**[Rita, Day Six]**

“Oh, Shit!” Her head ached, and the words Aiden was spewing at her made little sense. She understood the importance of asserting her dominance, but she failed to see how a victory could be achieved with the ease at which Horace had knocked her out. “Rita!” Aiden whispered, “Get it together. All you have to do is impress the prince. Use your fancy magic to burn holes through whatever sad sap he sends against you. You said it is finicky and tend to act chaotically. Use that and show this dungeon who you are. What you are.” She did not understand what he meant, “What am I?” He smirked at her before locking eyes with Gar’ath and moved to stand. Her hand stopped him, “What am I, Aiden?” His cavalier attitude and playful seriousness vanished, and his eyes had a maturity she had never seen there before, “His equal, Rita. You are a lady of Amora, a mage, and the bravest girl I know. Make sure he knows that too.” Then he was gone, and she was left sitting in the middle of a circle of gleeful hostility. Horace was nowhere to be seen. She was grateful for this fact. Waking to see his hungry eyes leering at her had been traumatic enough.

Aiden's words resonated with her to help her push away the hurt and fear holding her back. She was reminded of the first lesson her mother had taught her. Never show your true feelings. Be it pain, death, or grief, a lady stands tall and smiles wide. She had never fully utilized her female family members' teachings, and her mask had been paper-thin back home. It was torn easily by bad luck or harsh words, but today a new one formed that blocked her true face from the world forever. It was apparent only to her, but it felt like a shield keeping the pain at bay. It made it possible for her to grab the waiting pot, take a big mouthful, and swallow without any hesitation. The flavor seemed muted by her determination, and as she felt the wrongness take hold of her body. She began to fight back internally as well as preparing her mana deal with any outside threat.

The orc that rose to face the newly poised lady with a sharp green bow in her frizzy hair had no fear of his victim. No one in the room did. She could tell he had already won this battle in his mind, and her hands clenched in indignation. She was the daughter of Lord Jacob Malory of Keros, grandniece to the King of her great country, and a mage. Her magic may not listen or like her, but it was still hers. It wouldn’t obey her if she asked, so she wasn’t asking or directing it. As the orc turned from his gloating to strike down the weak human before him, he saw a brilliant light emerge from her body. His eyes had spent their whole lives underground, and Rita raised her head proudly when he winced at the glare. No one in the room could look except her. She took this opportunity to overcharge her manna to unsafe levels. Finally, letting it run amok and free as wild laughter emerged unbidden from her now burning throat. Pouring more and more mana through her small channels to manifest it into the word.

Two steps back kept her out of immediate reach when the creature tried to snuff out her light, and she waited, swaying from the drowsiness of the drug until he overbalanced himself with a wide swing. This gave her the opening to rush in. The body she had spent her entire life in felt foreign and reacted slowly but much more powerfully than before. Her mind blanked, and suddenly she was next to the orc whose eyes were wide in shock at her daring arrival.

Her mana refused to burn her skin as it pooled on her pale flesh, but it had no qualms about melting the orc. Seared flesh made her eyes water as she maintained her death grip on the flailing orc. The smell was strangely appealing, and she found herself gnawing on an exposed piece of flesh as she clung. The drain was intense, and despite the obvious cosmetic damage she was causing, even her addled mind knew there was no way she could kill him with the power at her disposal. However, Aiden’s words and her memories reminded her that she didn’t have to kill him. She just had to make everyone think she could and sell it. The reserve of mana inside her was nearing empty, and she released the orc as he bucked her off in a powerful swing of his large frame. A glob of the last residues of magic lay in her palm. Her body wanted desperately to collapse, yet sheer will, and this buzzing intensity emanating from her gut kept her standing. The mask let nothing through to reveal her exhaustion. It was less effective at hiding the blood and flesh oozing out of her slack mouth, so she had to manually wipe that away while glaring suggestively at all the watching eyes. Her chuckling resumed at their collective cringe.

The orc she had attacked looked confused and wary now. The scorched ground and his own raw, damaged skin made attacking the strange woman less of a certainty than it had been. She could hear Aiden cheering from the background. His voice was the only sound as the orcs had quieted, but soon the tide shifted. The formerly hostile orcs were suddenly supporting her. Bets were being placed, and the audience had begun to mock the reddened orc before her. This enraged him, and she felt his fingers graze her hip as she executed a flawless pirouette. Her dancing skill served her well as she dodged him again and again. Laughing merrily and spinning drunkenly as she moved. The pressure of her brain hitting her skull with each turn made her want to keep going endlessly into the haze of endorphins, yet a familiar pulling sensation kicked her brain back into a post-dungeon panic.

The telltale sensation let her know that her luck was shifting, and it almost sent her careening into the oncoming fist, but an intentional shift in movement allowed her to meet the floor instead. It did not hurt in the slightest and was almost enjoyable. The resulting roll from her momentum took her momentarily out of range. She locked eyes with Aiden, knowing her energy was gone. He mouthed, “Knee him,” while lifting his own leg up, and even her worn-out brain could infer what was meant. The ‘how’ would be her problem.

The orc had only gotten angrier and was snarling like a rabid beast a few feet away. Aiden had not led her wrong, that wrong, yet, and she would let his luck carry them a little longer. She just had to rouse her brain enough to convince her body to hold out another second. Putting one unsteady leg under her, she was able to manipulate her frame into an awkward stance with her left leg in front. The humanoid monster sprang at her with the clear intent to kill. Her eyes nearly closed as she moved to go under his outspread arms, knee raised in defense. It snapped, and the full weight of the fully grown male orc fell upon her, but his screams made the pain worth it. Her eyes closed, and the last sheds of control left her.

**[Aiden]**

“Yes!” His scream was met by the laughter and screeches from those around him as they watched Rita use the man’s momentum against him in a blaze of glory. The resulting spurt of blood from both parties incited the onlookers' riotous glee, and despite his disgust, Aiden felt himself get caught up in it all. When the prince signaled, Gar’ath moved to pull the other orc off of Rita, and he gasped at her protruding knee bone with bits of flesh speared on the splintered white tip. Silence descended before sharp chuckles from the two female warriors made a few of the onlookers turn green while the remaining roared at the irony. Her opponent tried to go back to finish her off as he howled in fury yet was stopped, not by the guard, but by the crowd.

Aiden felt pleased. The plan had worked; Rita had earned their respect as only a great fight could. Even though this was his idea, he had no idea she would do so well. La’ Curk seemed just as surprised, and when their eyes met, the resulting nod caused a rippling effect. One of the female orcs moved and began to dress Rita’s shattered knee while a male warrior grabbed the cook. Aiden himself was brought into a waiting chair, and his back was slapped to the point of bruising. Horace was ignored to the side, and Aiden tried to gesture for the other boy to get out of sight but was too caught up in the celebratory atmosphere to see if he did. The tangible gains from his role in the fight made his smile grow even wider.

Skill increase Manipulation: 2->3

Skill increase Gossip: 5->7

His current actions had resulted in a huge increase in his gossip skill, and he could definitely see how this could work out for his group. Hopefully, Rita gained some useful skill gains from this as well. Together they might be able to carve a place for themselves here.