I cooked her dinner that night—a simple platter of steaks, potatoes, mushrooms, peppers, and onions.

  As we sat down to eat, we spoke about our pasts. She had been born and raised in a small tribal camp far to the east. The wolfkin hardly ever built cities or established towns, opting to live a semi-nomadic life within the plains and forests of "The Great Expanse"—a massive tract of land, stretching hundreds of days off to the east.

  Each tribe hunted and lived in its own small territory, roaming with the seasons in order to avoid depleting resources. She dreamed of exploring the wider world and had heard that great cities had been built in the west.

  When she gained her crystal, she set out on a pilgrimage to the west, seeking glory and wealth like many of her peers, not really knowing how the world truly worked.

  Eventually, her attributes as a Wolfkin had led her to register with an adventurer guild in a city called Felrow. It was far to the south of Eprie, in the Brella Kingdom. I figured this would all make sense once I had gotten my hands on a credible map.

  I had actually asked Armela to draw me one, but the result ended up being an incredibly vague grouping of squiggles and words with no real scale or discernible orientation.

  After some time, her work as an adventurer garnered her a bit of renown, and she was asked to sign on with a mercenary band.

  She bounced around from group to group until they were either killed off or they disbanded. Eventually she ended up doing solo contract work in Eprie.

  She had been working out of the city for about a year when she was approached to help guard a caravan travelling south to another city south of Hilst called Morull. The contractor offering the work was the merchant driving the caravan, so she didn't think they had been the source of any subterfuge.

  However, the merchant had contracted several other mercenaries alongside her, so it was possible one, or multiple of them were conspirators in the ambush.

  She did mention with a burst of clarity that she usually prepared her own meals on long convoys with other mercenaries. But the evening prior to the raid, the merchant had treated them all to a small sampling of his finer meats along with a rare wine from a prestigious vineyard far, far to the south.

  She had almost declined, almost. But the atmosphere was pleasant, and she'd gotten familiar with her fellow mercenaries back in the city, so she figured a token gesture from the merchant wouldn't be an issue.

  She wasn't even sure she had been drugged, at first. It didn't feel like her senses had been dulled, but that some orcs and goblins had overwhelmed their defences and had taken her down left little room for any other possibility.

  She was adamant that the merchant had nothing to do with it either way, as the man was slaughtered early into the raid. It was possible he had been manipulated or tricked into transporting tampered goods, but if he had never offered them to his companions, the raid would not have succeeded.

  So it had to have been one or more of the other mercenaries. They had either snuck a poison into the goods or had used a skill to diminish the capabilities of the others.

  She was too busy fighting for her life to keep track of the other members, so she couldn't tell who had been killed or escaped.

  The merchant's wife and daughter were the only other captives to have been brought back to the camp. The mother had been dragged into the cave the next day and never reemerged. Her daughter had been bound in chains and then loaded onto a wagon heading south.

  Most important visitors entered the cave to conduct their business. When that came up, I produced the documents that had been recovered from the chest in the warlord's antechamber.

  Most of it comprised ledgers and written invoices, lists of materials, demands for goods or contracts for the salvers coming and going. There were no names written on any of the pages, usually just an 'X' marking a signature, or illegible scribbles.

  One page was of interest, though, as it was a letter received from someone operating in Eprie.

  The paper was higher quality than the usual papyrus and parchment making up the ledgers. It was a letter of thanks to the warlord for meeting with a humble servant of Rel. Much of the dialogue was heavy with religious dogma.

  The zealous idealism only a dedicated member of a congregation could bandy about with such casual, conversational tones. It outright stated at one point that the activities being conducted were not only condoned by Rel, but would continue to receive direct support from Rel's followers.

  It didn't specifically say that the church was involved, but obviously someone within the church was enabling this business to continue. Instead of an 'X' like the other documents, this one had ornately scribed initials.

  The closest approximation in English would have been C.A.S.

  So likely someone's full name or title.

  My mind immediately overlaid Seta's words to me regarding the 'rituals' they conducted on children upon turning sixteen. Further overlaying what Armela had said about when Humen children typically gained their crystals, that familiar feeling of being observed crept over my spine.

