Piper walked along the road back to Kalmyros, throwing furtive glances behind her at the others moving in a tight knot. Since she’d defeated the second muckling solo—with two arrows to the chest—no one had spoken to her. Not even Selene, who she thought had liked her at least a little.

  I guess I overdid it a bit.

  Letting out a sigh, she mentally berated herself for exposing a sliver of her true power. Even without her spells and racial skills, she still stuck out like a sore thumb. Now word was going to get around about her taking down a muckling by herself. And then the questions would begin. Before she knew it, someone was going to figure out that she was a demon.

  However, what other choice did she have? If she hadn’t stepped in, one or more of her group members probably would have died. And she had to defeat the second muckling, or they wouldn’t have gotten credit for the quest.

  Plus, the others had said they were broke. They needed the money if they were going to eat tonight.

  At the sight of Basil breaking off from the group and heading in her direction, she died a little on the inside. He was going to ask questions that she didn’t have answers to. And then probably kick her out of the party for being a freak. There was no way she could face that hostile room at the Wayfarer Aspirant’s Guild again.

  Basil raised his hand in greeting, a look of hesitation on his face. “Do you have a moment to talk?”

  “About what?” She kicked a rock, sending it skittering down the road in front of her.

  “What you did back there was pretty impressive.” He stroked his jaw before continuing. “This is hard for me to say—”

  “Just say it already,” she said bitterly. “You want me out of your group.”

  “What?” His eyes widened with surprise. “No! I was going to ask if you wanted to become a permanent member. I talked it over with the others, and they’re all in agreement. But we can’t offer you much…”

  “Really?” Piper brightened at his words as hope blossomed in her chest.

  “Absolutely,” he said, with a smile. “Although I’m starting to think that I should have taken a hunter class instead of one from the Water Realm. It was impressive the way that you took down the elementals.”

  Piper held up her index and middle fingers. “I’ll join your group on two conditions.”

  “As I said, we don’t have much to offer…”

  “The first is that you take credit for the kill.” Piper folded down one finger. “And the second is that you let my friend join in a few weeks.” She folded down her second finger.

  “That’s it?” Basil asked, looking surprised. “Nothing else? Like a bigger share of the loot or leadership of the party?”

  Piper shrugged. “That wouldn’t be fair to the rest of you. And you’re a good leader from what I’ve seen.”

  “In that case, it shouldn’t be a problem,” Basil replied. “I’ll talk to the others and make sure they don’t mention your part in the kill. And if your friend is half as skilled as you, then she’ll be a welcome addition to the group.”

  “I have a feeling she’s going to get an amazing class.”

  As they continued to walk, Basil kept glancing over at her. “Are you sure you’re not a noble’s daughter in disguise? I still don’t understand how you brought down the elementals so easily.”

  Piper glanced down at her bow and came to a decision. If all went well, she would probably spend the next few months with this party. And if she didn’t at least reveal part of the truth—mixed in with a healthy dose of lies—the questions would keep piling up.

  She tugged back the rawhide covering Gorebark’s grip, revealing the wooden face with a linen gag stuffed in its mouth. The demon’s eyes narrowed at the sight of Basil. And it immediately began to make muffled sounds from behind its gag.

  “What in the name of the Undying Emperor is that thing!” Basil lurched to a stop and his hand groped for the dagger on his belt. “Is that an aspectbeast?”

  “Nothing like that,” Piper said quickly. “My… dad found a magical bow in some ruins near our farm a few years ago. The bow has a few skills that let me shoot way harder than I should be able to with my stats.”

  Selene approached behind Basil and stood on her tiptoes to see over his shoulder. “Ohhhh, it all makes sense now.”

  Basil peered at the bow, still looking apprehensive. “Why didn’t you just tell us?”

  Althea, who had also approached, slapped his arm. “Why do you think? Do you have any idea how many people would want to steal that thing? It’s probably worth a fortune. She’s putting a lot of trust in us right now. Let’s make sure we don’t betray it.”

