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Services No Longer Required: Chapter 4: Purpose

Pulling on her gloves Ryine dusts herself off as she looks down at the two enigma’s sleeping on the threadbare blanket.

‘What am I going to do with you two…’ Shaking her head at their class information, Ryine dismisses the two windows and sits down onto the stone block next to her bag of holding. Idly scratching her wrist where skin and scale meet as she mulls this over.

‘Neither of them can be left alone, that much is for sure. That last line in Rohoka’s class disturbs me. Similar people, though in their case summoned, with similar classes, left unguided ended badly. For the summoned, and or those around them if they weren’t careful with their class.’ Recalling one such case from the order’s records as she forces herself to stop scratching her wrist.

‘It was a human gifted a class allowing them to become a hybrid of a beast or, alchemically created monster of their choosing. Gaining abilities and powers of said beast. Except, if they leaned too much into the changed form. Or selected badly for what they would draw on. They’re mind would be subsumed by the creature.’

She stares wearily at Rohoka. ‘Which according the scrolls, it eventually happened. Forcing their party to put them down… Taking said party with them too. Along with most of the town they were fighting near when it happened.’

Ryine sighs. ‘Which is why it’s always a party of four now. Three summoned hero’s and a battle-priest strong enough to take out any of the hero’s if something similar happens.’

“Guess that makes my choice for me then. Someone has to at least help him shape his class, so he doesn’t become a danger to himself of others before too long.” Quietly saying to herself.

Ryine turns her attention to the other cub, cursing under her breath. “Sandstone though, I need to keep you out of the hands of the order no matter the cost.”

‘Hir class is rare, but not exactly unheard of. Many towns, and at least one city I know of are built over lay-line due to how they encourage abundance in agricultural growth. Magical maximums happen regularly on any active lay-line. The interval between them varies between the lay-line in question though. Shi is though the first Child of Magic born in the past a few hundred years, at least, and the first one who’s a Chakat that anyone has known of.’

Ryine looks up into the early afternoon sky and shakes her head. ‘No. I still have a choice, I just don’t like that option.’

Looking back down at the two cubs, she shakes her head and in the process, losing a few strands of her long human hair unknowingly. ‘Killing them both.’

‘That option, even if I could stomach it. Wouldn’t be any easier. Children of Magic are hard to kill when they’re young. The same Mana they call on that seems to have a mind of its own, protects the child. Accidents happen, spells that never went wrong backfire spectacularly. There’s been more than one who’s ended up as a research subject, simply to find out how this happens and why. For Rohoka, with how the two of them get along. That protection might extend to him too.’

“Yea, not doing that… Guess I’m stuck with them. I never did consider myself mother material, but here I am, with two children. All I got paid for it though is a single wheel of cheese.” Letting out a light laugh gets her to look over to the two sleeping cubs worryingly that she might have woken them prematurely.

All they do is just roll over and shift positions in response to the noise she’s made.

“That lady back in Draguilliers is more crafty than I gave her credit for. Her talents are wasted on just running a stall like that. She could be running something much larger with her cunning business sense.” Ryine shakes her head, then pulls out a map from her bag of holding. Unrolling it onto her lap.

Copied from the order’s archives, that in turn copied from one made by Chakat magic made form the flattest piece of glass ever seen. It’s easy for her to find where they are, and she wastes away the next couple of hours planning her route past Toullac. Her destination is still the same, even if the reason has changed along with the time frame. ‘Can’t travel as fast lugging children. Yet, I think we’ll get there soon enough and find what I am looking for before anyone else remembers its existence.’

Shaking her head and losing another strand of hair. She goes back to planning their route.

So absorbed in her task of planning and checking her maps, Ryine barely notices the passage of time till Rohoka loudly yawns as he wakes. Storing her map and looking up in the sky she sees it’s now mid-afternoon as the sun has long ago started it’s decent to the other side of the sky.

The young Draco-Fox bolts up to his hands and knees as he too notices the position of the sun. His sudden movement wake Sandstone with a jolt, causing hir to tail to fluff up as shi catapults into a sitting position.

“It wasn’t even noon a moment ago, I, I just closed my eyes, I swear…” Hurriedly he stands and looks around. Half expecting their ‘escort’ to have abandoned them as they slept. Sandstone just rubs hir eyes to get the sleep out of them as shi too stands.

Only for them to both stare at Ryine as she just waves lightly from the stone block she was sitting on before they ended up falling asleep.

“You two looked so tired after we left Draguilliers, I didn’t have the heart to wake you after I saw that the both of you fell asleep.”

This gets Rohoka to his feet as he moves his head about to get a good look at the surroundings. “We’re not going to make it to Toullac before nightfall now!” Ears standing on end showing his distress.

“Wha?” Sandstone yawns, then when Rohoka’s words filter through the remainder of the sleep. Shi too bolts to hir feet. Ears and tail up too. “What about the wild animals and all that? Mom and dad said that’s why they have walls back home.”

Rohoka shoo’s Sandstone off the blanket and with hir off it, Rohoka hastily stuffs the blanket and the empty cheese wrapping paper into his bag of holding. He attempts to heft it up only to be stopped by Ryine as she has abandoned her seat to place a hand on both his, and Sandstone’s shoulders.

“It’s okay. We’ll be fine. Both of you having a proper rest is more important than us getting to Toullac a few hours earlier.” Saying in a calming tone of voice that does seem to work a bit on the two. As both of them lower their ears, and Sandstone hir tail.

‘Especially after what I’ve learned about you two’ Ryine keeps to herself. Yet doesn’t let go of the two till they show they’ve completely calmed down. At which point she lets go, and hefts Rohoka’s bag of holding over her shoulder, rather than let the cubs handle such a heavy object themselves.

“We’ll go at your pace, and once we reach Toullac I’ll have a proposition for you two if their orphanage is not as empty as you expect it to be.” She keeps to herself that it most likely is just as crowded as Draguilliers’s. Their entire Skulk is in the war, so one clan’s city is going to have their fair share of orphans and what not as the next.

With that Ryine moves to stand at the edge of the rest area, letting both Rohoka and Sandstone stretch and work the sleep induced stiffness from their limbs, so they can follow her at their own pace. The former stretching, while the latter halts mid lower torso stretch, all so hir eyes can stare at the nearby fire-pit.

Giving this movement up, Sandstone soon finds hirself next to it, peering down into it like it is the most interesting thing in the world.

