Amihan prepared herself for the day, wearing her usual work clothes and organizing her pack. The room that the Savepoint Bar provided was twice the size of her old one, years ago. It was bare and empty compared to the others–save for the bed, dressing cabinet, table, and chair–but it was far more furnished than her previous one. She grabbed her pack and walked to the door.

Stopping by the dressing cabinet, she opened and looked inside. Of course, it was empty, she expected that. Despite staying there for more than a week now she hadn’t unpacked anything from her bulging backpack, which seemed to get heavier each day. She had tried multiple times to declutter and reduce the belongings she carried. But everytime, she couldn’t throw anything away. It had everything she needed to survive.

After imagining the things that she would put in the cabinet, she went out of her room. Tried to at least. The backpack was too wide to fit through the doorway, a hindrance Jacked would want to have. This forced her to take it off her back, turn it, and carry it out, only to wear it again once she got through.

Downstairs, Dumog and Jacked were halfway done with their meals. The moment she sat down they were already done and were off to the door without a word. A few seconds later, Jacked’s head popped back in.

“Hey Amihan, me and Dumog are going to do training today. So no jobs. You have the day for yourself,” he said and left, not waiting for a reply.

“Good morning to you too!” Sinta shouted to the empty doorway. “How was your sleep, hun?” She placed a plate of breakfast in front of Amihan, beef and bell peppers with eggs on the side.

“Fine, thanks,” she started eating, not bothering to take her bag off.

Eeya and the turtle seemed to be having a conversation, sitting on the other side of the bar. She couldn’t pick up what she said, Amihan assumed that she was the type of person to talk with their pets. So she ignored it, she didn’t want to hear whatever cutesy thing she said to the rock. Sinta propped her elbows on the counter and stared at Amihan.

“Why don’t you leave some stuff in your room? That thing looks cumbersome,” she pointed at the bag.

“Everything I need.”

“Why are you still doing those odd jobs? You can get a license in less than ten minutes. I’d even let you set up shop out front, you can stay here all you want,” Sinta poured herself a drink.

“I don’t think I’m ready, not really good at it.”

“Sorry if I’m overstepping but, having passion for something and pursuing it doesn’t mean you have to be good at it. That’s how it is for me and helping the bar. It just means that I have to work harder to improve,” Eeya joined in the conversation. “Sorry.”

The turtle snapped up at the rock that she was holding while she was distracted. It ate it and glowed a bit brighter for a second as it digested it. A small cloud of smoke came out of its mouth when it burped, its face looked content.

“I’ll think about it,” Amihan finished her meal and left the Savepoint Bar.

She had no plans for the day, it was the perfect time for her to try fishing at the lake again. But she ended up wandering around town instead.

It was filled with faces that she didn’t recognize. Some of them greeted each other, the others talked and laughed. Amihan felt more alone in the town than she had walking through the wilds. She imagined what her life would have been like if she was born in this town instead. How different would she have turned out compared to her now? She couldn’t imagine.

For hours she didn’t count, she wandered. Along the way, she ended up at one of the town’s gates. It led to the forest, in the direction of her original journey. Following the stories of an old man who betrayed her.

Amihan questioned if she had been wandering all this time since she left home, like she had in town. Each time that she thought she was getting closer to her destination, the more lost she felt.

Dumog was running towards her, coming from the forest. On his shoulders sat Jacked, flicking his forehead with a fancy stick. She repressed the urge to call out to them, choosing to observe instead. He ran past her, unaware, with eyes of a mad man.

Looking at him now, Amihan thought that he was still weak but wouldn’t die to trivial things anymore. Especially with Jacked and the people at Savepoint Bar there to help him, she felt not needed anymore. Knowing that, there was no point for her to stick around anymore. Guilt wouldn’t bother her if she left now. The exit was right there, and she had everything with her. It was the perfect time to leave.

One step out the gate, another person headed straight at her. This time they notice her and stop. A purple-robed woman with a dark tinted helmet, rode a flying wooden vehicle. A big gem illuminated on its front, it powered and gave it the ability to levitate above ground.

She stepped off her vehicle and took her helmet off, it was Nox.

“Did you see Baldy go by here? Bitch took my wand,” she took a drag out of her pipe.

“Yeah, don’t know where they’re going though,”

An icy mist flowed out her mouth as she sighed, closing her eyes for a few moments and massaging her temples. She looked at her jeweled wristwatch, then glanced at Amihan.

“You look like you’re free, come with me,” Nox hopped back on her ride. “He’d show up again later, I bet.”

Amihan hesitated for a bit, curiosity won her over though. She sat behind Nox. The vehicle lowered a few inches closer to the ground.

“Damn, how heavy is that thing on your back? This is the heaviest my broom’s ever been. I’d have to go slow now.”

She grunted in reply. The broom didn’t look like any broom Amihan had seen in her life, though she didn’t know anything about magical items.

Nox handed her a helmet, it didn’t cover the whole head like hers. She flew off, going above the heads of the people on the ground. From that high up, the residents looked a lot less like people to her. The contrast between the upper and lower class areas were much more noticeable as well. Despite the lifestyle that Nox seemed to lead, she headed towards the other end of the Pleasure District. As they got higher up her broom changed from a low purr to a roar.

