On his way back, Gaius stuck to Siembra's main streets that despite the late hour were bustling with activity. Without anything incriminating on him, Gaius preferred these noisy people to the narrow alleyways where specters, thugs, and even spectral thugs were not as uncommon as one might think.

  Gaius could understand running into an undead crime boss in a place like the Isle of Plenty where a decent chunk of the population consisted of animated corpses and various revenants. In a rural town like Siembra, it was too much for him.

  Still, with Alejo now gone, he at least had one less thorn in his side. And despite flaunting his knowledge of Gaius, that Shadow of Mallia fellow didn't seem particularly hostile. Casual murder notwithstanding.

  Going by the whispers on the street, the demon was defeated and the fires it started were almost under control. With a lot of things going wrong seemingly all at once not so long ago, Gaius was beginning to feel a faint echo of triumph.

  Now, he only had to hope that his trick with the divining pool worked. And for that, he could only sit back and wait.

  And so wait he did.

  The next day came and went without anything of importance happening. A few cauldrons worth of potions sold, a couple of axes enchanted for the dwarves, the usual. Gaius did have to weave a tall tale for Victor and Alessia. The latter was a much harder mark. The witch knew exactly where the demon came from and was starting to doubt Gaius' cover as a harmless merchant.

  And much as Gaius wasn't a fan of that, in his trade, one had to accept not being in control all the time. Any thief that tried to account for every single variable of the job either went crazy within a year or gave up and became a locksmith.

  Gaius had no intention of following either of those paths, so he told his stories, assuaged Victor's concerns and Alessia's suspicions as best he could, and relaxed in anticipation of tomorrow that marked a full month of him staying in Siembra.

  Just as the town's defenses kicked in, Victor grabbed his gear and rushed outside in hopes of catching a glimpse of alefs. He even dragged Alessia along to keep him company, leaving Gaius alone for at least a while.

  He spent this time looking out the window with an untouched mug of ale by his side. The light show was indeed spectacular, but Gaius was more interested in the full moon overlooking it all. He half-expected an armed regiment of priests to bust through the door and drag him away.

  Impersonating someone, no, becoming someone else, was second nature for Gaius. But most of his jobs were over in a night, maybe a week if the pay was worth it. Spending a year being someone else was another thing entirely. Even after a month, Gaius was having trouble separating the thief from the merchant. With all the problems he had to constantly handle, at times he found himself forgetting about the tablets, his real reason for staying in Siembra.

  He never even imagined being a merchant was such a stressful occupation. He almost felt bad for all the traders he'd stolen from over the years.

  Then, the creaking sound of the front door opening downstairs dragged Gaius back into his usual state of awareness bordering on well-obscured panic.

  He sat in his chair and waited with the patience of someone who wasn't teetering on the verge of a heart attack.

  Hearing a burst of laughter followed by a booming exclamation allowed Gaius to breathe again. Victor and Alessia returned from their alef-watching date.

  With a smile and an easy-going but somewhat sleepy expression, Gaius left his room to greet the couple.

  Positively glowing, Victor told Gaius how a concoction Alessia brewed made them almost invisible to the naked eye, allowing them to get dangerously close to the action.

  The pass Victor chose to explore was much livelier than the one Gaius arrived through. According to the northerner, alefs were swarming the gates with the pylons showering them with deadly beams of light that shredded the creatures. And even that was barely enough to slow their advance.

  "I wonder if we'll stumble onto one of those things during our trips to the tunnels," Victor said, while clearly already working on combat strategies in his head.

  "They're really persistent buggers, but not too smart," Gaius said, looking at Alessia who he imagined was responsible for making sure Victor wasn't getting too carried away on their artifact-hunting excursions. Shifting his eyes towards Victor, he added, "Don't know if you caught it, but alefs have these nasty blades they like to throw at anything that isn't one of them. Those things will take your head clean off."

  "Thanks for the warning," Victor said. "How do you know all that?"

  "Let's just say I picked about the worst time to arrive in this here town. It was exactly a month ago, you see."

  Victor took a second to put things together, but then looked at Gaius with even more admiration than usual. "Wait, you're telling me you've actually faced those things in battle?"

  Gaius bared his teeth in what he thought was a modest smile. "More like I ran away from them. But I did have to dispatch one on my way out."

  This made Victor all giddy. He peppered Gaius with questions about alefs, their fighting style, weaknesses, and all that stuff fighters by trade consider invaluable when encountering something new and unusual.

  Throughout all this, Alessia was merely observing the conversation. Making Victor into an even better friend cost Gaius extra suspicion from his wife. But that was something he decided to deal with later.

