[Kara] Chapter 11: Shopping! (Patreon)

So Kara slept peacefully, having finally found civilization after months of wandering the Xor-In Mountains. She was finally at ease. There were very few worries left in her mind now that she had found a place that was safe.

But while she found herself dozing off to deep sleep, a furry figure lying next to her found himself tossing and turning as the night went on…

—--

Angel couldn’t sleep. Even though he was exhausted after such an incredibly long and tiresome day, he couldn’t bring himself to sleep. Perhaps it was because he was not lying on the usual hard surface of rock which he was acclimated to, but instead was lying cozily on the soft surface of a mattress. Or maybe he was concerned about Kara.

He had known a little bit about her past from their travels together. Whenever they had time to relax, which wasn’t too often, she would speak wistfully about her mother. Sometimes, she’d talk about her lack of friends. More often than not, she would curse out the dragon that had nearly killed her, but then thanked him for giving her his dragonsoul.

So the bear cub knew enough. However, he didn’t know her full story. And when he heard it, he couldn’t help but feel bad for what she had to go through. Even if he couldn’t fully comprehend all the concepts that she spoke about with Koros. Angel could still feel worried about her wellbeing.

But the most likely reason he couldn’t sleep was because of the thoughts that were plaguing his mind.

A heavy sense of guilt dug into his chest like the venomous fangs of a tarrantus. He felt terrible about what happened today. Kara hadn’t wanted to go to the Sanctuary City, but he had insisted that it was safe. And she trusted him. So she went along with his suggestion.

Because of that, they had been attacked by the guards of the city, and Kara was almost hurt. Fortunately, both of them escaped the fighting mostly unscathed. Nevertheless, Angel was acutely aware of the fact that things could have ended differently.

He squirmed where he lay as he recalled his kin being slaughtered because of him.

And he sat up, brushing aside those thoughts. He looked out the window and into the dimly lit cavern that was the upper tunnels of Alyona. Even though it was likely late at night, the narrow streets and alleys were completely devoid of life. There was still some movement out there.

So Angel stood up and grabbed his staff with his mouth. He glanced back at Kara’s sleeping figure, before he nodded. He wanted to make things up for her— he was going to make things up for her.

After all, he knew what her foremost problem was right now. So he was going to solve it for her tonight.

—-

Grok growled as he stomped his way through the upper tunnels, feeling a tingle of electricity run through his body.

“That bloody elf!” he practically shouted. “I will kill him the next time I see him!”

Behind him, the two orcs accompanying him winced. They exchanged a glance, and one of them, Piggu, piped nervously.

“Uh, Grok, Sir, I don’t think we should be too loud. You’ll wake up the neighborhood—”

Grok glanced back and glared daggers at his two companions. They recoiled at that. He raised his cudgel with his left hand.

“And you two— you cowards should be ashamed of yourselves! How dare you run away when I ordered you to fight?”

The second of the duo of idiots, Daka, scratched the back of his head uneasily. “Sorry, Grok, Sir. We know you’re Elder Golag’s son, but we also know when to run.”

“And you know we were up against Caius. Everyone knows he’s practically best friends with Dark Lord Koros,” Piggu added.

Grok frowned at that. The other two orcs blinked at him.

“...you knew that, didn’t you?” Piggu asked apprehensively.

And Grok shook his head. “I do not care about that. Do you think Dark Lord Koros can do anything about me? If he dares lay a hand on me, my clan will revolt. And the rest of the clans will join us if that happens.”

Piggu and Daka didn’t look so certain about that. But they were cowards. Grok always knew they were cowards. They were the ones who tried to convince him against robbing that stupid prostitute. So he didn’t care about what they said.

His clan— the Ironhide Clan— was one of the largest orc clans in the city. The fact that he alone had been let out of his cell no more than an hour after he had been brought in was proof of their power over the city.