Magical lines that resolve into incomplete arrays. Words written in the same language that shi never saw till yesterday when looking at Rohoka’s house fill them in with incomplete words. All while they glow a warm red. ‘It’s all so clear…’

Shi shakes hir head as those gaps fill themselves in via that same entity that spoke to hir yesterday. Crystallizing into hir mind on how to make fire, bring flame, and warm things that need it upon command.

Sandstone’s staring contest with the fire-pit’s cut short as Ryine calls out to hir and Rohoka. “Come on, let’s get going.”

She doesn’t let on she was watching Sandstone for a few moments to see what would happen before alerting hir.

Shaking hir head, Sandstone trots up behind Rohoka to keep pace with the two as he jogs to catch up with Ryine. The priestess only stepping back onto the road proper once the two of them are a few feet behind her. Setting a bit of a brisk pace to help catch up some lost time from the nap the two had.

Their pace slows after about an hour as the flat cobblestone road transitions to a compacted dirt path. Littered with wagon ruts, holes, and tree roots sticking up at regular intervals. Said roots coming from the ever thickening groups of trees to one side or the other as the path makes its way into one of the many nearby islands of mostly untouched forest.

Ryine keeps pace with both Rokoha and Sandstone slower speed as the former’s foot wrappings lack traction in the dirt compared to Ryine’s boots, and the latter’s bare paws lack the thick callouses she’s seen on adult chakats.

“Why is it called clan Shiny-Metal?” Sandstone glances over to Rohoka in between scanning the path ahead of hir. Partly out of boredom and partly out of distraction from the aches in hir paws.

He returns the look even if he too has to watch his step least he slips. “Um, mom and dad said it was because when they first settled there. They found neat shiny rocks in the nearby river. It turned out to be metal, and our clan has been trading for it from their clan.”

‘Gold most likely.’ Ryine thinks to herself as she keeps aware of her surroundings as the path angles towards the forest for more serious reasons than keeping her footing.

“What kind of metal?” Sandstone replies as shi maneuvers around a small thorn covered bush growing in the path. Not eager to have any of it stuck in hir paws.

Rohoka shrugs. “Mom and dad didn’t say. Only it was worth a lot to the point that there are some mines upstream of that river where they go as deep as they can into the earth for more of it.” Then has to tread slowly as he traverses a divot in the path, his foot wrappings making it harder than it should be.

As they enter the forest, Ryine’s attention’s drawn to the disturbed grass, missing leaves on some bushes and a bent but not broken limb from a young tree not to far in from where the path joins the forest, not from any skills she has but from experience.

‘Someone’s entered the underbrush from there. Trying to cover their tracks as well.’ An adjustment to her pace places her slightly ahead of her charges as Ryine notices this.

‘It could be scouts from the army encampment doing long range patrols. Highwaymen waiting to ambush refugees and travelers, or worse.’ She scans the thick vegetation on either side of the path for further evidence. Looking for signs of them leaving the underbrush, spotting anyone trying to hide from sight just behind the thick leaves.

Finding no such signs, Ryine adjusts her bag of holding underneath her robes. Loosening the strap for her scabbard, and prepares to drop her companion’s bag of holding to free up her hand.

“Do you know what color the metal is?” Sandstone recalls the jewelry hir Dame and Sire wore. ‘Gold and silver, must be one of those maybe? Do they make jewelry out of other metals?’

Rohoka just shrugs. “Mom and Dad wouldn’t tell me. Don’t know why.”

‘Maybe to keep him from going out on his own to find some?’ Ryine idly wonders as she keeps watch. The longer they walk along the path, following the trail through the forest without signs of an egress from the underbrush to match what Ryine saw. The more it worries her they may be walking into an ambush.

‘If I was alone I’d have my sword out, but with kids in tow. I don’t want to give them an excuse to attack from the bushes without announcing themselves. I wouldn’t be able to protect them in that case. If these are highwaymen, I want them to do the typical walk out in front, then behind to ‘trap’ us.’

Her eyes catch a bend in the path up ahead, creating a blind corner. ‘Perfect spot for an ambush.’

Sandstone glares at Rohoka. “Well then it must be gold or silver they’re the only metals that are valuable according to my parents!” Causing Rohoka to glare back over to hir.

“Copper is valuable for making bronze. Bronze tools are valuable. Same with Iron tools and that metal that’s harder than Iron.” He sighs at memories of his parents. “Last year, if my parents bought something made of copper that we couldn’t resell. We’d sell it to a blacksmith because bronze mirrors were popular along with tools due to a shortage of iron.”

Sandstone tilts an ear as the three round the bend in the path. No sooner than they progress along enough they can’t see beyond it down the way they came, does a green scaled Kobold leap out of the bushes a couple yards in front of them. Followed by two Anthropomorphic Wolves stepping out behind them, boxing the three in.

All three clad in the sleek leather armor, each set covering their torso’s arms to their wrists and legs to their first ankle. To both Ryine, by her skill’s and Sandstone to hir mana sense, the armor gives of a light glow showing they’re enchanted. Cluing them off of who they are, if their non-native species gave any doubt.

The growls from the two wolves draw Rohoka and Sandstone’s attention from the fit and style of the armor.

“Should’ve figured it would be Continuum Soldiers.” Ryine both chastises herself for not paying as much attention as she should’ve and in saying so, alerts both Rohoka and Sandstone to who they are. Causing them to take a step back towards Ryine as she lets their bag of holding slip from her grasp to the ground between them with a thud.

In one fluid motion, Ryine draws her sword. The shining silver tinted blade as long as her torso ends in a fancy bronze hilt with two sapphires on either end. Fine leather makes up the grip, ending in a round pommel with another sapphire in it. Holding it at the ready while pointing the blade at an angle down and to the side of her at the ground speaks volumes of her training. Ryine does note the sound of the two wolves behind her pulling out swords of their own.

The green kobold pulls out a much less ornate, yet just as serviceable shorter blade. Due to his size though its scale compared to the wielder is similar to that of Ryine’s sword. So he carries it in much a similar fashion as her. Just with a less disciplined grip, almost casual in form.

“Here I am surprised at finding one of the order of Victoria with only two young-lings. No heroes, no army. It’s three against one and two hostages Priestess. Lay down your sword or my two companions will end their lives before you get a chance to raise your weapon against them. It’s a good thing we’re scouts here to gather intelligence and take prisoners, soldiers aren’t allowed to.”

The green kobold gestures with a stubby talon fingered hand at the two behind Ryine and his companions slowly moving closer to Rohoka and Sandstone.

Rohoka lays his ears flat as the image of the wolf moving closer to him becomes overlaid with the memory of the human thief who killed his parents. ‘If only I was bigger! I could’ve actually been able to do something to him!’

