The road to Atranth passed without any trouble. Thanks to the maps in my head, I was able to guide us without issue, even though I had never traveled there before.

  From time to time, I gnced at Mari, unsure if she’d fully recovered, wondering if she’d need a break, forced to walk the entire way on foot.

  She seemed to be doing fine, but a bit past the halfway point, I decided to take a short break. And in the meantime, I wanted to test out Zoe’s newest skill.

  Together, we stepped away from Azura and Mari. “Use the skill to cover us, and leave them outside,” I ordered.

  Zoe nodded, and a moment ter, the air around us shimmered. It looked like we were surrounded by a dome of incredibly tight gss.

  “Hello?” I said toward Azura and Mari. “Can you hear me?” I asked.

  When they didn't respond, I slowly approached the dome, first trying to touch it with my fingers, but they just passed through it. Then I walked out, without being able to feel anything, just like it wasn't even there.

  “Azura, get inside and say something,” I ordered.

  Azura walked in, turned toward me, and moved her lips, but I couldn't hear anything. From this side, I couldn't even see the barrier, it was impossible to tell that something was there.

  “Raise your hands if you can hear me,” I said.

  Both Azura and Zoe raised their hands, and then I walked inside.

  “Is the dome set in pce or around you?” I asked.

  “In pce,” Zoe replied, moving to the edge of it.

  “Can you move it?”

  “No,” Zoe replied after a moment.

  “Change its size?”

  “Also no, but I can dismiss it and summon a smaller one.”

  I gnced at Mari, who sat nearby watching us while eating. She hadn’t been able to sense when I summoned mana before, so I decided to run one final test.

  Summoning a small bit of mana, I sent it toward Zoe’s dome. But it simply passed through without causing any effect.

  “Did you feel my mana?” I asked Zoe.

  “No.” Zoe shook her head.

  “Okay. This could be really useful. Once we get to Atranth, we’ll meet with Kalista. She should help us find whoever supplies fish to the boratory. Will you surround us with the dome during the conversation?”

  “Yes, Master.”

  After dismissing the barrier and finishing our food, we continued on our way. Fortunately, the rest of the trip was just as uneventful, and we reached our destination without any unpleasant adventures.

  Long before we arrived, I could already feel we were nearing the sea, the air had turned crisp with a familiar salty breeze. Atranth stretched along the coastline, hugging it closely, which made it a very long city.

  I led us to the gate closest to our meeting point with Kalista. After paying the entry fee for one day for our entire group, we each received another magical symbol on our forearms and headed toward the building Gemma had pointed out.

  The map that she was using was very detailed, and without trouble, I found the right pce. The building looked just like every other around, and without unnecessary hesitation, I knocked on the door.

  A moment ter, Kalista opened it, looking exactly like in the image I had stored in my memory. Her eyes swept over me and the three women accompanying me.

  “Come in,” she said, opening the door wider.

  The interior looked like a regur home, not some secret informant base. Though, to be fair, I had no idea what such a pce was even supposed to look like. Kalista walked over to a table and leaned against it, crossing her arms under her chest while watching us closely.

  “I’m from Sage,” I said.

  Kalista nodded slowly. “And you have questions I’m supposed to know the answers to.”

  I gnced at Zoe, who nodded, and a moment ter, the air around us shimmered, and we were surrounded by her sound-blocking dome.

  “Interesting,” Kalista said, looking at the barrier, and then Zoe. “But no one would’ve eavesdropped here anyway.”

  “You know all the fish vendors in the area?” I asked.

  “Yep,” Kalista replied with a single nod.

  “Most of the deliveries go to the big cities?”

  “All of them.”

  “No one delivers fish outside the major cities?”

  “Big orders always go to the cities. Who outside would even need that much fish?”

  “And if someone was delivering fish outside a major city, you'd know?”

  “Yep,” Kalista answered confidently.

  So either the deliveries weren’t happening here, or they were being sent to the city first and then rerouted elsewhere… or Kalista didn’t actually know everything going on in the city and had no idea someone was selling fish to the boratory.

  “Is there anyone in town who goes out to sea every day, doesn’t sell anything, but still has plenty of money?”

  Kalista fell silent for a moment, studying me carefully. I got the feeling she wasn’t thinking about the question but rather about me, and why I was asking it.

  “If someone spends every day at sea and never brings back a catch, how would they have money?” she asked.

  “You tell me.”

  Kalista clicked her tongue. “You know, this would go a lot smoother if you’d just gotten to the point instead of pretending to care about fish.”

