I spent the next morning trying to practice with Sprint. There were a few issues with the skill that I wanted to hammer out before trying to use it in a more dangerous situation.

  The first issue was control, or more appropriately adjusting how fast I was going. When I activated it, the increase was instant, but I could slow down. Right now, it almost doubled my maximum running speed, and I had ten seconds for it to work. Keeping track of the time was the biggest issue. There wasn’t anything on the interface to track it, but I didn’t feel like I needed it.

  Which meant the second issue was stopping. I was caught off guard by the trait twice, sending me tumbling each time though I managed to avoid dislocating my shoulder again. Traction was both helping and hurting me with stopping, since I couldn’t bleed enough speed off with a normal method. The third time I fumbled the stop, I managed to turn it into a slide. It made me think maybe I didn’t need to try and stay vertical to slow down.

  But, that required some practice, which was hard due to my third issue. It had a cooldown of about ten minutes, and I was fairly sure the timer started at the end of usage not the start. The cooldown was probably for the best, because after an hour of practicing it off and on, using it actually started to feel harder. Which didn’t make much sense until I took a small break to get something to drink.

  When I sat down, all of the effort seemed to hit me at once. I could feel my muscles burning like I’d been running the entire day, not just sprinting in the yard five or six times. I hadn’t even done that much besides waiting for the cooldown besides walking the perimeter of the manor while talking with one of the guards about good places to eat nearby. Deacon had left early for his appointment.

  Which is how Zaion walked into the fireflower lounge to find me lying down and reading instead of in the training room. “Are you taking a day of rest, Dani?”

  I looked at him as the book I was reading faded to transluecense with a thought. It was an option I’d found and just made me love Personal Library even more. “No, I’m resting from overworking a skill.”

  “Are you okay?” The elf asked with clear concern, setting his bag down next to the opposite couch as he sat down. “Did your Heal spell not recover the injuries?”

  I shook my head and sat up, wincing as I did. “I haven’t tried it. I’m hoping feeling the limits of the skill more helps rank it up.” I rolled my eyes, “Though it’s also because it feels nice when muscles burn after a workout.”

  There was a pause as the elf thought about it before nodding, “I can attest to that. There is little as satisfying as the burn from hard work. Have you eaten?”

  I shook my head, “Not an actual meal. I forgot about it after getting a jug full of water.” I motioned towards the table where a large jug enchanted to keep liquids cold rested. “Want some?”

  Zaion shook his head, “I was sent to keep you informed. There was an incident on the road between Paige and another group of adventurers. She stabbed someone after they attempted to put hands on her in a sexual manner.”

  My brow furrowed, “Is she okay?”

  He nodded, “She went with Elayne to make a report. There is a non zero chance she will be suspended pending an investigation, where she will not be able to join us.”

  “That… sucks.” I said, having expected something worse, like being held until something was found out. “Is that going to affect her going out with us?”

  “She will not be allowed outside of the city until the investigation is finished, which will be longer than normal due to the current circumstances.” Zaion informed me in his usual placid tone. “We were heading back anyway to level and check in with you.”

  I nodded, “Thank you, Zaion. Have you gotten to the crystal yet?” When he shook his head, I paused as I thought about, “Shall we head to the guild then? Maybe Elayne and Paige are still there.”

  “It is most likely they will be.” Zaion said, standing up slowly. “Did anything of interest occur?”

  I stood and let the book dissipate back into my library. “I met the neighbors again. One of them wants to meet you. Something about smelling a tasty mushroom.”

  His eyes lit up, “Truly? I should have the planters and screens setup to grow them soon. So far, only mushrooms topics to humans are ready to produce at regular rates. Shall I presume she is not?”

  I shook my head and explained about my meeting of the neighbors yesterday. He seemed enthusiastic about the idea of dealing with Vanessa. I got the feeling the two of them would get along really well. I let the guards at the gate know where I was going, and since I was with Zaion nobody objected.

  We made pretty decent time getting to the guild hall. I did make Zaion stop along the way and we got some pastries from a shop the guard I’d talked to this morning had recommended. They had a meat and egg filling along with a bit of cheese. I made sure to get a few for the rest of the team as well.

