After Balrim and Myrin left, Kaldalis spent about an hour standing between Garyung and Haldir. The three of them were trying to answer a storm of questions about the Infernal Horde.

It was overwhelming.

Kaldalis was glad to see so many were interested in strategy, but he didn’t exactly have answers to every question. And not every question was worth answering, either.

Why so many people were interested in the genitalia of monsters, he would never know.

After the first hour, Haldir excused himself. He needed to get back to work on Adventurer’s League business. That left Kaldalis to field all the questions instead of only half of them.

He let it go for another forty minutes before the group had dispersed enough that he didn’t feel like a jerk for cutting it short.

The ‘good’ questions had ranged from being asked about the malum’s stats over and over in excruciating detail, to vague questions about the Horde in general that he had no way of answering from the details in the report.

In the end, he was glad to help, but a little aggravated that no one seemed to know what questions they wanted to ask. There seemed to be some consensus that asking some unknown “right question” was going to solve all their problems, but no one could come up with that question. So, while people were frustrated when he cut the interrogation off, no one had an adequate reason to make him stay.

One by one, the remaining adventurers left to get back to work.

When the beach was empty and the bonfire had died down, Kaldalis made his way up the beach a bit, towards the floating dock. He still had a fishing quest to get to.

It wasn’t without guilt. He remembered saying he’d wait for Myrin next time he went fishing, but no matter how much fishing he did, he was always going to be up for more. It wasn’t like he was just going to stop fishing randomly one day.

And he still needed a ridiculous number of pale perch for his other quest, anyway.

He could make time to fish with her whenever.

But, unfortunately, Kaldalis didn’t make it to the dock before he got waylaid.

She came at him sideways, practically on top of him before he saw her coming.

He didn’t even have time to realize he was cornered before she was standing uncomfortably close, a sky-blue arm draped around his shoulders before he could jump.

“Kaldalis. I’m so glad I caught you,” Onirioago purred, the familiarity of her tone making his skin crawl. “And I’m glad you are alone at last. Can I borrow you for the night?”

“Uh.”

Kaldalis tried not to freak out. The expedition leader hadn’t been subtle about how badly she wanted to attach herself to him, but this was a degree of forwardness that he hadn’t expected.

Especially alone.

There was one benefit to being isolated like this, though. He knew he could turn her down without feeling like he was committing professional suicide by embarrassing her.

“It’s barely noon,” Kaldalis said. Though he managed to keep his voice from cracking, he knew his anxiety at her ambush was written all over his face, but he didn’t want to revert all the way back to an awkward teenage boy. “What are you after that you’re asking me now?”

“I need something,” she said. He hadn’t moved away from her, and so she leaned in closer. Her arm went from his shoulders to his neck, pulling him close and pressing herself against his side. “I need a very particular fish. I was hoping you could get it for me.”

It was then he noticed the gentle rainbow sheen that noted she had a quest for him.

Kaldalis felt a sense of vertigo.

Emotional whiplash.

Her request was reasonable - even exciting - which contrasted dramatically with her behavior. She was purring in his ear and pressing herself against him like a lover on a long beach walk to offer him a fishing quest? Her body was hard - taut muscles and metal armor - and despite his personal discomfort with her he found himself physically distracted.

That was what she wanted.

There was something she didn’t want him to figure out, and this was her chosen tool for keeping him from piecing it together.

“You can ask,” he said, “though if it doesn’t come from the ocean, I probably don’t have it.”

“Oh, this is one you probably wouldn’t get without looking for it,” she said. He felt her chin on his shoulder and her breath danced along his neck as she continued. “It’s very rare. A freshwater fish only found in the dense jungle. And only caught late in the night.”

“Ah. That’s why you’re grabbing me now,” Kaldalis reasoned. “This is a larger endeavor than just throwing a line in the water.” He leaned away carefully, trying to extricate himself from her casual embrace. Parts of him objected to their parting, but Onirioago herself unwound from him readily enough. A surprise to be sure, but not an unwelcome one. “This is going to be more complicated than it seems.”

