“Aunt Elly called me a prodigy?” Rai asked. He knew it sounded like something she’d say, but he wanted to hear if she’d actually said it.

Dmitri had taken Rai and Sin to the pub that he’d mentioned earlier.

They sat at a lone round table in the pub, which seemed to be designed for dwarves specifically. The building itself was big, but the tables, chairs, and pretty much everything else in the room was slightly smaller than average. It made for an uncomfortable experience for both Rai and Sin, who were considered relatively tall for their ages.

The tavern that was marked by the librarian on the map was in the same area, Rai noticed. Both him and Sin would probably go there next, if they got the chance.

However... that all depended on what Dmitri wanted to talk about.

“Course she did. Gulp. Paah... The Sage of the Life clan notoriously doesn’t speak highly of anyone. But... she couldn’t hide her excitement whenever she mentioned your name. I’m curious. What kind of a man are you, Rai?”

“Eh? That’s not exactly an easy question to answer. And... I suppose... I don’t fully know the answer myself, either.”

“Interesting. It seems like the Sage’s gone and helped raise an introspective lad. Can’t lie, I wasn’t sure about you when I overheard you came from Aether Academy, but I want to know more. I’m interested in you lad.”

Rai felt a shiver down his spine.

“Uh... sorry Dmitri, but I’m taken. I’m flattered though.”

*Pfft*

Sin covered her mouth as she quietly laughed to herself.

Dmitri nearly spat out the drink he’d just taken a sip of.

“Not interested like that, you dolt!”

“... Oh.”

“I’m more interested in your goals. A person’s personality often bends around what they strive to be, so tell me.” Dmitri adopted a smirk as he leaned forward. “What’re you aiming to be?”

“Aiming to... be?” Rai asked himself quietly. He had a goal in mind, but that goal had less to do with himself and his own personal growth, and more to do with something that he wanted to chase down and learn more about.

Sin watched Rai quietly as she sipped on her tea. She observed the changes in his facial expressions, quickly realising that Rai didn’t know the answer. Sin hadn’t thought of it herself, but now that the question was up in the air... she couldn’t remember a time when Rai had ever declared such a goal. The only thing she knew of was his goal to find his father, which seemed much more like a journey than a personal goal to her.

Then, something in Rai’s expression shifted.

Sin couldn’t pinpoint what it was, but she felt a change in his demeanour.

“The people I love. I want to protect them...”

Sin’s heart felt a little lighter upon hearing Rai’s words. This side of him was what drew her closer to him even now. But... he wasn’t finished.

“But... that’s all I care about. I don’t care about protecting the people that I can’t reach. Well... it’s not that I don’t but it’s that I can’t. As much as I love Life, I can’t feasibly preserve it in all situations. I... I get that.” He said heavily.

Thoughts of Chak, the monkey that fought alongside Rai against the king and prince monkeys, surfaced in Rai’s mind. He couldn’t hide his grief. But it was just as clear that Rai’s grief hadn’t poisoned his resolve.

Dmitri was speechless.

He understood Rai’s answer to be realistic, but also optimistic. To protect one’s loved ones. And for Rai to have the wherewithal to understand his limits, and that he cannot grow so strong that he can protect everyone. It was impressive to hear a measured response like that come from the boy.

Dmitri found himself respecting Rai after hearing his answer.

“... It seems your aunt was right. You truly are something special, haha!” He said light-heartedly before taking a swig of his drink.

“Oh... Thank you?” Rai said awkwardly. He wasn’t expecting praise for saying something so normal to him.

“BRRRAAAP! Well, now that I’ve got an understanding of you... have you any questions for me?”

“Oh! Yes, I’ve got a lot!” Rai said excitedly.

“Me first!” Sin butted in.

She asked the questions that they needed to know the answers to for their assignment. Specifically, Sin noted down the information about how the clan made its decisions, and how those decisions affected everyone in the clan. This was the last bit of information that they really needed for their assignment, so Sin put a priority on getting that information first before Rai took the conversation somewhere else entirely.

Rai was growing a little impatient, but once Sin had finished asking the important questions, he began asking about Aunt Elly. Sin listened closely after putting her notes away.

For 2, or even 3 hours, Rai and Sin sat with Dmitri and listened to his experiences with Rai’s aunt. Despite his short time working under her as her hand, Dmitri had experienced a lot by Elira’s side.

It seemed like Sin had somehow managed to underestimate how incredible Elira actually was. Even from first meeting her, Sin liked the woman. But on hearing some of the stories told by Dmitri... Sin found herself looking forward to seeing her again and talking more about Elira’s stories and adventures.

Sin loved that Rai had such strong figures in his life to look up to. For her... she only had her father. But now she felt a growing attachment to Rai’s family as well.

After about 3 hours of talking and drinking away, Dmitri checked his timepiece.

He panicked.

“SHIT! I’ve to be off, got lots of work that needs doing! Pleasure meeting you two, have fun doing your assignment and-”

A loud voice echoed around the area, cutting Dmitri off.