  So, I was holding a paper bag full of the steaming pastries as we reached the area with the guild house. Many people were loitering around one of the other buildings, and I didn’t understand why until I got closer. There were a pair of guards blocking the entrance to what looked like a tavern. There were a few broken windows and glass in the street, but no sign of who did it. Please don’t let Elayne or Paige be involved in this.

  We went into the guild house and the usual lines were there. Not wanting to stand in line with a bag of delicious smelling food, I slipped the bag into my Spatial Closet. Then I looked around to try and see if I could notice either of my two other party members. Not seeing them, I joined Zaion in line and considered what we were going to do if Paige couldn’t join us on the trip to rescue Melvin. It wouldn’t hurt our actual effectiveness, but traveling would be a bit boring.

  When we got to the front, Zaion got put in the queue for the crystal, and he’d have his name called when it was available. There were rules around it to that he was reminded of, though it sounded like the clerk was just required to say it every time. “Remember, time is limited to twenty minutes, if you need more let me know ahead of time and I can schedule you for a slot during our off hours. Do not leave any belongings in the crystal room. Do not attempt to damage the crystal in any way. Do not perform any new spells or abilities inside the crystal room.”

  There were a few more, but when he finished, I was called forward next. “I’m looking for my party. They’re names are Paige and Elayne. If it helps, they may have just filed a report.”

  A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

  He opened a book and ran his finger along a list that seemed to update even as he looked through it. “Are you a friend or relative?”

  “Friend.”

  “Hm.” He nodded and kept looking. “They’re in the back, filing another report about the incident across the street. The tall one apparently threw someone through a window and broke a bunch of furniture in a brawl.”

  I blinked in surprise, “Can we go back to see them?”

  “I’ll ask. Please wait here.” He said and headed down the hall behind his counter. I looked at Zaion, who shrugged and went to go wait with a group of people. Someone came out of a door and a name got called before someone else went through. Probably the crystal room.

  After a few minutes, the clerk came back and beckoned me to follow him. He took me to a plain room that only had a few chairs and a table. At the table was Paige, wrists bound in manacles, and Elayne who was leaning back in her chair looking bored. When the man left, I put my hands on my hips and looked between them. “What happened?”

  “First of all, they started it!” Paige said, angry.

  I held up a hand, “Just… tell me what happened. Start with whatever happened on the road.”

  Paige wilted under my stare, so Elayne started the narrative.

  “So, we were coming back from a trip to slay a few of the bigger bugs that had been found. Something for Paige and I to have some fun instead of just swatting large swarms of bugs.” Elayne started, settling her chair on the floor. “We had brought Mathew with us, and he did a serviceable job, but we had to play it safe without you there.”

  After I nodded to acknowledge that, she sighed, “We ran into Jason.”

  “That asshole!” Paige shouted in anger, shaking wrists to make the chains clink together, “He insisted I have these put on me.”

  I motioned for Elayne to continue as I took a seat. She sighed, “I didn’t catch all he said to her, but something set her off and she slugged him across the jaw. It didn’t do much more than leave a mark, but it was enough for his lackeys to get involved. One took a swing with a sword, Paige stabbed him in through his forearm. Not fatal, but it’ll be a while before he’s out adventuring again.”

  “I offered to cover healing costs…” Paige mumbled. “I was kind of hoping you could help with that.”

  I shrugged, “I don’t see why not. What did Jason say to you?”

  I hadn’t really seen a lot of negative emotions from Paige, but there was a lot of anger when she said, “He said my mother burned like the trash she was. That she deserved it.”

  I shared a look with Elayne and I was certain if either of us found Jason alone he’d be missing a few teeth at the minimum. “And rather than escalate, you separated and headed back to the guild.”

  “Except, his report got here first.” Elayne frowned, “Made it sound like she’d tried to rob the guy and got chased off.” Sighing, “There were witnesses named, Lady Danielle. It’s going to be hard to avoid any kind of punishment.”

  Paige had lowered her head into her hands and I could hear muffled crying. If he gives me even half a reason, I’m making that guy disappear. Pretty sure his father won’t care. It didn’t explain the other thing, though. “And across the street?”