“Stay back!” Sandstone holds hir hands up at the other wolf as shi stands next to Rohoka. Hir claws in hir hind-paws digging into the dirt as the hand-paws of hir front legs do the same as hir tail bottle-brushes in fright.

Ryine just smiles at the Green Kobold. “Three on one, I almost feel sorry for you three.” An adjustment of her wrist moves the edge of the blade up. Readying it to attack the oblivious Green Kobold as she tenses her leg muscles in preparation of activating a dash skill to close the gap between them.

‘Better trained than I thought, but not by much.’ She notes as the Green Kobold shifts into a ready stance, yet with the blade up and held horizontal to his torso like an armature.

“Kill the young-lings! I’ll handle the priest.” He sneers back at Ryine.

Only for Ryine to stop in shock, a moment before she planned to dash forward and show the kobold how much of amateur he is, a red flash emanates from Rohoka. Drawing everyone’s attention to the young Draco-Fox.

Standing there, where a nine-year-old Rohoka should be, now stands what a nine-year-old Draco-Fox male would look like if he was many times bigger. This larger Rohoka, confused as to why he still ‘feels’ like his normal size despite now looking ‘down’ at the wolf nearest him.

Said wolf folds his ears back, tucking his tail between his legs and stares ‘up’ at Rohoka with frightened eyes. He takes one step back as Rohoka takes a step forward, glaring down at him as the now giant Draco-Fox eyes glow. Raising his long clawed hand to strike at the wolf is what convinces the wolf of the old saying. Discretion is the better part of valor. So taking another, more hasty step back, the wolf nearest Rohoka turns and dashes back into the bushes.

Ignoring the growling call of the other wolf to stay put.

Seeing this act of cowardice from one of his comrades, the Green Kobold dashes forward with a horizontal slice at Ryine’s chest. “So he has a skill, so wha…”. His dash forward and his comment get cut short by the priestess who with a simple change in her stance, and grip of her sword stops him. Their blades clang together, only for Ryine to shift hers so the Kobolds sword slides down hers till their guards hit each other with a ringing clang. Then with a twist of her wrist and arm she forces his sword arm and the sword to the side and away.

Exposing his torso for the kick that comes a moment later sending him flying back due to his small size. “Head-Priest, and wide open.” Ryine mutters. “Who taught you it was a good idea to commit so thoroughly.”

The other wolf holds up his sword in preparation to stab Sandstone. Seeing this at the edge of his vision, Rohoka swings his head to look right at the wolf, but discontinuity between how his body feels and the height from where he is viewing things slows his reaction time.

He desperately moves, trying to close the short distance in time. Yet knows he won’t make the few short steps to get the other wolf in grabbing range in time before the other wolf stabs Sandstone.

Except it doesn’t matter, and he gets a front row seat for what happens next.

Sandstone, still holding hir hands up and yelling ‘Get away!’ at him. Shi watches in amazement as two blood-red spell matrices form. Each floating in front of hir outstretched hands. The wolf only has a moment to pause at the sight before gout’s of flame burst forth from them. Enveloping him in magical fire from ear tip to toe, marking the sight as the last thing he ever saw as his eyes melt. Dropping his weapon and clawing at his burning flesh, he runs screaming away into the bush, away from the Sandstone.

His screams fill the backdrop as Sandstone just stands there, hir mind trying to process what shi just saw while Rohoka gulps trying to keep himself from heaving as he had full view of the wolf’s flesh ‘burning’ upon being touched by the flame. He’s able to force it back down in time to look over to Ryine.

The Green Kobold though only hears his comrade’s scream, unable to see it as he has to use both feet and his open hand to stop his backwards momentum from the priest’s kick. Standing up, his eyes land upon the priestess as she casually lowers her leg from the kick like it was nothing.

“Nope!” Suddenly recognizing he’s completely out-classed. “Not dealing with a head battle-priest. Not getting paid enough to do so!” The Green Kobold is only able to turn, and take a step away from the three before Ryine makes her move.

The attack she was going to open with before her charges showed yet again why they’re too dangerous to be left alone.

Red streaks of light pass around and through the Kobold, stopping him in place. His eyes follow their progression to a few feet in front of him. Where Ryine now stands. Sword held casually in one hand with the tip pointing to the side. Dripping blood, his blood from the scent that suddenly hits his nose.

It’s only a moment from when he looks down at the welling blood stains on his armor and the new holes in it and his body they’re coming from. That he collapses muzzle first into the dirt, dead.

In the background the screaming wolf goes silent, yet the scent of burning flesh lingers in the air. Providing a stark contrast to the late afternoon sunlight filtering in through the leaves.

Moments later, Ryine suffers the cost of using the skill she did, which is unique to her. A small spurt of growth of the pale white Draco-Fox fur and scale up her abdomen. Replacing her human skin and causing her to shiver from the sensation. As it passes though, she flings the blood of the kobold off her sword, sheathing it, then turns her attention to her charges.

Ryine’s by their side a moment later, as Sanstone’s collapsed onto hir lower torso’s belly. Upper torso bent over, held up by hir arms. Muzzle open as shi dry heaves into the dirt. That horrible image of the Continuum Lupine burning as fire jets from hir hands has etched itself in hir mind, refusing to leave. Shi can see it no matter if hir eyes are open or closed.

Next to hir stands a Rohoka that even towers over her who looks just as sickly, but isn’t heaving. ‘Yet…’ She muses. Knowing this reaction from anyone who’s never killed before. Let alone anyone so young.

Kneeling next to Sandstone, Ryine places a hand on hir shoulder. Helping the young chakat’s upper torso back up, before wiping hir muzzle. She then looks over to Rohoka as he speaks up. His voice is comically the same despite his new size.

“Why? I wanted to be bigger, but this…” He looks at his giant hands, yet they feel the same size as before to him.

Ryine sighs. “It’s an illusion Rohoka.” Replying while holding Sandstone’s upper torso.

“That… Did I kill that person? I.” Ryine shushes Sanstone by placing a hand on hir muzzle.

“I think we both know the answer to that.” Ryine shakes her head lightly ‘Too innocent for this, but, I guess it’s better done sooner than later.’

“He would’ve done the same to you, Sandstone, if given the chance. You did nothing wrong in defending yourself.” Shi just looks back at Ryine as she lets go of hir muzzle, opening hir mouth, instead of the words shi wanted to say, shi just starts crying.

Then mewling for hir dame, Veldet-Rose and hir sire, Nebula. Shi can’t get the sight of it out of hir mind and isn’t finding this adventure ‘fun’ anymore, if shi ever did in the first place. Whatever ‘made’ hir parents abandon hir being the cause of it notwithstanding. Shi just wants to go home and be held by them again.

