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“The crowd is finally dying down,” Reya said, stretching her arms over her head with a yawn. She snagged Arwin’s drink off the table and peered into it before glancing up at him. “Can I?”

“Feel free.”

“Thanks.” Reya took a long drag from it, then let out another satisfied sigh. “This is great.”

“The drink? Or everything else?”

“Yes,” Reya replied. She took another sip before setting the tankard back onto the table and letting her head loll back to stare up at the ceiling. “I feel so relieved. I think I could sleep for a day straight.”

“I’ve done that a few times,” Arwin said with a wry smile. “I can recommend it. You wake up feeling pretty great.”

“That’s only because you’re a nutter that blows through every single scrap of energy he’s got banging at a piece of metal.”

“Guilty. But, that said, you do know you can take breaks, right? Madiv is also helping corral people, and I could have filled in for you if the need was there. I’m sure one of the others could have as well.”

Reya straightened up in her chair just enough to look at Arwin. “But why? It’s fun. Just a lot of work.”

“As long as you’re happy,” Arwin said with a shrug. “Just don’t work too hard.”

“Pot, kettle, black.”

Arwin chuckled and held his hands up in surrender. They both sat in silence for a few moments. Olive walked past them, bearing a plate of food to one of the other tables. She paused as she spotted Reya, then veered over in her direction to ruffle her hair before continuing on without missing a step.

Reya’s cheeks reddened enough that Arwin was able to catch it even in the darkness.

“It looks like things are going pretty well between you two,” Arwin said, choosing his words carefully in case he’d misread the situation.

Fortunately, Reya grinned and nodded. “Yeah. Thanks for the advice. I don’t think I could have done anything without it. It really helped put things in perspective.”

It… did?

“Oh. Uh, I’m glad,” Arwin said, coughing into a fist.

“Me too. We’re going to go into the city on an actual date soon. We promised each other we wouldn’t spend time doing anything other than training and preparing until it was actually safe.” Reya hesitated for a moment, then glanced at Arwin. “It is

safe now, right?”

“About as safe as things are ever for you,” Arwin said dryly. “You might need to keep your hood up the entire time with the amount of people you’ve pissed off in your time.”

It was Reya’s turn to clear her throat. Her hand went down to Wyrmhunger’s hilt and she ran a thumb over it. “Yeah. I haven’t forgotten, but I’m getting stronger. I’m not really as worried about them as I used to be. Especially with Olive. She’s really strong too.”

“You can say that again,” Arwin said. Olive’s abilities were terrifying. She was only a Journeyman, but her potential was staggering. He couldn’t even imagine how deadly she would become in the higher tiers.

I don’t think I could hit that hard at that level when I was the Hero. She’s going to be a one woman army when she gets to that level. I hope that arm holds out for her. It’ll take her from threat to force of nature.

“She’s really strong,” Reya said dreamily, her eyes drifting over to Olive as a goofy grin crossed her face.

Arwin repressed a burst of laughter. He didn’t want to accidentally hurt Reya’s feelings. He managed to succeed, but nearly lost an instant later when Reya turned back to him just in time for Olive to turn and look in her direction. Even though Arwin couldn’t make out any details in her face within the darkness, the attention was answer enough.

“I hope your date goes well,” Arwin said. “But I think I’m optimistic about the results.”

“You think we’ll have time to do it soon? We’ve gotten a ton of extra eyes on the street, so it’s probably going to be really busy. I don’t want to—”

“We’re a guild,” Arwin said firmly. “Not a business. Our purpose is to help each other, and I can assure you that we’ll be able to find a replacement for one day. Anna or Rodrick would probably be thrilled to take over for a bit.”

Reya hesitated for a second, then smiled. “Okay. Thank you.”

“Just let me know whenever you head out,” Arwin said. “Things are smoothing out, but we’re not completely out of the water yet. Actually, if you’ve got time now, I would appreciate if you help pass something along to the others.”

“Oh? What is it?”

Stolen novel; please report.

Arwin briefly filled Reya in on everything that Lillia had told him about the Secret Eye’s invitation to the Proving Grounds as well as the guild that was supposedly coming to visit them at some point today.

Once he’d finished, Reya glanced around the quieting tavern before returning her attention to Arwin and arching an eyebrow. “Are you sure they’re coming? It’s starting to get a little bit late, isn’t it?”

“No clue.” He shrugged. “I suppose we’ll find out soon enough.”

“Do you think it’s safe? Or should we be ready for a fight?”

Arwin waggled a hand in the air. “I’m not really expecting any trouble here. The Secret Eye aren’t friends, but I don’t think they’d actively be trying to attack us. It would be strange for them to go through so much effort to set things up when they could just try to remove us more directly. We already know they’ve got a whole branch that focuses on that.”

A moment of sadness passed through Reya’s features at the thought of Anna’s past. She nodded to Arwin. “Right. I’ll find everyone and let them know to be ready.”

“Thank you,” Arwin said through a yawn. “And don’t get too worried about it. If it happens, great. If not, that’s fine too. I’m not completely sold on the tournament yet as a whole. It could be useful, but it won’t be the end of the world if nothing happens — and we’re not in any danger when we’re inside Lillia’s tavern.”

Reya nodded, then set off into the darkness.

