The sun had only just appeared in the sky when I left my bedroom. Alexia’s soft snore followed me as I tied off my shirt in the corridor and bounded downstairs. Fresh excitement chased away the dregs of sleep as I considered my next move.

The Sage lived along the road to Roarwind, but I didn’t have enough horses to take both Alexia and Selene along with me. Thankfully, Kilcoy had left his cart behind after his death, and the fat bastard sure as Hells didn’t need it anymore. I reached out with my mind to the nearest Perimeter Defense Squad and ordered two of the Slammers to join me. Their stout strength combined with my own and made it easier to drag the cart out of the stable.

I brought out the two draught horses, hitched them to the cart, and drove it over to the shack. Selene’s observation on my paranoia flickered through my mind as I stacked six jars of preservative into a crate and placed it in the cart. Travel in the Northern Realms wasn’t a safe proposition, and after my recent uninvited guests, I wasn’t about to take chances. And there was no sense in wasting perfectly good ingredients for the Replicator. I ducked back inside the shack and checked on the machine. It hadn’t been touched, all of the ether hoses were still fixed in place, and the Essence Core chilled my fingers as I pried it loose.

Walk with me and watch my back, I ordered the Slammers.

I fished my keys out from underneath my shirt as I returned to the house. The sound of heeled boots clacking on the stairs echoed down to me and informed me that Selene was awake. I doubled my pace, just to be safe, and found the armory on the first floor. The Piercers had left it open yesterday, but it didn’t matter. There wasn’t a single weapon left in the room for anyone to take. The vault felt oddly empty without the usual blades, arrows, and shields fixed to the walls.

“I guess that’s the price you pay for security,” I said aloud to the Slammers.

I took a quick moment to check over the Essence Core. Jamin had told me that each one was unique to its Replicator. The Core was shaped roughly like a lantern and built out of elvish cast metals to protect it from supercooled ether. It was the controlling valve between the Essence load and the Replicator itself. Without it, my Replicator was unarmed and useless to anyone who managed to slip through the farm’s defenses.

I stashed it under a bench and turned to leave.

One of the Slammers shifted and kept his vacant stare on my back. The other Slammer circled around me with his stumpy stride. Both of them reeked of sweat and unwashed hair. I couldn’t help but laugh. They’d taken my orders literally.

The Replicator was disarmed, but that was just one layer of defense. I stepped out of the armory and took a deep breath to focus my mind and then reached out to all the homunculi at the edges of the farm. I couldn’t afford to have trespassers snooping around while I was out to see the Sage.

Kill anyone that attempt to enter the farm while I’m not here. The two women will leave with me. It took a moment for my order to flood into their minds, but understanding flickered through their thoughts and assured me my farm was well guarded.

Return to your former squad, I told the two Slammers.

An odd rush of affection touched me as they stomped outside to rejoin their comrades. These homunculi weren’t sentient, of course, and they were designed to be disposable tools for an Adventurer or farmer. But they did their job well, didn’t complain, and cost next to nothing to feed or house. They were brilliant servants and far better than most humans I’d met.

Even if the homunculi were thundering chucklefucks with no self-awareness.

I locked the armory door firmly behind me and backtracked into the hallway. I made a brief stop in the dining hall to scoop up my arbalest and quiver. A soft female murmur from the hallway told me where to find my traveling companions. Selene and Alexia glided down the stairs and greeted me with conspiratorial smiles. I didn’t even need to ask. It was clear that the blood mage had already told Selene all about last night’s little massage in my bed. The blond mage was dressed for travel, and she’d given one of her fur-lined coats to the elf. I smirked at them and Alexia bounded down the last of the stairs to kiss my cheek.

“So, what’s your scheme today?” the blood mage asked.

“We’re headed out to meet with the Emerald Sage,” I replied. “The cart is outside.”

The two women followed me outside to our waiting method of transportation. Selene frowned at it and gestured to the stable.

“I’d prefer to take my horse,” Selene said. “Faster and less of a target to bandits.”

“I’m bringing some homunculi to guard it,” I told her, “and two powerful mages. It’ll be more than enough to discourage anyone from attacking us. If you bring a horse with you, you’ll end up drawing more attention to us. It’s better if people assume we’re simple merchants or locals.”

“I suppose you’re right,” the blond mage admitted grudgingly.

It took a moment for me to choose the right homunculi for our escort. The Archer in the gardens appeared behind us first. The Zweihander Swordsman joined us a few moments later, and I selected a Shield Slammer and Pike Piercer from the nearest detachment of guards. Selene nodded approvingly as they surrounded the cart and waited for my next order.

“Shouldn’t you bring more?” Alexia asked, confused.

“Too many and they’ll attract attention,” I reminded her gently. “Just the same as Selene’s horse. Any travelling companion farmer would have a small contingent of homunculi, but bringing half an army along is just an invitation for trouble.”

“Trouble tends to hide around every corner this far north,” Selene observed.

“I know. That’s why you’re here,” I laughed.

Alexia leapt up into the back of the cart and offered Selene a hand up. I took my place in the driver’s seat and set my arbalest beside me. The Archer climbed up beside the women behind me and rounded out our convoy. I gave the horses a light tap on the neck with the reins and started our journey off the farm.

I guided the horses through the north exit to the farm as the girls chatted behind me. One of the Perimeter Defense Squads marched along the fenceline behind us as I locked the gate and drove the cart further to the rolling hills beyond. A chilling breeze flooded down from the sky-scraping mountains in the distance. A dusty, beaten path carved through the hills and forked out toward the local homesteads. Low walls of ancient stone crisscrossed their way through the farms and stood as proud markers of farmer-owned land. Jamin had never been one for getting to know his neighbors, and after the last two days, I finally understood why.

