Kale chuckled. "Alright, curator, time to curate us some errands."

Namara groaned. "Ugh. Chores?"

"We're low on supplies," Kale said, finishing his tea. "And I want to visit the Shardsmithing Guild while we're here."

Liliana stood, brushing invisible crumbs off her lap. "Then how about this—Sadek and I will take care of the supplies. You take Namara and Rika and… do whatever it is you need to do."

Kale narrowed his eyes. "You're just trying to get away from Namara."

"Yes," Liliana said without hesitation.

Namara pouted, scandalized. "Et tu, Liliana?"

Rika, still chewing, muttered, "What?"

Namara threw her hands up. "This group is so mean to me when all I do is spread happiness!"

"You spread something," Sadek said.

Liliana was already walking toward the door. "Let's meet back here before sundown."

Kale nodded, pushing his chair back. "Alright ladies, let's go."

Namara hopped to her feet with a salute. "Aye aye, Captain. Lead us into adventure."

Rika grabbed one last piece of bread. "If this turns into one of those weird bonding quests, I'm leaving."

"I thought you love weird bonding quests," Kale said.

Rika chewed, swallowed, then sighed. "Yeah… you're right. I do."

"Yay, weird bonding quest!" Namara cheered, pumping a fist.

Kale shook his head as they headed for the door. "Let's first see if we can buy some crystals at the market."

Namara clapped her hands together. "Ooh! I'm excellent at bartering. People find me charming."

"I bet," Rika muttered.

***

They walked along the curved street. Stalls lined the edges—some selling minor enchantments, others offering food that sizzled with what could be magic. Kale's eyes scanned the crowd, searching for any vendor selling raw shard fragments.

Namara broke the silence. "Hey, Kale?"

"Yeah?"

"If you could go back to your own world… would you?"

He blinked. "Huh?"

She looked at him like he'd asked if water was wet. "Come on. It's obvious you're not from around here."

"Oh. Right." He looked away, pretending to study a stand selling violet colored glass jewelry. Would I?

He thought about soft beds, quiet nights, no monsters, no gods, no one trying to kill him. Thought about the version of himself who'd existed before all this.

"You know… I don't think I would," he said. "Sure, my old life was easy. Peaceful, even. But here… I feel like I have a purpose. And the friendships I've made—fighting side by side, protecting each other—it creates a kind of bond I didn't know was possible."

Namara grinned. "And of course there's Liliana."

Kale gave her a look. "Of course there's Liliana."

"And Rika!" Rika added, raising a hand.

Kale chuckled. "Yes. And Rika."

Namara threw her arms around both of them, pulling them into a sudden group hug. "Awwww, it feels so good to be loved. It means a lot to me, Kale. That you'd stay in this world just for me."

"Uh. That's not what I—"

"You're the best, Kale!"

"Okay…?"

"You forgot about Sadek," Rika said.

Namara scoffed. "Ugh. Who cares about Sadek."

Kale tried not to laugh. Namara was… weird. Selective hearing. Constant chaos. But the way she fought? Absolute dominance. No hesitation. No mercy.

In fact, she was so dominant that it almost felt like she wasn't even trying. Like she fought the same way she joked—recklessly, flamboyantly, and always with a grin. It wasn't arrogance. It was just fun to her. Like the monsters weren't even threats, just toys she picked up, messed with, and tossed aside when she got bored.

He glanced at her sideways. I wonder what level she actually is.

"Hey, Namara," he said. "What level are you?"

Namara pulled back from the hug and gasped. "You pervert!"

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

"What?!"

"You can't just ask a lady what level she is!"

"I… I didn't know that was—"

"I thought you were a gentleman, Kale! It seems I misjudged you!"

Kale turned to Rika, bewildered. "Is that really a thing?"

Rika shrugged. "Not one I've heard."

Kale stared at Namara as she skipped ahead, humming to herself like nothing happened.

Strong. Unpredictable. Completely unhinged.

He sighed. At least she's on our side.

They passed a stall selling crystal necklaces, their surfaces glowing faintly with shardlight. Kale slowed, eyeing them. The glow looked off. Too uniform, too clean. Not the natural hum of real shard energy. More like a cheap enchantment slapped on to make them look divine.

"Hey there, pretty lady," the vendor called out with a grin.

Namara smiled. "Oh, thank you—"

"Not you," he said, nodding at Rika.

Namara's face dropped. "Excuse me?"

Rika glanced at her, unbothered. "Calm down. You're very pretty."

Namara lit up instantly. "Ooh, Rika. I could kiss you. Can I kiss you?"

"Yes, you can!" the vendor said eagerly.

Rika gave him a sidelong look like she was deciding whether to smash him.

"Too soon?" Namara asked, blinking innocently.

"Did I miss something?" Kale asked.

"You are fucked in the head," Rika muttered.

Namara shrugged. "You say that like it's a bad thing. Wait… is that a bad thing?"

Rika stared at her. "Wow."

Kale sighed. Yes. She's definitely weird.

"Hey!" the vendor called again. "So how about it, beautiful? Half off for a smile?"

Namara's smile vanished. She stepped forward, hands on her hips. "Sorry, but we're not interested."

Rika raised an eyebrow. "We're not?"

"Nope," Namara said, turning her nose up. "He called you pretty."

Kale blinked. "That's why we're leaving?"

"Yes," Namara said, already stomping off with theatrical indignation.

Kale and Rika looked at each other.

There was a beat of silence, then Rika snorted.

Kale couldn't help it, he laughed too. "She's so weird," he muttered.

