The streets were busy at this time of day, with most of the townsfolk finishing up their current tasks before lunch, or already trying to find a bite to eat. Neitra deftly wove through the crowds as she made her way down the street with Artyom several feet behind her.


    “I’m surprised you can keep up with me like this, are you sure you don’t want to walk closer?” she asked.


    “Yeah, I’m sure,” replied Artyom uneasily. It was the best position to keep an eye on her, after all. He wouldn’t be able to stare directly at her without looking suspicious if he was by her side, and someone of her caliber would only need an instant to disappear and stab him in the back.


    “Well alright, but shout for me if you get lost. I’m Neitra, by the way.”


    “Artyom. The others already called you by your name, so I know.”


    She nodded, and they continued forwards.


    The first shop they stopped by puzzled Artyom for a second before hindsight put the pieces together for him. The smell of sugar and honey struck the duo as they entered, and a rhythmic thumping echoed through the store as one of the employees repeatedly slammed a large mound of a red elastic mass on the countertop.


    “One bag of sour candy and another of soft chews, please,” said Neitra, walking up to the attendant.


    “My my, another visit from the hero’s rogue, I see?” said the older woman manning the front of the shop. “And who’s this, is it the hero? A bit older and more grizzled than I expected, but still quite a dashing lad!”


    “Hi Miss Sugarbee,” said Neitra with a glowing smile. “This is Artyom, he just joined the team.”


    The man from Earth politely waved, but otherwise said nothing.


    “I’ve heard you’ll be leaving town soon,” said the older woman. “I’ll definitely miss you, so please come back when you get the chance.”


    Neitra nodded, and after paying, left with Artyom.


    “Honestly I’m not surprised.”


    “Tommy is a big fan of sour candy. He says it reminds him of his favorites from back home.”


    “And the soft chews?”


    “You’ll see.”


    The two continued onwards, and in the time they’d spent in the candy store, the streets had begun to clear up. It made it easier for Artyom to follow along, but the deafening silence cast a blanket of awkwardness over him. After a while, he felt forced to finally say what had been on his mind.


    “Thanks for speaking up for me earlier.”


    “Hmm?”


    “The other four were ready to deny me from joining because the dungeon boss was still alive, but you reminded them I was only told to get the armor piece, not kill him as well. Thanks.”


    She shrugged. “I was only doing what was right.”


    It felt good to get the words out of him lest he come off as ungrateful. But with that feeling gone, another one remained. Artyom finally swallowed the knot forming in his throat now that nobody was looking.


    While the other women in the party didn’t even try to hide their strength, the issue with Neitra was that she was too good at hiding. In more ways than one.


    Artyom had faced certain death many times in the past, and on occasion had even spit in its face. Sometimes literally! But that was only because he was confident in his ability to run away or knew some fact that would keep him safe. The women in the party wanted to appease Tommy, who in turn wanted Artyom to join, so their first murder attempt was forced to be discreet.If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    Neitra was a rogue; her entire thing was discrete killing.


    And thus, silence returned to their walk.


    Before long, they arrived at their next destination.


    “I’m not going in there,” said Artyom.


    “Why not? It’s a shortcut I learned and we need to get back quickly.”


    “Neitra, I’m not walking into a dark alley.”


    “There aren’t any monsters in the dark, don’t worry!”


    “That’s not what I’m scared of.”


    “Then what are you- if we don’t make it back in time, they’re going to be mad, and they’ll probably use it as an excuse to actually kick you out this time. It usually takes any of them about half an hour to get ready; to shower, get dressed, and all. We’ll only have enough time if we go through here!”


    “Don’t worry, they’ll be busy for a while longer than that. The owner of the inn is going to make a stink about the front wall being broken down, not to mention all the other damage from the fight.”


    “Huh, I guess so… but I’m not taking that risk. Let’s run instead, try to keep up and if you get lost, just meet me back at the inn!”


    Before Artyom could reply, Neitra began to dash across the open street, leaving a dust cloud in her wake.


    “And she’s fast,” thought Artyom as he began to run.


    Sometime during their conversation, the whole town seemingly finished eating and began to fill up the streets once more.


    Artyom started to lose Neitra in the crowd, and suddenly worried she’d use it as an opportunity to disappear and reappear with a knife in his back.


    “Speed of the Olympian, Detect Life,” said Artyom to himself as he cast the two spells and began running after her. While the effectiveness of Detect Life was muddled by the sheer number of people around, Artyom was able to keep track of her specific magic silhouette.


    The only problem was that she was a rogue, and her abilities let her effortlessly slip in between people in the crowd while keeping her frantic pace.


    Artyom began to fall behind. But rather than losing her, he poured more magic into the speed spell and placed his feet onto the wall of the building to his right. Just like in the dungeon during his fight against the monster that had attacked the inn, Artyom began to run parallel to the ground.


    But unlike then, he didn’t have the benefit of centrifugal force to keep him stuck to the wall and soon began to feel himself falling.


    Rather than face plant into the ground, Artyom grabbed the edge of a balcony and used it to swing himself forward.


    “Parkour!” he said to himself in an excited whisper all the while.


    Thankfully, Artyom only had to take another two swings before the crowd began to thin out and he was able to safely land and continue his normal run. And thanks to his previous speed spell, he caught up to Neitra quickly.


    After a few more minutes, the woman began to slow her pace and eventually came to a stop in front of a hunting shop in the inner circle of the city. “Oh wow, you kept up!”


    “You’re surprised after I got the armor piece?”


    Neitra looked away. “I mean, the others said it was an easy test, and the dungeon boss followed you back…”


    Artyom couldn’t help but quirk an eyebrow when he replied. “The others said? You didn’t know anything about the dungeon yourself?”


    “Not really, no. When I joined up, they made me go through a really easy dungeon, so I figured it would be the same for you.”


    “And when was that?”


    “About half a year ago.”


    It was plain as day to Artyom that the others treated Neitra with disdain, but they still assigned her responsibilities and let her contribute. The fact she had been part of the party for so long and wasn’t a corpse yet made Artyom believe she was part of the whole conspiracy.


    But the more she spoke, the more she painted a story similar to his. Artyom figured he could at least get some perspective from her.


    “You saw the boss with your own eyes, how strong was he compared to the one you fought?”


    “I didn’t fight mine, I was able to take the armor piece and get out without being noticed.”


    Artyom looked to the ground and let out a sigh, remembering the kobolds he’d fought alongside. “I couldn’t take that option.”


    “They probably didn’t know what dungeon to send you to,” she replied. “I told them I was a rogue so they sent me to one that was a good fit for my strengths. I think you’re a spellcaster, but I don’t even know what kind of magic you’re good with.”


    “Way to give them the benefit of the doubt, I bet they didn’t even curse you,” Artyom thought as he shook his head. He realized he wasn’t going to get any more information out of her without giving away he knew they’d tried to kill him. “Let’s just get back to shopping.”