  There was something incredibly wrong occurring on this planet. Something that seemed to pervert the universe itself. The pieces were falling into place, but every part of this mystery I uncovered just deepened my unease.

  It was obvious we were going to need to infiltrate the church in Eprie. But before we could do that, we needed more information. I hoped that whoever wandered along next ended up being privy to names, or businesses involved with this slaving ring, maybe other cities and locations we could raid in the future.

  That might be a good mission for Armela to undertake once she'd gotten used to her new body. The connections I was making in the evidence trail were altogether too disturbing.

  The best-case scenario was that the Gods weren't fully aware of what was happening, worst-case scenario was that they not only knew, but fully supported it.

  I spent a little time telling Armela about life on my planet. Half of which I'm sure sounded like fairytales and balderdash to her. Attempting to explain globalisation, international travel, scientific advancement, medical research, and space exploration went almost entirely over her head.

  She got enough of the context to understand what I was getting at, but couldn't quite seem to wrap her mind around the specifics of the stories.

  For example, there were people in this world who had been granted the 'flight' skill, so she understood the concept of using it to travel quickly from one place to another, but trying to explain how it could work without the use of sigils confused her. Especially when I tried to paint a vivid picture of an aeroplane.

  A massive steel tube with unflappable wings hurtling through the air seemed ridiculous to fathom without some level of magic.

  As the fire died down, we opted to retreat to the tent and prepare to turn in. I topped up the pouch at her waist and assembled the fire at the centre of the tent. She stripped and sat on the bedroll, the pouch dangling from her hip as she tucked her knees up to her chest and watched me work.

  I glanced over at her, and she locked eyes with me.

  "What, I'm not allowed to watch?"

  She asked with a tone of indignation.

  Was she... provoking me? Maybe just passively interested in what I was doing?

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  "You can look all you like. Once we get to Eprie, maybe I'll commission an artist to make you a painting of me, then you'll never need to stop."

  She barked a laugh as I continued to stack wood.

  "Yeah? And where the fuck am I gonna hang it? Dumbass."

  A childish grin swept across her face as she giggled from behind her knees.

  "I'll be sure to make it small enough for you to carry around; you can pull it out anytime you miss me too much."

  I stuck my tongue out and made my way over to the head of her bedroll, setting myself down against my familiar beam. Focusing on the stacked wood, I infused one with energy until it combusted.

  "The day I miss an idiot like you is the da—"

  I interrupted her comment by dropping myself into a rift in space beneath me, popping up in the cave to check on the miner spider... Spider miner? Spiner? Mider? My Digbot.

  It had cleared about 10 metres of material from the hole and was on pace to hit the iron vein in the next three days. When that happened, I could begin my operation here in earnest.

  I added another drone to the rotation of clearing material to ensure it didn't clog up my digging efforts and then dropped back into the floor to reappear next to Armela.

  She was on her hands and knees, staring at the dirt where I'd fallen through the ground. A look of horrible panic and surprise on her face. The moment I stepped back into the tent, she leapt to her feet and threw ineffectual punches at my head and neck while swearing at me with every word she knew.

  I gathered her up in my arms while she tried to murder me, and after a few more moments of shouting and struggling against me she fell still and panted lightly.

  "Fuck you."

  It was a quiet and bashful phrase. But there were a lot of other emotions packed into it. Relief, anger, happiness, frustration, sadness, and lust.

  I looked down at her, and after a moment she tilted her head up at me.

  Cradled in my arms, she felt so... warm.

  "I'm sorry, Armela. That was a bit too far. You didn't deserve that."

  She glared at me, settling into a more comfortable position in my arms before turning her nose up and looking away slightly.

  "Apology not accepted, you shithead. I was fucking terrified, you know?! I thought Fulmer had swallowed your big, stupid ass up! Sucked into the earth, never to be seen again!"

  She slugged me in the ribs again for good measure before continuing to chew me out.

  "How dare you do that to me! Especially after all the fucking shit I've been through these past weeks! I just found someone I can... I can trust... and then you just... fucking disappear into the ground?! How did you even do that?!"

  She had pulled fully away from me and was gesticulating while she spoke, further adding to her display of frustration and disbelief. She was rightfully angry with me, but it had gone from outrage to pouting near the end.

