An hour ter, they had finished talking with Dazien’s merchant contact as she offloaded not just the Shards but a rge amount of monster materials that she hadn’t found a use for yet, including the rge stack of demon bunny meat.

  The trip had been slightly prolonged as they were required to fend off other Adventurers and merchants who had stopped to chat and congratute Dazien on becoming an Adventurer himself, many asking for a sparring session ter.

  The number of people who not only knew Dazien but seemed to truly wish to befriend him boggled her mind. She quickly learned to follow Uriel’s example to handle this: stay silent and simply nod or shrug to any random question directed towards her.

  She absently thought how odd of a group they must make. She and Uriel seemed complete opposites from the outside, with only their silence as a commonality. Both of them trailed after the suave and charming warrior who gracefully handled anyone who approached him with a smile and genuine care.

  As they finally made their way to a small cafe near the temple district, they were led to one of the private rooms the cafe was known for, and Phoenix got her first taste of Makera’s equivalent of coffee. It was nice, warm, and sweeter than she vaguely remembered bck coffee on Earth being when she managed to con– er, convince a nurse to let her try some. She preferred the slightly sweeter version and added a bit of cream to it from whatever this world’s variant of a cow; she’d have to remember to ask Paul ter.

  “So,” Phoenix began, “Did you just want to pry out my secrets?” she asked, breaking the silence that had fallen as they watched the snow fall outside the window. The weather suddenly turned when they were busy shopping, and the sun was now hidden by heavy clouds with white snowfkes that fell softly on the fortressed city.

  The Wayfarer turned to meet their gazes as she sat across the small table from them, “Or did you want to get closer to my Mentor through me?” she asked pointedly, having been thinking about Dazien’s words and behavior for a while now and that was the only motivation she had come up with. He obviously wanted something from her.

  Dazien blinked at her for a moment, then looked at Uriel and asked with concern, “Do I come off as a maniputive vilin?”

  The mage shrugged, “Mostly when you try to be secretive.”

  The warrior gave a dramatic sigh, “This is why I normally don’t try to be. Honesty really is for the best, especially when I’m obviously a terrible liar.”

  He shook his head then addressed Phoenix again, “No, Miss Fraser,” then he cocked his head briefly at a thought, “Well, I would love to learn more of your secrets, as I’ve often been told I’m too curious for my own good, but that isn’t why I wanted to talk to you. We,” he pointed between Uriel and himself, “Want you to join our adventuring party.”

  It was her turn to blink at them. The words didn’t quite register at first, and her mouth spoke in utter bewilderment before her brain caught up, “Why?”

  “You bring a lot to the table,” the gemite began expining, “Plus, I’m sure we haven’t seen everything you’re capable of yet. You mentioned still needing more to unlock more abilities, so your value as a party member will only increase.”

  His tone was confident, but she was still having trouble understanding as he added, “From a purely tactical perspective, you’re a good addition to a standard group, like ours will be.”

  “What does ‘standard group’ mean?” she interrupted, unfamiliar with the term or really anything involving adventuring parties. She had been so focused on training to become an Adventurer that she hadn’t really taken the time to learn more about the organization as a whole.

  Dazien paused, giving her a curious look, and crified, “A group made of at least one of each Role. There are other specialist parties out there that might focus on performing a specific type of mission extremely efficiently, such as scouting teams made up of Supporters.

  “I’m officially listed as a Forward Defender, and as I mentioned before, Uriel’s a Backline Mage. So, you would be our Supporter,” he paused, taking a bite of the fluffy white cake on his pte before adding, “From a group cohesion perspective, though, which is arguably more important, I enjoy your company, and Uriel doesn’t completely hate it either.”

  Phoenix gnced at the silent man for confirmation and raised an eyebrow as she asked with a hint of sarcasm, “Oh, not completely hated?”

  Uriel gave that small smirk again, “You’re acceptable.”

  She couldn’t help smiling back at him with a shake of her head, starting to understand his dry sense of humor, “So, because I don’t fall into the category of ‘obnoxious groupie that drools over every word his majesty here utters,’ I am worthy of a spot on your team?”

  Dazien gave a pained look, “Believe it or not, it’s been difficult for me to find party members that I feel I can trust for exactly the reason you’re pointing out. I don’t want people fawning over me when we’re out in the wilds fighting monsters.”

  He seemed to brush off the mencholy she saw in those eyes and continued with a lighter tone, “But we would both be a benefit to you as well, I believe. I was able to protect you during the encounter with the wyrmlings,” he pointed out and added, “Uriel was also able to defeat a foe that you mentioned having failed at vanquishing. I think we all complement each other quite well.”

  Phoenix sat back in her seat and took another sip of her coffee, contempting his words. She was hesitant about joining a party for multiple reasons. Aside from the plethora of secrets surrounding her, from gods and divine quests to her very origins and abilities, Paul had warned that her powerset might not be suitable for the average group. Dazien had made a strong case for her inclusion, however.

  She didn’t want to dismiss the opportunity out of hand, but she couldn’t accept it at that moment. The Protégé gave a small sigh, which caused Dazien to frown slightly, and she said cautiously, “I’ll need to talk with Paul first.”

  “Paul?” Dazien asked in confusion, then it seemed to click, “Ah, you mean Lord Waynd. Right, of course. That was why Mister Trayvious mentioned him to us. He overheard Uriel and I discussing you joining,” he gave a hesitant chuckle, admitting a bit sheepishly, “He said we should have asked your Mentor before you.”

