"There's no way!"

"Bullshit!"

"Do it! Do it!"

A barrage of strangers yelled in my direction, and it didn't bother me for the first time since I'd arrived in this world.

"If I may," I gestured palm out to a large bearded man at the bar.

The stranger rolled his eyes, finished his beer, and stood, showing the clear difference between our heights. He stuck out his chest as well.

"I promise, I'm not trying to cop a feel." I jeered, much to the amusement of the circle of drunks surrounding us.

I reached for the top of his head, disheveling the balding spot on top of his head.

"I'll be gentle," I said, growing the stranger's annoyance.

I whipped his coat and slipped a hand down his back, only slightly touching his belt. Then hunched over, pretended to inspect his shoes, and gave a solid half-a-second shine.

"And where do you keep your coin purse, sir?"

He smiled and lifted open his jacket, pulling out a small sack assumedly filled with currency.

"Oh well, there's no way I'm taking that. Very secure."

The crowd began booing around me, afraid I'd been scared out of my wager.

"Here's your belt back, though."

The crowd erupted in laughter and applause as I feigned a half bow. Turning toward the stranger as his face grew red, either from embarrassment or anger. Before I could find out either, I reached into my bag of materials and quickly assembled a bycocket and placed it atop his shiny dome.

"Thank you for your assistance, sir." I turned back to the crowd gathered around us. "And you! I believe it was 25 Neer each for not being able to steal from the toughest man in the bar?"

They collectively groaned as they ponied up their bets, handing them to my more than smug self. I sauntered to Nev, who had been silently watching from the corner of this seedy tavern.

"What happened to keeping a low profile?" They asked.

"Relax, no one knows my name. All I did was do a little street magic. So that's not a crime... Is it?" I asked, suddenly unsure.

"No, but if any of your 'friends' realized the bounty on your head."

"Then we should probably stop talking about it."

They nodded, pausing for a second.

"You didn't technically steal from that man."

"What?"

"You gave the belt back, so technically, you just borrowed it without consent, then returned it."

"Did I?" I asked, pulling the man's belt from my bag. "Gave him a replica. It's probably better than the one he had to be honest."

"Woah, that's pretty cold."

"Oh, you didn't know your traveling partner was bad to the bone?"

They laughed as I grabbed their glass, giving them a look as if to say, 'you want another?' They nodded, signifying a 'hell yeah,' and I wandered up to the bar.

"Another two, please."

I caught a dirty look from the bartender. Which was fair as I had been winning bets against his patrons all night, who assumedly would've spent that lost money on booze instead.

"Say, would you like to make a bet?" I asked my next unsuspecting victim.

"Nay, I saw what you did to the others." The hooded figure replied.

"Your loss." There was an awkward pause as I waited for the reluctant barman's service.

"You know it's not real magic, right? Just sleight of hand, a little movement here, distraction there."

"Sure thing." The figure replied, placing a couple Neer on the table and heading for the door.

I watched his exit entranced. He was an average build with shoddy robes and a cowl covering most of his face. It seemed a little off, almost like a man who wanted to go unnoticed. As he turned back from the doorway to look at me, I saw double for a moment. Another set of eyes appeared on his brow, but as I caught a second glance, they seemed to vanish.

"Maybe I've had enough."

"Here you go," the barman replied, sliding freshly filled glasses.

"Maybe not enough."

I resigned myself from tricking any other patrons out of their precious Neer. Nev seemed pleased by my decision and decided to be more talkative. They spoke of the desert climate surrounding Dulcrois and the flora and fauna that inhabit it. I imagined a set of their armor constructed entirely of cacti. I joked that technically that would make Nev the Needle Knight, but they didn't seem to get it. That was okay with me. I laughed enough for both of us.

After a couple more drinks and pressure from the barman, Nev dragged me out into the moonlit street of Poilspont. It was a rather lively city, with carts rolling through still in the dead of night. It lay smack dab between three major port cities and the city of Dulcrois, so naturally, it served as a trade hub. Bricks lined every city path. It seemed just as developed as Salinel, though much smaller.

"You think anything's still open?" "

"I tried to get you to order back at the bar, but you just wanted drinks."

"Their drinks were so good, man. I'm starved."

"You can get something in the morning." They replied, looking off as if something else caught their attention.

"Noooo, I don't wanna wait until morning. You think we can get a pizza?!"

"What's a pizza?" They stopped and threw their hand in front of my face, looking extremely focused.

"It's like bread, and tomatoes, and cheese, in that order. And you bake it."

"Uhuh, oh wow." They replied, clearly not listening.

"Listen, Nev, before I die, I'm gonna find me a pizza. Mark my words."

They quit replying at this point and turned into a dark alley. I followed unwaveringly.

"Are you sure this is the right way?" I asked, still thinking about food.

"Agh! What?!" A voice called out from behind us.

A struggling man in tarnished robes thrashed around in a web made of lichen. It grew larger and larger until it consumed all of his limbs, then his torso, until all that was left exposed was his face.

"Why were you following us?" Nev asked, flexing their fist as the lichen tightened in response.

"Wait! Wait!" The stranger pleaded. "I can get you some pizza!"