Rika nodded. "Yeah. Always has to be the center of attention."

She hesitated, watching Namara march ahead, arms swinging like an angry toddler.

"But," Rika added quietly, "she also makes everything feel… lighter. Less dark. Like she's trying to distract us. Keep the mood up. So we don't stop and think too long about where we are or what's coming."

Kale glanced at her. "You think it's all an act?"

Rika shrugged. "Maybe not all of it. But some of it? Yeah. I think she knows exactly what she's doing. I think she's trying to keep us strong," Rika said. "In her own… completely unhinged way."

Kale looked ahead at Namara, who had already recovered from her sulk and was waving enthusiastically at a dog.

Then Rika asked, softly, "Do you think we're going to die, Kale?"

He didn't answer right away.

The sounds of the city faded into background noise. Just the crunch of boots on stone, and Namara's distant voice as she tried to get a flustered-looking myrrel to high-five her.

Kale kept his eyes forward.

"Yeah," he said finally. "I do."

Rika didn't speak, but he could feel her watching him.

"Not today. Not all of us. But… yeah. I think I'm not making it to the end of this."

His voice was quiet. Steady. Like he'd already made peace with it.

Rika looked away. "That's a shit thing to believe."

"I know," he said.

They walked in silence.

Then Rika muttered, "If you're planning to do something stupid... don't."

Kale gave a faint smile. "I'll try not to."

She didn't laugh, but she didn't press either. Just kept walking beside him. Like always.

***

The stall sat beneath a slanted awning of woven crystal-thread. Polished fragments were laid out on velvet-lined trays, each tagged with a sliver of parchment and a wildly inflated price.

They weren't glowing. They didn't hum. They just… sat there.

Kale knelt to examine one. It looked clean, cut properly, no warping. But nothing about it felt divine. No pull. No resonance. Nothing like the real thing.

"These don't speak," Rika said, crouching beside him.

"I know," Kale replied. "Still. Might be worth having something in hand when we go to the Shardsmithing Guild. Just in case."

Behind them, Namara popped up between the two. "Oooh! You're actually buying one?"

Kale nodded.

She rubbed her hands together. "I call dibs on haggling."

"No offense," Rika said, standing up, "but I'm the master haggler."

"Excuse me," Namara said, scandalized. "I am the master haggler."

"I'm doing the talking," Rika said.

Namara crossed her arms. "I'm doing the talking."

Kale raised a hand. "Can't I just pay the listed price and get on with it?"

Both women turned and said, in perfect unison: "No."

The vendor, a lean man with neatly trimmed facial hair, far too many rings, and way too much cologne, barely had time to blink before the chaos descended.

Namara got there first.

"Hello, handsome!" she said, voice like sunlight. "Oh wow, is that facial hair enchanted? It's absolutely working for you."

The man smiled dumbly. "Uh… thank you."

Rika stepped up beside her, Guts slung casually over one shoulder. "He's trying to sell dull shards at inflated prices."

Namara leaned closer to the vendor. "Ignore her. She just has resting warface. You, on the other hand, have the soft hands of a man who's never forged a damn thing in his life. And that's okay. It's adorable."

"Thanks, I—wait—what?"

"We'll give you twenty silver for the three large shards," Namara said sweetly, patting his arm.

"Nineteen," Rika cut in, already pulling out coin. "For everything on this tray."

"Eighteen," Namara countered, "and he throws in that charming bracelet he's wearing."

The vendor blinked, clearly struggling to keep up. "Uh?"

"Ten silver," Rika said flatly. "And I take that green crystal too."

Namara gasped. "You brute! Don't intimidate him."

"I'm not," Rika said, resting one hand on Guts. "I'm negotiating."

Namara leaned even closer to the vendor, brushing imaginary dust from his sleeve. "You deserve to feel valued. Seen. Desired. I'll give you Eight silver and tell you all my middle names."

"I—uh—sure?"

"Four silver," Rika said. "And your chair."

The vendor's eyes darted between them. He was visibly sweating now.

"Two silver," Namara said, "and I come back tomorrow to compliment your posture."

Rika stepped forward slowly, jamming a finger into the vendor's chest. "You give me two silver. Chair. Pants."

The man made a strangled noise. "Wh—why the pants?!"

"You give me four silver," Rika added, already pulling the chair out from under him.

Namara casually reached for the tray. "I'll be taking this, thank you. You've been such a delight."

Kale watched as Rika slung the chair over one shoulder, held the vendor's pants in the other hand, and walked off.

"Why the chair?" Kale asked, baffled.

"I am the master haggler," Rika said with a shrug.

The vendor, still dazed, stood barefoot in his undershorts and gave a weak wave. "Come back anytime…"

Kale dropped a coin on the table. "For therapy."

They left the stall behind—Rika still carrying the chair and the vendor's pants, Namara holding the tray of shards like a prize platter, and Kale trailing behind them with the tired air of a man who'd stopped trying to understand anything twenty minutes ago.

"So," Namara said finally, "do we… keep the pants?"

"No," Kale said flatly.

"Yes," Rika said at the same time. "They're symbolic."

"Of what?"

"Victory," she said, like it was obvious.

***

The Shardsmithing Guild sat nestled between three towering fragments of Yr's blade, its entrance framed by silver columns. The door was a slab of mirrored stone.

Kale slowed as they approached.

The closer they got, the more he felt it, that low thrum in his chest, a quiet pull just behind his heart. Not from the tray of inert shards Namara carried. Not even from the structure itself.

But from whatever waited inside.

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