But certainly, going against Dark Lord Koros might not be the smartest decision. Even still, more so than the fact that Grok had been injured, Grok’s ego had been bruised. He wanted to get revenge on someone. Even if he couldn’t get revenge on the elf, he wanted to get back at…

“That human,” he whispered as something caught his eye.

Grok saw an unusual but familiar figure stalking through the empty streets of the upper tunnels. A furry creature that should not have been within the walls of the city. A monster, but an intelligent one at that. It was walking down an alleyway, alone, with a metallic pole in its mouth.

“That utlas bear,” Grok said as his two companions paused. They saw it too. “It was with that human, was it not?”

They nodded hesitantly, realizing what was going through their leader’s mind. But neither of them could stop him as he stepped forward.

“Come on, let’s have a word with our furry friend, shall we?”

And they followed him apprehensively as he approached the utlas bear. Together, they followed the lone monster for a while. It seemed to be scouring the ground for something, but they couldn’t quite tell what it was looking for. Grok wanted to make a move already, however there were the occasional passersby which he didn’t want to deal with.

He had to wait for the opportune moment when the utlas bear was alone to surround it. But he was impatient. So much to his two companions’ chagrin, he strode forward and called out to the utlas bear.

“Hey, you,” Grok said as the monster perked up.

It turned around and faced the orc with a curious look. He gave it the best smile he could, which was tough considering his massive underbite, but he doubted that the monster could read facial expressions that well anyway.

“Are you lost? Are you looking for a human?” he asked kindly.

Or he tried. Again, he knew his acting skills were not the greatest, but it should have been enough for a bear cub. It tilted its head in response, and he ushered it down an empty alleyway.

“I think I saw a human head down this way,” Grok said as he turned towards his two companions. “Isn’t that right?”

He eyed them expectantly, and they hurriedly nodded.

“R-right,” Piggu unconvincingly agreed.

“A human with blonde hair? Definitely went down there!” Daka tried harder, but did a terrible job as well.

Grok snorted, then faced the utlas bear. “Here, I’ll lead you to her. Just follow me.”

And he started down the alleyway as his two companions followed. But the utlas bear hesitated for a moment. Grok rolled his eyes as he pointed deeper down the alley.

“Look, I see her there right now!”

The utlas bear blinked, then finally trailed after him. He snickered as he led the foolish monster away from the main streets of the upper tunnel, and further into a lonely alley. Piggu and Daka still seemed uncertain about this plan.

But Grok didn’t care. He just shook his head as he turned a corner as the utlas bear followed. You’re going to be meeting with that human, alright… when you’re both dead at my feet.

He came to a halt as they reached a dead end, and the utlas bear blinked. It looked around quizzically. But Grok drew his cudgel. His hand had been healed with the help of a healing potion. He nodded at Piggu and Daka. The two orcs moved to block the only exit as Grok spun around.

“I heard utlas bears are supposed to be intelligent monsters,” he said as he hefted his cudgel over his shoulder.

In response, the utlas bear simply cocked its head. Grok laughed when he saw that.

“Oh? You still don’t understand what’s going on, do you? Too bad. I’m not going to spell it out for you.” He took a step forward threateningly, towering over the bear cub. “I’m just going to beat you to death—”

But before Grok could finish, there was a flash of light. He blinked as he heard a loud crack, followed by another. And then he heard two heavy thuds. He watched as both Piggu and Daka collapsed to the ground behind the utlas bear.

“What…?” Grok stared in confusion for a moment, before he glared at the monster. “What did you—”

He started, but couldn’t finish. A giant slab of stone struck him in the back of his head, and he collapsed onto the ground, groaning as he bled down his neck. His vision blurred as he looked up. He could barely see, but he was pretty sure he was watching the utlas bear dig into the pockets of his two companions.

Grok tried to force himself back to his feet. But the utlas bear stepped up next to him. It raised its staff as he opened his mouth. And darkness engulfed his vision as the metallic rod came swinging down at his face.