  Selene curtsied with a flourish, and a purple flower appeared in her hand. “I swear your secret is safe with me. It’s the least I can do after you saved us from the elementals.”

  Piper looked at the flower in awe. “Was that magic?”

  The dark-haired woman laughed. “No, it was far more mundane. I have a lot of sleight-of-hand skills from my jester class.”

  “Anyway, I wouldn’t say that I saved you,” Piper said, taking the purple blossom and sniffing it. A wonderful floral scent filled her nostrils. “I’m sure you would have found a way to beat it.”

  “No chance,” Selene said. “None of us is over level 30. And you know aspectbeasts from the middle realms have a ridiculous number of stat points per level. I bet someone almost level 90 with full adventurer gear would have struggled against it.”

  If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it's taken without permission from the author. Report it.

  During the discussion, Althea hadn’t stopped inspecting Piper’s bow. “I don’t suppose you found any quarterstaffs in the ruins? What I wouldn’t give to have a magical weapon. A non-cursed magical weapon, that is. When I was little, one of the fishermen in my village found an ancient hook that was said to catch anything you wanted. But the second he strung it on his line, a massive aspectbeast gulped him and the dock he was standing on down. That’s why I say non-cursed.”

  “I’m afraid not…” Piper said, trying to process everything that Althea had just said. Now that she seemed to be on the healer’s good side, the young woman sure liked to talk.

  Basil glanced up at the sun sinking on the horizon. “We should keep moving if we’re going to get back before nightfall.” He patted Piper on the shoulder. “And dinner and drinks are on me.”

  “That’s not necessary…”

  “It’s the least I can do,” he replied. “We’re staying at an inn called the Drunken Dryad. Do you know where it is?”

  Piper shook her head.

  “In that case, I’ll show you the way.”

  “Would you mind if I picked up my friend first?”

  “Anything you want,” Basil said. “This quest is really going to make a name for our group. After this, we’re going to be offered much better ones. We might even find a few new group members.”

  As Basil continued talking about the future, the party kept walking toward Kalmyros. The next several hours were spent mostly in silence as they passed wagons and groups of travelers on the road. Finally, as the sun dipped below the horizon, they reached the outskirts of the city.

  Basil kicked some dust off his boots. “We need to check in with the guild first.”

  Piper looked longingly in the direction of the Dancing Gnome Inn. All she wanted to do was scarf down a meal and then collapse into bed. But she had said that she would let Basil buy her dinner. Plus, Ophelia would probably want to get out after training all day.

  They walked through the streets until they reached the Wayfarer Aspirant Guild. Several floating globes had appeared outside, glowing with a soft white light and illuminating the fa?ade of the building. In front of the entrance stood the same guard as before.

  On their approach, the woman raised one eyebrow. “You’re all still alive?” she said to Piper. “That’s a surprise.”

  “I’m just full of surprises,” Piper replied in an airy tone.

  They continued past the guard and into the guild, finding the interior almost deserted. Only a handful of aspirants stood around the room, most of them deep in conversation. Apparently, the majority of the groups formed in the early morning.

  Basil strode toward the counter on the far side. When he reached it, he leaned against the surface and smiled at Chloe.

  The young woman looked up from her massive tome. She scanned the group and then frowned. “Were you unable to find the mucklings?”

  “We found them,” Basil said, his grin growing. “And we defeated them.”

  “I see.” Chloe picked up her quill. “And what are the names of the aspirants who gave their lives for the Undying Emperor?”

  “We didn’t lose any.”

  “No one?” Chloe pressed her lips together. “Not a single aspirant?”

  “Nope.”

  “I hope you understand the consequences of lying about completing a quest…”

  Piper stepped forward. “It’s true. We beat the elementals, and no one died.”

  “This is most unusual.” Chloe scribbled a few lines in the book. Then, she reached under the counter and pulled out a pouch. From within, she retrieved a flat stone. Holding it out toward Basil, power leaped from her hand before striking his badge. She then repeated the process with each of them.

  Piper adjusted her badge so she could look at its face. In tiny detail, almost too small to see, the stone had imprinted the symbol of a shield with crossed swords in the corner. “What’s this?”

