-Vandlind-

Sunlight streamed through the window into the spacious, first-floor room of the Minotaur’s Labyrinth. Coincidentally, this sunlight burned straight through my retinas as I opened my eyes.

“Ah, fuck!” I screwed my eyes shut and slumped back down on the bed. A splitting headache ruthlessly pulsed from my skull. I must’ve consumed liters of alcohol to make myself hungover. My body’s natural resistance to toxins was staggeringly high.

“Uh, I’m never drinking again.” I attempted to roll over, only to realize I had a visitor.

Veylin laid face-down on the bed, the top part of her body across my chest. Judging from the wild state of her hair and failure to wake from my jostling, she was probably in a similar situation.

I didn’t remember how we got up to our room, but I was thankful that I wasn’t dead in a ditch somewhere. There was something eerie about losing hours of memories.

I lightly slid out from under Veylin; every piece of my clothing, save my underwear, was missing.

Frowning, I walked to the kitchen sink in our room. Recalling Zoe’s explanation yesterday, most inns probably didn’t have sinks. At least, not a modernized one.

Splashing some water on my face, I resigned myself to sitting on the floor and filtering the alcohol out with mana. In the best-case scenario, it would've taken a few minutes. In my current situation, however, it was far from it. My headache kept throwing my concentration off, so the whole ordeal lasted about a half-hour. When I finished, I stripped and took a quick shower, which was also surprisingly modernized.

Veylin was awake by the time I’d finished; she watched me with appraising eyes as I walked out.

I awkwardly looked at her, looked down at my naked body, and slowly covered the goods.

Veylin rolled her eyes, “It’s not something I haven’t seen before. I was only looking at your bond markings.”

I sidled over to the dresser and started putting my clothes on, “Didn’t you give them to me?”

She pursed her lips, “Not directly, it’s more like a manifestation of our connection and compatibility, I believe.”

I pulled a white shirt over my head and paused, “Wait, is that why some bonds don’t have visible markings? They’re not close enough – or compatible? Whatever.”

Veylin shrugged as she walked to the shower and stripped, “It’s not proven, but that’s my hypothesis.”

I looked at the pile of underclothes she was left along the floor as her naked body disappeared into the bathroom, “Would it kill you to not leave your stuff everywhere?”

‘It was for your benefit.’ she teased, not bothering to respond verbally.

I wasn’t an idiot; I knew what she was doing. I’ve known for a while. I just… wasn’t willing to act on it yet. Maybe when all this was over, I’d talk with her. I shook my head as I put my armor on, careful to hide my thoughts from the bond.

After I finished dressing, I began to lay all my equipment on the floor. I only had unclear memories about what all I had stashed in my bag; I figured it’d be a good idea to know what stuff I had with me.

Current Coin: 17 silvers

Current Equipment: Ground-Drake Leather Armor (full set), Masterwork Elven Longbow, Masterwork Elven Shortsword, Masterwork Elven Daggers (x2), Masterwork Elven Spear, Masterwork Elven Arrows (x24), Elven Quiver, Set of Elven Clothes (x3), Elven Cloak, Elven Leather Boots, Tent, Bedroll, Blanket (x2) Lantern, Preserved Food (6 days’ worth), Water Skin (x2), Various Hygiene Items (clean rags, towels, soap, dental care, etc.), High-Tier Mana Potion

If I really need to, I’ll sell some of my weapons, probably the spear or bow since I don’t use them much.

The weapons were sure to net a nice amount of silver, maybe even a gold coin if I put a few extra enchantments on them. It would be hard to see such beautiful weapons go; however, I would rather choose to live with shame than starve to death with pride.

The price of this inn was fucking annoying. A silver coin for a month? I was only going off the economics lessons my mother gave me, but it seemed like too much. Maybe I just wasn’t appreciating how nice this place was because it appeared like any normal Earth hotel room.

I knew I’d make money while staying here, at least. What the going rate was for a steel plate adventurer was, I did not know. Every little bit helped, though.

‘Stop worrying so much.’ Veylin chastised me as she showered.

‘Worrying is good in small portions.’ I replied, starting to put everything but my sword and daggers back in the bag.

