The stranger knelt down next to Serenity and opened up his backpack. Serenity had to force himself not to react. He’d expected it, yet he felt enraged that this stranger was going through his stuff without his permission. He might even take something!

Serenity watched as best he could, trying not to move and reveal that he was conscious. The man pulled one item after another out of the pack while quietly humming a soft melody.

The melody would probably have been soothing if the man weren’t violating Serenity’s backpack.

The man had only gotten through a handful of items when he suddenly stopped humming. “That betraying monster-fucker! I told the boss you can’t trust Aeons, the forsworn deserters! Can’t trust them to do more than fuck your sister and leave her thinking the baby’s yours…”

He sprang to his feet and headed out of the cell quickly. He was still casting imprecations at “that bastard Aeon” as his voice faded out of Serenity’s hearing. He left the cell door swinging open behind him.

Serenity took a moment to check for any other active magical effects; he didn’t want to be caught moving when he was supposed to be asleep. When he was confident there weren’t any, he took the opportunity to check out his backpack.

It was only partially unpacked; it looked like all that had been removed so far was fairly mundane. That made sense; most of his good stuff was in his Rift, including all the monster cores he’d collected before this latest Tutorial. Serenity took a moment to send a few more things through the Rift. His picture of Rissa was the most important, followed by the remaining amulets Honoria made for him and the monster cores he’d picked up in the Tutorial. He decided to leave a few minor items he’d found along the way in his pack, along with some of the food, but the better-tasting and more filling food went through the Rift as well.

All except for a pair of spikefruit that were already sitting next to his bag. Hopefully he’d have the chance to grab them later, but they were a minor sacrifice if need be.

He couldn’t figure out what had set the man off. His disguise wasn’t perfect, but he didn’t see anything here that should have given it away, and there wasn’t anything missing that he could think of. It was probably something he wasn’t thinking of, but he had no idea what.

As he was thinking that, he heard noises in the distance and settled himself back into about the same position as before.

“...serious. That doesn’t make any sense.” The new voice sounded older and calmer than the original man. “He’s a student from a new world going through the Introduction; how would he get a Mercenary Guild tag? It must be an instructor’s.”

Oh. That was what he’d forgotten. He must have left his Guild tag in the bag and forgotten about it, since he hadn’t used it since Tzintkra.

“I still think you should check him.” The first voice again. He sounded annoyed. Had he spent most of the time Serenity was checking his bag trying to convince the other man to do something?

“I check them all, you know that. I usually wait until it’s convenient, but since you’ve already dragged me down here…” The new person stalked into the cell, followed by the original man. “How many times have I told you to lock up after yourself? Yes, the rune is running; I don’t care. One of these days you’ll make a mistake and the rune will run out and then we’ll have a real problem.”

“Yes, sir.” There was a clink of metal on stone as the man who was clearly a subordinate tossed something down next to Serenity’s backpack. Serenity hoped it was his Mercenary Guild tag; that would make things much simpler.

The man in charge leaned over Serenity and he felt something cool touch his arm.

[Do you wish to allow the Minor Stone of Evaluation to access your information? The following information will be displayed:]

[Tier: 3]

[Species: Human]

[Major Specialization: Flex]

Serenity hadn’t expected that. Who used a magic item for that, especially one that required consent? The ones at the Mercenary Guild had trouble with him, but they’d given a lot more information.

The words vanished as the object was pulled away from Serenity’s arm, then returned as it was put back.

“Nothing?” The original man sounded almost worried.

“It happens sometimes, unconscious isn’t the same as willing but if you keep trying it usually gets accepted eventually.” The man with the stone sounded bored. He removed the stone and put it back three more times before Serenity decided it would probably be best if he let it go through.

There wasn’t anything there that he wanted to hide; the fact that it would display “human” was probably useful. Serenity wasn’t certain what the “Flex” specialization meant, unless it meant the same thing he did when he said hybrid.

“Huh.” The man with the stone sounded surprised. “Looks like you were right. He’s a Flex, too, so other than his Tier he’s useless. As much as I’d like to dump this problem in with the tithe along with all the other Flex people, that’s not going to work. An untamed Tier Three won’t be worth it to them, and I’m pretty sure the Mercenary Guild is still on Aeon for now. They’d have to do something if a slave Merc showed up, even if they didn’t want to.”

He was talking to the other man, but Serenity got the feeling he didn’t actually expect any responses; he’d probably be saying the same things even if he were alone with Serenity. He was clearly just talking out loud as he worked through the options.

