her maroon cloak despite the heat inside. Maybe she had some sort of disfigurement? He took the seat beside her and scanned the contracts on the table.

“One hour,” she said.

“What?”

“I thought you wouldn’t show up after asking me here so persuasively,”

He exhaled and shook his poker face. Maya and Kora were two peas of the same pod; all he had to do was bore them with a blank expression, then he’d be winning.

She stole his other viable reaction and stared at him unamused. “This is how it’s going to be, eh?”

When he didn’t break, she nodded her head and acted like nothing had happened. “So, I skimmed through the contracts while you snored in bed and found these. Any which catch your fancy?”

Orion stopped her. “Too fast. First of all, which of these can you beat?”

“All the 2-stars.”

“Then let’s do a 3-star contract. What about this one?” he said, pointing to one for a Spotted arachese. The difficulty in killing them came from their webs, and a simple bit of Szu, albeit disguised as another magic for Kora’s sake, would solve that.

She looked at him incredulously, then covered her eyes and began to sob. Orion glanced around and saw a few Seekers frowning at him. He had misjudged before; Kora was on a different level to Maya - she could crease his brows a way the other never managed.

Her sobs turned to sniggers, and she pointed at Orion as if to clarify the situation to any onlookers. “Are you an idiot? Spotted arachese pop out babies like crazy when endangered. While they’re weak, the two of us can’t deal with them and their momma,”

“I’ve got a crack propagation spell that can deal with that,”

She patted his head but withdrew before he could slap it. “Unless you’re a Zakari with their Szu, I’m not trusting your weak-ass cracking spells. Otherwise, I’d only trust your magic if you got some serious meat on those bones.

Orion shook his head. It was natural for him to cast Szu without draining fat through Giah that he had forgotten how the inferior breeds did it. He could disguise his magic, but he wouldn’t be able to mask its power considering his figure.

“At least you have some sense. What about this contract?” She pointed to a contract about murders in Lesan.

Lesan was a coastal town that had grown in the way Visgamar hadn’t – through canals. The whole town was passable by boat, but it also had many bridges for the walkers. It had a booming tourism sector, and being nearer the western Empire meant an inflated geographical importance, explaining how the seafarer’s outpost had exploded up so fast. But due to this, it also had a growing underbelly as sailors brought both goods and gangs along.

“It says the rank rewarded is determined by the monster’s race, as is the money,” he said in a displeased tone. He stressed money, and she bit the bait.

“Don’t worry, this is definitely a Korshi. Look here on the suspicious deaths: one woman discovered without a stomach and a fractured ribcage – its birth. Two days later, another body found but missing various cuts of meat. Another day later, another similar death. In fact, almost a week of similar deaths- it’s feeding. Then a sudden stop of corpses, so it either got smarter or stopped. I say it stopped; it had enough to make its mask. If we can catch it off guard, it’s an easy kill,” she said.

He thought back to everything he had read about the Korshi. “If not, we’re in trouble. Especially in a town like that,”

“We will, don’t worry,” She placed her hands over his and talked in the most pleasing tone. “Korshis are easy; don’t be a pussy.”

Orion moved his hands. She knew something about it, and she knew something about him, which was why she was pressuring him. Was it that he was a Zakari? He looked at her head on.

Her lips curled, and her black eyes smiled. “Trust,”

No, she didn’t know. Maybe she just liked him, after all, he was an actual member of the four great Houses. They naturally had likeable dispositions.

He nodded. “Fine, let’s do it,”

She broke into a grin.

“Interesting contract,” Maya said, writing their names down on a register. “Two others left to do it two days ago. You’ll get there in time to help them if you leave today, and this contract has groups up to five so it’s fine. If it’s a Korshi, remember to watch for their face muscles – they’ll be all stiff and wrong. If it’s a Laeshi, unlikely, but if it is, retreat and come back here,”

Her knowledge surprised Orion, altering his image of Maya.

“And as long as you come back, you know you’ll be getting my naughty reward,” she said with a slow wink.

His image re-altered. Kora tinkled out laughter. Maya bobbed her eyebrows up and down.

Since they were both ready, they left after buying supplies for the trip. Despite both places being coastal cities, the sea voyage took a month with many trade stops down the route unless you emptied your pockets. Thus, before dusk, they were on a carriage headed to Lesan.