She scoffed, ‘You consider the amount of worrying you do to be small?’

‘That remains to be seen.’ I fastened my sword belt around my armor and slid the blade into its sheath.

‘You’re going to go insane at this rate.’ Veylin’s muttered.

‘Whatever you-’ My thoughts were interrupted by a knock on the door.

I activated mana sense. Two people were outside the door. One was armed, and both were of unfamiliar proportions. It wasn’t anyone on the team.

‘Two potential hostiles at the door.’ I told Veylin.

‘What the hells are you talking about?’ she asked, ‘It’s probably just room service.’

They have room service in this world?

I placed my hand on the dagger strapped to my back and cautiously opened the door; I wasn't about to be taken by surprise.

“Oh,” I said. “It’s you.”

Freya, dressed in casual clothes, glanced at the hand behind my back, “Who did you think it was?”

I looked up at the imposing figure of Asher behind her, “An orc, possibly. Maybe an ogre.”

Asher’s expression didn’t change as he observed me from his vantage point, “I will take that as a compliment.”

Freya’s lips tugged up slightly, “I can always count on you to joke about something serious.”

I held the door open farther, “It’s a unique quality of mine. Come in.”

Freya and Asher filed into the room and examined the small interior.

The elf gave a surprised look at the women’s underclothes scattered on the floor, “I didn’t take you as the type to sleep around, Vandlind.”

A thumped sounded in the bathroom, ‘Have I told you I don’t like her?’

I kicked the clothes into a corner, “I’m not.”

Freya turned towards the bathroom, “I take it your guest is still here?”

“Not guest,” I pointed out, “Partner.”

Asher rubbed the stubble on his face, “A partner? I, too, once had someone to habitually rut with. I do not recommend keeping the same one around for more than six months.”

There was another thump from the bathroom, ‘Have I told you don’t like him either.’

‘No, but you did say he smelled bad.’ I replied.

I scratched the tip of my ear, “I meant partner non-sexually.”

Asher took a long sniff of air in with his nose, “Forgive me. I mistook the scent of sweat and intermingled bodies as sexual intercourse. I now realize no fluids released during arousal are present.”

I mimicked Asher and sniffed the air, “I don’t understand how you could smell something that distinct.”

I smelled sweat like he did but couldn’t really classify it as ‘intermingled.’ And he acted like he could identify vaginal and seminal fluids? He was human but had a better nose than me. What was he? Part dog?

Freya sat on the floor, “We’ll wait for your partner to finish before discussing what we came here for. I’m sure you’ve guessed it by now.”

I motioned towards the ogre, “And he’s cool with it?”

Asher thumped his spear butt on the ground, “My devotion to lady Freya is absolute. It does not matter what opinions I may hold.”

“Ooookayyy,” I exaggerated, “Big man is cool with it.”

Freya chuckled, a light and gentle sound; it reminded me of a wind chime, “Don’t mind Asher. He’s old-fashioned.”

Old-fashioned? He speaks like he’s from the middle ages.

“Veylin,” I knocked on the bathroom door, “What’s taking so long?”

Embarrassment flooded through the bond as she replied, ‘I… I don’t have clothes.’

I sighed and began shuffling through her bag on the dresser. When I found a complete set of clothes, I opened the bathroom door and shoved them in. Fabric rustled as she hurriedly put them on.

Freya frowned at me discerningly, “How did you know she needed clothes?”

I tapped my head, “I can use telepathy. I thought I told you?”

Freya’s brow raised in surprise, “Yes, but I didn’t think you’d use it for something so trivial. Mages powerful enough to use telepathy tend to rarely use it for simple communication. It’s quite dangerous… or so I’m told,” she added with an afterthought.

I sat on the ground across from her, “It’s more about magical sensitivity than power. That’s why powerful Enhancers, like you, can’t use it despite having a deep focus. And yes, using telepathy wantonly can expose my mind to attack, but I’m extremely careful with it.” It looked like I’d have to be careful using the telepathy excuse from now on.

Freya tilted her head, “How do you know I have a deep focus? I am certain you didn’t inspect mine. I would’ve noticed.”

