Chapter 12 #4
“I saw an inn that’s still open,” she said without looking at him.
What got into her? He followed her, reaching the inn. They were almost cleaning up, so Alsen quickly paid for a room.
Luna hadn’t made a sound, which would have unnerved Alsen were he sober.
They walked up the stairs and entered the room. A small room with two beds.
Luna stopped by the window, which she didn’t open. She turned, crossing her arms over her chest. “You agreed to a long dungeon expedition with strangers without asking me.”
Alsen stopped. He frowned, facing her. “What?”
“You heard me.” Her voice was level, controlled, holding anger underneath the thinnest of layers.
“Where we go adventure, and especially with whom, is a decision that gravely affects both of us. Both you and me. You cannot make decisions like that without consulting with me, just like I would never do that without talking to you.”
What was she complaining about? “It’s a great quest. We’ve got no money, and this could pay plenty. Garrett and the group are great, and the old vault could have some information connected to the spiral religion thanks to its age.”
“That’s not my point. You decided for both of us, as if I’m your luggage. As if I just come along wherever you point.”
“That’s not what I—”
“That’s exactly what you did. You didn’t even notice.
” She dropped her backpack and pulled out her sleeping bag, her grip white-knuckled.
“Garrett’s entire group looked straight through me.
To them, I’m the civilian girl who tags along with the almighty mage, the burden they have to take with them to get you to come along.
And you didn’t even use that to negotiate. ”
“They’ll see what you can do once we’re in the dungeon, and the equal loot distribution is fair. And Sonja definitely did notice you.”
“That’s not the point!” Her voice cracked, just barely, before she reined it back.
“We are supposed to be partners. That means you talk to me before you commit us both to days in a hole in the ground with people we’ve known for two hours.
One of whom has already renamed me and spent the evening treating me like a stray she's decided to take home.”
“I’m sorry,” he said. “About Sonja. I should have—”
“This isn’t about her.” She flung open the window. “Goodnight.” She leaned up, grabbed the roof, and pulled herself up.
Alsen stared at the open window. That wasn’t how he meant it at all.
Before he went to sleep, he checked on Luna with a quick scan. She slept on the roof, again. At least she was there.
He fell asleep with mixed feelings.
Beer woke him up in the middle of the night. He had to pee. On the way to the toilet, he fired another scan to check on Luna. Not in range.
Damn it. As he pissed, his tired mind finally comprehended what he did wrong. He signed her up for an adventure without even looking at her.
Not his brightest moment. He hadn’t realized it at all, but he really had treated her like an accessory.
Well, he did spend most of his life doing things like that. The Archmage of the United Nations Mage Guild made the decisions, and everyone else followed. Nobody asked the Archmage to consult every mage beneath him first.
But there was no Archmage here, the name of his main class in the System was more of a subtle mockery than anything else.
He focused, pushing out another scan, this one spanning a third of the city.
Luna’s life signature pinged his mind from three streets away.
He dressed up and headed out. The inn had an unlocked back exit, which he used to leave. At first fast, but then carefully, he tracked Luna.
She wasn’t moving.
He heard the hammering before he saw her. Orange light shone through a smithy. He crept to the window and peeked in. Luna stood by the anvil, hammering out a strangely shaped dagger. Three blades twisted into the spiral, the dagger and the handle all one piece of steel.
Other, differently shaped daggers and knives lay on a table near her, still glowing with a faint, orange light.
She hammered at a steady, fast pace, sparks flying from time to time.
Alsen watched for a moment. The precision, strength, and stability with which she hammered the knife felt almost surreal.
He snuck out, returning to the inn.
With a bit of luck, none of the knives had his name on it.
The morning air had a bite to it, waking Alsen the second Luna landed in the room.
No daggers in sight. “Morning,” he tried.
She strapped the sleeping bag to her backpack, picked it up, and stormed out of the room.
With a sigh and his gut tangled with guilt, Alsen got out of bed. He packed his things, and headed to the adventurer’s guild.
He found Luna waiting there, near Garrett. He wore a radiant smile, all his armor glistening in the morning light. Luna stood relaxed, chatting with him.
The second Alsen came into view, she pierced him with a short glare.
Yes, he had a lot to apologize for. He just wasn’t sure how to go about that.
The rest of the group gathered in a moment, and they headed out. Luna made sure to walk on the opposite side of the group from Alsen.