“So we just wait here?” I asked.

“I made an appointment so he shouldn’t be long,” Ferrith said. “You can look through the pamphlet while we wait.” He pointed to a stack of well-worn paper binding on the table next to the baked goods. I walked over and flipped one open. Inside I found a sketch of one of those circular, fingerprint-like Brands I’d seen on Ferrith with some incomprehensible scribbles beneath it.

“I can’t read th—”

The door swung open. “Ferrith!” a pudgy rissian man said as he came into the room. The man wore a tailored suit, which did wonders to minimize the bulge of his belly. His dark hair was slicked back with a single streak of dyed blue color in it. His face was a lighter shade of gray than Ferrith’s, but darker than my own. It slightly surprised me to find he didn’t have any visible Brands considering this was supposedly the guy that sold them. Two more of those dark-hooded Hunters silently followed him into the room. I was beginning to suspect that the shadows that hid most of their faces were part of some kind of magic.

After the briefest of greetings to Ferrith, which was only met by a curt nod from the ogre-summoning adventurer, the pudgy man turned to me with a smile. He walked straight towards me, hand outstretched. “Vincent!” he said, like we were old friends. “So good to meet you! I hope you haven’t been through too much difficulty finding your way here.”

We clasped hands, the well-dressed man giving me a firm shake. “Hi,” I said. “Sorry, I’m a little off-put. Ferrith told me rissians didn’t shake hands.”

“We don’t,” Ferrith commented. “Gora doesn’t count.”

“Gora Joy,” the man said. “A pleasure.” He gestured to the couch. “Please. Take a seat.”

“So did you tell me that thing about hand shaking because you didn’t want to shake my hand?” I asked Ferrith.

“No,” Ferrith insisted. “Nobody does that. I’ve never seen Gora greet someone like that in my life. He’s just cheating.”

“Cheating how?”

Gora laughed as he settled into his chair. “It’s true,” he said. “I’ve never done that before. Interesting custom, though. Did I do a good job?”

“You’ve really never shaken hands before?” I asked. “But your grip was so firm and… are you sure?”

Gora pulled down the collar of his suit to reveal a circular Brand just below his neck. “Gracious Greetings,” he said. “Put your guests at ease with a perfect greeting every time. I sell it, if you’re interested.”

“We’re not interested,” Ferrith answered for me. He reached into his pocket and slid a slip of paper across the low wooden table to Gora. The two Hunters settled in on either side of him, watching but not saying anything. “I’m here on business, not window shopping,” Ferrith said.

“You’re always here on business,” Gora said. He laughed to himself as he took the paper. After scanning it briefly, he pocketed it. “Interesting,” he said. “They have an account with us. I’ll be sure they get billed for today’s services. There’s no name listed, but can I assume the ‘other worldly companion’ they mention is young Vince here?”

“Yup,” Ferrith confirmed.

Gora turned his attention to me. “What?” I asked. “What’s going on?”

“You are a lucky man,” Gora said. “Oxenraith University is paying for you to get a free translator.”

“Oh. Right,” I said. “Ferrith mentioned something about them needing to communicate with me.”

“You are quite fortunate to be working with them,” Gora said. “They are extremely well-funded.” That comment struck me as odd considering Father Koril has specifically mentioned their church funding getting revoked, but I supposed they’d found other sources.

“I’m not really working with them… am I, Ferrith?”

Ferrith shrugged. “They want to study him,” he said.

Gora nodded like he expected that. “Yes, Ferrith brings them intelligent ogres to study maybe once every few years. Though…” Gora looked at Ferrith. “Are you sure he’s an ogre? He looks too small.”

“I’m not,” I insisted. “I’m a human.”

“He’s just a small one,” Ferrith countered.

Gora’s gaze swiveled between us before nodding noncommittally. I couldn’t tell if he was agreeing with me or Ferrith, which I supposed might have been the point. “Before we start, Vince,” Gora said. “I need to ask if you have any religious objections. We sell Hearing Forks out front if you’d prefer that as your translator, the cost to you will be the same. Oxenraith is footing the bill on this one.”

“No thanks,” I said. “I used one when I visited the church and they seem tedious. I’d rather get a Brand like Ferrith has.”

