When Arwin got to the tavern, he found that he wasn’t the first one there. A tall man stood in the dim orange light cast by the lantern. Lillia leaned against the doorframe across from him, her expression unreadable in the dark and posture guarded. As he stepped inside, the man turned to face him. He had pointed features like those of a hawk that were softened by a bushy unibrow that connected the expanse of one side of his temple to the other. It vaguely resembled an escaped caterpillar that had frozen in place, hoping to not be seen by its pursuers. “You must be Ifrit,” the man said. He adjusted the well-worn suit he wore and fixed his tie. “Is now a good time?” “That depends on what you want,” Arwin said, grateful that [Arsenal] had deactivated and he was fully clad in his armor. There wasn’t all that much reason to be distraught either way. His mask was really more of a marketing tool than an actual disguise. Even if he’d been caught without it, it didn’t matter much. “I’m Jake.” The man extended a hand and looked down the bridge of his nose at Arwin. “With the Merchant’s Guild.” They can’t be here to try to take the land for the smithy from me, can they? Nobody else is using the damn thing. The city can screw off. Arwin took his hand, a chill running down his spine. “And you’ve come here…” “To discuss some work you’ve been doing in the market.” Jake’s grip was firm, just barely. He released Arwin’s hand and adjusted his coat once more. He seemed rather uncomfortable in it. “I believe you set up a stall, yes?” “I did,” Arwin allowed suspiciously. “Why?” That was a really roundabout way for Jake to say that he didn’t give a shit about the problems that plagued Milten. A fair take, all things considered. It seemed respectable that the Merchant’s Guild was even bothering with trying to manage anything this far out into the kingdom. “I see,” Arwin said slowly. He went to get a gold. His fingers met nothing but leather. He’d spent every single gold he had. Lillia spotted the look on his face and pulled out a gold of her own. “Here,” she said, handing it to Jake. “I already paid for the tavern.” “Have you come up with a name for it yet?” Jake asked. “No. It’s been about five minutes since we last spoke.” “I was just checking,” Jake said as he tucked the coin into a pocket. “Names are of utmost importance, you know. It’s very difficult to properly register anything without a name. Fortunately for you, Milten does not have any ‘monster themed inn and or taverns’ within it. We’ll make sure to give you another visit once you’ve put up a sign so we can get everything properly set up.” “I’ll keep that in mind,” Lillia said. “Best of luck to both of you,” Jake said. He stepped away from the lantern and headed toward the moonlit streets, pausing as he reached the door to look back at them. “If you get that smithy of yours set up and start selling from it, please remember to register with us. We will fine you if you fail to do so now that you know about our existence.” “So you wouldn’t have if we didn’t know?” Jake flashed Arwin a grin. “No. But it’s too late for that now, isn’t it?” He strode off and disappeared into the night. Arwin blinked. Part of him expected Jake to pop back up, but the man seemed to have left. He looked back to Lillia. “That was… odd,” Arwin said. “Tell me about it,” Lillia said. “I fully expected him to be grubbing for more money. It seems weird for any sort of authority group to actually not be a terrible piece of shit. Maybe he’s unique?” “I suppose it’s too much to hope that one guild isn’t completely horrible?” Lillia snorted. “Optimistic. I’ll believe it when I see it. Maybe they’re fine right now, but who knows what will happen in the future. They tracked us down pretty easily. I wonder how that happened?” “I haven’t exactly been quiet about my location. It could have been anyone,” Arwin said. “I don’t suppose we’ll find out unless we ask. It doesn’t seem like anything to worry about at the moment.” “We’re in agreement there. For the amount of gold they’re asking, it’s not a huge concern. We’ll just have to keep an eye on things to make sure they don’t surprise us with something,” Lillia said. She shook her head and let out a huff. “Whatever. How’d your work go? Did you manage to finish? I see you’re holding a bow.” Arwin’s face split apart in a grin and he hefted the weapon in question. He went to unveil its stats, then froze an instant before he could and lowered the bow again. Lillia frowned. “I have to take a bath first. Your rules, not mine.” “Wait, that’s not fair. I want to see what the bow does.” Arwin just chuckled and headed into the bathroom, much to Lillia’s chagrin. She couldn’t do anything other than stand in the common room and glare at his back. That said, he was just as eager to show her the weapon as she was to see it, so his bath didn’t take long. He headed back out to find Lillia pacing back and forth in front of the counter. “Finally,” she muttered. “Show me!” There was no reason to make her wait any longer. He’d already built up all the anticipation he wanted. Arwin removed the concealment and let the Mesh identify the bow for Lillia. Her eyebrows steadily crept up on her forehead and her mouth formed into a small o. She read over it several times, then finally tore her gaze away from the Mesh to look up at Arwin. “Godspit,” Lillia said with a disbelieving laugh. “A Unique Set item. We haven’t even figured out what my Set does yet and you went and started another one? This thing is terrifying, Arwin. I’m not sure I love the part where it hasn’t accepted you as a master.” “Me neither,” Arwin said. “But I’ll be honest, the only thing I really want to do is shoot something nasty with it.” Arwin grinned. “Like a Wyrm. I’ll need a string and a big ass arrow, though. I don’t suppose your hair…” “Is just normal hair.” Lillia rolled her eyes. “What, do you think my body is made out of precious metals?” “I don’t know,” Arwin said defensively. “It’s not like I’m an expert on it. I figured it couldn’t hurt to ask.” “You’re an idiot,” Lillia said through a laugh. She flicked her hand at him. “Hide the stats on that before someone sees it and gets a heart attack.”