  After answering Victor's seemingly endless questions, Gaius excused himself and went to bed. Opening time was just a few hours away. If the priests came after him, which at that point he doubted they would, he wanted to at least be rested enough to be remembered for how cleverly insulting his final words were.

  When the morning came and Gaius was still a free man, he resumed his merchant routine as the ordinary life in Siembra picked up again.

  His plan must have worked, Gaius kept telling himself as he watched the imp engage in customer service.

  Around lunchtime, a party of adventurers shuffled in. A quick glance at them told Gaius that they were the type to cause trouble.

  When most of your customers earn their keep by various socially-accepted forms of murder, spending your days observing them from behind a counter quickly teaches you to distinguish between all the various flavors of adventurer.

  There were the hapless, wide-eyed types that seemingly stumbled into adventuring life ass-backwards and were now desperately trying to figure things out along the way. Amusing at first, Gaius quickly stopped paying them even a shred of his attention.

  Then, there were the equally clueless wannabes who nonetheless had clear potential, like Victor and his wife. The way they handled themselves differed ever so slightly from the previous bumpkins.

  On the more professional side of things were the mercenary types. Those were just brigands really. Brigands who realized that killing monsters earned them more coin than waylaying honest travelers and didn't come bundled with an outlaw status. These were usually dirty, unpleasant, but all business-like. In and out of the store within minutes.

  Their direct opposite were the idealists with good training. Parties led by knights, paladins, and priests that usually had the backing of powerful nobles, decent gear, and a delusion that their actions were righteous and just. Gaius didn't care for these much, since they usually refused to even acknowledge the imp's existence, forcing him to handle sales.

  And closing this line-up were the least pleasant adventurers of them all. The ones that did what they did because they liked it. These lunatics actually preferred sleeping under the open skies to snuggling in a cozy bed. They didn't feel alive unless they were a stone's throw away from some deathtrap of a dungeon. And to top it all off, they generally were good enough to survive the challenges that led to the demise of countless others.

  These were the five new customers Gaius was now exchanging glances with. Almost immediately one of them brazenly and unceremoniously threw a couple of vials into his bag, then stared straight at Gaius, as if daring him to do something about it.

  Gaius simply turned away. Vasily didn't pay him enough, or rather at all, to care about stolen merchandise. And even if he did try to stop this bunch, he wasn't particularly fond of his chances. Judging by their gear and demeanor, every one of them could take Gaius in a fair fight. Now, Gaius wasn't one to fight fair if he could help it, but there were five of them. It was much easier to just let them do their thing and then reimburse the losses from his enchanting money.

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  The imp didn't have that luxury. His contract with Vasily must have had a clause about protecting the goods.

  "You're planning to pay for that, sir?" That last word had more venom in it than any proper swear word the imp would have liked to use there instead.

  The guy with the bag, clearly the leader of the group, grunted something and the scruffy long-haired fellow behind him raised his arms, freezing the imp in a localized stasis field.

  Unlike your simple paralysis spell, this incantation kept the little fella in the air with his wings stuck mid-flap.

  Now that was real magic of the kind Gaius could never dream of reproducing.

  "You know, you might want to be careful antagonizing him. The little guy is well-connected," Gaius said because no matter how you spun it, such a display of magical prowess required a comment.

  "Tell him to send his best," said the guy with the bag. "That naked harpy stole our last demon kill. We, the Sea Boars, are owed a good fiend fight."

  The naked harpy would be Isabella, Gaius figured.

  In a more even scenario, Gaius would mock the guy for referring to himself as any type of boar, land or sea, but given the circumstances, he simply said, "I'll be sure to let him know."

  "Good," the guy said. "Now, if you don't mind, there's been a manticore sighting in the tunnels. This means we need to stock up. In peace."

  He started to slowly walk towards the counter, on his way grabbing a black cauldron and emptying it of its alchemical contents. When he reached the counter, he lingered there for a bit, staring Gaius down. Then, without another word, he put the cauldron over Gaius' head and shoved him into a wall.

  This was met with roaring laughter from the other Sea Boars.

  The following five minutes weren't the most dignified of Gaius' life, but nor were they the worst of what he had to deal with.

  Once the boars had cleared out, Gaius threw the cauldron aside and assessed the damage. It wasn't too bad. Several polearms were missing, the potion shelves got raided hard, and a couple of shields got nicked. He could live with that.

  After a bit, the stasis spell around the imp dissipated, allowing the fiend to express the depth of his displeasure.