The sight pulls heart-strings in Ryine’s chest she didn’t know she had, before she knows it. Ryine’s sitting in the dirt road, pulling Sandstone’s upper torso into her lap. With hir laying there, She hugs hir head against her chest. Petting the head-fur between Sandstone’s ears gently like a mother would.

“An illusion?” Rohoka says awkwardly, seeing sandstone collapse like this. He too can’t get that sight out of his mind, but. Compared to the red tinged sight of him bisecting a human the other day. It’s somehow, a little less shocking.

He wonders why, but is soon too distracted to dwell on the matter.

That red light, which enveloped him earlier returns. Unlike before, where the transition of his point of view was instantaneous. This time, it slowly returns to his normal height, with the vertigo that follows being the cause of ‘him’ dry heaving into the dirt. Rather than seeing such a macabre sight.

Blinding him to the fact that when he reaches his normal size, he sheds some fur into the breeze. Not a lot, but enough to make him look like some of his kind do in the dead of summer. Which isn’t long from now. At the same time, the cracks in the talons on his long clawed hand mend themselves. Leaving them pristine, like he’s never used the other skill at all.

Ryine watches this change in fascination. ‘So that’s what the last line in his class description meant. Going to have to make sure he doesn’t use his skills too often then. Don’t think I, or he would like the results if he uses one side or the other too much.’

Looking down at the quieter, but still crying Sandstone while she continues to pet hir head. ‘What have I gotten myself into here? This chakat killed that Continuum scout as quickly as I did. Rohoka scared the other one away without even fighting him.’

Rohoka, done unwillingly trying to void what isn’t in his stomach anymore, crawls a bit closer too Ryine and Sandstone before flopping on his back. Looking up at the branches and leaves above them. “Why?”

Ryine glances at Rohoka. “Why what?”

He thinks for a moment, a lot of why’s are going through his head right now. “Why could I do that now, and not when that ‘hero’ was killing my parents? Why did they attack us, Sandstone and I are just kids. And…”

He turns his head to look at Ryine. “Why’s a head battle priestess here with us? Mom and Dad said they stay in their churches in Elysengrad all the time?”

Ryine sighs. “I can see why some would have that view of us hiding in our cathedrals, not churches. Leaving the interactions with the outside world to the lower ranks. As for why I’m here, that’s… Complicated. I promise I will tell you later.”

She looks down at Sandstone, seeing and hearing shi’s stopped crying, so she lets go of hir head and moves hir torso so shi can long sit next to her. Which Sandstone reluctantly does. Considering Ryines lap was nice and warm.

“And to be fair, I don’t know much about you two, past your classes. Yes you ‘both’ have them, so I’ll leave answering that question for a later time. I will answer your other questions though.”

“I have a class?” Sandstone looks back at Ryine who nods then looks over to Rohoka.

“It was your willpower that awakened what I can guess is an illusion skill. Still, I have a couple of questions of my own. Were you wishing to be bigger before it happened? And, have you ever seen a red skill?” She observes Rohoka, his body language as he answers.

“Do you mean the glow that happens when someone uses a skill?” Cocking an ear to the side he reaches up to scratch an itch on his muzzle as Ryine again nods yes.

“No. My mom and dad had blue skills… I have been angry whenever I’ve used Dragon’s Claw…”

“When he used that to hit my Air-Shot back in the orphanage his long clawed hand glowed red.” Sandstone pipes up while sniffling snot out of her muzzle.

He looks at his long clawed hand, only to stare. Noticing the cracks have vanished, and that it no longer aches.

“Unlike Blue skills, Red skills have a cost. With your Dragon’s Claw skill. The cost you pay are the claws themselves. That illusion was a Red skill too, the cost, was some of your fur.” Ryine points at Rohoka’s forearm.

So focused on his own claws, he didn’t notice his fur coat is a bit thinner.

“It’s not summer yet, and I now have my summer coat?” Rohoka sits up, opening his shirt a little to look inside. In turn letting the shed fur out.

Ryine stays quiet as she watches. ‘If he uses a skill that would fit with the myths of Dragons the summoned humans brought with them, he starts losing the Draconic aspects that gave their species half their name. Same with a skill that fits with the myth of the Kitsune. He used an illusion skill, they’re known for making them. He lost some fur. I’m going to have to teach him to use the skills sparingly. Or as his class description states, get him to balance their use.’

“What’s my class?” Sandstone moves to look at Ryine. Eager for something to take hir mind off of what shi just did. Thus cutting off Rohoka before he could speak.

“You’re a Child of Magic Shir Sandstone. It’s why you do not have the empathic talent of other Chakats. Making you, unique I guess. A Chakat that doesn’t have their natural inborn talent, and one who can exist for long periods of time without other’s of their kind around. I recall the old scrolls saying your kind need that contact for some reason.”

“But I’m not a chak….” Ryine interrupts sternly poking Sandstone’s nose.

“Possession of and or strength of a talent or ability does not determine what you are. I know the Neo-Chakona republic likes to divide their populace by empathic talent rating, and euthanize cubs with too low of it. So just because you are a child of magic, having a class replace your inborn talent. Doesn’t make you any less of a Chakat than they are.” She glares down at sandstone while wondering what hir parents taught hir.

‘Before they found out shi had no empathic talent they must’ve taught hir those with a weaker talent were lesser. To be honest, lacking it might make hir better than them. Shi won’t lean on it like a crutch and use it like a cudgel to beat people with in every interaction. Shi’ll have to learn to be civil like everyone else.’

Sandstone just stares back at Ryine. ‘How did I forget that?’ The voice of hir sire saying similar things to hir as they lay in that small prison cell inside the old ship echo in hir mind now.

Words shi said after sandstone apologized for being the cause of them being put in that cell.

Turning his attention back to Ryine, Rohoka tilts an ear. “Why did wanting to be bigger allow me to do that? I don’t get it, I mean yea, If I was bigger ‘he’ wouldn’t have been able to stop me using that skill after he killed my parents. I didn’t want that to happen so, why did me wanting something now caused this?”

She looks over to Rohoka as she gets back onto her feet. “I’ll answer that at the same time as your question as to why they attacked us. We’re their enemies, it’s as simple as that. They were going to kill you two, you and sandstone in turn, didn’t want to die. That will to live, and whatever heavenly power, which grants us magic and skills listened to your momentary desire to be bigger and granted you a skill to fulfill that.”

Ryine looks down at Sandstone as shi looks up at her.