—--

Angel left the three unconscious orcs behind as he carried a small bag of colorful metals, a smile plastered on his face. They were called coins, and from what Kara had told him, she needed these coins to survive in Alyona. So to help her, he had been going around and searching for spare coins lying on the ground to give her as a surprise when she woke up.

But that proved to be tough, since he had been searching for a while, but only found three brown coins. However, much to his surprise, three of the orcs who had attacked Arjin suddenly came up to him. And he saw the pouches they carried— he heard the jingling of coins within.

So he decided to follow them, trying to devise a plan to take their coins from them. Fortunately for him, he didn’t need to come up with anything, because they decided to threaten him. He would have killed them there and then if he hadn’t been worried about how that could affect Kara. Instead, he left them unconscious and took their pouches.

When he looked inside the pouches they carried, he saw hundreds of brown coins and dozens of silver coins. There were even a handful of golden coins, too.

So Angel beamed as he returned to the inn, before crawling up next to Kara as he felt accomplished. And finally, the bear cub could fall asleep.

—--

“Oh my god!” Kara exclaimed the next morning as she stared at the pouch of coins lying on the bedside table. Angel stood there, grinning up at her. She started to count the coins, but there were too many, so she paused to steel herself. “You got this all for me?!”

Her head spun, and the bear cub nodded eagerly. She tried to work her jaw for a moment, before she picked him up and hugged him.

“You’re amazing, Angel! Thank you so much!”

He laughed and licked her as she clung onto him. Eventually, they let go of each other as she sat back into her bed. There was a small part of her that wondered how she obtained those coins— if they had been through legal means. But she trusted Angel.

She knew he wouldn’t do anything that would get her in trouble to help her.

So she took a handful of coins and hid the rest inside of the room, before descending down to the common room of the inn. It was mostly empty. As expected, an innsmith wasn’t going to attract a lot of customers, even if it was relatively cheap.

Arjin was heading out as Kara descended from the stairway.

“Good m-morning, Ms Kara,” the prostitute said as she bowed her head.

“Going to work already?” Kara asked with a raised brow. “Also, please stop calling me ‘miss’, thanks.”

Conveniently, Arjin ignored the second statement as she responded, “I’m taking the day off today at Mr Dammir’s insistence. I also have to buy some new clothes after… what happened yesterday. Do you want to join me?”

Kara looked at the prostitute’s revealing outfit, before shaking her head. “I’ll pass. I can go shopping on my own later. For now, I’ll have a bite to eat.”

“Just let me know if you need anything, Ms Kara,” Arjin said, before leaving the inn.

“I swear she’s doing it on purpose,” Kara muttered under her breath as Angel walked past her.

He poked his nose around the stone counter, sniffing hungrily. But then he drew back and whined. Kara strode up to him as he clutched his stomach.

“Is there nothing to eat?” she asked, wrinkling her nose.

The scent of food didn’t permeate the room like she expected it would. She had thought that Dammir would serve them breakfast since this was an inn, but he seemed rather preoccupied.

“Sorry, no breakfast today for anyone!” he called out from the back of the kitchen.

Kara’s stomach rumbled at that, and Angel deflated. They peeked over the stone counter to see the dwarf working a blacksmith’s bellow as his forge shone with a dim orange light.

“Uh, what are you doing?” Kara asked as she stepped up next to him.

“I’m trynna get this damn thing workin’,” he replied snappishly, pumping air into the forge. Burning ash and flakes of embers wisped off the bed of burnt coal, but no flame was ignited.

He took a step back as he wiped a bead of sweat from his forehead. Kara eyed him with narrowed eyes.

“I take it you haven’t used the smithy in a while?”

“Ye think?” he snorted.

And Kara rolled her eyes. “So what makes you want to get back into smithing now?”

“Because I need ta craft a silver dagger for that daft lassie,” Dammir folded his burly arms across his chest. “She needs ta learn how ta protect herself.”

