“You need to get over it.”

So saying, Damien tossed back another shot of Asance Añejo, a tequila produced by a local distillery. They made it from an agave plant found on the 10th level of the public dungeon.

I wondered why he even needed the magic liquor, I doubted his constitution as a Rogue was high enough to keep him from getting drunk on the more affordable options.

“Get over what?”

I sipped at my beer and cocked an eyebrow at him.

“Whatever it is that’s got you acting so maudlin! You’re bringing down the mood.” He slammed his shot glass on the table to emphasize his point.

“We just completed the deal of a lifetime, we’ve got enough money to live in luxury for the next year if we want to, and Jacques even hinted he planned to bring us on for future projects. I brought you to the Mystique to celebrate, but you’re just sitting there moping. Crack a Janus-damned smile, do some shots, let loose!”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about. I’m just enjoying my drink.”

Damien snorted in disbelief, but his holophone pinged an alert from where it lay on the table. He glanced at it and sighed before picking it up.

A hologram flickered into existence over the table from where the phone lay. The caller’s face was turned away from me, but her profile was easily recognizable even in projection form. It was Damien’s sister, Seraphina.

“How could you close a huge deal like Grainola and not let me know?”

Even through the speakers her voice was pleasant, melodic. It was almost enough to blunt the edge of annoyance in her voice.

“Come on, Sera, I didn’t mean to! I just got caught up in the moment and wanted to celebrate!” Damien raised his hands, palms out, in a soothing gesture.

I chuckled at how odd it looked when directed at the hologram floating over the table.

“Is that Basil I hear? Same goes for you. I gave you my number at that gala, so you could have told me just as easily as Damien could have!”

I subconsciously found myself making the same soothing gesture as Damien even though I wouldn’t be showing in the hologram on her end from where I was sitting.

“My bad. Like Damien said, we just got caught up in the moment.”

She sniffed in response and might have continued, but Damien hurried to speak before she could.

“Sorry, Sera! I should have called. We’re at the Mystique right now celebrating if you want to come.”

“The Mysique? I thought I recognized the decor in the background. You think everyone is so free that they can go day-drinking like you? I’m the Director of Public Relations for Rust Corporation. I’m supposed to be leading a press conference in just a couple of hours.”

“Well, that’s a shame, guess we’ll just have to catch you next ti-,” Damien began, before Sera cut him off.

“Well, since you’re practically begging I suppose I can get someone to handle it in my place. I’ll be there shortly, order me a Dungeon Derby.”

Her hologram blinked out of existence as she ended the call.

Damien sighed, but gestured at the waiter nearby. I was still unaccustomed to seeing actual waitstaff at a bar, but I guess they were common at high end establishments since rich people enjoyed the feeling of being waited on.

The prospect of Sera joining us buoyed my spirits, though it made me feel a little guilty that I could so easily put aside my worries over the cruelty of my dungeon design. I hadn’t thought of myself as being that shallow.

Yet even as I cheered up, I also felt a surprising amount of anxiety coiling up in my stomach at the thought of seeing her again.

Flirting with a stranger at a gala was one thing, but now she wasn’t just a stranger she was Damien’s sister, an executive of Rust Corporation. More than that, this sort of occasion would involve actual conversation, and I found myself worrying that she’d find me as dreary as Damien said I was.

“Get me one of those shots.” I muttered to Damien as he ordered from the waiter he’d manage to flag down.

Surprised, but not wanting to let the chance slip away, he added the shots to the order.

When the waiter came back, I pounded the shot and instantly felt it burning in my whole body. As a Dungeon Maker, and a level 1 Dungeon Maker at that, my constitution was about as low as it could get. Maybe a Mage would have lower, but it probably would be close.

I felt the buzz spread to my head quickly and let myself relax into it, tension that I hadn’t realized I’d been carrying slipping away. So noticeable was the change that Damien grinned as he saw it happen.

“That’s what I’m talking about, let’s celebrate! To the best damn Dungeon Maker in Asance!” So saying he tossed back his shot too. I shook my head wryly, but couldn’t help a smile from appearing on my face at the sense of pride I felt. I knew I likely wasn’t in the ranks of the best Dungeon Makers in the city-state, but I felt like I could at least be counted as one of the most innovative.

We didn’t have to wait long before I saw a familiar willowy figure being led towards us by a hostess. Such was Sera’s presence that every head in the place turned to follow her, men and women alike. Yet she seemed unaware of the attention, entirely unaffected by the pressure of those eyes. Instead her own eyes flicked about, seeking, until they landed on our table and a smile lit up her face.

Damien stood, looking a tad unsteady, and pulled her chair out for her, and I hurriedly shook myself from the daze that had settled on me when she smiled and stood up as well trying not to appear too flustered..

Her smile turned a touch mischievous, though I couldn’t tell if it was directed at me or Damien. Alighting on the chair, she waved Damien to sit down, which he did with far less grace.

At a gesture from the hostess, the waiter from before approached the table with a drink in hand and set it gently in front of Sera. He lingered a moment, but left at a further gesture from the hostess.

“Enjoy.” The hostess said, inclining her head, before returning to the entrance to welcome more guests.

“Well, isn’t this lovely.” Sera said, lifting her glass. “Shall we toast?”

Damien, well and truly sloshed at this point, nodded enthusiastically calling for another round of shots for him and I. They arrived even more quickly than before, the young waiter casting glances at Sera the whole time. She favored him with a smile and he blushed.

“What shall we toast to?”

Damien raised his shot glass.

Her eyes met mine as she pursed her lips thoughtfully.

“To the two of you! Success looks good on you.”

Perhaps it was the liquor, but I matched her toast with one of my own.

“To the future. May we enjoy it together.”

Her eyes sparkled, but she echoed my toast.

“The future!” Damien exclaimed loudly. “And all the money and power it promises!” He was slightly boisterous and I had to resist the urge to look around to see if we had bothered anybody.

Damien and Sera didn’t seem concerned, and for a moment I envied their comfort with drawing attention, their familiarity with being influential. But the feeling passed quickly and I returned to enjoying the moment.

Laughter and voices spread from our table as we drank and chatted and enjoyed the brightness and warmth while the day slowly slipped to night.