  Phoenix blinked and ughed, surprising the pair, “I’m gd you didn’t listen to him. Paul might be my Mentor, but he doesn’t own me,” she shook her head at the idea, “Like I said, though, he does take training me seriously, and I value his opinion. I’m sure he’ll look into both of you and determine if it is a good match or not. I’m starting to suspect he’s doing a lot of things behind the scenes when it comes to my adventuring career,” she said, muttering that st part, wondering once more exactly how Trayvious had so much information on her that she didn’t remember being on the forms she filled out.

  The Astromancer took another sip of the warm coffee as she watched the snow some more while the others also enjoyed their drinks. She thought a bit more about the team-up and then decided to try showing a little more trust in the pair, offering up her promised information, “I’m a Wayfarer.”

  Phoenix knew now that it wasn’t really that big of a secret since she had quickly found out that her status as one could be easily gleaned from her aura if people gave it a poke as she could now with the cinderen, runeforged, humans, avals and, of course, monsters. Her training with Paul had helped her better understand the things she was reading when her aura brushed against another, and species was the easiest to discern. Obviously, even Dazien knew something was different about her from it, which is why he asked.

  Dazien’s eyes went wide in surprise, but Uriel looked slightly confused and looked to his partner for answers, “You’re from a completely other world?” the warrior asked for crification.

  She nodded, “Paul was the first decent person I met in this world, and he’s protected and guided me since. That was a little over two months ago now.”

  “That expins so much,” Dazien said, tilting his head and pcing a hand on his chin as he thought aloud, “The unusual assortment of talents, not knowing about Harpies or Sense Stones, never seeing airships, wait… if I remember the stories right, most Wayfarers don’t arrive with Aspects.”

  “I didn’t,” she expined, “My, um, Talents helped me get a couple quickly, and Paul gave me one to complete the set.”

  “What are they?” he curiously asked.

  Phoenix hesitated but knew this question would need to be answered if they were going to be in a party together. She wasn’t sure if that was going to actually happen or not; however, it wasn’t like her Css was some grand secret, especially considering the other ones she kept. “Star, Dark, Moon, and Sun, which gave me the Celestial Astromancer Css. Like I told you before, it’s not really known, so I’m not quite sure what Role I might actually end up in. Plus, I still have all of my css abilities to unlock…”

  Dazien gave a low whistle, “That is quite a lot. You only have two-thirds of your powerset filled.”

  She slumped in shame, and he grinned at her as he added, “Yet you still became an Adventurer. That is quite impressive,” this time, she flushed in embarrassment at the compliment. He continued speaking, trying to put her more at ease, “I still have two Css abilities to unlock myself.”

  “What are your Aspects? If you don’t mind my asking…” Phoenix questioned shyly.

  Dazien gave her an odd look and said, “You don’t need permission to ask a question, Miss Fraser. I am not some tyrant that will have you strung up for the slight of being curious. I would have been hung ages ago if that were the case.”

  Uriel cleared his throat, and Dazien gave him that same betrayed look of mock hurt, saying defensively to his friend, “I am not a tyrant!”

  “Bow before me?” Uriel asked the affronted man.

  “That is one spell!” he retorted, holding up a single finger for emphasis, “And you know that we don’t choose the incantation!”

  Phoenix giggled at the pair’s antics, and they both turned to stare at her. Their gaze made her stop abruptly, “What?” she asked, feeling slightly uncomfortable.

  “It’s nothing, sorry,” Dazien said, shaking his head and then gave a dramatic sigh as he said, “This probably won’t help my case for not being a tyrant, but it does help it for being a king,” the gemite gave her that charming smile that seemed to be his usual go-to and said, “My Aspects are Sword, Noble, Metal, and Potent, for the Warrior King Css.”

  “Warrior King? You really weren’t joking, were you? You’re pnning to become an actual king?” she asked in amazement at the sheer audacity.

  He grinned and stated confidently, “It is the path I have chosen.”

  She gnced at Uriel and asked, “And are you the King’s Mage?”

  The cinderen nodded and said simply, “I have chosen to follow him.”

  Dazien patted Uriel’s shoulder, “My most trusted advisor and closest friend for many years.”

  “And what are your Aspects?” she hesitantly asked the mage.

  The gemite didn’t answer for his friend this time, the smile slightly dropping as he looked to his companion, squeezing his shoulder gently in a motion of support.

  Uriel gazed at her with his ember-lit eyes, mesmerizing her for a moment as though there were secrets hidden in the fmes. He seemed to be assessing her but not in the way Paul, Trayvious, or Warrior had. It was like the mage was judging not only her trustworthiness but also wondering how she might react or if he even cared about how she did.

  Then he said simply, “Fire, Ice, Storm, and Potent for Cataclysm Mage.”

  Her eyes widened slightly in surprise, and the pair seemed to watch her intently. Then she leaned forward excitedly, “Are you serious? That’s awesome!”

  They both seemed startled by her reaction, and Uriel asked in surprise, “What?”

  “Cataclysm powers?! That sounds super powerful! With Fire and Ice? That’s very Robert Frost. It’s very intimidating, but it expins why you’re so talented!” Phoenix said in a rush, thinking back to her video games and books about insanely powerful mages.

  Dazien smiled brightly at her, “See Uriel? It’s not just me that thinks you’re talented!”

  “After what he did to that Tundra Yeti?” Phoenix asked in disbelief, “Who would argue that he’s not? When I fought that thing, it literally broke me,” she admitted with a shudder, then pointed out to the mage, “You’ll be able to save so many people with your power!”

  Uriel frowned at that, “I’m not a healer. My powers are for destruction and nothing more.”

  Phoenix nodded but pointed out pragmatically, “Sure, but when there’s a swarm of monsters invading the city, that’s what’ll save the healers and others who can’t fight from being killed, right?”

  Uriel looked unconvinced but remained silent. Dazien was still grinning widely at her unexpected reaction, and seemed like he was going to ask another question when an arm started bring from outside.