“WHERE ARE THEY?! THE ARBITER’S SPIES!! BRING THE-”

*Thud*

*STOMP STOMP STOMP STOMP*

“... What in the fuck is going on out there?!” Someone from further down the pub yelled.

“I... what is that?” Rai muttered.

Sin scooted over and leaned against Rai to look out of the window.

“What’s what?” Dmitri asked.

He dragged the curtain a bit further to look through the same window as Rai and Sin.

A group of soldiers in the distance were dragging away a man that looked like a priest of some sort. He was knocked unconscious.

Due to the debacle, guards posted themselves in the surrounding area. Some of the nobles nearby spat on the ground upon seeing Father Tully get dragged across the Keep.

Dmitri rubbed his temples.

“Fuck. It’s Tully again.”

Rai and Sin glanced at each other quickly.

“... Tully? Again?” Rai asked, feigning ignorance.

“Aye. He’s a priest. Runs an orphanage out in the far ends of Draconis. He... used to be something. Had a name for himself in the clan too. Most of that lot fell off their stations and ended up out of the Keep by the end though.”

“Sorry? I couldn’t make much sense of those last bits.” Rai mentioned.

“Ah. Never you mind. Just a dwarf rambling about a time long gone. I wasn’t working here at that point, but I’d heard of some of the rumours. The last Warden had a cabinet full of useful lads and lasses. But when he ditched the clan... they all fell from grace. Well, all but a small handful. The Emerald Tongue still serves the current Warden, as his right hand.”

“Ah... I see. Uh...”

Rai looked at Sin for confirmation. She had a thoughtful look on her face, before nodding.

“We had an encounter with Tully earlier. I think he’s looking for us.”

“Hmm. That’s not good.”

“Wait, why isn’t that good? Isn’t he a fanatic? Surely he’ll just be arrested, no?”

“It doesn’t quite work like that. He’s made accusations of spies hanging around the Keep... which means... you two are shit out of luck. Tully will get arrested, but the elite guards will prowl the Keep now.”

“Eh? Can’t you do something about it?”

“Not when the elite guard get involved. They answer to the Warden, and only the Warden. They have a list of important goals, and will work towards them should they get an opportunity. If I were you two, I’d leave. Now.”

“Great... well... thanks for the talk, I guess.”

“I’m sorry I can’t be of more help, but I’m sure you two will manage. The elite guards won’t be out here for another few minutes. I’ll get back to my work, before they think something’s up. The best I can do is wish you the best of luck.”

“Wonderful. Thanks for nothing.”

“Just like your aunt. You two really are similar.”

“Yeah yeah, go do your job then. We’ll figure this out ourselves.”

Dmitri nodded. He quickly downed the rest of his drink, then dashed out of the pub as fast as his stocky dwarven legs could take him.

Rai and Sin continued watching outside the window.

The situation wasn’t getting any better. The guards were now looking around cautiously. Father Tully shouting out about them being the Arbiter’s spies made things a lot more difficult for them.

What was even worse, was that the tavern that was marked on their map now had guards posted around it.

“... That’s not good.” Sin said.

“You think?” Rai replied sarcastically.

“Fuck you.”

“Fuck me yourself, you coward!”

“... Wow. Y’know what, I think I will! Just... not right now. Right now we should probably figure out what to do about all of... that.”

“It doesn’t look good...” Rai mentioned.

“Don’t we already have enough information for the assignment?” Sin asked. “I feel like we’ve gathered a lot of information already, so I don’t see what else we’d have to throw in there.”

“I... guess? But... I really want to go and see the druids. They must have some interesting info for us. Maybe we can sneak through the Keep and see if we can get there? Worse comes to worst, we can just Stormflow out.”

Sin stared blankly at Rai.

“What?” He asked.

“You wanna risk our lives... for that?”

“Oh... hmm... I don’t see why not? Hey, what are y-owowowOWOWOW!”

Sin yanked Rai’s ears. She then got really close and whispered something to him while transitioning from torture to a caring embrace.

Rai seemed to melt in Sin’s embrace, quickly forgiving her for messing with his ears. Her whispers pushed him into a state of bliss.

That was... until Sin pinched his cheeks. Hard.

“Oww! Okay I’m sorry!!!”

Sin let go, allowing Rai to repent for his sins.

“Hmph. Hopefully you’ve learned your lesson.”

Rai nodded solemnly. He rubbed his cheeks to soothe their pain. Somehow, he’d been deceived by the daughter of Deception... which made a lot of sense the more he thought about it.

For that moment, Sin looked at the map. She didn’t quite know what route they’d be able to follow. She felt like they’d gathered all the info that they needed, but Rai really wanted to do this one last thing.

She sighed.

“... Fine. We’ll go to the druid coven. BUT, if anything goes wrong, then we’ll work together to get out without using Stormflow! Unless there’s literally no other choice!” Sin declared.

“Wh-... why no Stormflow?”

“I don’t want you, the singular person who can use lightning, to get pegged as a spy for the Arbiter.”

“You know what, that’s a really damn good point.”

“See? Alright, let’s go, and let’s go fast. In and out, quick ten minute adventure.”