They stopped at a gaudy building, lights and a giant moving sign above it depicting a plump man spitting Gold coins from his mouth. It managed to look bright even with the sun out. Nox parked her broom out front and walked in, Amihan trailing behind her.

“Hey fatty, looking a little slim today. That diet you’ve been on for years finally working?” Nox leaned on the counter, a metal grate separated her from the man she was talking to.

“Your potions aren’t the only thing toxic with you, huh? What’ll it be today? You’re here early,” the man started gathering resin tokens onto a wooden tray.

“300 tokens,” she plopped a pouch filled with Gold coins on the counter.

“You finally found someone desperate enough to be your friend?” He pointed at Amihan, she frowned at him in response. “Don’t look that friendly.”

“So intense, right?” She chuckled with him.

The man placed the tray of tokens on the counter. Opening the small trapdoor on the bottom of the grate, he switched the pouch and the tray.

“I hope you lose all of it,” he smiled and leaned back on his chair, it whined a long squeaking sound.

“Maybe I’ll win big and you have a stroke in your little cell. Oh, imagine the smell!” Nox cackled and they walked away.

“Do you talk to everyone like that?” Amihan asked.

“Not to those who I can benefit from.”

There were rows of machines with levers and wheels, moving pictures flashed on them. She sat down in front of one of them, Amihan took a seat next to her. The theme of Nox’s machine had dogs, cats, and other house pets. While Amihan had a fish, worms, treasure chests, and a skull. Nox explained it to her before she could ask.

“Gambling, honey. Put a token in and pull the lever. If you get a winning combination then you’d get paid,” she said as she loaded up her machine with tokens. “Here’s some,” Nox threw her a handful of it.

“Can’t I just go and have these exchanged already?” Amihan was confused.

“Smart, but why not try your luck?”

“I still don’t understand why you would risk losing money that you already have?”

“It’s fun and exciting. Besides, it's an amount I’d be fine with losing if I dropped it on the street,” she sighed in frustration, she had a near-miss, one away from a winning combination.

“It doesn’t look like you’re having fun.”

“Shut up, it’s just my resting face,” a crease formed between her eyebrows.

Amihan wasn’t desperate for money so she placed her first token in and spun. She thought about cashing in and giving the money to Dumog for his debt, but she didn’t think he would like that. It was Jacked who he owed money to, so he would be fine.

The wheels spun and the machine’s lights flashed around it. It played a little sea shanty tune as it spu. The first wheel stopped at worms, then a fish, third a treasure chest, then finally a skull. A sad tune played when all of the wheels stopped, the floating image of the boat sunk. Placing another toke in revived the boat, if only it was that easy to start over.

Looking over at Nox, she had her back unhealthily hunched over and her eyes unblinking. Her face was a few inches away before touching the screen. She whispered to the machine, “Cat, cat, cat,” but the last wheel stopped at a rat, “Fuck!”

Nox spun her machine faster than Amihan did, she would put a token in and pull the lever as soon as she was able to. Amihan however, was more deliberate with each of her spins. She would stop and think before doing another. Of course, she lost every time. The thrill that Nox seemed to have never came to her, maybe because it wasn’t her money she was throwing away.

“You spend a lot of time traveling and studying before, right?” She asked Nox who had dry eyes.

The trance-like state she was in was broken with Amihan’s sudden question. She didn’t think Amihan was the talkative type. Rubbing her eyes with the back of her hands, she answered.

“Me and Jacked did, along with our Master’s other students. Though we did spend nearly a year inside the Academy being tested. Those were the worst years of my life, too many people bothering me.”

“Did you read books?” The tone of her voice darkened.

“Dumb question, everyone had to read a few books in their life,” Nox turned back to her machine but stopped before pulling the lever down all the way. “I guess you and your people don’t,” she said under her breath, Amihan didn’t hear it well.

“Have you ever heard of the empire above the sea? Or any sea-based civilizations where they are disconnected from the land,” Amihan brought her head down, remembering the stories her grandfather used to tell her. She spun her own machine, two fish and two skulls. A monstrous fish ate the boat whole.

“There have been rumors about it. I don’t remember reading or learning it during Geography lessons. Heard of it in passing from my master,” Nox also lost on her machine.

“Where do you think I should go, to search for leads?”

“Hey now, I just said that it’s barely a rumor. Besides, I don’t want to be responsible for someone else’s life decision,” she sighed out another misty breath.

“It’s still a chance that it exists.”

“You’re really going to gamble on the words of a wizard? With your past that would be blasphemy,” she snorted and cackled.

Swift and precise, Amihan pressed her knife against Nox’s slender neck. Years of practice, muscle memory, and developed small motor skills prevented her from drawing blood.

“Did Jacked flap his gums to you?” She sounded more sorrowful and scared than angry.

“Chill out, it’s not that hard to figure out. With you leaving a huge mark on his face the other day, who else but a trained Anti-Mage could hit the Muscle Wizard? Don’t worry, he’ll never tell anyone,” not a sliver of worry showed on Nox’s fair face.