  "Nice help out there, pal," the imp said while dashing about the place to make sure nothing of real value got stolen. "Next time you need help, you can expect me to not give a damn. You just wait. Adventurers. Hate em, hate em, hate em." He then stopped and tilted his head at Gaius. "What are you grinning for?"

  In response to that, Gaius' grin got even wider. He gestured for the imp to come closer and when he did, Gaius produced an old wooden flask from under the counter.

  "And what's that now?"

  "While our porcine friend was manhandling me, I made sure to return the favor. This was in his bag."

  "Great job, genius. They ran off with half a store and you got an old flask. Now we're even."

  Still grinning, Gaius pointed out the markings on the flask.

  "See this? It's the antidote for manticore poison. About the only thing that can slow its spread. Now, I don't know about you, Bes, but I didn't see no priest among those guys. To me, this means that all we need to do now is ask around and learn where the beast was last spotted, and then send our good friend Victor there to retrieve the stolen goods plus all the stuff these clowns had on them. They had some decent gear, wouldn't you say?"

  Now, the imp's fangs joined Gaius' teeth in a satisfied smile.

  "Pal, if you weren't working for the old man, I'd be scared now. I knew I liked you for a reason."

  "Whatever do you mean," Gaius said with feigned indignation. "I'm just a humble shopkeep who's been tactlessly burgled by vicious brutes."

  "Sure, you are," the imp said, going back to tending the store.

  This got Gaius thinking. Had he been a shopkeeper, an ordeal like this would have shaken him to his core. And what did law-abiding merchants do after getting robbed? They called the guards.

  And having had a few close calls too many lately, this was exactly what Gaius intended to do.

  Finding the town's captain ended up being a challenge in itself. Gaius couldn't simply approach a random constable and ask for an audience with his boss. That would brand him a crazy person even in a town where adventurers outnumbered locals two to one.

  The first place Gaius checked were the barracks and when Esven wasn't there, Gaius found himself without other good leads. The nice young lady behind the help desk didn't know where the captain had run off to. Lacking in ideas, Gaius took a shot in the dark and visited the guardhouse where he and Esven first met.

  On his way there, Gaius wasn't sure why he felt this pressing need to file a complaint. Upon giving it some thought, it occurred to him that after the last few days where he felt like he was aimlessly flailing, he wanted to do things by the book for a change. Acting in a way consistent with his cover was crucial to putting him at ease. And that was very high among his priorities at the moment.

  A knock on the closed shutters of the guardhouse revealed a familiar voice.

  "Who's there? Don't make me come out of here, ye blighters."

  Smiling to himself, Gaius said, "It's just me, your friendly Mystlund merchant. There's no need to point that arbalest of yours at the window."

  "Guy? That you?" With plenty of clangs and creaks, Esven emerged from the guardhouse, as usual in a suit of armor. His spectacles were resting on top of his head.

  "How did you know?" Esven asked. "About the arbalest, I mean."

  "I would have done the same."

  "Smart man." Esven slapped Gaius on the back. "Now, how can I help you, my friend?"

  "Who says I need anything? Maybe I just wanted to make sure alefs didn't get you last night."

  Esven looked around, as if just now realizing where he was. "Oh right, this is where you rolled into town. No, alefs are old news by now. I've been up all morning directing clean-up and then spent the rest of the day running around dealing with errands that seem to be multiplying like heads on a hydra."

  "I'm lucky that I caught you here, then," Gaius said.

  "Indeed, you are. Few know that I like to hide out here during my siesta."

  "If that's the case, then I apologize. I wouldn't dream of interrupting your siesta, captain, but there actually is something I want to talk to you about."

  "For you? I always have five minutes. Shoot."

  "I may have been robbed today."

  "May have?" Esven raised a bushy eyebrow at him.

  "Well, I definitely was, but it wasn't a break-in or anything. Just adventurers getting a bit too handsy with the merchandise. Still, I wanted to let you know."

  "That's rough," Esven said, his mind clearly in some far-away place.

  "And screw you too, captain," Gaius snapped.

  "Ha-ha, that's not what I meant, Guy." Esven actually enunciated that ha-ha instead of laughing. "It's just that lately, all the local scumbags seem determined to make my life difficult. They're angry, well-organized. Very annoying. Plus, that Alejo character who you had the displeasure of meeting had recently fallen off the face of the earth. He must be preparing something big. I can just feel it."

  Apart from delicious worm-food, Alejo wasn't preparing anything, but Gaius wasn't about to be the one who brought the captain up to speed. He kept his mouth shut, allowing Esven to refocus.

  "Ah, you're not interested in any of that crap when you have your own problems. Fine. I'll look into these adventurers of yours."