  Elayne actually barked out a laugh, “Oh, that was the stupid part. We’d stopped by after the initial reviews to wait for something official to come down. Paige is technically in my charge because of my rank, so it wasn’t that big of an issue legally. But, Jason’s friends were waiting there.”

  “Not the man himself?” I asked, frowning.

  “No.” Elayne said darkly, “I’m pretty sure he knew it wouldn’t go well. But his friends did try to bribe me to drop my testimony and convince Zaion not to say anything.”

  “How much?” I asked, curious.

  “That’s the thing. They offered 50,000 PEC. They actually had it on hand so I could verify. One of them had that trait Merchants do to make contracts stick too, so it would have been binding.” Elayne grinned, “But when I said no, they started threatening you of all people.”

  “Me?” I leaned forward, confused but intrigued, “Why?”

  Paige looked up and I noticed her eyes were wet and a little puffy, “Cause your my friend, and they think your her employer.”

  “So, rather than deal with that, I threw him threw a window. His buddies tried to protect him, but Paige managed to break a chair over one, and I kicked another through a table. But, that was when Jason stumbled from the back, covered in bruises.” Elayne sneered, “He shouted for the guards.”

  I slammed my fist into the table. It left a dent in the wood. “That piece of shit.” I had a good idea of what his game was. “Let me guess, he claimed you two strong armed him, and his friends were trying to stop him?”

  “Yeap.” Elayne said with a sigh. “And of course, guess who the majority of people agree with?”

  “Where is he even getting the crystals to afford the kind of payments this is going to take?” I asked to no one in particular. “It can’t be from his father, he’s close to cutting him off.”

  “Probably whatever group he’s in bed with.” Elayne grunted out. “I can’t imagine he’s able to throw crystals around like that for long.”

  “It just has to be long enough…” I said, looking at Paige. “I’ll see if I can deal with him using… whatever connections I can.”

  Paige smiled at me, “Thanks, Dani. I’m sorry about all of this but…” She looked like she was ready to cry again out of frustration, but was fighting not to. “He… he said they used her before burning the shop down around her.”

  I took a deep breath and leaned back against the chair. “Doubt he’ll be alone with me long enough to disappear him.” I grumbled.

  Elayne barked out a laugh, “Thinking of using your storage space? They certainly wouldn’t find the body.”

  I shook my head and sighed, “As much as I’d like to, no. It’s gotten to a point where any conflict has to be very public and with people who aren’t being paid by him.”

  “Have something in mind?” Elayne asked. Paige looked at me with a bit of hope.

  “Germaine is hosting a party soon. Paige shows up as my guest, we make a scene with him and if he fucks up I challenge him to a duel.” I drummed my fingers along the table, “I’d like to avoid just outright killing him, even if it sounds like a good idea, but it might come to that.”

  “Why?” Elayne said with a bit of contempt leaking out of her voice. “He’s scum. Barely worth calling a person at this point.”

  “And if I solve all of my problems with killing, I’m not sure I like what kind of person that’ll turn me into it.” I shrugged, “Not that I’m going to try very hard to spare his life.”

  Paige gave a hollow laugh, “More than he deserves at this point.”

  “I agree.” I said, which caused another, more genuine laugh from Paige. “So, how long are you stuck here?”

  “The guards need to do an investigation. We’re probably here till tomorrow at the earliest.” Elayne grumbled. “We could have left already, if it wasn’t for the tavern.”

  “Have either of you eaten?” I asked. When they both shook their heads, I pulled the sack of pastries from my Spatial Closet and set it on the table. “Here, might as well have a full stomach.”

  “Thanks, Dani.” Paige said, taking one.

  “Oh good, I’m starving.” Elayne said, taking two.

  Standing up, I sighed, “If neither of you come back before tomorrow morning, I’ll stop by to see how things are going.”

  “How’s Zaion?” Elayne asked between mouthfuls of meat and egg pastry.

  “He seemed… normal? For him, anyway.” I said with a shrug, “He did make a point to inform me before doing anything else so… I guess he’s worried?”

  The fighter nodded, “Good. He doesn’t need to be caught up in this.”

  I waved to them as I left the door, trying to think about how to get Paige out of this. She didn’t deserve to be hounded by some dickhead who couldn’t let things go.