"Kleo," he said quietly, drawing her closer. "Change of plans."
The thugs limped away, carrying the one that Kai knocked unconcious, leaving the monster that just knocked them around to chat.
Her eyes narrowed. "What kind of change?"
"I’m signing you up for the League. We’re taking a quest. Sothing tougher. Sothing that actually pays."
"The league? The Adventurer’s League?"
"The sa one."
"What about..."
"Don’t worry. You’ll see."
Kai hesitated, but grabbed her by the hand. The his hand felt the faint connection to her life essence through the glove, but he didn’t instinctively use Wither.
Once there, he showed her to the board.
She stared at him, then at the board. "You an... one of those?"
"Yes. So nice rewards, right?"
"I don’t know..."
"Wha-"
"I can’t... I can’t read."
"Oh. Well, these quests range from extermination contracts, to high-level protection jobs. They’re ranked higher than what we are, though."
’I should teach her soti. I need living allies, but if they can’t read, that’s a major skill they don’t have.’
"Isn’t that a problem, then?"
He nodded, expression flat. "I’ll pretend I didn’t know there were restrictions on which quests we’re allowed to take. Play the dumb newcor. You’re great at being invisible, and I can hold my own."
Her gaze drifted to the hallway beyond the main hall. The palace lood sowhere in that direction, her sister trapped in golden chains just out of reach. Probably golden, anyway.
"But Firra..." she started.
Kai stepped closer. " We won’t forget about her, but shy of sending every single undead I’ve ever summoned into the palace and hoping they don’t get obliterated, we’re better off waiting. If we push now, we’ll lose control. And then we’ll never get her out."
Kleo looked like she wanted to argue. But then she exhaled. "They’ll probably treat her better than so... slave den, right?"
He didn’t answer imdiately. "Maybe. Maybe not. But you’re bound to . I won’t use it to force anything regarding your sister, though. I’ll give you reasoning, not commands, but you should know that I won’t let you get yourself killed."
She gave a slow nod, seeming to appreciate that. "Couldn’t you... work there? As a butler or cleaner or sothing?"
Kai shook his head. "They’d scrutinise too closely. A boy of unknown origin, no identification, no house backing, no bloodline credentials? They’d see through the illusion magic and my lies. Or at least... start asking questions I can’t answer."
She frowned. "So, I go in alone?"
"I could... link us." He lifted a hand, drawing a small sigil in the air with his finger. "Engrave a shared sensory sigil. You’d feel what I feel. I’d feel what you feel. Sight, sound, even pain."
Kleo backed away. "No, thanks. I already have you in my head sotis. I don’t need you there all the ti."
’I’m in your head already? That’s not my doing...’
He shrugged, hiding the slight disappointnt. "Fair."
As they walked towards the front desk, he stopped and pulled her in close.
"I’m going under the na Luke, now. Luke Pascal. You won’t call anything else unless we’re alone. Got it?"
"Got it." She replied.
They returned to the front desk, where Tiff was organising ledgers with a click of her tongue and the flick of an ink quill that never seed to need dipping.
Kai cleared his throat. "She wants to register."
Tiff raised an eyebrow. "Na?"
"Kleo."
Tiff took out the registration crystal. "Place your hand here. It’ll read your arcane imprint and assign your base ranking and class type. Takes five seconds."
’You didn’t say any of that with . Girls get a better explanation? Or is it because she looks older?’
Kleo hesitated only a mont before pressing her palm flat.
The crystal flared.
A hum surged through the hall. Everyone nearby turned.
The crystal glowed with a steady golden-green light, and then the etched letters appeared across its polished surface:
RANK 9 — CLASS: SIGHTCALLER
’I didn’t bother looking at the crystal before. That’s neat. I wonder if I can get my hands on one.’
Tiff gasped.
Her eyes flicked from the crystal to Kleo, then to Kai. "You’ve got to be kidding . Two rare talents on one team..."
"What?" Kleo asked, voice tight.
Tiff grinned. "Sightcallers are rare. Very rare. They’re walking eyes of the gods. True Sight, sigil tracing, magical trail detection... they can read the flow of mana like a map, feel when battle’s about to shift before it happens. You could’ve joined a gold-ranked party if we knew."
Kleo blinked in astonishnt. "That... kind of fits."
Kai tilted his head, considering her. "Since eting you, you’ve always had a sense for hidden things. Traps. Cloaking spells. You saw through my veil, even if you didn’t know it."
Kleo smirked, a little proud. "I guess I’m a natural. That specialisation suits !"
He didn’t tell her the whole truth. That the class didn’t suit her because she had earned it. No. It suited her because she had needed it.
Her desperation, her life, her instincts had shaped the unknown specialisation into exactly what it had to beco for her to survive. She’d beco what she is today because that’s what helped her claw her way through the dark with bloodied fingers.
With that, they returned to the quest board.
Kai waited for the clerk to be distracted, then pointed to one that shimred with a faint blue ward:
~~~
Investigation: Missing Hunters in the Hollowcrag Ravine.
Reward: 190 gold coins. Risk Level: Moderate-Dangerous.
~~~
’A lot of money. More than ten tis the amount I got from Orlin.’
He looked at Kleo, who nodded.
He plucked it free without fanfare, tucked it into his tunic, and walked out the door with Kleo trailing behind.
"Are we supposed to tell soone first?" Kleo asked.
"Maybe," Kai replied. "But no one told that. So... we’ll complete it without injury, return with proof, and let them be so impressed they fast-track us up a few ranks."
’I hope. It should be okay. Companies like this overlook corners that are cut if the results are better.’
"A few ranks? What’ll that do?"
"Make it easier for to get a job in the palace." He smiled faintly, looking back over his shoulder. "Besides... heroes don’t wait to be told they’re allowed to act."
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