  “It’s credit for completing the quest,” Chloe explained. “When you reach 250 of those tallies, you can take the test to become a Wayfarer.”

  “250!” she exclaimed. “That will take forever!”

  “Harder quests reward more tallies,” Chloe said. “And if you gain a second class, you may qualify for a higher rank. If you get a common class, you only need 200 marks. And if by some miracle you receive an uncommon class, you only need 150.”

  Lowering her badge, she looked up at the young woman. “What if I get a rare or epic class?”

  “Then one of the iron hosts will probably swoop in and snatch you up.” Chloe returned the magical rock to its bag. “But that is vanishingly rare.”

  With one glance down at her badge again, Piper mentally shrugged. As her dad used to say, even the longest journey begins with a single step. If she could complete one quest a day, then she’d become a wayfarer before the end of the year. And she doubted the city would fall to the undead before then.

  At least I hope that it doesn’t.

  Chloe bent down and removed a sturdy wooden lockbox with brass fittings from beneath the counter. She used a key to open it and then placed four copper pieces on the counter. “Here is the bounty for the mucklings.”

  “Come on,” Basil said, scooping up the coins. “Let’s go grab some dinner.”

  “Remember, we have to stop by my inn first,” Piper reminded him. “I need to pick up my friend.”

  “Of course.”

  Together, they headed back out into the square. After taking a second to get her bearings, Piper led them down a street toward her inn. Only after three turns did she realize that she was completely lost.

  “I swear it was around here somewhere,” she murmured.

  Selene stepped forward. “What’s the name of your inn?”

  “It’s called the Dancing Gnome.”

  “I know that place,” Althea said. “Not too long ago, I sold some fish to the kitchen. You should have seen them. They were beautiful trout, and they must have tasted amazing. I wish I could have tried one, but I needed the coin to repair my boot.” When she realized everyone was staring at her, she gave a weak smile. “Should I lead the way?”

  “Please do,” Basil said.

  Althea spun around and headed in the opposite direction of where they had been traveling. They passed a familiar-looking drainage ditch before arriving in front of the inn. From inside, there was the sound of drunken singing, and the clatter of plates.

  “I’ll be right back.” Piper hurried over to the entrance and pushed open the door. Inside, the room was packed to the rafters with people drinking. Already, it reeked of stale beer and vomit—a smell she was having trouble getting used to. She scanned the room before her gaze landed on Ophelia sitting at a table, toying with her wooden sword.

  At the sound of the opening door, Ophelia looked up, and her face lit up. She surged to her feet and rushed over to fling her arms around Piper. “I was worried that something had happened to you.”

  Piper disentangled herself from her friend. “The quest was outside the city, so it took a while to reach.”

  “Tell. Me. Everything.” Ophelia said with an excitement dancing in her eyes.

  “My group invited us out for dinner,” Piper said. “Why don’t I tell you then?”

  “You have a new group?”

  “Don’t worry.” Piper smiled. “I told them when you awaken, they’ll have to take you as a member.”

  “Aren’t you afraid I’m going to show you up?” The young woman slashed the air with her wooden sword. Unlike before, there was some form to her movements.

  Piper eyed the new weapon warily. It looked like it would hurt far more than a stick. Was this her punishment for siccing Ophelia on her tutor during breakfast? If so, she was going to have some words with Andreas.

  “They’re waiting outside. I’m just going to stash my things and then I’ll come back down.”

  While Gorebark’s true nature was partially hidden, she still didn’t like walking around town with a demonic bow. Who knew if there were high-level adventurers out there who would recognize a bow from the Infernal Realm on sight? Until she could hide Gorebark with an illusion, she would keep it concealed in her room.

  After she’d raced upstairs and stashed the bow and quiver, she cast [Veil of Lies]. Then she used [Enduring Casting] to keep the illusion in place once she was gone. With her weapons hidden, she hurried back downstairs. All her exhaustion was forgotten at the thought of a good meal. Plus, she was really looking forward to introducing Ophelia to the others.