“Same with you Sandstone. I heard you yelling at them to stay way. I also noticed you looking into the fire pit at the rest area earlier. I’m guessing whatever mind is in the Mana that you can ask and command just put two and two together for you.”

Going over to the dead body of the kobold, Ryine strips him of his weapons. A sword and a small dagger.

With both in hand, she returns to the two, who’re now standing, and at from the looks of it. Sandstone at least wants to get as far away from this place as possible. Thinking for a moment, Ryine examines the two weapons. Making up her mind, she gives the dagger to Sandstone and the sword to Rohoka. Since the dagger seems better suited to the Chakat cub’s size. ‘And Rohoka should learn how to use a sword.’

Ryine thinks to herself.

“Wha?” Both say at the same time as the weapons get handed to them, and Ryine picks up the dropped bag of holding once her hands are empty. Considering recent event’s neither cub bothers to go after the other for, again, speaking at the same time.

“Both of you. Your skills need to be used sparingly.” She looks at Rohoka first. “For you, mainly because of how your body pays the price of their use.” Then to Sandstone. “Child of Magic is a class coveted by many, and all for the wrong reasons sadly. If anyone asks for your class, say you’re a mage. A low power magic user that can cast spells without saying anything. A sorcerer ‘if’ you must, but never a wizard. Don’t ‘ever’ try to claim you’re a wizard and make up words as you cast spells by pure thought. They’re enough wizards around to know you’re faking it, so you’ll be quickly found out.”

She points to the dagger in Sandstone’s hands. Then to the sword in Rohoka’s. “Use those to defend yourself first. And I think, due to recent event’s, I would like to change my proposition to the both of you.”

Ryine looks in the direction of Toullac. “On the rest of the way to Toullac. I want you two to seriously consider coming with me, rather than staying there. Or at any other orphanage in any other town.” She takes a few steps away from the two, then looks back at them.

Both Rohoka and Sandstone look at each other before following the Priestess, seeing this, Ryine leads them down the road. Leaving the corpse where it fell to both native scavengers and ones other humans brought in past ages.

“Why?” Sandstone speaks up after a few minutes of following, looking at the weapon, and wiping hir nose to get rid of more snot. Walking next to hir, but behind Ryine, Rohoka too wants to know, yet is to focused on the fact that if he uses his skills, his body will pay the price.

‘My claws if I use Dragon’s Claw, my fur if I use that illusion skill… If this is what having a powerful red skill is like, I’d rather have blue.’

Ryine replies with a bit more of a lighthearted tone than she wanted too to the two. “Why do I want you two to think about that shir Sandstone?”

She pauses for a moment.

“Because, to me, it wouldn’t feel right to leave two children with such powerful classes alone to fend for themselves. I can also teach both of you to use your skills properly and to defend yourselves without them when needed. Neither of you will be defenseless anymore, and neither of you will be at the mercy of others.”

When she finishes speaking, she has to lightly bite her tongue at herself. ‘Goddess dammit, I feel bad at saying that, but I can’t force them to stay with me. Nor can I delay too long in my own goals. Yes I would feel bad at leaving them to fend for themselves, yet I should’ve just waited and not promised that. I can teach them, but they’re both grieving and vulnerable and I just played on those emotions. No better than the chakats that threw Sandstone out.’

As he follows Ryine, Rohoka looks over to Sandstone, then back at Ryine in front of them. In between watching his footing in the path as the trees thin. The route they’re on changes from cutting through the forest, to going alongside it before curving away from the forest altogether.

‘I know Ryine’s telling the truth about my skills. My fur is thinner and the cracks in the claws on my long clawed hand have disappeared. Every time I use dragon’s claw they ache and cracks form.’ He looks over to Sandstone as the path they’re on meanders around or over hills.

Hir ears are low, hands clasped on the dagger as shis seems to have stopped caring where shi steps barefoot on the path.

Sensing somehow that he’s looking at hir, Sandstone returns the stare with a similar one.

Hir emotions make hir want to let hir tail hang low, Causing hit to consciously keep hir tail at least horizontal with hir lower torso. Mainly because shi already knows how much of a pain it is to clean from when hir parents took hir out on picnics. Seeing Rohoka let his thicker tail drag in the dirt clues hir off that he’s of the same mind as hir.

Can I trust Ryine?

Rohoka breaks eye contact first between the two, looking ahead at Ryine who’s walking at a pace they can keep up with. Then down at the sword in his hands. “If you can help me get stronger Ryine, so I can pay that human hero back for killing my parents.”

The last few words said with malice in the tone of his voice.

“Then I will go with you rather than stay at Shiny-Metal’s orphanage.” He glances over at Sandstone as shi, again looks back at him. Missing the slight hitch in Ryine’s step at hearing such words and venom come from someone as young as him.

‘So that’s what happened. I figured there was more to the story than his parents killing each other. While such a thing does happen, it seemed, odd to happen on the same day the summoned heroes arrived in town.’

“I accept that reason Rohoka, but I want you to make sure you’re ‘really’ want to this. It’ll make you an enemy of many. Including your own clan, so think about it some more and tell me when we get to Toullac.” Ryine slows her pace, just a tad, so she walks closer to the two. In case they start talking to each other, so she can hear them better.

Rohoka huffs loudly, folding his ears back at the mild rebuff. “Okay, but I’m sure I won’t change my mind by then.”

“I think…” Sandstone turns hir attention to Ryine, speaking up the moment Rohoka closes his mouth. “I think I’d want to do the same thing Ryine wants to do. Someone changed my Dame and Sire. I want to make that Shir pay and get my parents back.”

“How so Shir Sandstone?” Her voice though shows no hint of curiosity, despite the question.

“They weren’t happy when they learned I couldn’t sense their emotions, I admit that. Yet, they didn’t do what the Dames and Sires of other’s my age did that day. They didn’t hand me over to the guards as soon as they learned this.” Looking down at the dagger in one hand, shi tightens hir grip on it. Then to hir other where shi felt a small marble of fire form as shi was talking.

Shi didn’t even think about making it, and yet, it’s here. Trying to will it away, only results in the opposite.

“They… Took me out of the school before the guards came to pick up the others. We went home, and they left me in my room while they did some talking. Talking, which would be loud one second and quiet the next. I, I don’t know how long that took, but later they came into my room and wouldn’t let go of me. They said they’d find a way to make this work and I would be alright.” Thinking back like this causes hir to start crying again.

“Not long after the guards broke into our home, taking all of us to ‘that’ room in the old ship. Not long after they took me out and stuck me in a separate room for a long while. Only to put me back with my parents for some reason.”

