The expectations around sexual availability and the customs around how relationships are negotiated have got to be the trickiest things to master in any society. I was lucky to have [Charm], but even that only provided a guideline of how to act in the moment. It really didn’t help in gaining an understanding of what was going on, of exactly what the things I said meant.

No one ever talks about it. Children just grow up learning by example, absorbing it from the air. I hadn’t had that kind of time, so I’d locked myself in a room with Felicia with some alcohol and a whole lot of pointed questions.

I’d asked for her permission to do that, of course. She’d laughed, but her amusement hadn’t lasted past the third question. At the end of the session, an agreement to never speak of it again had been gratefully accepted by both parties.

It turns out that women in Latorra were expected to behave as modestly and chastely as you might suspect if you’d ever watched a movie set in medieval times. It wasn’t as bad as some places I’d heard about from my history — no one was regulating button fanciness, for example. Despite legal equality (which had come as a surprise to me) women were expected to sit back, shut up, and let the men do the talking and the wooing.

There was a double standard though, and it wasn’t the usual male-dominated one. Well, they had that as well, so I guess it was a triple standard.

The exception to all the rules was adventurers. They could do whatever they liked — within the law of course. They — we — didn’t get to commit crimes with impunity. But all the scandals that get whispered about, all the ‘just not done’ things, just did not apply to adventurers. It was a hole that you could drive a truck through because anyone could be an adventurer. Technically, it was regulated by the Guild, but it wasn’t like anyone else had asked to see my card. Anyone could pick up a sword or a knife, and start swinging at monsters, and they would be an adventurer.

This freedom came with costs, of course. Adventurers weren’t seen as reliable fellow citizens. I’d noticed that there was a divide between townsfolk and adventurers, but I hadn’t really grasped its significance because it didn’t seem to apply to me. I had moved back and forth between the groups without any resistance.

Part of that was my high [Charisma], but another part was the unacknowledged foolishness of the system itself. Because becoming townsfolk was just as easy as becoming an adventurer — you just had to say that you were. So when I wore my leather armour, people saw me as an adventurer, and when I wore a fancy dress people saw me as a respectable member of society. They knew both were true, but they buried that knowledge and reacted just to what they saw in front of them.

Which wasn’t as crazy as it sounds, because while adventurers weren’t seen as respectable, they were one of the few pathways to becoming respectable. If you couldn’t inherit a profession from your parents, adventuring was one of the few ways of getting the money to start up your own business. Almost every merchant, smith or farmer either started off as an adventurer or had an ancestor who was one.

Just another reason to bring banks into this world.

So where did this leave me, having just dragged the good Captain Rodakis out onto the dance floor? Well, if I had read the situation correctly, he was currently in a state of cognitive dissonance. I should have been a meek and modest woman and let him do the manly thing and ask me. Since I was an adventurer though, my forwardness was only to be expected.

Normally, he would never allow himself to be snared by a lowly adventurer. However, I was actually Councillor Hammond, the most beautiful and eligible woman in the city, if I do say so myself. If anything, I outranked him. He should have asked me — and perhaps he had planned to. But… and then we were back to the start.

‘Confused’ perhaps covers it. As we moved in time to the music, I could see him try to clarify both his thinking and my intentions. You can talk during a dance, but it doesn’t lend itself well to conversations where you have to think very hard before each exchange.

It was fine for me, as I just had to smile and avoid any firm commitment while exuding a friendly (perhaps more than just friendly) air. He was second or triple-guessing himself every time he tried to say something, which didn’t leave him with much time for actually talking. I think he might have been more confused when the dance ended than at the start.

Of course, then it got complicated.

When the dance ended, I took a step back to deliver a curtsey and a final line, but to my surprise, Tom was suddenly standing between us.

“May I have this dance?” he said. I was startled and froze for a brief moment. Before I could recover, he took hold of my arms and whisked me away.

He didn’t drag me, he actually lifted me just a bit off the ground so that he could get more distance before I unfroze. Carrying me in that awkward way wouldn’t have been possible without the super-strength I’d always assumed that he had, but never seen him use before. It also depended on my strength. My surprise was holding me rigid for that brief moment. Without my enhanced strength, the sudden acceleration would have flopped me out of his grip like a wet noodle.

It was less than a second, and only a few steps, but it felt like Rodakis had just disappeared from in front of me. The next thing I knew, we were on the dance floor waiting for the next song.

“What are you doing?” Tom asked. His voice was low and intense. “Don’t you know he’s here to kill you?”

“Here at the party?” I replied, still a little bit behind from the sudden changes. The music started up again, and I let [Charm] move me the way I should go. He led, of course.

“Here in Talnier,” he said impatiently. “There’s no way that the Nobles haven’t approached him with an offer to give him a title if he can get rid of your upstart Council.”

“That’s the Council though, not just me. I’m just one replaceable member.”

