Shiina had always wondered about the town outside. She'd considered asking Mali to visit, but she'd never gotten around to it. Now that everything had fallen apart, she finally got her wish. It left a sour feeling.

  The town itself felt both too big and too small all at once. The vast empty sky above had been a big shock to her, and while the walls of the houses helped give a little bit of order to things, the streets were so broad and open she couldn't help feeling exposed. Meanwhile there were people all over. Tons of them. There were more humanoids on the street then she usually met in a month!

  Which is why she was currently pretending to be a crate on a wagon. Well that and having wheels meant Delilah could pull her around at human walking speed. Mimics were not usually fast.

  "Thanks again," she said to the woman. "I don't know what I'd be doing without your help."

  Delilah shook her head. "It's only fair. You saved me back there."

  To Shiina's great relief, they got to the ramshackle inn Delilah said was their destination soon. The innkeeper gave them a curious look as they entered, but Shiina held still so he didn't ask for any extra money.

  Then again as they entered Shiina figured this might be the type of inn where 'extra guests' were commonplace. There was a single bed and the only thing it had going for it was 'no obvious stains.'

  "Sorry, we were trying to save money for dungeoneering supplies," Delilah said as she sat on the bed.

  "I mean I live in a dungeon so it's not bad for me," Shiina replied as she shifted to her preferred chest/halfling form, trying to make her humanoid parts look as natural as possible. She'd kept Mali's shoulder length red hair and rosy cheeks, but had dropped the freckles. Her 'clothing' was an imitation of supple black leather armor that drew attention to the svelte curves she was mimicking. And of course the hardest part, the small nimble fingers needed to manipulate things. Satisfied with her disguise for now she turned her attention back to her new ally. "Unfortunately I'm not really good at becoming soft and firm at the same time, so I can't replace that bed."

  Delilah blinked and turned a little red. "Oh, that won't be needed. But, um, thanks." The half elf looked down. "So... I guess we should get to know each other?"

  That was a good idea. Shiina admitted to herself she hadn't paid Delilah all that much attention when they first met. She had a great eye for detail but they were also really good at glossing over things. Maybe it came from 'seeing' everything around, unlike humanoids. So she took a moment to really look over the woman.

  Delilah had medium length light brown hair with the blonde highlights common to half elves, and stood a little taller than the average woman. Her clothing was the 'generic healer' white cotton robe, but she'd added some nice blue cotton pants as well and slit the robe to her hips. And she had the build of someone who ate a lot and worked a lot, though her generous figure and perfectly tanned skin probably had made her one of the most eligible young ladies in her village.

  What that done, Shiina did her best smug pose. Best to get the questions cleared out fast. "I'll go first. I'm Shiina, the smartest mimic in the country. I've been alive six years now, and I've worked with the adventurer's guild for most of them. Level 16 mimic, Journeyman tier locksmith, Apprentice tier trapsmith. Copper class adventurer and guild staff, technically."

  Mali had given her training and the official tests, so she knew her skills were that level. Master level however was a ways away.

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  Delilah looked surprised. "So you were born a mimic? It wasn't a polymorphing trap or a curse?"

  "Yeah. I formed in that dungeon." Her expression softened. "I got lucky and ran into Mali early on. She saw through my disguise, it was really out of place, and called me out. So I started learning from her and working with her."

  "I see." Delilah folded her hands. "And... was that really the first time you killed someone?"

  Shiina blinked. "You overheard that? Well, yeah I guess. I just never really wanted to hurt people. We mimics need the surprise more than the food. Unintelligent monsters just don't give off enough psychic shock. That's why I enjoyed the job. Pranking young adventurers was all the surprise I needed."

  Delilah gave a weak smile. "Well you were good at it. It's too bad the dungeon's closed off now."

  "Yeah..." With the new dungeon master killed mid transition the complex was unstable. It could take up to half a year for the training dungeon to reopen. Shiina sighed. "Well that's the quick info on me. So, how about you?"

  "Delilah. First generation half elf, level 13, 14 now, support mage and healer." She held up the tag she'd been given after the debriefing. "Copper class adventurer, Apprentice tier Herbalist, Curgion, and Alchemist."

  Shiina frowned. "First generation half elf? Sorry, I don't know that one."

  "It means I'm actually the daughter of an elf and a human," Delilah said. "Most half elves are born to half elven parents these days. For a lot of reasons." She blushed a little. "Um, anyways! My father left not long after I was born, like most elven parents do, though he was at least nice enough to leave me books on magic. My mom... passed away when I was thirty six. I couldn't keep the farm going alone, so I turned to adventuring."

  "And your partner?" It felt weird asking about someone who'd been murdered and zombified less than four hours ago, but it was probably important.

  Delilah shook her head. "I actually didn't know Samuel all that well. Training as a warrior isn't as easy as learning magic. You need study partners and a teacher. You can't just pick it up from reading. We met at Highcastle when I was getting my healer's certificate, and we teamed up because neither of us could work solo."

  "I see." Shiina gave a weak laugh. "Well I can't really frontline myself, so I guess we'll have to look for a party tomorrow."

  "You're willing to party with me?" Delilah stared down at her. "Even though I spent the whole fight cowering behind you?"

  "You didn't spend the whole fight cowering behind me!" Shiina pointed at the woman's knife. "You got the kill on him! It was pretty cool, even though you broke three bones in the process. I figure you've got the determination. And you wouldn't be level 14 if you actually sucked as a mage. If anything I was worried you wouldn't wanna team up with a mimic...."

  Delilah looked a little happier. "Well it is going to be strange dragging a wagon into a dungeon. But as you said, it's important to have someone who can handle traps. And you'll be very dangerous to anyone who tries to ambush the party."

  Shiina nodded. "Yeah. Sorry I can't move faster. I never really got the hang of legs."

  "Maybe you could practice as a chair sometime," Delilah said. She flopped back on her bed. "For now I need to rest and recover my mana."

  "Sure thing." Shiina stretched. "I'll be here when you wake."

  As Delilah settled in, Shiina turned her attention to the dirty windows, watching the strange world outside the dungeon move past her.

  It's kinda funny, but while magic is the 'smart person' job, thieving is the 'cunning person' job and fighting is the job 'anyone can do,' people actually need to spend a whole lot more work to become a fighter. You can't learn fighting just from swinging a sword over and over. You need to practice with someone. Mages can gain levels just by reading books and practicing spells. But fighters have to fight.

  Mali said most fighting adventurers either go to a school or train with the local guards as an apprentice. Experienced city guards are in the mid twenties so they consider training up kids to be the only way to get decent replacements. Even if a number of them run off adventuring when they get old enough.

  Schools are for people who wanna do cool weapon techniques and stuff. I hear the best fighters can even do stuff that seems like magic, without using standard magic like magic knights! But you have to train super hard and win a lot of battles. Not many live that long.

  You can see Shiina and Delilah here as drawn by febicoron