No say in life… Dallion thought.

From the brief conversation he’d had with Falkner—and the much longer one with Nil afterwards—that was the only conclusion he could reach. Apparently, all noble children had echoes placed in them around the age of three. This wasn’t done out of malice, but to ensure that they got the best guidance in life. There was someone always watching what they did, whispering advice, encouraging good behavior and discouraging bad.

Nil explained that it was no different from having a governess or nanny take care of a child, and for a world in which every object knew what the people around it were doing, maybe it wasn’t. But Dallion still felt a bitter aftertaste when thinking about it.

As the child grew, more and more echoes were added: tutors, trainers, bodyguards whose duty it was to protect the realm from any interference. Then, at a certain point, their parents would place their echoes in the realm as well. The last made Dallion particularly uncomfortable. There were too many things he was glad that his parents had never knew.

You do know that it’s common for engaged awakened to exchange echoes during courtship? Nil asked. Since you already proclaimed the gorgon to be your fiancée…

Not the time, Nil, Dallion grumbled mentally. He and Euryale were just a couple so far. Also, he could relax that she was probably the only person who disliked echoes more than him. There probably was a story behind that, but it wasn’t something Dallion would ask, not when he was busy getting himself in trouble.

Sometimes, I really can’t understand you, dear boy. You do so well in some aspects and yet in others, you’re a complete mess. You seem to have forgotten everything I said about fundamentals.

The fundamentals of life are different. There’s no changing that.

Of course there is, the old echo laughed. That’s what leveling up is for. I know I’ve been saying that you need to find a balance between recklessness and fear, but I will be very much relieved when you purge most of your bad habits and it’ll be easier talking to you. It really isn’t as bad as you fantasize it is. After all, I’ve been with you for years now and you didn’t seem to complain.

Technically, that was correct. Then again, Dallion was very much relieved he had a blocker ring he could use whenever he wanted.

“Hey, Dal.” Spike waved. ”What are you hanging around the guild for? Don’t you have a tournament or something?”

“Still waiting.” Dallion rushed to the elite. “They said they’ll let me know when my fight is scheduled. For now, it’s just a lot of waiting.”

“That’s why I prefer bar fights. Faster and much more fun. Plus, there’s the added bonus that win or lose I always get a drink afterwards.”

That didn’t sound in the least attractive, but it had turned out quite well for Spike. The man was quite famous, or infamous rather. There wasn’t a tavern or inn that didn’t know about him, not to mention he was a regular with the city guard. As Nil liked to say, Spike was among that type of person that caused a lot of trouble, but got excused because of his roguish charm and raw skill. It was also the reason that no other guild in the city would take him.

“Have you seen Vend? I’ve been trying to get in touch, but his echo has been vague.”

“Oh, probably off on another of his secret missions with March.”

Dallion blinked. That wasn’t the way information on secret missions had to be shared.

“Don’t look at me like that. It’s no secret that March is doing some hush-hush stuff. Everyone knows it, we just don’t know what it is. The other captains are no different.”

“Adzorg goes on secret missions?” That was shocking to the point that Dallion could barely believe it.

“Well, everyone except him. And the guild administration. Unsure about the guild master, though. I don’t see him much.”

Come to think of it, Dallion had only seen the guild master briefly and from a distance. The same could be said pretty much for the other top shots. His Earth brain was okay with it. After all, you didn’t get to see the CEO in a company just like that.

“He’ll probably be back in a day or two. March hates wasting time. On that note, did you get to be invited to her inner circle?”

“More like outer circle,” Dallion snorted. “And no. Hopefully, in a few days.”

“Well that’s life for you—you wait for eternity for something to happen, then it all crashes down on you at once. That’s why I like bar fights—its much simpler. You fight when you want to, stop when you want to… give or take. No fuss, no waiting.”

And a lot of bruises in between, Dallion thought.

“Spike, do weird things happen during fights?” Dallion subtly changed the subject, adding just enough of curiosity in his voice to the elite to become intrigued without suspecting anything.

“All the time.” The other laughed.

“No, I mean like really weird. Like finding a disguised noble, or someone not from the Empire, or even a mage…”

“I fight nobles all the time. They’re quite fun. At least with them, the fight lasts longer. As for outsiders and mages, fat chance of getting any of those in Nerosal.”

“I heard that a mage got into a fight a while back and caused a huge ruckus.”

“Oh, not that story again,” Spike sighed. “Well, yeah. That happened. But chances of that happening again are like…” he waved his hands in the air. “Really really low.”

“But you know about the story?” Dallion moved closer.

“Pretty much everyone in the city knows that story, or a version of it. Which version do you know? Did the mage set the inn on fire?”

“Yeah.” Dallion nodded. “Then he put it back together again and healed everyone except for—”

“The version with a moral.” The elite shook his head. “A huge fight with lots of damage and destruction in which miraculously everyone ended up fine. Even the guy who was cast out eventually got well, am I right?”

Dallion didn’t say a thing.