“A man after my own heart,” Gora said, showing off his perfectly white, straight teeth in a wide smile. “And what about your Skill?” Gora asked me. “I wouldn’t be doing my job if I didn’t at least ask about your Skill. Did you get anything exciting?”

“Not really,” I admitted.

Gora sighed, looking up toward the ceiling as though recalling a fond memory. “You know, 17.22 years ago or so, Ferrith brought in an ogre with the most amazing Skill. It’s become the guild’s top-selling Brand.” He leaned in and lowered his voice as though he were sharing a secret with us. “You know there’s a rumor that the broker down in Hoth once sold a copy to a priest, but don’t go spreading that around.”

I nodded my head in agreement, even though I was half certain he wanted that rumor to spread. “What Skill was that?” I asked.

“Homeward Bound,” Gora answered, leaning back in his chair. “It’s a simple Skill, but then again, most of the good ones are. It instantly transports the user home. Much lower MP cost than similar transport Skills. For those that travel a lot it can pay for itself in saved Porter fees, but where it really shines is taking the user to safety—be it from pursuer beasts, or even the you-know-what.”

“I assume it does what it says it does? Takes you home?” I asked.

“It does. Are you interested in purchasing it?”

“Probably not. It sounds like Oxenraith University will take me home when I’m done exploring Earris, but… what was that thing you said it could protect you from? The you-know-what?”

Gora’s smile faltered for a moment. He reached for a one of those pamphlets I’d been looking at before and slid it across the table to me. “How about we look at options for translator Brands?” he asked, pointedly dodging my question. I was still curious about the strange little mystery, but decided not to be rude if he didn’t feel like explaining himself. Instead, I turned my attention to the book in front of me.

“I, uh… can’t read this, sorry,” I said.

Gora reached across the table and flipped it open for me. “Not to worry,” he said. “I’m happy to read it out for you.” He thumbed through the pages with practiced ease and settled on an image of a circular Brand with foreign symbols under it. “I’m sure you’re familiar with Tongues,” he said, “as I sold that one to your friend Ferrith. That’s our introductory translator. It will seamlessly translate both your spoken words and any language you hear. Very minor MP cost. You won’t even notice the reduction.”

“Reduction?” I asked. “Sorry, I don’t know what you mean.”

Gora nodded. “Tongues is a passive Brand,” he explained, “so it will lower your maximum MP by a small amount.” He narrowed his eyes. “Mr. Daze did tell you how MP works, didn’t he? Mental energy that powers Skills and Brands? Fall asleep when it runs out?”

“He did,” I confirmed. “I just didn’t know that’s how passive Brands worked.”

Gora nodded, flipping the pamphlet to the next page. “Well, if your MP pool has gotten too small or you don’t think you’ll need your translator very often, we also offer an active version of Tongues. It’s called Speak with Strangers: low MP cost, but you only have to activate it when you meet someone you don’t understand. When you don’t need it, it’s like it’s not even there.”

“Well, I’m going to need this to talk to anyone,” I explained, “so I guess Tongues will be a better fit.”

“No, no,” Gora said with a shake of his head. “Let me describe the other options before you decide. These are just the introductory translators. After all, Oxenraith is footing the bill.”

Ferrith sighed. “He always does this,” he complained.

“Does what?” I asked.

“Up-sells,” Ferrith said. “He works on commission.”

“Well, of course I do,” Gora said, smile not faltering for a second, “but that doesn’t mean I want my customers to leave unsatisfied.”

“What happens if I get a more expensive translator?” I asked. “Will I get charged for the difference?”

“Not at all!” Gora insisted. “I will charge it to Oxenraith’s account. They won’t even notice the difference, I can assure you.”

“Well, then I guess it doesn’t make a difference to me,” I said. “You’re the expert, Gora. What translator would you recommend?”

Gora’s eyes lit up with excitement. “Did I already say I like this guy?” he asked Ferrith. “Because I like this guy.”

Ferrith sighed. “Just hurry,” he said. “I had other things I wanted to do today.”

“Of course, of course,” Gora said. He beamed at me. “Tell me, Vince. Can you read? Not Kelian, any language.”

“Yeah,” I said. “Where I’m from, everyone learns when we’re a kid.”

“Impressive,” Gora said. “In that case, the translator Brand I would recommend for you would be the same one I use. It’s called Information Overlay. It takes a while to get used to, but once you do, it does so much more than just translate.”