“I’m going to have to find another way to get rid of this problem. Oh, and Vine? Make sure you take good notes on this one. He’s going to be a loss, and I want to take it out of that idiot’s hide when he gets back. He should have been back months ago.” The man stood, dropped the round object he’d used to get minimal information into his pocket, and left the cell. When he was about ten feet outside it he turned back. “And this time remember to lock the unblessed door! With it closed!”

That sounded like a story. Serenity wouldn’t be unhappy if he never heard it.

Duke Kalo Lichbane let the smile fall off his face as he looked away from his daughter Andarit, who’d finally relaxed enough while reading her newest acquisition that she was hunched over the table. He decided not to say anything; sometimes, the best teacher was the aches and pains of having made the mistake.

She’d clearly enjoyed her time away from home and hated attending the required events in the capital. In some ways, he wished he’d been as wise about that when he first came to Zenith, but even then he knew he’d been better at concealing his feelings.

Everyone knew she was unhappy at the various get-togethers the young nobles had each evening. Everyone knew she’d challenged the Grand Duke’s son to a duel and had the temerity to win. Everyone knew she’d invited some of the other young Tier Three nobles on a delve of the Royal Dungeon, one of the very few dungeons permitted on Zon. Everyone knew that they’d all turned back after the sixth floor, like sensible (or, the whispers said, overly cautious) Tier Threes should.

Everyone knew she’d gone ahead and finished the eighth floor on her own.

Everyone also knew that he’d verbally ripped her to shreds the moment she emerged from the dungeon, injured. He’d torn her a new one for abandoning her group and challenging something above her Tier without a need.

They didn’t know that the moment they were in private, he’d first made certain she was healed then scolded her for making people of higher social rank look bad. He was pretty certain that lesson hadn’t stuck. Probably because he’d complimented her on her success while he was making sure she was healed.

Very few people knew there had been two assassination attempts since the delve. One was in broad daylight, an open attack meant to look “random”. Kalo didn’t believe it. The second one was attempted poisoning; it was why he employed a cook, even though he could cook for himself just fine. Rahvin always knew when there was something poisonous or otherwise toxic nearby, where, and how much.

She needed a guard. The fact that she still somehow hadn’t managed to unlock any of the four family Lordship Paths meant that she also needed a retainer that was loyal to her first and the family second. It would be best if he could combine those two things.

He hoped he didn’t need anyone too loyal. He’d had his best friend; they’d grown up together. Family legend said that even a slave would work, as long as they were loyal to the person first and the Family second. He didn’t understand how that hadn’t happened for her, but if it had, she’d already have the easiest of the four Paths.

It was true that he couldn’t name anyone other than himself who put her ahead of the Family or the Dukedom. In many ways it was sad; everyone should have someone.

This was when he wished the Mercenary Guild was still in Zenith; a mercenary would probably work. He still remembered when he’d signed up at the capitol, but they’d long since disappeared. Not enough work, apparently, with all the nobles having their own guards and the city restricting what anyone unaffiliated with a noble or a Court could do. The people who’d once joined the Guild now found a noble or were snaffled up by one of the Courts.

He was too young to be reminiscing about his youth. He was only sixty, by the Sky!

Kalo shook his head and glanced back at his daughter. She probably wouldn’t notice, but he should say something anyway. “I’m headed down to the markets. Is there anything you need while I’m there?”

Andarit just waved him away. With one last fond smile, Kalo headed out into the city. She’d be fine in the City Residence; it was small but well-warded. Unlike many City Residences, the Dukes of Lowpeak had always maintained the wards. That level of care was necessary when the Wildlands were on your border; you never knew what was going to come out of the Wildlands.

Not that his priorities were winning him any friends in Zenith. He didn’t have the polish of a City Noble and he didn’t have the wealth of a Court.

Which was, of course, why he was headed to the market without a guard, assistant, or even bag-carrier. It wasn’t a Noble thing to do, but his staff didn’t have the time to spare. Not that most Nobles would care.

It was also why he was headed to the people-market. As much as he hated the notion, as much as his family had fought it and successfully kept it out of their land, slavery was alive and well in Zenith. It was such a waste.

Of course, the people-market wasn’t just for slaves; it also held the Hiring Hall and several individuals who’d more or less replaced pieces of what the Mercenary Guild did. Hopefully he could find a good worker who could act as a guard for Andarit. He’d start at the Hiring Hall.

His requirements weren’t that high. Tier Three and some experience bodyguarding shouldn’t be that hard to find.