Arwin watched her leave, then sank back into his chair. His body was exhausted and his mind wasn’t far behind. His entire being had been as taut as a string for far too long. They really needed a few weeks to rest — and this tournament potentially felt like it could fill that request.

If we’re just sitting back and outfitting some people, that could be a good way for me to practice making weapons and armor while building up a name for the guild. I need to work on making items that aren’t so powerful that I get every guild in the Kingdom of Lian trying to kick my door in, so this could be a great way to do that.

Suppose it depends on what this guild we’re waiting on is like.

Guess we’ll just have to wait and see.

***

Time wore on. The evening turned to night, and while the party died down, the tavern continued to bustle with a crowd. Every single table was full. Lillia had definitely turned up the sound-muting properties of her shadows. He could hear conversations, but he couldn’t make out a single word within them.

Arwin sat at his table, somewhere between sleep and relaxation, as he waited the night out. As the hours stretched on, people started to leave the tavern and head home. He saw a few adventurers — including Wanda, the huge woman that had bought armor from them some time ago — head up the stairs toward the rooms.

Looks like Lillia is selling some rooms for the night as well. Fantastic. She’s really doing great now. I’m happy for her.

But of the guild that the Secret Eye had mentioned, there was no sign. It was already nearly midnight. Most of the tables around Arwin had vacated and the only people that remained spoke in hushed tones that barely made it through the cloak of shadows around them.

He was just about to decide that the Secret Eye’s guild wasn’t going to show up when the door to the tavern creaked open. A man and a woman stepped inside. Arwin caught a quick glimpse of the two in the moonlight before the door closed behind them.

The man was completely covered in bandages from toe to head. As if that wasn’t enough, he was completely bundled up as if there was a snowstorm outside. He wore thick, puffy clothes and had heavy boots and gloves on. It was impossible to tell what his actual body shape was under all the layers he’d buried himself under.

His companion was one of the tallest women that Arwin had ever seen. She had the toned form of a dancer and wore flowing, translucent silks that did nothing to conceal the daggers strapped to her legs and arms. Bluish-green hair hung around her face like strands of seaweed. Her face was covered by a mask that ran down to her shoulders and connected with a shimmering silver cloak.

Reya approached them, and there was a quick conversation that Arwin missed.

Then the three of them started in his direction. Rodrick, who sat at a table behind Arwin, pulled a chair over to sit beside him.

“Something tells me these are our friends,” Rodrick whispered as the two approached.

“I think you might be right. We should probably get more chairs for this table, though. There are only three.”

But, before Arwin could rise, Reya and the newcomers came to a stop at the edge of the table.

The bandaged man pulled out one of the chairs nearby, then guided the woman into it with a single hand on her shoulder. He then pulled the last chair at the table out and looked to Reya.

“No, it’s fine. You can sit,” Reya said.

“Please. I insist,” the bandaged man said, his voice muffled by the wrappings covering his face. Not even his mouth had been spared from their grasp. “I will get another chair.”

Reya hesitated, then accepted the man’s offer with an appreciative nod.

The man snagged an extra chair, then sat down beside his companion. He cleared his throat as he scooted a little closer to the table.

“You must be Ifrit, then? The Secret Eye told us to come find you.”

Arwin nodded. “I am. We’ve been waiting.”

“I deeply apologize,” the man said. “We were waylaid. My name is Elias. This is my sister, Maeve. We’re from Phoenix Circle. The Secret Eye sent us here to meet you a day ago. I apologize if we smell. We’ve been traveling all day.”

A day ago? Then they told them to come here before we’d even accepted. I guess they were pretty damn confident we’d say yes to the tournament.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you both,” Arwin said, reaching out to shake Elias’ hand. His initial impression of the man was fairly good. He seemed polite enough. They shook, and Arwin offered his hand to Maeve.

She shook, and a flicker of surprise passed through Arwin. Her grip was one of someone who knew their own strength — and understood it was too great to utilize. She was intentionally holding back.

Interesting.

“Likewise. And please forgive my sister. She would love to answer you, but she cannot speak.”

“No need to apologize,” Arwin said, glancing to Maeve. “If you just give us a moment, the rest of my guild will gather as well so we can all hear you out.”

“Of course. I cannot say how thrilled I am to be here. This opportunity… it means everything to me. To us,” Elias said, swallowing heavily. “We will do whatever it takes.”

Is the tournament that important? Maybe their guild has a lot riding on it. It does seem like a slightly interesting move to send someone who can’t speak on a diplomatic job. Not that I’ve got an issue with it, but wouldn’t they want to send their most convincing people?

Lillia emerged from the kitchen before Arwin’s thoughts could continue any further. She swept out from behind the door and strode over to the table, shadows coiling in her path like rippling water. She was, without a doubt, the most intimidating innkeeper that Arwin had ever seen.

And the hottest.

Lillia caught his eye as she made her way over to stand beside him, and the look on her face told Arwin that his thoughts might have slipped into his expression. She leaned forward and wrapped her arms around Arwin, hugging him from behind.

“Welcome to the Devil’s Den. We look forward to hearing about you,” Lillia said. She pulled back and straightened. But, as she did, her lips brushed against Arwin’s ear and her voice dropped to a whisper that the darkness delivered to him alone.

“Neither of them are human.”