He didn’t even need to say Arjin’s name to make it clear he was talking about her. The expression on his face softened as a deep crease formed on his forehead.

“She’s always getting herself into trouble… someone needs ta look after her. And if that has ta be me, then so be it.”

Kara looked the dwarf up and down with a frown. “You’re quite close with Arjin, aren’t you? But why do you care about her so much?”

Dammir shifted where he stood. He averted his gaze. “It’s none of yer business.”

“Do you like her?” Kara asked, pressing the question.

And that made the dwarf back away from her and sputter, “What? Nay! Absolutely not!”

She grinned back at him. “I don’t know. That sounds like something someone who’s interested in a girl would say.”

“I’m over a hundred years old, and Arjin’s barely even in her twenties.” Dammir scowled. “I’d never be interested in a girl that young.”

“You’re a hundred years old?” Kara whistled. She would’ve been more surprised, if she hadn’t just met an eighty-six years old teenage elf yesterday.

“I said: over a hundred years old,” the dwarf corrected her.

Kara shrugged, still wearing her grin. “I mean, I’ve seen some massive age gaps back where I’m from. So I’m not going to judge you or anything.” Especially with how old some people in this world can live up to, she added in her head. As long as it’s between two consenting adults, I’m sure even a relationship between a two hundred year old elf and a forty year old dark elf would be fine.

Although, she didn’t exactly know how old a hundred year old dwarf was relative to his species. But she felt like it would be rude to ask right now.

Dammir closed his eyes as he listened to Kara’s continued teasing. Finally, he lowered his head, before sighing, “I would never be interested in Arjin in that way… because she reminds me of my daughter.”

“Oh?” That surprised Kara. Even Angel seemed piqued by that. “And how exactly is a dark elf prostitute anything like your dwarven daughter?”

“It’s hard ta explain,” Dammir said as he took a seat. “They both just… always need yer help. It’s like they have this aura that makes ye want ta protect them, ye know?”

“...so you’re saying Arjin can’t do anything on her own,” Kara said flatly.

“That’s not what I’m saying at all!” the dwarf snapped.

And Kara chuckled as she backed away jokingly. “Sorry, sorry. So where’s your daughter now?”

Dammir’s shoulders sagged as he murmured, “She left Alyona ta go to Yulia nearly fifty years ago. She said that was tha only way she could learn how to be independent. I have only seen her once ever since…”

Isn’t Yulia the Sanctuary City with a fucked up Dark Lady? Kara thought to herself as she placed a hand on her chin. I wonder if Dammir’s daughter is fine there…

“Anyway,” Dammir said as he rose to his feet, “I need ta get this damn forge workin’ before lunchtime. I’ll have ta cook up somethin’ for my other guests when they get back.”

“You have other guests?” Kara asked, genuinely surprised.

The dwarf glared at her. “Did ye come here for any reason other than ta annoy me?”

Kara chuckled as she took a step forward. She brought a hand to her chest, before a ball of golden flames was drawn out to her palms. Dammir blinked as she placed her fire onto the forge.

“Here,” she whispered.

And her golden flames burned brilliantly within the heart. Dammir looked on in awe. She drew back as she smiled at him.

“It should keep burning for a few days. And it should be just enough to keep the inn warm, but not intensely hot.”

“Are ye serious?” Dammir asked with round eyes. “I’ve never seen flames like that before. What kind of school of magic is that?”

“I have no idea,” Kara answered truthfully. “But this is my thanks for letting me stay the night for free.”

“Stay tha night for free?” the dwarf exclaimed. “Ye can stay over for free as long as ye would like if ye keep my forge burning— do ye know how much ye are gonna save me with that?”

Kara scratched the back of her head. She had intended to pay him for the room now that she had coins, but she wasn’t going to turn down a free room. “I mean, sure. But I won’t always be around, just so you know.”