Sandstone looks over and up to Ryine as shi follows her, not noticing the slight burst of light as something forms in hir open hand.

“After that, I went to sleep with my mom and dad holding me and saying it will be alright. Only to awaken to them tearing my clothes off and dragging me to that piece of ancestor technology in the morning.” Looking down again, shi clutches the dagger in one hand, and seeing this tiny flame floating in hir other. Trying to will it away.

It doesn’t listen, growing bigger and floats around hir upper torso. All the while Rohoka looks at hir sympathetically with his ears low. In between keeping track of Ryine and where he’s walking of course.

‘I, don’t know if that’s better or worse than them being dead.’

Ryine for her part, tightens her grip on the bag of holding as she leads down the trail. ‘If I had to guess a stronger empath of their kind messed with their heads. There are rumors of such going around in the high court of Elysengrad, straining tensions with the Neo-Chakona republic. Guess this confirms the rumors.’

Taking a few breaths and loosening her grip on the kid’s bag of holding. Ryine turns her head slightly, adjusting her gait, so she can glance back at Sandstone.

“I feel sorry you had to go through that Sandstone, and I can also accept the reason you want to take up my offer. Still, I want you to do the same as Rohoka. Think it over more, it’s not a path to tread lightly on.”

‘Revenge never is… Yet here ‘I’, am.’ After noting the will-o-wisp floating around the chakat cub, Ryine turns her gaze back down the path they’re treading on. Eying bushes and outcroppings of trees along the way wearly.

Sandstone’s ears go flat back. Shi tries focusing on this conversation, hoping the now will-o-wisp like fireball floating around hir will disappear if shi ignores it. “I think I have thought it over enough Ryine.” Biting back at Ryine as the memories of the long night last night reappear. Memories of hir ‘trying’ to think of why hir parents would do such a thing to hir.

Much to hir annoyance, the wisp won’t disappear. So Shi ends up swatting at it like one would an annoying fly.

Finding nothing the in the diminishing underbrush, Ryine slowly shakes her head. ‘Come to think of it, I don’t go with them. They’ll just try to do it on their own. With the way they act now, and how old they are. I can tell it won’t end well for them. Rohoka will lean too far to one side or the other and the negative effects of his class will take hold. Sandstone though, no, the order, my former order. They should never get their hands on such a magic user.’

Ryine glances up to the sky to judge the time, seeing that the sun has dipped ever lower towards the horizon. Then back down to the path as it leads them past the last few hills in the area before the flood plain of the river their destination’s next to.

‘We’re getting close to Toullac.’ Ryine realizes, only to glance back at her charges due to the commotion she hears coming from one of them.

Noticing Sandstone’s behavior from hid peripheral vision, Rohoka glances over. “What are you doing?”

“Trying to get this thing to go away!” Shi swats at the will-o-wisp of fire floating just out of hir reach, again, as he tilts an ear.

Pointing at it. “Can’t you just, tell it to go away with your magic. You’re magic made it right?”

“What do you think I first tried to do!” Sandstone angrily glares back at him, then swats at the wisp again as it floats into view, taunting hir. Only for it to mockingly move out of hir reach with each swat of hir hands.

What follows for the next few minutes is a semi comical sight to Ryine of hir chasing it around and swiping at it. All the while Shi completely ignores everything around hir, even as the road transitions back to cobblestone the closer they get to Toullac, easing travel for both of her charges.

Including both her and Rohoka. The latter having to duck his head at one point, while she has to side step Sandstone charging after it a moment later. Sighing loudly, Ryine sets off at a sprint after hir lightly chanting a spell under her breath.

Catching up to the annoyed Chakat cub, she douses the fire wisp in water using her free hand. Putting it out and ending Sandstone’s pursuit of it as she looks down at hir. All the while the deep shadows of dusk stretch across the cobblestone path.

“You may not have your race’s empathic abilities, but it seems Mana will react to your emotions.” Looking back and watching Rohoka catch up to the two of them before looking farther down the road.

“We made better time than I thought we’d make. We’ll be at the entrance gate for the town of Toullac within an hour. Just after dark from the looks of it.”

This news excites both Rohoka and Sandstone, so both sets of ears perk up as they look to each other. Only to go back to looking at Ryine as she taps them on the shoulders to get their attention.

“Both of you need to stay close to me, okay? Don’t say anything unless spoken to either, and Sandstone?”

Ryine makes eye contact with the Chakat cub to further put forward the seriousness of what she has to say.

“Try not to make any more wisps. I know the one you made wasn’t a conscious decision, but we can’t be advertising what class you are. Wisps are hard for skilled magic users to make after all.”

Rolling hir eyes Sandstone just lowers hir ears a bit. “Not like I wanted it to begin with. It just kinda formed on its own.”

“I know.” Ryine smiles under her veil. Then turns and leads them down the path again. Sandstone keeping pace with her but Rohoka lagging behind a bit lost in some thought about what she just said.

“You think they’d have the gates closed?”

Noticing he’s being left behind, Rohoka ups his pace to get closer to Ryine as they continue down the road. Already in the distance they can see the town walls and the torches lining the battlements on top of towers and in between the crenel’s along the wall.

“Of course they will. There’s a war on, their skulks army is about a day’s walk away with their destination a point between this skulks territory and the Neo-Chakona republic only a few days further south. If they didn’t close the gates at night, the townsfolk would have the clan leader’s head for endangering them.” She says in a mater of fact tone, only to chastise herself.

‘Ryine girl, these are kids remember?’

Sandstone’s ears perk up as hir tail twitches as shi puts tow and two together. “Oh! That’s why you want me to not try to make more of those wisps.” Shi joins in on the conversation.

“Yes shir Sandstone. As I said, it’s not easy for sorcerers or wizards to make those, and out of the realm of possibility of mages. They’d never have heard of a ‘child of magic’ either since it is such a rare class. So what do you think they’d assume?” Asking to test the chakat’s intelligence considering shi ‘just’ made such a quick logical deduction.

‘The smarter shi is, the easier, and harder it will be to help shape hir class.’ Ryine muses to herself.

“They’d think we’re the enemy.” Both Rohoka and Sandstone say at the same time. Causing both of them to glare at each other, yet again.

“That was my question, not yours!” Sandstone snaps at Rohoka who just rolls his eyes. “Hey, we’re all in trouble if you make the guards for Shiny-Metal think we’re from the Continuum with your magic.”

Sandstone moves closer to Rohoka, glaring up at him. “Says the one who wants to kill the ‘heroes’. You heard Ryine, I can’t exactly control it!”