  I was already forgiven, but she was absolutely right. That had been a little too extreme for a prank.

  "Alright, Armela. You're absolutely right. I chose a poor moment to tease you and failed to fully consider how you might feel about it. What would you like me to do in order to make it up to you?"

  The very briefest of smiles sprouted from her lips before she caught herself and corrected her bearing in order to maintain the ruse of anger.

  "You sure don't sound very fucking sorry to me. If you were actually sorry, then you'd be begging me for my forgiveness! Hmph!"

  She turned her head away from me completely. Likely to hide her feral grin. I knew exactly where this was going, and a familiar spark of excitement ran through my body.

  "I'm very, truly sorry for scaring you like that, Armela. I beg you, please forgive me..."

  I leaned in close to her ear and whispered the next three words.

  "I'll. do. anything."

  A physical shiver ran up her spine. I spied the reddening of her cheeks as her heart thrummed a heavy beat in her chest. It looked like that one had struck the right chord.

  "O-oh? 'A-anything' you say? Well... if that's how you truly feel, then I suppose... I might... forgive you..."

  She was turning to face me again as she spoke. Her words were run through with a quavering nervous energy. Her eyes were dilated almost completely, and the flush spreading across her cheeks gave her an almost drunk appearance.

  As she finished the last word, she bit her lip. The spark in my body instantly surged into tingling arousal. I stepped towards the bedroll.

  "Just say the word and I'll do whate—"

  I was cut off as she lunged for my mouth, whipping her arms around my neck and viciously slamming her lips into mine. There was absolutely no coordination; it was pure, unrestrained lust.

  In that moment she very well could have chipped a tooth by crashing into mine, and it wouldn't have even registered to her. She was utterly gone. I dissolved my clothes; there was no stopping this now.

  I accommodated it, pressing back her attack with a passion of my own. Her fingers were trying to plant themselves into my shoulder blades, almost like she was trying to drag herself physically into me from either side. In all likelihood, this was turning into another sort of 'vent' for her to funnel her emotions into.

  Even in the brief time we had gotten to know one another, she had come to trust me, and the prospect of suddenly losing me obviously struck her more powerfully than I had anticipated.

  As we kissed, she worked her tongue into my mouth. It was like her brain couldn't process the sheer amount of desire she was experiencing.

  She was trying to feel every square centimetre of me all at once.

  We spent the next few hours passionately exploring each other's bodies. Rutting like a pair of animals caught up in the heat of lust and coiled emotions. It was beautiful in the same way a thunderstorm could be relaxing.

  Then we collapsed.

  Her body finally gave out, and left her sprawled on the bedroll, chest heaving and body twitching with aftershocks of pleasure.

  I collapsed as well, landing next to her, face down with my head turned toward her. I wasn't winded, since I didn't breathe, but the pleasure from my release had left me not wanting to move.

  Basking in the afterglow, we both just lay there. A short time passed, and she flopped her right arm over to land on my back.

  "Gochsnge th nedfroll."

  They weren't so much words as they were a chain of indecipherable sounds. Even so, I understood what she requested.

  I got up and headed out to grab a fresh bedroll from the pile. While I was up, I grabbed her a waterskin and some fruit. Coming back into the tent, she hadn't moved from where I'd left her. Though she'd propped herself up on her elbows as I came through the flap.

  Setting the bedroll down on the other side of the fire, I brought the waterskin and fruit to her. She took the proffered waterskin and drank heavily from it. Gasping as she pulled it away from her lips, she panted and looked me over.

  "Brought you some fruit, too. If you're hungry at all."

  She glanced over at the fruit sitting next to the bedroll and then back to me, not speaking.

  I filled the awkward silence.

  "I get the distinct impression you're waiting for me to say something."

  Her eyebrows rose expectantly.

  I floundered, searching for the right combination of words for the situation.

  Why was I so horribly shit with these things?

  "You were fucking amazing."

  Even though I meant it, my uncertainty made it sound like a question rather than a statement.

  She smiled and quirked an eyebrow at me.

  Goddamnit.

  "Uh... did you like it? I wasn't too hard on you, was I?"

  Her smile widened, and she shook her head; she was eating this up! She was enjoying watching me squirm like this.

