It has been almost two days since we left those monsters behind. Malady is barely clinging to life, her breaths coming out shallow. The only reason she is still alive is because of my treating her with my green mana. Vylet has been growing more and more irratable with each passing hour. She had snapped at me many times, most of which were for things that i think were her fault but i said nothing. I couldnt be mad at her, she was only stressed because of being captured and then rescued to only run for her life from some new monsters. Also she seemed to have a weird affection for malady even though they have only seemed to know each other for a short amount of time. Maybe that also was effecting her mood, as her friend was in pain.

I can finally see the edge of the town we desperately needed to rest at. I beleive its name was Elders rest, which i thought was odd because when i passed through on my way to that village all i saw were young people. We walked until we saw the entrance, guarded by two men and a shabby metal gate. I didnt want to risk malady being discovered as im not sure how people would react to a being thought to be impossible. So i kept out of sight from the guards, heading to the left of the gate until the guards were out of earshot. Looking around, i dont see any witnesses around.

"vylet, can you get over the wall?"

"easy"

She walked up to the stone and placed a hand on it. Her claws turning red as she filled them with red mana. strengthening her claws to that of the strongest steel. The red aura spread from her claws to just past her wrists, then once it stopped she thrust her hand into the stone. Her claws sinking deep into the wall, she did the same with her other hand. Slowly making her way up the wall, each hand bringing her closer to her goal. I channeled some blue mana under my feet, letting it soak into a small area. When the saturated area was enough, I cast a spell. Directing the force of the mana upwards. When vylet was clear of the wall and i saw her wave from the top of the wall, signalling that there werent any guards. I released the mana and launched myself up. Using small amounts of blue mana to control my decent, I land on the top of the wall.

Vylet gave me a look

"why couldnt you have done that for me?"

I didnt even bother to look at her.

"Im tired, use your own mana."

She scoffed at me and started down the other side.

I ignored her and did the same.

At the bottom of the wall was a small area, seperated from the entrance gate by a stone wall and a small wooden door. It was mostly empty, except for the scuff marks in the dirt and the fenced off area with training dummies. On the other side of the area was another door, but this one led to the inside of the city. Vylet peeked through the door to the city, waved that it was ok, and headed through.

The first thing we saw, was an inn. It was almost right next to the entrance and a very welcome sight. We were all exhausted and needed baths and a bed. But we had to heal malady first, one of our problems was finding a healer that wont ask too many questions. As we walked through the streets i noticed that no one was looking at us. I thought we would get some attention because we looked ragged and dirty, also because i was carrying a girl in fancy clothes that have been all manner of soiled. But no one seemed to care. Whatever i thought to myself It's probably a good thing, at least this way no one will recognize us. Weaving through the streets we saw the buildings start to shrink. Getting smaller and smaller and poorly built as we went along. Must be heading to the slums.

The slums were havens for most adventurers. The adventurers guild doesnt offer healing services, but they helped outlaw all healers other than the ones they approved of. The ones that supported the guild were allowed, anyone else that supported the nobles, or even the neutral ones were run out of buisness. The adventurers guild had a monopoly on almost all services adventurers needed. They also cranked up the prices, so most of the official stores were way too pricy for new or poor adventurers. While the guild and the nobles are at odds, they used to support each other. The nobles would post quests for adventurers because it was cheaper than hiring mercenaries. The guild would send out the adventurers and notify the noble when the quest was completed. But the king grew weary of the adventurers. They were getting too strong and there were too many of them. There were almost more adventurers than there were soldiers in the royal army. So the king took control of the adventurers guild and set up this monopoly to bring more money to the crown, but also to take power away from the nobles and adventurers. He raised the prices to lower the amount of adventurers that survive missions due to lack of equipment, as well as to lower the amount of adventurers that can afford to be part of the guild. Thats why the illegal buisnesses that hide in the slums are perfect for adventurers, also that is why the guild uses people like me. They found me in a nobles basement after the noble had been executed for crimes against the crown. A couple adventurers wandered into the mansion just after the noble had been hanged, and were searching for anything left behind. They found me in the lowest level of the house, tied to another that had died earlier that day. They brought me to the guild master, and he had an idea. He would raise me as his son, giving me exemption from the guilds yearly fee. At an early age he started training me. When he thought i was ready he sent me to do his more, illegal jobs. Around this time i learned that he was only the guild master to fool the king. He was actually part of the noble faction. The nobles paid him for information and asked him for some 'help' with things they needed taken care of quitely. I was a pretty much back to being a slave for the nobles, working under the adventurers guild to hide my activities. Anything that needed to be done with no witnesses or set up as an accident, he sent me. Sending me to the outskirts of the kingdom was his way of giving me a break. Some break this turned out to be.

We walked through the slums for a while, vylet had her hands on her knives. Eyes scanning for any sign of trouble. I was looking around too, but for a different reason. I was looking for something, and not a moment later i found it. The underground market was hidden, marked with two barrels, side by side. One has a red box on top of it, the other has a black one. The red box marked the way to the market, normally it moves every couple days. The guild tips them off about the royal guards, so they are always ahead of the royals. I guess the royals have been slacking lately, so they have stayed a little longer than normal.