“Quiet you two!” Ryine bites at them, saying it in a bit more forceful manner than she wanted too, but it does the trick and the two stop bickering. “We’re almost there, and they may soon be able to hear us.”

Both of them stop glaring at each other to look past Ryine, in the post dusk night, they can make out the closed and guarded Southern gate-house for Toullac. Guarded on either side by towns-guardsmen carrying torches. Said guards are already walking onto the cobblestone road from their posts on either side of the gate having spotted them even at over a hundred yards out.

Rohoka tries to keep his ears from drooping to the sides and his tail from dragging at the sight kinsmen treating him as such. Sandstone though only succeeds in the latter as they casually close the distance.

“HALT!” A brown fur and scaled male Draco-Fox on the right calls out. Long clawed hand holding his torch up, short clawed hand resting on the pommel of a sword strapped to his waist. Ryine stops in her tracks and both Sandstone and Rohoka do so directly behind her.

He walks forward, armor rattling as he moves before stopping a few feet in front of Ryine. He moves the torch out and away from himself to get the three more into the light it casts.

“The Toullac town gates have closed for the night, we won’t open them till after dawn tomorrow.” He eyes Rohoka and Sandstone in turn, the latter with more disdain than the former. “Now if your travelers in need of help or refugees from further south, we may be able to make an exception.”

Keeping a smile off her face, despite being behind a veil, thus not visible to the guard, Ryine replies while hoping both her charges stay quiet like she told them too.

“We are in need of some help, I guess. We were supposed to arrive here before the gates closed as I, a priestess of the order of Victoria got tasked with escorting these two orphans. From the orphanage in Draguilliers, to the one here.”

The short clawed hand on the guardsman’s sword relaxes just a tad upon hearing this. Still, humans are hard to trust in his eyes. Yet, on the other claw. The order has done some good work, even if they’re only presence is outside the city walls on the north side of the Toullac. ‘Another war orphan and yet another neo-chakona reject, sigh.’

His ears and tail stay professionally still. “What happened to delay you in your contracted task Priestess of the order Victoria?”

Ryine glances back at her charges, then choosing the least likely of the two to do something unexpected, motions for Rohoka to come forward. “Hand me the sword please young one.”

Rohoka does so, Ryine gently takes it, then shows it to the guard.

“A Continuum scout party of three, I think their species were kobold and lupine, ambushed us in a blind spot on the main road here. Just inside where the road bisects the forest. Being a rather skilled priestess of the order. I was able to defeat them and defend the two children from them. Though not without having to spend time to console them from such a sight, thus delaying our arrival.”

The guard’s posture stiffens at the sight of the weapon and the news. Lifting his short clawed hand he motions for Ryine to keep the sword. She hands it back to Rohoka who goes back to standing next to Sandstone quietly. The both of them looking at each other, curious as to why Ryine is twisting the truth when in their minds that isn’t necessary.

“You did a good job in defending a child from our sister clan, and the other orphan. You bring honor to your order. Yet bring ill news with your arrival. Enemy scouts behind our skulks army? They passed through here no more than a few days ago too. Meaning the army may have a tail on them, which is bad.” Swiveling his head, he looks over to his assigned partner for his shift.

“Change the fire-color to blue and stay here. I’ll escort them inside and deliver the news to our commander. The sooner they can send a messenger to the army, the better.”

His partner runs over to the scones on either side of the gate, throwing power into them from a pouch on his belt. The orange flames instantly turning bright blue. Moments later horns blare from the nearest tower, followed by every torch and flame along the wall going blue as runners dash across the top of the wall. Spreading the signal across the entire structure that surrounds the town.

He looks at this for a moment before turning his attention to the three. “Follow me.”

Ryine does so, and with her, so does Sandstone and Rohoka. The Chakat cub though looks at the fire, then at the guardsman. “Why do that?”

He’s silent for a moment before speaking as he leads them to a large, but still smaller than the main gate, iron and wood door, in an alcove with murder-holes on each side. “Right. You’re a Chakat and you’re not of our skulk. You wouldn’t know. Blue is a warning color. I just alerted all guard stations to stay alert for enemy scouts. You ran into three on the way here, so there’s possibly more lurking out there in the darkness.”

Sandstone oh’s and goes quiet. A bit more fearful of the night if it contains more things like that wolf…

Looking around, both Rohoka and sandstone can see the glint of metal arrowheads through the gloom just inside the murder-holes. Seeing this, they quickly turn their attention back to Ryine and the Guardsman.

The Guardsman calmly inserts a key into the door, then presses the same hand on a metal plate above the keyhole. To Rohoka and Ryine, they just see a slight red tinge disappear from the door. Sandstone though sees the magic in the skill the guardsman used, to turn off the magic in the door that made it just as hard as the surrounding stone, and near impossible to open without this skill and the key.

Other than the points where shi can see some error in the pattern. Just like the door on Rohoka’s home.

As the door swing’s open, the three need to blink a few times, adjusting their eyes to the brighter light. Compared to the guardsman who’s not phased by the change in light level for some reason.

‘Probably a skill related to his job.’ Ryine muses.

Inside they’re greeted by more guardsmen, both male and female. The latter of which either have staves marking them as mages or wizards, or wing finger blades. Marking them as scouts or gliding skirmishers. The former though range from swords, axes to more bows.

This group of guardsmen stand at the ready, then relax a moment later upon seeing their kin with the three.

“Someone fetch the commander! I need to escort these three into the city.” Their escort yells out, causing the group to scatter quickly. With them gone, he leads them through the rooms and halls inside the city walls, speaking as he walks. “It’s too late at night to take them to the orphanage Priestess. The pantheon Priestesses would have closed and locked it up tight for the night by now.”

Ryine nods, figuring as such, even if that’s not their actual destination. “I have enough funds for a night at an inn.”

The guardsman inwardly smiles as this just makes his job easier.

“Good, because we don’t carry coin while on duty. So I wouldn’t have any to give you. Though to be honest, our orphanage isn’t any less crowded as I guess Draguilliers is. Plenty of war orphans lately, many who’re newly orphaned as news of their parent’s demise reached them with the army. Ending the care contracts over them with neighbors or distant relatives. Not to mention it seems the Neo-Chakona Republic is having another cub purge. So the Chakat cub with you marks the twentieth dumped on our doorstep this week. Can’t imagine how Draguilliers or other clans closer to the border deal with it.”

Turning his head around to look at the three for a moment, he then leads the three to the nearest door leading into the city. All the while mentally sighing to himself.

‘Those chakats breed like damn rats… Guess it helps if each of them have both sets of equipment in that regard, when they come of age they can knock each other up. Surprised we’re not up to our horns then them already.’