“Like you said earlier ‘How can I gamble on the words of a wizard?’.”

“Based on what you’ve observed from me and him, do you think we care about our responsibilities to the academy? There’s nothing for me to gain from killing you. And knowing him, he’s probably more interested in how your muscles develop than anything else,” she spun her machine.

“Each step I take away from my past, it takes a stride.” Amihan placed her knife away and sat back down.

“With that weight you carry, I wouldn’t dare to take a single step. I’m not as dumb as you,” Nox holstered her gun back into her robes. “If I were you, I’d have other people carry it for me, like that naked man you guys bring along. I’m sure he’d be willing to, maybe even Jacked,” she lost again. “You wouldn’t catch me carrying my own bag. Unless of course, if it’s filled with Gold,” she spun again.

A single token left in her palm, Amihan spun her machine one last time. Fish, fish, fish, fish. The graphic of the boat showed the crewmates on it for the first time. They danced around the boatload of fish they caught. Clink, a single token fell on the payout tray.

“Oh, you got one free spin. Go again,” Nox watched from the side, out of tokens. She lost them all.

“I think I’m fine with this, no more gambling for me,” she put her token in her pocket.

“You really are boring,” Nox stood up and walked away.

Outside, the nightlife of the Pleasure District had already started. More people were coming out than going into the gambling parlor.

A pair of drunks approached them, but before they could get a word in they recognized Nox and stumbled away.

“You cut your own hair?” Nox propped her broom up.

“Yeah,” her bangs started to go past her eyebrows.

“Looks like shit, those split ends look horrendous. Come to me when you have time. I’ll bring you to my stylist,” her broom roared to life.

“I don’t think I will, I might leave soo-,” she was cut off by someone screaming.

“Hey Amihan, you’ve been gambling without me!?” Jacked screamed, still on top of Dumog. Covered by Amihan’s pack, he didn’t see Nox with her.

“What have you been up to, ahh!” Dumog tripped when he lost concentration and ruined his breathing pattern.

Jacked toppled over, his feet stuck under Dumog’s armpits. He had no choice but to roll on the ground. Both of them lay, face first.

As he was trying to stand up, one knee on the ground, he heard a familiar click. Nox pressed the barrel of her gun on his forehead, the cold metal sending shivers throughout his body.

“Give me my wand, bitch,” she said through gritted teeth.

“Haven’t we done this before?” He said, defeated.

Jacked handed her the ornate wooden wand, slick with sweat. Nox procured a napkin and received it with pinched fingers.

“Where the fuck did you stick this into?” She wanted to retch.

“It was needed for training.”

“I’m not going to ask for details.”

Amihan walked over to Dumog. Tapping her boot on the side of his body, he was unresponsive. Exhausted, he slept on the street. He oddly looked too natural in that position, lying on the nasty street of the Pleasure District, unknown pools of liquid all around.

Jacked ran over and brought Dumog back up on two his two feet, placing Dumog’s arm over his shoulders.

“I hope you break an ankle,” Nox said, hovering above them on her broom.

“Good evening to you as well,” he started walking back to Savepoint Bar.

Amihan stood there, still unsure about her decision. It was dark out, but she was used to traveling through the wild in the dark. A few steps in and Jacked turned his head back.

“What are you waiting for? His body is too sweaty, I don’t want to drench my robes. Help me carry him home.”

Amihan went on the other side and did the same with Dumog’s arm. It looked like they were dragging a corpse, which the residents wouldn’t be surprised of, if they were.

With Jacked on the other side carrying and sharing the weight, Dumog seemed to weigh less than her bag.

“Heh, see you next time. You know where to find me, Ami,” Nox wore her helmet and flew off on her broom, roaring through the streets.

“You two friends now?” He was surprised to see the two be friendly.

“Maybe, I don’t know.”

“Okay, Ami,” he snickered.

“Don’t call me that.”

***

Back in her room, Amihan dropped her bag on the floor, shaking the old wooden floors. She opened the cabinet again, still empty. Organizing her bag once again, she thought of what she didn’t need to survive.

She contemplated and ran through imaginary scenarios in her mind. For each item, she did that. Everything seemed important to carry with her if she was out in the wild again.

Frustrated, she laid on her bed. There was something poking her. She sat up and checked her pocket, the token.

Back to deciding what she didn’t need to survive and what she can afford to leave in her room. With the idea that she would be coming back there at the end of the day or after a job. She brought out several packed sets of clothes. It was a start, but at least her bag didn’t look like it was about to explode.

A knock on the door, Dumog asked, “Can I come in?”

She hesitated, but agreed in the end. Dumog entered, dirt, grime, and sweat still on his body.

“Man, it’s dark in here. Sinta and Eeya made us dinner for free! I think it’s some sort of roasted bird, I don’t know what you call it here,” he went and lit the wall lamp on.

“Chicken, I smell it from here.”

“Hmm, so you guys call it chicken as well,” he placed his dirty hands under his chin. “Anyway, they told me to come and get you,” he left the room.

She stayed for a bit longer. Appreciating the room now that the lights were on. Closing the closet, now filled with clothes, she went downstairs and shared a meal with everyone.