“Bah even a month’s worth of fire is worth a lot. If I don’t hafta buy any coal anymore, I’d be cutting my smithing costs by more than half!” Dammir shook his head as he explained to her.

“Well, I’m glad I could help.”

She smiled back at him then started back towards the exit as Angel followed. Dammir began getting ready to smith his silver dagger, but Kara suddenly paused. She looked down at herself, before calling back to the dwarf.

“By the way, do you know if there’s anywhere around here I can buy some good clothes?”

“Nope, sorry,” he called back to her. “The upper tunnels is a shithole. So yer gonna hafta take a look around the main city and ask for someone’s help there.”

“What about the lower tunnels?” Kara asked, her thoughts drifting back to the human thief.

Her question elicited a guffaw from the dwarf. “Good one.”

“I’m being serious,” she said flatly.

“If yer being serious—” Dammir shook his head. “No one but tha city guards are allowed inta the lower tunnels. Ye will have better luck trynna dig straight down to get there.”

So I can’t just just waltz in and find Levi, huh? That meant she would have to find Caius to help her out. But she didn’t know where the elf had gone. She mulled over her options, before deciding to worry about it for later.

“For now, I have to figure out where to get some new clothes,” she murmured. “Is there anyone I know that I can ask for help from in the main city?”

In response, Angel’s stomach growled. He looked down at himself, then he brightened as though he had an idea. Kara turned to him as he gave her a wide smile.

—--

Kara and Angel found themselves before an empty food stand right at the edge of a busy street. They were back here again— at Issa’s Stall For Authentic Troll Cuisine.

This time, there was actually a customer present here. A young-looking troll who was shyly ordering off the menu. Well, Kara thought he looked younger than Issa, at the very least.

“C-can I have one order of the lizard soup—”

“Only one order? A fine young man like you needs at least two orders of lizard soup if you want to grow into a fine adult!”

“Oh, of course… and can I have two orders of the centipede eyes…?”

“Make it four! And I’ll even give you one on the house!”

“R-right…”

Each time the young troll spoke up, Issa interrupted him and doubled his order. Until, eventually, he left with his hands full and his pockets empty. Kara strode up to the food stand after he was gone.

“Welcome back,” the food vendor greeted her with a smile. “I see you couldn’t resist returning here for a second serving.”

“And this time, I can actually pay you, thanks to Angel,” Kara said as she patted the bear cub on the back.

Issa gave an approving nod. “As expected. Utlas bears are very intelligent. My tribe used to live near a sleuth, and our children would play with their young.”

Angel narrowed his eyes at that, and Kara handed over a few dozen copper coins with a smile.

“So that’s why you didn’t react when you saw Angel.”

“I have experienced a great many things in my life,” Issa snorted. “My tribe has even traded with humans before. I care more about an individual’s story than the shape of their body or their species.”

“You didn’t seem to think that way when we first met,” Kara said with a teasing grin.

Issa huffed. “Hmph, I was frustrated after a long day of getting no customers. My philosophy and outlook on life changes depending on my mood.”

“Isn’t that a bit hypocritical?”

“Everybody is a hypocrite for nobody’s beliefs are static. And anyone can have a bad day and shout in anger even if they believe that is irrational and solves no problem.”

“True,” Kara agreed, before she looked down at herself. “Speaking of problems, I’m looking for a place that sells high quality clothes. Preferably something similar to what I’m wearing right now.”

She had seen the clothes dark elves wore. It wasn’t… fashionable, to say the least. To call them rags was far more appropriate. Meanwhile, most orcs seemed to wear what looked like leather armor. Trolls were the most well-dressed, wearing robes that almost resembled what monks wore back on Earth.

Issa eyed Kara’s clothing, before giving an apologetic look. “I think you’ll have a hard time finding clothes like yours anywhere around Alyona. You would be better-off speaking to a seamster or a seamstress to design you some custom clothing. Especially ones that can be enchanted with protection magic, considering the life you have to live.”