When the guardsman turns his attention to unlocking the door, Rohoka and Sandstone look at each other while Ryine just watches the guardsman work. She recognizes the look he gave Sandstone, but declines to act on it.

‘Okay, maybe it was a good thing we met Ryine. If Sandstone and I had gotten up here alone. We’d have nowhere to stay. I don’t even know how to get to the next town from here either.’ Upon hearing the guardsman open the door, do they look forward towards Ryine.

Then blue torchlight from the wall combined with orange light from the magically enchanted streetlamps from just beyond the threshold. Both colors of light keep the street and the wall of the building beyond that from being in pitch black darkness.

“Here you go.” He turns to look at Ryine, Rohoka and Sandstone. “Head left down this road, then at the three-way fork, take the right most street. There should be a few inns on that road still open at this hour. Can’t say on how much it will cost you, you ‘are’ arriving a bit late.”

Giving him a polite nod, Ryine glances back at her charges, it’s all that is needed to get them to follow her out onto the street. She turns to thank the guardsman, only to just catch him closing the door behind them. ‘Could’ve at least given me his name.’ Ryine frowns.

“Didn’t see these street-lamps back at Draguilliers.” Sandstone looks to Rohoka.

Rohoka looks up at one of the lamps as they walk by, following Ryine as she follows the directions given to them. They quickly find themselves among rows of Inns of various sizes and states of repair. “That’s because Shiny-Metal clan’s richer than my clan.”

“Because of the metal they found?” Sandstone looks over to Rohoka and he nods.

Ryine for her part, focus more on the signs each Inn has hanging over the street, denoting their name. Magic wording floating under them if they have no rooms available. Along with the general look and upkeep of the front of the building.

‘Quite a few seem to be fully booked. Ah, there’s one. ‘All those who wander’. Huh, odd seeing a human phrase written in the Draco-Fox’s native language like that.’

Glancing back at the two kids, again bickering over what kind of metal, Clan Shiny-Metal got its name from.

“This one.” Ryine points as soon as she has their attention. They stop arguing and look in the direction she’s pointing before Ryine gives them the same look as before they entered the city. Telling them to be quiet, before she walks up to the door and opens it.

Modest is what comes to mind as they look at the lobby area, except for Sandstone who finds it, like everything else here. Weirdly less sophisticated than back home. They clean their shoes or feet respectively at the provided set of brushes attached to the wall just inside the building before stepping on the worn but well maintained rug.

A storm-cloud gray colored adult female Draco-Fox stops playing with a ball of light, tossing it between her hands. She dismisses it before looking up at the three as they enter. Narrowing her eyes at the sight of a Chakat cub that she knows is large enough. Meaning old enough to have their ‘talent’, so she guards herself against its use.

“Hello and welcome to the ‘all those who wander’ Inn. How may I help you?” She lifts her wings a bit, a Draco-Fox polite greeting for females to anyone in general. She then gives a toothless smile because of the Human in the group, as Ryine walks up to the counter.

Ryine smiles back, letting Rohoka and Sandstone follow her. “Do you have an available room for three?”

The receptionist pulls out a poster sized slab of Iron-tree bark, setting it on the counter between the two. Tapping several places and bringing up blue windows with white text, which hover over the enchanted slab. Sandstone’s positively enthralled as shi watches the magical enchantments do their work. All the while the female Draco-Fox brings up a list of guests currently staying in the Inn.

“If you mean a room with three beds, no, we do not.”

Ryine shakes her head. “No, a single bed will be fine. Just large enough for the both of them. I’ll sleep on the floor.” She looks down at Rohoka and Sandstone, noting the latter’s enthrallment at the tablet. ‘Shi’s going to learn another spell, isn’t shi?’ The look is enough to silence any protest from Rohoka about this before he opens his mouth.

Smiling behind her veil, Ryine waits for the female Draco-Fox to finish messing with the enchantment. Soon she looks up at the priestess. “We do have one room with a bed large enough for both of them. For three guests, it’s three Silver a night.”

The cost causes Ryine to flinch internally. That’s all the coin she has left on her, and for the establishment’s location in the city. She can tell that if she brought them only a few hours ago, it would’ve been in the copper coin range.

‘Beggars can’t be choosers after all. They one of the few still open with rooms.’ Using her free hand, she reaches into her own bag of holding. Taking out the last three coins on her person, then places them on the counter in front of the storm-cloud colored female Draco-Fox much to her surprise.

‘She has a Chakat with her and didn’t try to negotiate that down? I only threw out three silver thinking she’d leave. Or try to have that Chakat get me to bring the price down, forcing me to kick them out.’ Picking up the stack of three silver’s, she deposits them into a pocket in her uniform. Safely stored there, she rapidly taps her claw tips all along the blue magical window.

Turning off the vacancy sign outside and registering the room as taken.

“The room is yours till the noon sun tomorrow, otherwise it’s another three silver.” Rotating the large slab of Iron-tree bark, she looks up at Ryine. “Sign please.” The female Draco-Fox points to where she needs her to sign.

Ryine uses a gloved finger to do just that without saying a word, she turns the enchanted object back around to face the female Draco-Fox.

“Thank you Ms Ryine. Your room is upstairs, last one on the right. Enjoy your night.” She hops off the stool and goes to deposit the three silver as Ryine gently takes Sandstone’s hand before pulling hir away from the counter. Heading for the stairs with Rohoka following right behind them.

Only when they have the room’s door shut and locked, that Ryine looks at Rohoka and Sandstone again.

“So, what’s your final answer on my proposal. Keep in mind Rohoka you may become the enemy of your own clan Skulk and even your own people. Sandstone, it won’t be an easy path for you and you may not succeed.”

Both look at each other, then back at Ryine.

“We accept your offer.” They say at the same time, without bickering at each other. Ryine takes this as a sign of how serious they are over this. Considering how many times they ‘have’ bickered before over doing the same thing.

Holding their gaze, Ryine slightly nods once. “Alright, but with the fact that this room cost me my last coin, I’ll have to go see a friend just outside of town. So I won’t be here when you wake up. Stay in the room till I get back, I ‘will’ be back well before noon though.” She gestures for them to get on the sole bed in the minimally decorated room. Mainly just the bed, a dresser, and an end table. Once both Rohoka and Sandstone climb on, she places their bag of holding on it next to them.

Moving to the side of the bed, she pulls out a blanket from her own bag of holding. Laying it out next to the bed before extinguishing the magical candles in the room with a snap of her fingers.

---

End notes: Yea i know Chakat reproduction doesn't work like that. That doesn't stop the average person there to get that misconception.