“Can I help you?”

The words were a challenge, not an offer. They came from the young woman looking down on me from the balcony above.

“I was just wondering what this building was for,” I called up. “It seems like the only one that isn’t a whorehouse or a gutted ruin.” I glanced over to the other side of the street. The building that had been there looked to have burned down a long time ago, but there was no sign that the remains were going to be replaced, or even cleared up. This was not a good part of town.

The one benefit that I had received from my audience was that the restriction on my movements had been lifted. We’d been informed that while an escort could be requested, and was recommended, it was no longer required.

Since none of the threats to my life had been addressed, the only reason we could come up with for the end of Luxury Jail was that it had something to do with admitting my status as a Chosen. Precisely what, no one could say. We’d also discussed the possibility that we were being secretly followed but despite looking, we hadn’t seen anything.

So I’d given in to what was almost certainly a bad idea, and gone without an official escort to one of the shadier areas in the city. I’d looked it over before, but now I could check it out more closely. It still had a mess of leftover chaotic mana swirling over it, the perfect camouflage for what I wanted to do.

“There’s no business going on here,” the woman called down. “We’re… between tenants.”

“Oh? I’m interested in renting.”

The woman gave me a hard look. “I’ll come down,” she said.

“Did you have to mention that you have money?” Janie asked quietly. She was, with Maslin’s help, trying to watch every direction at once.

“Just our gear is more money than most of these will see in a year,” I pointed out. Knowing where we were going, we had dressed in our adventurer's gear. Overkill for a shady street, but it kept the predators at bay. I imagined that the street picked up at night, but even during the day there were a number of rough-looking fellows out and about. Some of them were touting for business, but all of them pointedly ignored us after one glance.

Janie wanted to say more, but the sound of the door opening interrupted us. The woman stood in the darkened doorway, looking us over with a complicated expression. She was tall and thin — she’d clearly skipped a few meals, but she looked healthy.

“I’m Kandis, and my friends are Janie and Maslin,” I said.

“Issey,” she said. “You’d better come in, sorry about the darkness.”

She left the door open to light the room. The only other light source was the door at the other end — and it was quite a large entryway.

[Light]

Out of habit, I cast my simplest spell. A bright ball of light left my palm and hovered up into the air above me.

High ceilings, I thought. I’d guessed the building at four stories, but I revised that down to three. The room that was revealed… well, it had definitely seen better days. The paint on the walls was peeling, the carpet was worn and faded. The walls had darker spots where paintings had once hung. It was clean though, there was no debris on the floor.

The woman — Issey — was looking at me with alarm.

“It’s just a spell,” I said. “We’re adventurers.”

Issey nodded slowly. Adventures meant money, after all.

“So what was this place?” I asked, moving out of the entryway. I found myself in a massive hall. It had been lit only by natural light coming in from the balconies on the second floor and windows on the third. That was a fair amount of light, but it didn’t go far. The middle of the room was shrouded in shadows, but I could make out an expanse of tables and chairs stacked on top of one another, and covered in rotting drop clothes.

I sent the light out to the middle of the room and increased it to the maximum brightness so we could get a look at the place.

“Dance hall,” Issey said, pointing to what looked like a stage at the far end of the room.

“Dance hall?” I repeated. It looked more like a club or music hall. We walked slowly down a central aisle cleared of tables.

“You don’t see them anymore,” she replied, misunderstanding my confusion. “Since the Empire fell, there hasn’t been the money for it.”

“Not even in the capital?” I asked, trying to get my bearings. I looked over at Janie, but she didn’t seem to understand either.

“The capital’s seen hard times,” Issey said sadly. “This place used to belong to my grandmother, the doyen of dance. Mum told me lots of stories. It was a going concern, still, for most of her life, but the income kept dropping, and the expenses kept rising. Then the brothels started moving in, and nobody wanted to come here anymore.”

“To dance,” I said, still not seeing it.

“No,” Issey said. “To see us [Dance].” Then she showed me what she meant.

Now, I could dance. Whether it was at a club or the more formal kind of dance, I knew enough not to embarrass myself on the dance floor. In this world, I’d taken a bit of time to go over the forms with Felicia, and it was easy enough. The dances were different, but not that different.

Having supernatural strength and agility helped, of course. How could it not? The odd thing was that there were only a few areas of my life where it was really noticeable. Combat, of course, but my movement during those times was also governed by my skills. It barely felt like I was doing anything.

Going through the motions with Felicia had eventually unlocked the Skill. I hadn’t taken it, though, and nothing I’d tried privately had given me [Dance] through competency. I guess the System didn’t consider pop-locks and spins as real dance moves.

Now I saw what it did. The dance floor was at least ten meters away from us, but Issey landed on it in three graceful steps. Or leaps? Pushing off with one leg, gracefully arching forward with her legs separated and then landing on the other leg, as if she’d just taken a normal step. Two of those, and then a third that sent her high in the air, backflipping and landing on the raised stage with her legs together and her arms apart.