“Do you know where I can find someone like that?” Kara asked inquisitively.

“Indeed,” Issa said as she produced a rough map of the city. She pointed at a corner of the Sentinel Square of Alyona. “You will find a shop here called the Weaver Of Magic And Fabrics. But I must warn you, the price of such clothing will not be cheap.”

“I have some money now, so maybe I can afford it. Thank you, Issa.” Nodding gratefully, Kara began to draw back, when she saw Angel waiting behind her. “Also—”

Kara pursed her lips, turning back to the food stand. She gestured at the bear cub as Issa blinked.

“He’ll take six skewers of centipede eyes, please. And I’d like to try your insect stew, too.”

Issa smirked. “Coming right up!”

—--

Kara had been to Sentinel Square before. It was the only part of the city without any buildings for over a mile in every direction. But the buildings that lined the edges tended to be popular restaurants or busy shops that were all crowded with customers. And even still, it took her quite a while to find the shop she was looking for.

Not because she was lost, and not because she couldn’t wade her way through the sea of people. It was because Angel kept trying to drag them both to every restaurant they saw.

“We’ll get lunch later!” Kara said as she pulled him away from a place that served dwarvish cuisine. There was evidently not a single dwarf working there, so she wondered how authentic the food there was going to be. “Right now, I need to buy some new clothes!”

Now that the two of them had money, they no longer just had to wander around like lost puppies, staring sadly at all the shops and restaurants from a distance away because they wouldn't be let in. But that didn’t mean they had to enter every building they walked past either.

Finally, the two of them arrived at their destination. But when Kara saw the shop, she hesitated. It was nothing like what she had imagined. Judging by its name, she had expected a shop with stained glass windows, velvet curtains made of silk, and a red carpet rolled out to the front for every customer. Well— that was a bit hyperbolic. But she had thought it would be a relatively fancy shop.

Instead, what she saw was a tent standing before her. It was not even a building. It was like a large yurt, about the size of a small house, woven from a gray cloth.

“...are you sure we’re at the right place?” Kara asked, glancing back at Angel.

He shook his head at her, before pointing at a nearby restaurant. She snorted at that.

“You’re not fooling me. I know that’s not the shop we’re looking for.” She started forward as she read the sign hanging from the large doorway that indicated this was the right place. “Well, at the very least, we know whoever owns this place is probably good at sewing.”

Angel followed her inside. And much to her surprise, the interior was rather well-decorated. It wasn’t gilded in gold or etched with rare gemstones, but the walls and the ceiling were woven from various vibrant fabrics with unique patterns that made every corner of the room a different scene. There were also vast tapestries hanging from the walls, colorful and bright like a painting, depicting various different scenes. Some of them seemed to be battlefields, while others were of times of peace.

And they were all distinct. Not just in size or shape, but in the creatures they showed. One tapestry illustrated a group of dark elves at war with orcs, while another showed a tribe of trolls gathered around a large fire.

A hole opened up the ceiling, allowing a soft beam of light from the Sanctuary City to pour in. And sitting at the center, surrounded by various discarded pieces of clothing was a hulking figure. Even while sitting down, he was taller than Kara.

His upper body was sculpted with muscles, and his lower body was covered by a black fur. His skin was a shade of light blue, but that was not the most jarring thing about him. It was the fact that he had a bull’s head.

He was a minotaur. A massive one at that.

Kara hadn’t seen very many minotaurs since she arrived in Alyona. But they were usually as tall as trolls, just more bulky in body. However, this minotaur had to have been two heads taller than Issa. He sat there in silence as he gently threaded a needle through a piece of cloth.

“Uh, hello?” Kara called out as she stopped right behind him. And Angel nearly bumped into her back, having been distracted by the smell of food.

The minotaur paused what he was doing as he heard her voice. He slowly lowered the piece of cloth he was working on, before rising to his feet. Kara scratched the back of her head as he slowly turned to face her.