An illegal Replicator, dealings with a Shadow Lord, and a dangerous homunculus locked away in the cellar attracted all the wrong kinds of attention.

My homunculi followed on foot and moved in a rough triangle formation around the cart as we rode on toward the Emerald Sage’s house. Under my instruction, they rotated around every fifteen minutes and kept their eyes peeled for any signs of danger. Ambushes from riding bandits weren’t uncommon, but I figured that our chances of being attacked this close to a cluster of homesteads was low. Farmer’s wives loved to talk about anything and everything, and word spread fast even this far north.

I tuned in to Alexia and Selene’s conversation.

“So when did you decide to take up magic?” Alexia asked.

“Your curiosity is always flattering, Lexie,” Selene laughed. “When I was sixteen and still living in Yarrowheld to the south. I was snapped up by a local recruiter for the Crown, who took me to the most prestigious Academy in the King’s Realm.”

“There’s an Academy?”

“There certainly is. They train the best and the brightest people of magic talent to serve the King wherever they’re needed.” I heard the smirk in Selene’s voice. “They certainly found me a difficult prospect. I’ve always been interested in the darker sides of magic and its applications. Demonology, the skills of a warlock, and sacrifice rituals.”

“I take it they didn’t approve,” I observed.

“No, they did not. I didn’t quite fit the mould of a young female mage.” Selene lowered her voice to a loud whisper. “For one, they couldn’t stop me from luring all the strapping young men into my chambers. And some of the women, too.”

Alexia coughed. “So what happened? How did you end up as a Commission mage?”

“I went a little too far one day and decided to hex someone during one of our training bouts,” Selene replied. “Poor dear didn’t know how to deal with that kind of magic. The lecturers didn’t appreciate my unorthodox methods, they turned me out. I found work solving the occasional possession or bartering deals with low-level demons.”

“Let me guess,” I interrupted, “one of your customers outed you to the Kingdom.”

“That they did,” Selene nodded. “And I was forced to rejoin their ranks once again. But where do you place a young woman of my rather alternative habits? In the most dreary, boring, unfashionable office imaginable. You put them with the Companion Commission and direct them to oversee the refining of Essence and to enforce the rules.”

“You must’ve hated it,” Alexia said.

“It wasn’t the most thrilling employment,” Selene agreed. “But you two are a good deal more interesting to work with. I’m glad you decided to have me along.”

The girls lapsed into a contented silence and enjoyed the view around us.

We crested a hill and left the clusters of farming land behind. I shaded my eyes against the sun as I scanned the terrain for any threats. A small hill surrounded by stone jutted out of the scenery off to the east. Weapons gleamed in the morning sun as people moved around the old underground catacomb.

“What’s that?” Alexia asked.

“I keep forgetting how young you are,” Selene laughed.

“I have spent most of my life in a dark cellar,” the elf said defensively.

“It’s a dungeon,” I supplied. “It’s the source of income for the Adventurer Guilds. Which, in turn, are a source of income for us. Funnily enough, most heroes don’t always want to risk life and limb in the pursuit of riches.”

“So companions are built for Adventurers?” Alexia mused. “Is Longhorn part of a Guild?”

“Only his own,” Selene snickered. “Companion homunculi were originally designed as a simple shield, guide, or specialist to round out a party. They weren’t originally made to last all that long. But as mages and alchemists poured more research into the endeavor, truly astonishing results started to arise from it.”

“Results like you,” I told Alexia with a wink.

I turned back to scan our surroundings again. Three riders appeared over another rolling crest and slowed as they saw us. Three figures shambled after them on foot and rounded out the riders to a party of six. My homunculi rearranged themselves into a tight triangle around the edges of the cart at my direction, and I leaned forward to study the potential threat.

Each of them were Adventurers on the road back from the dungeon. Red and white paint adorned their shields. Small sashes streamed in the wind from their inexpensive saddles, and even their horses were marked with colored stripes to mark the riders as part of an official Guild. The lead Adventurer hailed us with a raised hand. Tight leather armor shifted around a wiry body packed with muscle and a string of monster teeth rattled against his chestplate. A double set of daggers bounced against the man’s hip as he settled back into the saddle.

I decided to call him the Tracker.

A bored-looking wood elf cantered along to the Tracker’s left. White hair glinted in the sun as his disinterested gaze swept over the cart and my homunculi escort. An elfbow laid across his lap and every inch of his saddle bristled with quivers of feathered arrows. The second rider’s armor was of an old elvish make, all smooth edges and faded gold piping, but his gear looked as if it hadn’t seen maintenance in decades. I settled on calling the elf the Hunter.

The third of the party caught the most attention. A round shield hung from his armored shoulders and a spiked mace swung freely from a loop in his belt. He was a muscled bear of a man with piggish eyes and a steel-capped helmet. The Adventurer’s eyes went straight for Selene and Alexia in the back of the cart and a gruesome smirk slid over his features as he leaned in to say something to the Tracker. I’d have put my money on the mace-bearing rider as the dumb muscle of the group, so I decided to call him the Fighter.

The riders drew closer and I got a better look at their followers. The shambling step and expressionless faces were enough to tell me that the Adventurer party had paid for low-quality homunculi. A Crossbowman struggled to match the pace of the Hunter’s mount and almost tripped over a Shield Slammer as he trailed behind the Tracker. The third homunculus carried a smallsword and a damaged buckler. I recognized it as a Footsoldier-class homunculus from my studies with Jamin.

Six individuals from a local Guild on their way home from a hard night’s raiding.

They were a medium-level threat to my convoy, but the last thing that I wanted was a fight in the open spaces so close to a dungeon.

Selene’s hair brushed my shoulder as she leaned over to examine the riders.

“Local Guild nobodies,” she observed.

“Potential paying customers,” I countered. “No harm in seeing what they want.”