  “Fair enough,” I said with a smile, though I had no idea what she was talking about.

  “Malvic Vandrossar—the one you're clearly interested in—is smuggling something by sea. Like you said, he goes out every day ciming to be fishing, but always comes back empty-handed, saying the waters weren’t kind. But I’m afraid I can’t answer your questions.”

  “You don’t know what he’s transporting?” I guessed.

  “No idea. And very few people do. But it must be worth a lot, because he’s the richest fisherman around. He pays off the mayor, and his entire crew wouldn’t sell him out for anything. No matter what you offer, you always get the same answer. Fish.”

  “He’s been doing this long?”

  “Him? A bit over three years. But he inherited the business from his father, who’s been at it for as long as I can remember. Decades go by, and the Vandrossars still have no luck. Not even once have they returned with fish—just to keep up appearances. And yet they live better than anyone else in this town. Maybe aside from the mayor, who gets a cut of everything.”

  “And you couldn't find out what he is smuggling?”

  “Fish,” Kalista replied with a smile. “I never needed to know, and I preferred not to stick my nose into Malvic’s business just out of curiosity.”

  “And if you did want to find out more, who would you try to talk to?”

  Kalista paused for a moment. “His crew definitely knows, but they won’t tell you. Not for any amount. You’d need… more creative methods.” She stopped, then snapped her fingers. “Amber Tzal’aenith.”

  “Who’s that?”

  “Malvic’s ex. They were together for two months. Maybe three. If anyone knows what he’s really doing and might be willing to talk, it’s her. He’s not paying her, and I heard rumours after they broke up that he was cheating on her. And Amber is not the kind of woman who would forget something like that.”

  That part I understood. I hadn’t thought about Fiona in days, too distracted by my new life, and I preferred to keep it that way. A cheated lover could be the perfect person to spill the truth about Malvic’s operation.

  I still didn’t know if he was the one supplying fish to the b, but it was a lead worth checking. It sounded like the perfect cover, openly telling that he sells fish while everyone assumed he was lying and doing something shady. So they chose not to ask questions to avoid trouble.

  “Do you know something more about this Amber?” I asked.

  “No.” Kalista shook her head. “Only that she was with Malvic.”

  “Do you know where I can find her?” I asked. I was watching Kalista's face carefully and I didn’t see anything specific, but I was pretty sure that she lied, and she knew Amber, or at least she knew something more about her, but didn’t want to tell me.

  “She likes to spend her time at the Lobster’s tavern. It’s on the other side of the city.”

  I slowly nodded. “Is there someone else who’s supposedly a fisherman but is involved in shady business? Or maybe they have more money than their official catches should bring in?”

  “No,” Kalista replied. “The rest work hard just to scrape by. If you're looking for someone suspicious, you're looking for Malvic.”

  I nodded, wondering if I should ask about something else, but also if anything that she had said to me was true. Why would Gemma’s informant lie to me? At least I had some clues, and it should be pretty easy to discover if they weren’t lies.

  “Thanks for your time,” I said to Kalista.

  She simply nodded.

  “We’ll be going then,” I added.

  “Alright,” Kalista said. “What was your name again? Slipped my mind.”

  I smiled as I stepped toward the door. “Maybe next time you’ll pay more attention and remember,” I said.

  “Say hi to Sage when you see her,” Kalista called after me.

  I didn’t answer and stepped outside, not even sure who Sage really was. I only knew what Gemma had told me.

  All three women traveling with me followed as we made our way along the coastline, generally heading toward the tavern Kalista had mentioned.

  “Tzal’aenith is an elven surname,” Zoe said once we were a good distance from Kalista’s home.

  “So that Amber’s probably an elf,” I said.

  “Most likely,” Zoe replied.

  “Is there anything I should know about them?”

  Zoe paused, thinking for a moment. “Not really.”

  I gnced at Mari, who simply shrugged.

  Asking around, we made our way toward the tavern where I was supposed to find Amber. If she turned out to be an elf, that meant she’d also have a css and magical skills—but not knowing what she was capable of made it hard to prepare.

  I wondered if simply mentioning Malvic would be enough to get her to spill too much out of spite. But if that were the case, wouldn’t the whole city already know he was actually selling fish? Considering how he ran his business, even if Amber went around telling the truth, no one would probably believe her.

  I could also try seducing her—but if I opened with questions about Malvic, that would make charming her afterward more difficult. In the end, I’d have to decide on the spot how to approach the situation.