“The fish is for league business,” she said. She had transitioned smoothly from near-intimacy to more familiar distance, but he could hear a bit of aggravation in her tone. “I only need one to confirm its presence on the archipelago. I also need to keep it quiet. If word gets around the whole camp about this fish, there will be dire consequences.”

Kaldalis tried to figure out what that meant. Was this fish dangerous? Valuable? He wasn’t sure. All he knew was that as much as he was uncomfortable with her obvious advances, he was intrigued by the mystery. Not to mention the challenge of an exceptionally rare fish.

“So what do you need?” Kaldalis asked. “I’m interested.”

“As I knew you would be,” she said with a smirk. Her eyes flicked down over his body and he tried to suppress the dirty feeling her gaze imposed on him. “Bring it to me - and come alone - and I promise the reward will be worth the trouble.” She leaned forward and reached up to run a hand over one of her horns. The casual movement shifted her stance in a way that puffed out her chest and made the cleavage window in her armor all the more prominent.

“I’m sure we can work something out that we both can agree to,” he said carefully. “So what’s the fish and how do I kill it?”

“I’ve told you everything I know about catching it,” the sky-blue vathon said, “but the fish itself is called a deacon tetra. A vicious predator, with two giant tusklike fangs. It’s silvery all over, very reflective and visible, as it fears no enemy.”

“I’m guessing it also fears not death?” Kaldalis asked, the familiar turn of phrase breaking through his discomfort.

“What? No,” Onirioago stared at him, confused. “Why wouldn’t it fear death? That’s silly. Everything fears death.”

“I don’t know,” Kaldalis said, suddenly self-conscious. “Maybe if its strength was eternal or something. Nevermind.” He waved a hand dismissively. “Forget I asked.”

“Alright...” She stared at him, and for a moment, the hunger in her eyes gave way to aggravation. In a blink, she transitioned smoothly back. “Anyway. This fish is a very sensitive subject. I would thank you not to repeat its name or description to anyone. It will greatly affect the value of this quest.” She stepped forward. “I need its presence on the islands kept quiet. You can agree to that, right?”

“Yes,” Kaldalis said. Despite how shady it all seemed, and as much as he was worried about what she thought the quest reward was going to be, the challenge and the mystery was enough to keep him on the line. He’d also had only one quest so far that had been for a single higher-level fish, and the reward for that had seemed ridiculous. “I’ll get your fish, and keep it quiet, too.”

“Excellent,” she said, eyes flashing with satisfaction.

With that, a quest appeared on the right side of his vision.

The Masquerade

Catch a Deacon Tetra 0/1

Tell no one (1/1)

“I suppose I should leave you to your work, then,” Onirioago said. She stepped in close again, into the personal bubble he’d just pushed her out of a moment ago. Her hand touched his neck as her lips brushed his ear. “I’ll be waiting.”

And then she was gone, though the feeling of his skin crawling under her touch lingered a moment more. He looked over his shoulder to see her walking back to camp, her hips rocking back and forth in an exaggerated motion that made him feel seasick to watch.

Kaldalis shook his head to clear it. He steadied himself against a tree, and it was only then he realized that during their chat she’d walked him right up to the edge of the jungle. He’d been so distracted by trying to keep the conversation under control that he didn’t even notice she’d been leading him the whole time.

The quest marker was out in that direction, deep into the jungle, and a part of him wanted to just turn towards it and walk. But something stopped him. For one thing, the quest last night showed him the importance of using the right bait. The grouchy cichlid wouldn’t bite for pickled roe, while the pale perch wouldn’t bite for the shrimp meat Foturns had given him.

So that meant he needed two things before heading out.

First, he needed to pick up some bait options, in case nothing he had could catch the deacon tetra.

Also, secret or no secret, he didn’t want to go into the jungle alone. He didn’t have to tell any would-be escort what they were after. He just needed someone who could run and get help if he walked face-first into the next Infernal Horde siege.

Or who could back him up if the four-fingered bastard came for him.

There were just too many threats that could be mitigated by having another person with him.

It was - to put it simply - dangerous to go alone.

With a firm nod, Kaldalis headed back into town. The first thing he’d look for was bait for fishing, and a friend to accompany him.

Or an old man who could give him a laser sword.

A laser sword might be cool.