  "Ok look, I get you enjoy watching me struggle, but could you please either say something or at least give me some kind of hint at what it is you want me to say? This is definitely one of those things that ended up on that list of things I can't do."

  She laughed heartily before beckoning me over to her. Once I'd shuffled over to her, she grabbed my arms and wrapped them around her, turning away and then laying down, shuffling herself up against chest. A blissful sigh escaped her, and then she spoke.

  "I've only known you two days, Vita. But when you walked out of the tent to get the bedroll, the strongest feeling of satisfaction I think I've ever had overcame me."

  Her words were breathless. Ethereal. She was speaking through the post-sex endorphins, and it made her sound as though she were drifting on clouds.

  "I don't understand what you've done to me, or maybe you have done nothing, and this is all just me. But watching you walk out there, all I wanted to do in that moment was call you back to me. Does that sound crazy? I feel crazy."

  She squeezed my arms against her body, trying to scoot even further back into me.

  "I knew you were coming right back, and yet I still didn't want you to go. And that satisfied me. I've... You know, I've been alone for so long."

  She wiggled her ass a little.

  "I'd thought I'd gotten used to it. Hardened my heart to walk the 'path of a warrior', job to job, inn to inn. Never settling in one place or another for too long. Spending my nights in empty beds..."

  She sniffled lightly, the weight of her long, lonely years weighing on her.

  "But when you stepped into that fat fuck's room, I think my heart began to beat again for the first time in a long time. And these past few days have only reminded me of just how fucking alone I was."

  She was quietly sobbing now. I tightened my arms around her and kissed the back of her head.

  "And...and then you started promising me all these... things about my future, and that fucking curse, and you're just... so fucking beautiful... And that sex... I've experienced nothing like that! I seriously just don't know what is happening. How is this happening to me? Why me?"

  She wept for the third time in as many days. Though this time there was a feeling of finality to it. Like she'd reached some kind of closure with this outburst. It was a comfortable cry; there was incredible relief in it.

  I rested my cheek on the side of her head and whispered into her ear.

  "You stepped onto this path through your own effort. You chose to come back to me instead of leaving with the others. Ask why it was you, sure, but ultimately you're here because you strove to change your lot in life."

  I nudged her gently with my shoulder, cajoling her good-naturedly.

  "You had the strength to seek your own destiny, and that led you to me. Truly, I consider myself the luckier of the two of us; to meet a companion as capable as you was absolutely a boon for me. You saved me from a lonely fate here, and that is valuable to me beyond measure. I am incredibly grateful that it was you."

  This naturally only made her cry harder. Though I supposed with the life she had led until now, it was healthier for her to get this out of her heart.

  From now on, she would be a critical member of my journey, and being able to rely on her would be crucial. I believed the events of the past few days had been enough to endear me to her strongly, but I couldn't let up on it.

  She needed to be completely dedicated to me and my Iron God—willing to lay her life down in service to us both without question or thought.

  "I'm excited to explore this world with you, see things I've never seen, do things I've never done, and make an incredible difference in the lives of everyone struggling to get by. I know that with you by my side, there won't be anything we can't resolve."

  I kissed her neck, trying to infuse my words with a physical warmth and sincerity.

  "And I hope we continue to have a very long and beautiful relationship. I don't know what it is, but I feel like you're an incredibly important person, not just to me, but to the fate I have been given by my God. And that makes me happy in ways I couldn't hope to describe."

  I continued kissing her neck and cheek before giving her another squeeze and then attempting to separate myself from her. She sniffled cutely and attempted to chase my retreating body with hers, clearly not pleased that I was getting up.

  "Come, Armela, let's move to the clean bedroll. Dry your eyes for now and let us sleep peacefully tonight; tomorrow will be a bright day for us both."

  She whimpered and nodded her head. I finally unraveled myself from her and then scooped her up, carrying her to the other side of the fire where I placed her gently down on the cotton bedding. Gathering the furs, I crawled into the bedroll and then covered us both. Cuddling up to her once more.

  She thanked me quietly before shuffling a little to get more comfortable and swiftly fell asleep. Things seemed to be going well so far. Sculpting Armela into a valuable ally would be an incredible benefit for me and my purpose.

  I was excited to see what she could achieve in the future.