He swung me around gracefully and we moved into the next set of steps. “Only if he hasn’t realised you’re the motivating force behind the Council. It’s only a matter of time before he comes after you.”

“Well, he’s not going to do anything in front of all these witnesses,” I reasoned. “I should be safe for tonight, at least.”

“That doesn’t mean that you should be letting him get close to you! He’s—”

“Are your motives any more pure?” I asked, looking up at him closely. His speech didn’t stutter, but he did blush, which was interesting. I let myself ‘accidentally’ move a little closer than the proper distance.

“That’s not relevant to this discussion.” He was trying for a cold tone, to shut this conversational direction down, but his expression — and his intensifying blush — gave the game away.

“Your intentions seem very relevant to me,” I asserted, as we swayed back and forth. Our bodies were apart again. More than a moment would have attracted attention. “I have to say, I had thought you a more… worldly man. Have you not mingled much with adventurers?”

“Nobles, for the most part,” he said stiffly. “While I’ve delved, that was training to serve my master, not adventuring.”

I giggled. There was that attitude again. It seemed that Envoys were grouped in with the proper people. I glanced around until I found Rodakis again. He was on the edge of the dance floor, looking at us intently. I gave him a grin.

Was this… helping me? It was true that a great way to make someone want something was to tell them they couldn’t have it. Having two boys fight over me wasn’t something I really wanted (childish thrills aside), but I might be able to make it serve my purposes.

“Look,” I said. “I want to be on friendly terms with Captain Rodakis. If that gets in the way of your mission, then too bad.”

“It’s not the mission,” Tom said. For the first time since I’d met him, he seemed lost for words. “I don’t often have permission to get… close to people. I don’t want you to die and waste all of my master’s efforts.”

Is he serious? I thought, shocked. Or is this [Seduction] at work? I guess I have to take it seriously either way.

“I’ve been aware of the Captain’s intentions since he arrived,” I said. “And the intentions of the nobles from Bargougne and Arryen. Why the other Duchy hasn’t taken an interest, I don’t know.”

He looked at me with surprise, and I gave him a little smile. “I have sources of information other than you.”

“I see,” he said, looking a little relieved. “Then can I assume that you actually know what you’re doing?”

“Tom. I’ve been jumping from one half-baked plan to another since I got here. That hasn’t changed, I’ve just gotten a little better at it.”

He snorted, and went to say something more, but the music ended, heralding the arrival of Rodakis.

“Captain,” Tom said, not bowing. The two of them sized each other up, and I thought for sure that they were going to bash their chests against each other.

“Ah, Captain Rodakis, I don’t know if you’ve met Envoy Parkes.”

“Envoy?” Rodakis said, startled. He glanced at Tom’s all-black outfit. “From the Ebon Order?” he asked. There was a hint of a sneer in his voice, but I could tell he was somewhat put off.

“Indeed Captain. I would have made myself known to you, but my remit is limited to contact with persons of political importance.”

“The Baron would have barely qualified as such before his death,” Rodakis replied. His eyes flicked towards me as he asked, “Do commoner Council members rank with Nobility now?”

“Perhaps, perhaps not,” Tom said. “I can hardly go into details about my business here. The presence of a Chosen in Talnier is enough to justify my presence.” He wasn’t so gauche as to glance at me when he said that, but I could tell from his wry smile that he was enjoying the double meaning.

“I suppose,” Rodakis glared at Tom, just a little. I can only assume that they were both trying [Intimidate] and finding themselves evenly matched. “In any case, you’ve had your turn—”

“Actually, good sirs,” a familiar voice interrupted. “I’m sure the Lady won’t refuse a dance from her oldest and dearest companion.”

I turned to see Cloridan grinning like the rouge he was. “May I have this dance?” he said.

“Of course,” I replied, and we left the two to their standoff.

“Ah, at last, a chance to dance with the fair lady,” Cloridan said, grinning.

“Aren’t you seeing someone right now?” I asked.

“I already danced with Noemi,” he answered. “Then I told her I needed to rescue you from your admirers.”

“A selfless sacrifice for the team,” I snarked. “Without hope of reward.”

“Actually, hope springs eternal, or so I’ve found in my case. Things are going pretty great with Noemi, but as long as I’m hoping I might as well hope for a—”

“Yeah, bury that hope.” As we continued to dance I saw someone that had been keeping to themselves for the last few days.

“Cloridan, I’m going to have to cut this dance short.”

He sighed dramatically. “I’ve reached too high, and now I have to be shot down, is that it? Alas.”

“Shut up, you horndog,” I indicated a direction and he glanced over at Isidre. She was standing on the edge of the crowd, looking at the dancers.

“Ah, more business? I’ll leave you to it then.”

We disengaged from the dance, and I walked over. “Isidre. It’s Kandis.”

Isidre looked at me, confused. “Kandis? I’d heard that you were on the Council now, but you look different?”

“Yeah,” I said. “I guess we need to talk.”