Mia leaned back against the side of the boat as I rowed. My arms burned and after an hour of rowing, a notification appeared before my eyes. Strength increased to 17. I rowed more enthusiastically. I could feel my muscles grow stronger the moment I received the notification. If that was all it took then I might finally start working out.

“Slow down Pug.” Mia said, “There it is up ahead.”

I looked up to see a cave lit up at the side of the river. Two guards stood at the entrance of the cave holding swords. They were tall with broad shoulders and massive muscles. They wore no shirts but had kilts similar to mine. Their faces looked like owls' faces and their large deep black eyes were fixed on us. They looked like they should be guarding a sarcophagus instead of a cave entrance. I turned the boat to paddle toward the two men.

“Now might be a good time to use those Soul Points.” Tootsie perched on my shoulder, her wings tucked on her back. I guess she trusted me, so long as I had the paddles in my hand I couldn’t swat her.

“I think I will wait,” I mumbled just loud enough for her to understand. “I want a better idea of what is necessary.”

“What?” Mia asked, looking at the guards. “You gotta speak up.”

“I was just wondering if I needed some sort of password or something.”

We pulled between the men. There was a short dock there with two lampstands and a heavy wooden door leading back into the cave. One of the men helped Mia out of the boat. I stood to climb out and a guard held out his palm. I grabbed his hand thinking he wanted to help me out of the boat as well but he slapped it away.

“It will be fifty gold to get us in,” Mia explained.

I reluctantly produced the coin from my magic hip pouch. The guard took the coins and dropped them by his hip. A pouch appeared and the coins vanished inside.

“Maybe a pickpocket skill,” Tootsie said, “then you could get your coin back and see what else the owl face has.”

I climbed out of the boat onto the dock and tied it to the dock. The guards walked back over to the entrance of the cave and stood guard. Mia walked over to the wooden door and knocked. The top of the door split open and the bottom of the door became a counter. A man sat in a tall stool behind the counter with a hood on his head and a dark veil over his face.

“How do I show him my stuff?” I whispered to Tootsie as I finished tying the knot.

“Just walk up to the counter and reach into your pouch.” Tootsie answered, “I’m gonna go check things out.” She whizzed past the man into the dark behind his stool.

I walked over and produced the things I had. I kept back the rapier, crossbow, first aid, and the kilt I was wearing.

Offer: 40 coins.

“That’s less than I just paid your goons,” I said to the man in the stool. “Give me seventy-five.”

Haggle failed.

Offer: 30 coins.

Charisma reduced.

Charisma: 5

“What the flock of penguins? I ought to pull you through the window.”

“Do it,” Tootsie called from somewhere in the darkroom.

Two swords were produced at my neck from behind. The guards looked down at me with their big black eyes. Mia smirked.

“Fine thirty coin is a deal.” The swords lowered and the man in the stool dropped the coin on the sill of the door. I scooped up the coin and dropped it in my pouch. “I should have kept the staff,” I told the man.

“You ought to see the stuff he has back here,” Tootsie called out. “Ope that’s ours. Ooh, that too. Definitely that. Ooh. What does this thing do?”

The man stood from his stool and was pulling the doors back shut when a bright orange flash and a bang went off behind him. Mia knocked me down when she dove. One of the guards jumped over the counter and ran back into the darkness. Tootsie whizzed out of the darkness and hid behind me giggling.

“What was that?” Mia said into my ear. I couldn’t answer. She was too close to my face and her warm breath was too sweet. I was locked into her golden eyes. I loved the way her body pressed against mine. She caught me looking at her lips and blushed, pushing herself off of me. She tucked her long blue braids behind her back.

I sat up and the other guard stood over me silently. He watched the door while his partner swept the room. When the other guard appeared at the door and shrugged, the guard standing over me stepped back and allowed me to get up.

“Wait till you see what I got,” Tootsie said.

“We should get going.” Mia walked over to the boat. “I don’t know what happened back there but we don’t want to be here if it is enforcers. Stay low, they might be shooting from the other bank.”

I pretended to be afraid and slipped back into the boat. “What did you get?” I whispered to Tootsie as I paddled out.

“Here,” Tootsie reached into her magic pouch and began dropping items into mine. “I got a torch, a map, and a lock pick kit. Oh and I got you this jacket, isn't it nice?”

I reached my hand into my inventory bag and it allowed me to see the items before my eyes. The sleeveless brown leather jacket looked like a biker would wear but it had a unicorn with rainbow hair on the back and a diamond skull on the front. “Yeah, it’s sweet,” I replied but equipped it anyway. I was a big orc, I could wear a tutu and carry a plastic wand and I would still be intimidating.

“Who do you keep talking to?” Mia turned from looking into the forest. “That jacket is hot.” She joked.

“Thank you. Just thinking out loud.”

“Help!” A woman yelled from the bank. “Help, my grandson!”

Pig Face

Level 3 Orc

Strength: 17

Dexterity: 10

Charisma: 5

Intelligence: 17

Manna: 5

Constitution: 14

Perception: 14

Exp: 4475

Soul Points: 6

Skills: Furious Feline: cost 2 mana,

Dex: +3, Claws, time: 1 hour

Carapace Skin: +4 Constitution,

Cost: 2 Mana, time: 1 hour

Coin:

$495

Gear:

Rapier Beretta

Ammo: 3 hollow tip rounds

Leather Kilt: Protection against fire damage, armor 2

Satchel: First aid kit

Beginner crossbow

Ammo: 13 bolts