I motioned abstractedly in the air, “You know… when you thought I was peeping at you, you blasted me with a mana blade. I know you’re not a mage, and the mana went quite a distance before dissipating. That’s only possible for an Enhancer if they have a deep enough focus to pack mana super densely.”

Freya smiled approvingly, “It’s interesting how you remember things as complicated as this, but you didn’t remember not to name monsters.”

I scratched the tip of my ear in embarrassment, “It is interesting; I’ll give you that.”

Veylin strode from the bathroom door, wearing similar clothes as me: dark pants and a white shirt (my parents only ever provided her with clothes those colors; they didn’t seem to like anything else).

She sat down roughly next to me, “Let’s hear the plan, lady Freya.”

Freya’s expression twitched in annoyance, “Right... I trailed Blake yesterday and managed to figure out he’s visiting the slave market in two days. Using your divination magic, we should be able to listen in on his conversation with the slave broker. There’s only one who does brands in this ring, so it’ll be easy.”

I scrunched my face in confusion, “Why would we listen in to his conversation with the broker? It’s not like they’ll talk about things we don’t already know.”

“That’s because we’re going to pay a visit to the broker beforehand and convince him to ask a few questions to our beloved mage.” Freya explained, putting too much emphasis on the ‘convincing’ part.

“But there’s no guarantee that he’ll ask those questions,” I countered; this plan was relying on a slave broker keeping their word. Considering the profession, it didn’t feel like a wise decision.

“Oh, that’s why we’re going to have you enthrall him with enchantment magic and wipe his memory after,” Freya said, face as passive as ever.

“Well, that’s fucking evil.” Veylin leaned back on her hands, “I like it.”

Asher agreed, “The ruthlessness of this plan is efficient.”

Speak normally!

I frowned; this felt like something the CIA would do, “Erasing memories is hard. And what if the broker has ways to resist mind magic? Somebody in that profession is sure to have nasty customers, some of them mages. Screwing with someone’s brain can’t be legal in this city.”

Freya waved nonchalantly, “I am aware of the risks, but artifacts that protect the mind are rare. Besides, I already know the slave broker isn’t a mage; I checked him yesterday.”

I sighed, “I don’t think this is the best idea.”

“What questions could a slave broker ask that wouldn’t be suspicious? Blake might catch on.” Veylin bit the inside of her cheek in contemplation.

Freya started counting on her fingers, “Is the slave for sale?-”

I stopped her, “Blake already said he planned on giving the goblin to his master.”

“Yeah, I know.” Freya continued, “When Blake says no, the slave broker will indirectly ask Blake if he already told his master about the goblin. If Blake hasn’t told his master, we’ll be in the clear to take the slave and wipe Blake’s memory too.”

I held up a hand, “This plan is relying on my telepathy too much; he has days of memories I’d need to erase. Shouldn’t we just abduct the goblin, break the magic of the brand, and find a way to make it so Blake doesn’t realize it was us? Maybe we could frame the slave broker?” Framing an innocent man was arguably wrong, but it was a slave broker, so I didn’t care too much.

Freya shook her head, “Even if Blake didn’t realize we stole the goblin, which wouldn’t be hard to figure out, he’d probably put a suicide order on the brand. We need to get him to relinquish control to one of us.”

“So, we pretty much have to risk fucking with people’s brains if we do this?” I groaned; this was becoming too dangerous. I wasn’t eager to get thrown in jail my first week of being in a city.

Freya nodded, “If you want to stay in Aerilon with the rest of your friends.”

I pushed my hair back in frustration, “Fine, let’s use your plan. It’s not like we have a better idea.”

It took us another dozen or so minutes to come up with the rest of the plan and work out the kinks. It was mostly Freya telling us what she’d already figured out, which made me think I never had a choice, but it was more thought out than anything I would’ve came up with.

Freya clapped her hands, “Alright, Blake’s meeting the broker sometime in the morning. We’ll just have to arrive before him and set up. I’ll come by the morning after tomorrow and lead you to the market.” She stood from her position on the floor and walked to the door.

Freya and Asher left the room as if they weren’t just discussing something incredibly illegal. It was almost like it didn’t happen.

I flopped back on the floor, “What have I gotten myself into?”