Anna turned on Alan and gripped his shoulders. “I’m not trying to make big decisions with you, but we need allies. Zack saved my life today and risked the forever death by doing so.”

Alan appeared unconvinced.

“He also helped me find the Shrine of Ralun, something we’d never have accomplished alone. Finally, he’s already on the far side of Balarel’s laws. Working around the guards and Blazers is what he’d be doing anyway.” She looked at me. “Right?”

“I’m still having fun,” Zack agreed.

“Then you’re absolutely mad,” Alan said. “Who seeks a life like this out?”

As she released Alan and turned to Zack, a trace of a smile crossed Anna’s face. “Someone looking for a more challenging adventure.”

Zack smiled back. “As to your current situation? I have an alternative suggestion.”

“Which is?” Alan asked.

“You two can sleep at my place.”

Alan’s eyes widened. Anna’s did too, though likely for a different reason. She even blushed, which told him where her mind had likely gone. Nice. Still, Zack focused on their shared predicament.

“And where are your parents?” Alan asked.

“Dad’s dead,” Zack said.

Anna’s face fell. “I’m so sorry.”

“It was ten years ago now,” Zack said calmly. “I’m over it. As for Mom, she’s great, but she’s a Merchant, so she’s at her stall every day from eight in the morning until a late supper. She’s always out by 8 in the morning and never home before 6.”

“We can’t ask this of you,” Anna said quietly. “It’s too much.”

“I didn’t say you’d be staying for free,” Zack said calmly. “You’ll be lodgers, just like any out-of-towner who’s decided to Level in Grassea long term. Selling Mom on bringing in lodgers will be easy, since we’re barely using half the house anyway. It’ll be even easier if you two agree to a lopsided deal. She gets experience for those, and I even know a Scribe who can draw up the contract.”

Glenn’s father Hal would create the lodger contract without fuss and, more importantly, could be trusted to keep the matter private. When it came to his clients, Hal Redwood was secretive as a Shadower. No Scribe who spoke freely about his documents would be trusted to make more.

Alan’s brow furrowed. Up until this moment he’d looked absolutely opposed, but now his expression was considerably more neutral. As for Anna’s features, Zack caught a faint hint of a smile. She might have picked up on just how he planned to sell this idea to Alan. She might approve.

“How many crescents have you two got tucked away, anyway?” Zack asked. “Seems like you planned to rent a room here for a while. You definitely came out here rich if you could afford to pay off the Ringleader to void contracts on you for a bit. Does the reason your brother was able to hire Blazers to come after you have anything to do with you stealing from his coffers?”

“He wasn’t using it,” Anna said defensively. “And it’s my money. He stole it first.”

“The church certainly didn’t see it that way,” Alan grumbled.

“The church can sit on a stick,” Anna said.

“So you’ve got money,” Zack said. “And I’ve got somewhere you can live where no one’s going to rat you out. My Mom’s good people, and if I tell her our new lodgers want their identities kept private, she’ll oblige. Townsfolk offering private lodging have no obligation to show those contracts to anyone. All you have to do is pay us some of what you planned to pay Sadie.”

“So we’re to hide in your home for the rest of our time here?” Alan asked.

Anna was already convinced. Zack could see that. Alan was the one he had to sell on this plan, and he wasn’t, for a moment, entirely sure why he was trying to sell them on it. Yet Anna needed a place to stay. Alan came with her. And his mother would be happy to have more crescents coming in.

“You can still go kill Monsters,” Zack said. “That’s why you’re here, isn’t it? To Level?”

“We’ll be seen by people as we move through town,” Alan said.

“Like literally every other low Level Adventurer?” Zack asked dryly. “Anna, you came here because you knew there would be plenty of lowbies coming in and out of Wolfpine all the time, right? New faces coming and staying and going as they Level and craft?”

“I did,” Anna said. “That’s exactly why we came here.”

“Two more Adventurers coming in and out of town won’t draw anyone’s attention,” Zack assured Alan. “Even if a Blazer comes through looking for you, they’ll inquire at The Mead Beast and maybe The Scarlet Rose for anyone renting a room there matching your descriptions. No one will have any information to offer. You’ll be out Leveling or hidden in my house.”

Alan’s brow furrowed. “People actually rent rooms at your town’s brothel?” He was referring, of course, to Zack’s suggestion they might stay at The Scarlet Rose.

“Nights of passion aren’t all they sell,” Zack said, though he was speaking only off what he’d heard. “The room’s there aren’t cheap, but they’re real nice.”

Anna snickered. “Also saves a trip, I’d imagine.”

Zack smirked her way. “So long as you aren’t registered at a room here in Wolfpine, all anyone looking for you can do is ask ‘Hey, you seen a blond Harmcaster and a dour-faced Brutalist walking around town? To which most anyone who lives here will answer ‘Is this your first time in Wolfpine?’”

“I’m not dour-faced,” Alan said.

“You sometimes are,” Anna told him. Yet before he could protest, she gripped his hand. “And you gave up so much to help me escape. To protect me. I know what you sacrificed to come here, and I can never repay you, but I also need you to trust my instincts. This is a good deal for both of us."