“Believe that if you want, but the truth is always harsh and boring. An awakened who thought he was a big shot got in a fight with an apprentice mage. The mage won, the awakened didn’t and was kicked out of the city without an emblem or a name. That’s it.”

That’s the stupidest version I’ve heard, Nil grumbled.

“So there weren’t any killed or dead?”

“As I said, harsh and boring. What’s the point in killing or destroying? The tavern suffered, but not more than usual. And it was repaired after the fight, though not by the mage. That miserable creep left the city with all his friends as fast as his legs would hold him. Get this, he wasn’t scared about displeasing the lord Mayor, but was terrified what his family might think. Nobles. Am I right?”

“I guess you—”

“Hello there,” a deep male voice came from the lobby entrance.

Three city guards were standing there, all in their official armor. Dallion vaguely recognized one of them from Euryale’s workshop. The insignia and armor decorations made it clear he was a lieutenant. The ones along with him were standard city guards, completed with the slightly annoyed expression of someone who had been walking about the city all day.

“Heya, guys.” Spike waved. Clearly, he had been taken by the guard enough times to become acquitted with the people in question. “What was it this time?”

“Not today, Spike,” the lieutenant said. “We’re here for him.” He glanced at Dallion.

“Me?” Dallion blinked.

Damn it! Maybe it was a bad idea jumping on rooftops last night. If that was all he was in trouble for Dallion would be relieved, but something told me this went a bit deeper. There was no reason for a lieutenant to pick him up if it was something as stupid as rooftop jumping.

“The overseer wants a word with you.”

“Damn, Dal,” Spike said with a touch of awe and envy. “What sort of trouble did you get yourself into?”

“None that I know,” Dallion lied.

What’s an overseer?

An overseer, dear boy, is the last person you want to have a talk with. One piece of advice, don’t lie as blatantly, and under no circumstances use music or splitting when talking to her.

Okay, but what is an overseer?

“Come along, please,” the lieutenant urged Dallion. “We don’t have all day.”

As it turned out, an overseer was the closest thing an ordinary person could get to a noble. In theory, the overseer had no direct authority. She could only advise the captains what to do. She didn’t have any direct subordinates, taking more the role of a general advisor that also reported to the lord Mayor when things got really out of hand. Normally, her involvement was minimal, increasing during the festival and in times of crisis. Her place of residence wasn’t in any of the city guard forts. Actually, the overseer had her own house that was on the edge of the noble’s district. Dallion remembered getting a glance when he had gone with Vend to Lady Marigold.

The city guards didn’t say a word as they escorted Dallion to the house. And despite his burning curiosity, Dallion decided it would be best not to antagonize them. There was always the chance all this was one big misunderstanding. As they said, there was no need to volunteer free info they could use against him.

“So, you’re Eury’s latest?” the lieutenant asked out of nowhere, as they waited in front of the overseer’s door. “I saw you at her workshop.”

Latest? “I’m her boyfriend, yes…” Dallion replied.

“Disappointing. That girl never had luck with men. Let’s hope you’re not as bad as her last.”

Dallion was just about to ask for some clarification, when the door opened, revealing a new city guard—this time a captain.

“I’ll take it from here, lieutenant,” the captain said.

There was no salute, no explanations, nothing but a nod from the lieutenant, who then simply turned around and walked away. In his mind, Dallion made a run for it. Given his current level of body and acrobatic skills, there was a good chance that he managed to flee before any of the guards managed to catch up. Why, though? If they wanted, the local nobles could find him anywhere and it wasn’t like he was in good enough relations with the mirror pool to rely on them for help.

“This way,” the captain ended Dallion’s train of thought.

The entire first floor of the building turned out to be one giant room. Whatever internal walls there were had been knocked down, leaving nothing by the foundation columns. A single set of stone stairs lead to the floor above.

Without additional explanation, the captain led him up to the only door of the second floor. After knocking a few times, he opened the door for Dallion to enter and closed it immediately afterwards. The room was completely dark, with no windows whatsoever. The only light came from a green lantern placed on a small round table a short distance away.

Thanks to his improved perception, Dallion was able to see that there were quite a few pieces of other furniture in the room, as well as a rather large bookcase stretching along two walls, at least.

“Excuse the darkness,” a female voice said. “Light causes me pain. Please, sit at the table.”

There were two chairs present, both of them empty.

“Go ahead, it doesn’t matter which you pick.”

“Thank you, ma’am,” Dallion said and went to the nearest. After a moment’s hesitation, he switched to the other chair and sat down. As he did, a tall female figure emerged from the room. This was the first time Dallion had felt her presence, suggesting not only that she was an awakened, but that her level was vastly greater than his.

The woman was dressed in the kind of light armor an adventurer would use when walking in the wild. A fell over her entire face, hiding it from view. The colors were difficult to make out in the green light.

“You’re scared, aren’t you?” the overseer asked. “Scared that you’ve been brought here.”

“A bit, yes.”

“You should be. Because several people who tried to do what you did have ended up dead.”