  "Right."

  "What?"

  It wasn't like Gaius actually wanted the captain to do something. His problem with the Sea Boars was about to sort itself out anyway.

  But at the same time, he couldn't help but say, "With everything you've already got on your plate? I'll probably be retired by the time you get to it."

  "I'm wounded, Guy," Esven said. "Were you a Caladonian, I would've challenged you to a duel on the spot. Just so you know, that warning sign we discussed? You know, the one describing alefs and the dangers they pose. It's up already. And you're out here calling me lazy."

  "Not calling you lazy, captain. Just busy. I'll understand if you don't put a rush on my thing when you have a whole town to run."

  "Don't let the magistrate hear you suggesting anything of the sort," Esven said after a hearty laugh.

  Guard or not, Gaius liked the Caladonian.

  In as few words as possible, Gaius recounted his run-in with the Boars, just without mentioning their likely impending demise. When that was done, he left Esven to enjoy the tail end of his siesta in peace and headed back to the store.

  The rest of the day wasn't unlike many that preceded it. Gaius closed up, helped the imp prepare the place for tomorrow's opening, had dinner.

  Afterwards, he welcomed Victor and Alessia when they returned from their adventuring expedition. He listened to Victor's gesticulated story about bashing shambling skeletons deep in the mines. He then gazed at the delicate circlet his northerner friends managed to unearth after defeating the undead. The thing actually looked expensive.

  Gaius lent his appraisal skills to the adventuring couple and told them roughly how much they could expect to get for it from the local jewelers.

  He then floated the idea of going after the manticore. But instead of fighting the ferocious beast, Gaius advised them to simply plunder the remains of the Sea Boars before making a hasty retreat.

  Victor became receptive to this idea after a bit of convincing while Alessia informed those present she had a concoction that did wonders for throwing venomous beasts off your scent.

  She followed that up by asking Gaius if he had anything that could help them on their quest. A perfectly innocent question on the surface, Gaius could see it for what it was. An attempt to learn more about him, and what he was capable of.

  From what he could tell, there was no hidden agenda behind the question. Just idle curiosity. Still, he was almost happy to hear the knock on the front door.

  When Gaius saw Isabella stand across the threshold, he all but bolted, Vasily and his retribution be damned. After a long moment of strangling his instincts, Gaius smiled and invited the knight in.

  "To what do I owe this pleasure?" he asked, following Isabella's every move.

  "Last night sure was something," Isabella said with her eyes on Gaius. "Exorcising a pit fiend after all that drink, while making sure no idiot adventurer got hurt in the chaos?" She placed her hands on Gaius' shoulders. "I haven't felt so alive in a while. Thank you for that."

  Gaius wasn't being apprehended, from what he could tell.

  Trying hard to look as undruid-like as possible, Gaius said, "Anytime."

  This simple word filled Isabella's features with triumph. "It's nice that you say that. Anytime is exactly why I'm here."

  "I don't follow," Gaius admitted.

  "It's no secret that the local clergy isn't exactly ecstatic to have me around. And after last night, you can't imagine the shit I got from the bishop for not being at the temple during his time of need, as he put it. Nevermind that I was the one who actually dealt with the problem. Long story short, after a lot of screaming and posturing, I was shown the door."

  Isabella walked up to the stairway and took a single step up. "You were saying you had rooms here. I don't need much and I have coin. What say you about me staying here?"

  "I say it's a bit forward."

  "It's purely a business transaction, Guy," Isabella said. The wink that followed suggested that may not have been the case.

  The prospect of Isabella living next door sent a bead of sweat down Gaius' back. Mere hours ago, he felt in the clear. Now, he had the biggest threat to his safety moving in. And it wasn't like he had a good reason to deny Isabella's request. In fact, with the chemistry between the two of them last night, Gaius the merchant would've been jumping with joy at the prospect.

  "Allow me to show you to your room," he said, gesturing for Isabella to go ahead while sufficiently lecherous to make it obvious he was about to enjoy the view.

  Isabella didn't seem to mind, only stopping when she saw Alessia pop out from the kitchen.

  "Hey there, neighbor. I'm Isabella," she said in a cheerful voice.

  Alessia looked past her. Right at Gaius. Silently asking him what Isabella, of all people, was doing there. To which Gaius could do nothing but shrug.

  "Don't talk to me," Alessia blurted out before slinking back into the kitchen.

  "What's with her?" Isabella asked Gaius after.

  "Don't mind Alessia, she's from the north," Gaius replied before finally showing the knight to her new room.

  Story Facts - Chapter 17