  When we arrived at the Lobster’s tavern, the pce was packed, but we still managed to find an empty table.

  At the bar, I ordered food and drinks for all of us. Since the pce also rented out rooms in the adjoining building, I booked two.

  “I’m looking for Amber Tzal’aenith,” I told the bartender as I accepted the keys. “I heard she’s often seen around here.”

  The bartender looked me over, then smiled faintly. “She is. But she hasn’t shown up yet today.”

  “Let me know when she does?” I asked.

  “Sure,” the man said with a shrug.

  I returned to the table and handed one key to Zoe, the other to Mari. A few minutes ter, our food and drinks arrived. Fish for everyone except Azura, for whom I’d ordered chicken. I offered to share my fish with her just in case, but just as I expected, she wouldn’t even touch it.

  “Master, do you like women with white hair?” Zoe asked suddenly, when we were almost finished with our food.

  I looked at her, confused, she was twirling her hair, looking at me. “I love your hair, Zoe,” I said.

  “Amber is not just an elf,” Mari said.

  I turned my gaze to her.

  “She’s a drow, sits by the bar and stares at you,” Mari expined.

  “A drow?” I asked, turning toward the bar.

  “A dark elf,” Zoe muttered.

  Spotting Amber was easy. Not only was she staring at me, but her appearance made her stand out from the crowd. And Zoe’s question wasn’t random either. Amber had white hair and pale skin, though in Amber’s case it had a faint blue shade.

  Her face was narrow, her lips small but full. Even just by her facial features, it was clear she wasn’t an ordinary woman, though I couldn’t quite put my finger on what exactly made her look so unnatural.

  And, of course, as expected of an elf, she had the long, pointed ears that stood away from her head. Her pale blue eyes hadn’t left me for a moment, even as we locked gazes across the room.

  “Wait here,” I said, turning back toward the table. “Mari, keep an eye on them,” I added, nodding toward Zoe and Azura. The three of them together would be more than safe.

  I stood up and made my way toward Amber, who had turned her back to me, facing the bar.

  I stopped next to her, leaning against the bar.

  “Amber?”

  “I don’t sell anything after hours,” she said, not even looking at me.

  “I’m not here to buy anything.”

  “Then you’re wasting your time.”

  “I don’t think so.”

  “Well, I do,” Amber replied ftly, still not looking my way.

  “The way you’ve been staring at me says otherwise.”

  “I was trying to figure out if you’re stupid or just really desperate.”

  “Funny. I was wondering the same about you.”

  “Bold talk for someone still standing here like a lost puppy.”

  “I’m just giving you time to come up with a better excuse to keep pretending you’re not interested.”

  “Me? Interested? I could walk out of here with anyone tonight,” she said, finally turning to look at me. “You’re just hoping you won’t leave alone.”

  She was attractive, I had to give her that. And she probably could walk out with whoever she wanted. But the way she looked at me, and how she spoke, it felt more like a challenge. She just didn’t realize yet who she was dealing with.

  “End of the day, you’ll be walking out with me,” I said.

  “To waste my time? You wouldn’t st a minute with me,” Amber said, her eyes locking onto mine, daring me to respond.

  I smiled and pushed away from the bar, extending my hand toward her. “Then prove it. Show me you’re not all talk.”

  Amber scoffed again as her eyes roamed over me from head to toe, stopping on my face. She’d thrown down a challenge and probably didn’t expect me to pick it up so eagerly. Now she couldn’t back out without looking weak.

  Finally, she stepped away from the bar and headed toward the doors leading to the rented rooms. A few steps in, she gnced back over her shoulder.

  “You coming, or do I need to hold your hand?” she asked before turning and continuing toward the exit.

  That worked really fast, and surprisingly well. My css was helping, but I didn’t suspect that it would go so easily.

  I followed Amber, but first detoured back to our table.

  “I’m going to talk with Amber—”

  Mari interrupted with a loud scoff and a grimace, looking at me.

  “I’m going to have sex with her,” I said, staring into Mari’s eyes. “And then I’ll talk to her. Head to the room. Keep them safe, Mari,” I added, then leaned in and kissed Zoe, then Azura, before heading off toward the same door Amber had gone through.

  “Thought you chickened out,” Amber said as I entered the hallway. It stretched long, with doors on both sides. She was standing at the first one on the right.

  “Just needed to let my friends know I’d be gone for a while,” I said, walking toward her.

  Amber smirked. “Rex, I’m not gonna kill you. You’ll make it back to your friends,” she said as she stepped into her room. “Maybe just a little roughed up.”