We walk through the alleys, following the red marker boxes. Until we reach a small red gate, with two rough looking men standing nearby. One was a full fox-man, the other was a half ox. The fox man carried a short sword and the half ox, an ax. As we approached they visibly stiffened, the fox man stared at us while the ox man seemed to barely care. His hands idly cleaning his ax with a stained cloth.

"Blessed are those infernal"

The fox man said in a voice a lot higher pitched than i wouldve expected.

"May the angels cry eternal"

I finished.

There were several codes that they used. Most were things that royalists could or would never say. There was even one that got lots of laughs from the younger visitors about the king blowing over a castle of cards with his farts.

The fox man nodded and knocked on the red gate.

*KNOCK*

-pause-

*KNOCK*

*KNOCK*

-pause-

*SCRATCH*

*SCRATCH*

He stepped out of the way and the gate opened to reveal an almost absurd amount of shops.

How in the hell do they keep this hidden?

The entire street had been taken over, hovels and buildings being repurposed and turned into shops for almost everything. Blacksmiths, Armorers, Fletchers, Magic shops, Fourtune tellers, tinkerers, even bakers and some resturaunts. Anyone was welcome to sell as long as they swear to respect the rules and the secrecy of the market. Those that betrayed the market were publicly tortured and then dissappeared. Sometimes even their families were punished as well. The group that runs the market do not have mercy toward those that threaten their buiness. This group was made up of people that dared spit in the face of the king. They had no fear of death nor imprisonment, some of them even send the king the heads of his spies covered in horse shit and wrapped in a ribbon. Made up of old nobles and even some of royal bloodline that have been cut off from the royal family, removed from the family for some reason and sentenced to be excecuted, which they escaped and ended up here.

It was almost impossible to find what you are looking for quickly. The arrangement of shops were a mess, they simply set up in any available spot. We wandered through the shops trying to find a healer. I noticed a small white sign, almost hidden behind one of the many stands that littered the area. A white sign with a green snake slithering up a potion bottle, the sign for a healers shop. I rushed into the store with vylet close behind. A small man behind the counter was scribbling something on a sheet of paper. Seeing us barge in with a girl on my shoulders he quickly shoved it into a drawer and pointed to one of the beds in the back of the shop. I jog over and put malady down on the bed, pulling up her blouse and undoing the bandages so the doctor can see the wound. The small man hurried over with a couple of foul smelling jars and a handful of cloths. The man started working immediately. Using metal tools to cut away dead flesh and dipping some cloth into one of the jars and using it to clean what looked like an infection. The entire time he was doing this he was also muttering spells and releasing a fair amount of green mana into her wounds. I may be able to control mana better than most humans from birth, but my skills in actually applying spells was horrible compared to this man. His hands were Impossible not to watch, going back and forth with a sort of elegance. Cutting flesh and weaving it back together like he was in a trance. His hands not stopping till he had finished.

Malady's breath had returned to normal, her wound completely gone other than a small pink line going up her stomach. Vylet was watching from a chair in the corner the whole time, her eyes wide in amazement. I was behind the doctor, mezmerized at his skill. The old man sighed, looking over his work he pulled the girls blouse back down and moved back behind the counter. He took out a fresh piece of paper and began scribbling on it. Two minutes of scribbling and he handed it to me. I realized it was instructions on what she could eat and drink for the next couple of days. He also handed me two jars of paste that i assumed was the food mentioned on the paper.

"Thank you healer, how much do i owe?"

The small man looked up at me and smiled.

"Five silver and a moment of your time."

I couldnt beleive it.

That was CHEAP.

Most healings were at least 20- 50 silver.

During my thoughts about the low price he had moved towards the door and locked it. Pulling the curtains closed, the only light was from the candles around his counter.

A little wary of the old man after his locking of the door, i take out five silver ask him what he needs my time for.

"I want to talk to you about your female minotaur."

Vylet wrapped her hand around her knife ready to draw it at a moments notice.

I gestured at vylet to calm down.

"What about her?"

The old man still smiling, looked straight into my eyes. I dont know how i didnt notice his eyes until now, they were a weird shade of yellow. He reached behind his head with both hands. I backed away a couple steps and rested my hand on my sword. I heard a couple soft clicking sounds, then he touched his face. I hear a sickly sucking sound and then his face falls off to reveal that of a demons.

Crimson skin and dark yellow eyes, his horns had been flattened against his head and sanded so the mask wouldnt have odd portrusions.

Vylet immediatley pulled out her knives and was about to jump at him when i stopped her.

"Wait vylet, He is no threat to us. Or anyone to that matter."

Vylet looked at me like i had just told her i had ate the sun for breakfast.

"How could you possibly know that?! He is a Demon!! They have always been a threat to everyone!"

"Shh, stop yelling. He is no threat because most of the demons power resides in their horns. To the demons, altering your horns in any way is treason and only done to criminals."

The old man looked shocked

"how do you know so much about us young man? Most of the worldkin dont bother to learn of us."

Vylet looked confused

"worldkin?"

"thats what the demons call us. Anyone that isnt from the same place as them is worldkin."

I responded.

I looked back to the old demon.

"now, what did you want to talk to me about?"