I could… do that maybe? Physically, at least, I could manage something that had the same description. I was pretty sure that my Abilities were higher than hers. She felt like a level three, so she couldn’t have Ability scores that high. But I couldn’t do that. Moving with such grace and poise that my mouth was gaping in surprise. That was what [Dance] did.

I was stunned, and she’d only gotten on stage. It looked like she might show me more, but we were interrupted by someone clapping from the door.

“Ah, nice, nice, Busy Issey! Showing off for your new clients? You don’t show us that stuff no more.”

Issey froze, and we all looked back at the entrance to see three young men, best described as louts. They had greasy unwashed hair, greasy unwashed clothes and a greasy, unwashed demeanour. I wasn’t sure how they’d managed to get an unwashed demeanour, but they’d managed it.

“‘Ain'tcha gonna introduce us, Busy Issey?”

I noted that his poor elocution somehow made it past the translation. Maybe it was an exact match for poorly spoken English?

Issey spoke from behind us. “This is Digger, Bigger, and Winger. They live around here.”

The lead youth’s face darkened with anger. “Bitch! Introduce us properly!”

“And what is it that you do for a living, Digger?” I interrupted.

He sneered at me. “We rob adventurers.”

“Really?” They didn’t look the type. Well, they looked the type to try, but not succeed. They felt about level three, the same as Issey.

Issey spoke again, perhaps emboldened by the fact that we were between her and them. “They mostly hang out in the alley behind all the brothels. When a client gets drunk and disorderly the madams kick them out the front door. When they get drunk and disorderly and annoying, they kick them out the back. Getting robbed by these guys is an extra punishment.”

Digger's face worked like he was trying to say something, but I spoke before he could figure it out. “Well, that’s a lovely niche you’ve found for yourself, but what brings you here?”

I swear, I could see the thoughts run through his head as they swam to the surface. “We got a job for Little Issey!” he finally said.

“Like I’d work for any place that’d talk to you,” Issey replied scornfully.

“Ah, don’t be like that. You’re working at the Chosen, right? ‘Aint no difference between there and the Rose.”

“There’s every difference, you asshole,” Issey shot back. “Just because you want to be a pimp, doesn’t make me your whore.”

“Once I break your leg, you won’t have a choice, bitch!”

“OK! That’s enough.” I said loudly. “You three need to leave. Now.”

“You think I’m scared of you?” he asked aggressively, taking a step forward. “Maybe I’ll get three whores today.”

“I honestly don’t understand why you’re not,” I admitted. “Janie, a demonstration?”

Janie stepped forward. Suddenly her hand was wreathed in flames, and she had the boy’s undivided attention.

“Demonstration means I only set one of them on fire, right?” she said. They didn’t stick around to hear my answer. Janie sniggered and followed them at an easy walk. When she got to the door, she looked out and then extinguished her flame.

“Still running,” she said, closing and barring the door. “Does the lock not work?”

“Rusted solid,” Issey admitted. She’d come forward off the stage and joined me, casting a wary eye on Janie as she returned. “Should have kept the door shut,” she muttered.

“It doesn’t matter,” I assured her. “You live here?”

“Yeah, there’s rooms in the back. The back door’s lock still works, so I don’t have to bother you with whatever you want to do here.”

I made a non-committal noise. Truthfully, it would be problematic having her in the building. I wasn’t sure how illegal it was to run my own private dungeon. The King had given his blessing, but I was fairly sure that counted for exactly nothing if it became widespread knowledge. I needed a lawyer, but I wasn’t sure if this country had a version of lawyer-client privilege.

I was probably going to have to figure out if this woman could be trusted before I committed to anything.

“How much are you asking?” I asked idly.

“Why don’t you make me an offer,” she countered. At least she thought she did. She had [Bargain], and in the moment of that exchange, our skills had clashed. She’d learned that I had a considerably higher Skill total, and I’d learned that she was desperate enough to accept any positive offer.

“Fyskal’s truths!” she swore. She was well aware of her own desperation, so she must have figured that I knew now, as well. I met her eyes for a moment and then moved on. This was good and bad news. It meant I could get this place for cheap, but if she was truly desperate for money, she could also get some for selling me out. Rather than grab an easy deal now, it would be better to give her time to understand the benefits of throwing in with me.

“That Chosen place that Digger mentioned,” I asked, “Would that be the Choice of the Chosen?”

“Yeah. It’s… a reputable place,” Issey said carefully. “They don’t… pay well, but they pay.”

“All those pauses,” I noted. “You dance there, then?”

She nodded. “Most nights.”

“What can you tell me about the place?” I asked. “I’m going there tomorrow night, and it would be nice to know what I’m getting into.”

To my surprise, Issey instantly backed away from me and went down on her knees.

“I’m sorry for my impertinence, my lady!” she said desperately. “I didn’t know! I thought you were an adventurer.”

I looked at Janie who was just as surprised as I am.

“Get up, Issey,” I said gently. “Just what kind of place is this club?”