“I’m sorry for intruding, but I was told this was the place for me to go to if I wanted to— why the fuck are you naked?!”

She screamed as she backed away from the minotaur. He blinked and looked down at himself. Then he bowed his head and spoke in a deep voice.

“This one apologizes for offending you with his unsightly appearance. This one has yet to acclimate to living in a city.”

“Don’t just apologize—” Kara said, covering her eyes. “Put on some clothes already!”

Angel stared at her, confused as to why she was shouting. But the minotaur complied, walking up to a crimson pole placed between two wooden desks. He grabbed a large robe that was hanging there, before putting it on— the wrong way.

Kara didn’t correct him, simply sighing in relief as she looked up. The minotaur knelt down before her as he met her gaze.

“This one hopes he has appropriately accommodated to the sensibilities of this society. This one apologizes once again for his mistake.”

“It’s fine…” Kara said as she peeled herself from the textile walls. “I’m, uh, Kara. And I was hoping to buy some clothes from this shop. Do you work here?”

The minotaur placed a hand on his burly chest. “This one’s name is Zlo’tan, and he is the owner of this establishment. But this one must warn you that he charges a high price for his goods.”

“So I’ve been told. But how much would a custom-made piece of clothing like what I’m wearing— except not ripped and coated in dried mud— cost?” The young woman from Earth gestured at her suit. It was a wonder that it was still in one piece.

Zlo’tan strummed his fingers against his lap in thought, before replying, “This one believes it would cost ten gold coins for such a service.”

“Ten gold… coins?” Kara almost went crossed-eyed. “That’s way too expensive! Is it made of gold or covered in diamonds or something?”

Even though she was clearly upset about the price of his services, he did not seem perturbed in the slightest. He remained soft-spoken, despite his natural baritone voice.

“This one only uses the finest of fabrics— that is hard to tear and which can be imbued with magic. This one does not work with lesser fabrics that must be replaced within ten years. And this one has refined his craft for years. That is why this one charges such a high price for his goods and services.”

His calm response made Kara bite her lower lip. She realized she might have overreacted a bit, mostly because she was partially still in shock over what she saw earlier. And while she wasn’t familiar with this world’s economy in the slightest, she could tell that the price he listed was quite steep.

“Right, that makes sense, I guess. Sorry for, uh, shouting.” Kara lowered her head in embarrassment, before turning to Angel. “...maybe we could afford it? How many gold coins did we have back at the inn again?”

The bear cub removed his staff from his mouth and made a whining noise. She drew her lips into a thin line, realizing what that meant. They probably didn’t have enough gold coins. Zlo’tan looked between them, before narrowing his eyes.

Kara crossed her arms as she turned back to him. “We’ll have to go back and check if we even have enough to afford it. And then we’ll have to discuss if it’s worth it—”

“Wait,” the minotaur cut her off abruptly.

His gaze was still fixed on Angel. Kara furrowed her brows when she saw that. She wondered what was wrong, until she realized what Zlo’tan was really staring at.

“This one has seen such a thing before,” he said as he got to his feet. He approached the bear cub who backed up warily. “This one wishes no harm to you. This one simply wishes to inspect that crystal.”

And Angel blinked, looking down at the tip of his staff. He turned to Kara who gave him a nod.

“Let Zlo’tan see it,” she urged the bear cub.

He acquiesced begrudgingly and handed over his staff to the minotaur. Both Kara and Angel watched as Zlo’tan studied the broken crimson crystal at the tip of the staff.

“You’ve seen it before?” Kara asked as she squinted at the minotaur. She tried to make out what his reactions meant. But his stone-cold expression never changed.

“This one has indeed seen such a crystal before,” Zlo’tan replied simply, before lowering the staff. “It was a long time ago— back when this one encountered the Soulmaster.”

And both Kara and Angel froze when they heard that.

Author's Notes:

5.6k words. What thonk? 

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