After a long moment, Alan sighed. “How much?"

“Fifteen crescents a night,” Zack said. “Plus you pay for all your own food. You can even pay in Life Crystals if you like, since my mom can buy those off you after you pull them off your kills.”

“That’s almost as much as we pay here!” Alan protested.

“Do you want Mom to rent a room to you or not?”

Anna’s features clouded for the first time since Zack had suggested this. What was wrong now?

“What if my brother does find out where we’re staying?” Anna asked quietly. “In that case, our presence could put your mother in danger.”

The fact that Anna’s first worry was for his mother made him want to help her all the more. “Mom’s no one to worry over,” Zack said confidently. “She’s tough as anyone in this town, and no Monster, Demon, or Desouled can set foot inside Wolfpine. Even if one of your brother’s minions shattered one their little Demon crystals inside the walls, the Demon would burn up the moment it popped out. The Gods don’t allow Monsters or Demons inside our walls.”

Zack didn’t know that with absolutely certainty, of course. It was simply what the Church of Celes taught. Yet the fact that he’d never heard of anyone successfully setting a bunch of Demons lose inside a town’s walls argued strongly in his favor. He could also ask Glenn to be certain, over drinks, because this was exactly the sort of thing Glenn would know.

After he convinced Glenn the crystal he’d seen outside the walls was just a random item he’d picked up from a traveling merchant, of course. Fortunately, Zack doubted convincing Glenn of that would be hard. Glenn was remarkably gullible when it came to his friends, and since he’d be leaving town tomorrow anyway to become a Blazer, he’d not be around to question Zack further.

Better yet, Glenn and Becka leaving would also conveniently get Jenny Ambersun out of Zack’s hair as well. Even if Jenny had questions about the crystal, she had no jurisdiction in Wolfpine. Justice inside the walls fell to Town Guards, and as odd as this crystal might be, there was nothing illegal about using it. Even if Jenny did find herself curious, she had no grounds to question him or investigate further.

Yet Anna was looking increasingly defeated again. “Even if we agree to stay with you, if we get caught, your mother might be accused of harboring fugitives. We can’t get her in that sort of trouble.”

Zack had considered that as well, and he saw no reason to worry. “I’m not going to tell her you’re fugitives, and you certainly aren’t. So in regards to the law, she’ll have no idea the Blazers are looking for you. They could charge me, sure, but I’m perfectly willing to take that risk.”

“You don’t even know if your mother will take the deal,” Alan said. “Do you?”

“I think she will,” Zack said. “Especially if I tell her you two are my friends.”

Anna strode over and threw her arms around him. Zack, surprised, nonetheless took a moment to appreciate both her softness and warmth. He wrapped his arms around her as well.

“I’m glad I found you,” Anna said quietly.

“Glad to be found,” Zack agreed, as his heart pounded a bit faster than he’d expected. Just as they’d discussed in the woods, this was just a fling. He wasn’t looking for anything long term.

“When will you ask this?” Alan asked.

The resignation in his tone was obvious. Zack had sold him on renting a room at his mother’s house. They’d take the spare room his mother had kept for lodgers since she and Zack’s father first had the house built, a room that had gone empty for too long. A room that was right next to Zack’s.

Given the way Anna was now hugging him, that offered all sort of interesting possibilities.

“I’ll ask my Mom tonight after the big celebration,” Zack said. “She’ll be in a good mood then, especially if she sells as many sweet cones tonight as she thinks she will.”

Anna released him and stepped back. “Celebration?” she asked.

“Glenn’s completing his Ceremony of the Path tonight,” Zack said. “The guy who helped us take down those Shaitan today. Then he’s leaving town to join the Blazers.”

“He seemed nice,” Anna agreed. “But for obvious reasons, we likely won’t attend.”

“Probably a good idea,” Zack agreed. “The whole town will be there. Everything should wrap up a few hours after dark. I’ll talk to Mom right after the ceremony. If she goes for it, we can get a contract signed by tomorrow. In that case, this’ll be your last night at the Beast.”

“Allow me one question then,” Alan said, face calm. “Why are you doing all this? And I’d prefer a real answer. Why would you do all this to help two people you barely know?”

Zack grinned at Alan. “You’re paying me. Isn’t that reason enough?”

“Not if you want me to trust you with Anna,” Alan said.

Anna sighed. “You hush.”

“No, that’s fair,” Zack agreed. “It’s a fair question. Truth of it is, Anna’s told me why you’re here and I don’t like it. I don’t like that you had to run from your home zone, I don’t like Anna’s brother one bit, and I absolutely despise Politicians of all stripes. I also don’t like that someone dropped a bunch of Demons on me today. For that reason alone, ruining their plans by helping you gives me joy.”

Alan frowned doubtfully. “I ... suppose that’s as good a reason as any.”

“Plus Anna’s hot,” Zack added.

As Alan’s expression clouded, Anna laughed merrily. “See? We’ve finally found ourselves an honest ally.”

“I wouldn't go that far,” Zack said. "I'm altruistically opportunistic."