After I promised to help Vral bring vengeance against the duke, we made our way out of the square and continued northwest through Silvertide, eventually arriving at a wide stone staircase beside the busy thoroughfare. Climbing the stone steps, we found ourselves surrounded by buildings nearly as nice as the ones we'd seen in Fairview. A large, ornate sign at the top of the steps read "Highcliff."

  Behind the sign, a massive stone statue split the sky. The stone was masterfully worked into the shape of a man in plate armor. He had a sword in his hand, which was pointing toward the north with a grim look spread across his face. Flowers, candles, and pieces of parchment littered the ground around his feet. From the look of things, we were in one of the most affluent parts of the city.

  Vral had been bristling since we'd seen the man in the cage. Hoping to distract her, I asked, "You know who that is?"

  "Some dickhead ancestor of Sophia's. The one who fought against the Dark Lord." She scowled deeper. "Based on the statue, he thought a lot about himself when he was cutting my people down like rats."

  "Sorry, I didn't know it was a sore subject."

  "Don't be. We're gonna kill his offspring, so it evens out." A wicked gleam danced in her eye as she licked her teeth. "I can't wait."

  I examined the figure closely. The statue's face did look a lot like Sophia: he had the same strong jaw and aquiline nose.

  "Hey, enough sightseeing. I want to get your job done. Then, we're gonna train until we're dead or strong."

  I realized what I'd agreed to on the bridge. "Do you really think we could pull it off? Justice for Sophia's dad?"

  She shook her head. "Right now? Hell no. Compared to the Duke or any of his knights, we're weak as shit."

  "That's comforting."

  "You want comfort, go find Tristan. She's good for that." She turned and stepped up to me. "You chose me because I challenge you, and I'm real. And I'm being as real as I can be when I say we won't be doing any Duke slaying if we don't get stronger, and we won't get stronger if we don't start taking better quests. This one sucks."

  "Hey, we're helping Farvad. It's the right thing to do."

  She stomped her foot. "I know that! I want to help the old bastard, too! But once we're done with this shit, we're gonna go play at the grove for a few days, meet the aunt and mother of that hot priestess of ours, then I want to be balls deep in a dungeon by month's end. Got it?" She had her hands on her hips and a scowl on her face.

  I couldn't help but crack a smile. From the outside, I was confident that I looked like a browbeaten husband getting bullied by his goblin wife. "I got it, I got it. We'll find a job to go dungeon diving as soon as we get Elna."

  Vral nodded, then scowled. She leaned her body forward and glared up at me, but due to our height difference, she practically had to bend her neck in half to pull it off. "What are you smiling at, huh?"

  "I was just thinking how absurd we must look."

  "What's absurd?"

  "I bet it looks like I'm getting scolded by my hot goblin wife."

  "You getting scolded by your hot goblin wife."

  I blinked at her.

  She blinked at me.

  The words hung in the air between us, heavy as lead.

  The scowl slowly left her face, replaced by a look of panic. "I mean... I thought that's what... You did the thing... and, uh, I did the thing, and we had that talk, and you said I belong... with you... so that means... uh..." Her cheeks bloomed crimson as her bravado vanished into thin air. "Did I misread... that?"

  "I mean... I'm not against... that..."

  She cleared her throat and tried to compose herself. Wiping her face with her hands she asked, "Didn't we decide at Embermist?"

  I tried to remember exactly how that conversation went. I definitely told her she'd stay by my side. Did that mean...?

  When I didn't respond, she boiled over. "Did you think I hung around you because it's fun? I mean, I hang around for that reason, too, but, um..." She shook her head, and the fire returned to her eyes. "You trying to play me or something? Because I'll cut your balls off if you're fucking with me. Got it?!"

  I laughed, but internally I was roiling. "I'm not fucking with you. I just... I didn't realize... Isn't there a ceremony or something?"

  "Ceremony? Who needs that elfy shit?" Her arms crossed, this time tightly against her chest. "Why make things complicated? You gave me your hand. I took it. You'd die for me. I'd die for you. What else is there?" She thrust her jaw toward the east. "Plus, my tribe's dead, and yours can't make it. The only person who matters to us both is in a grove a couple of miles away and has already given me her blessing. You want a parade or something?"

  Tristan had that talk with me, too. Did she know this would happen? "Usually, there'd be rings and vows and all that."

  She huffed and threw her pack off her shoulder. Opening the flap, she fished around until she pulled out a handful of jewelry. I realized it was the jewelry we'd found in Embermist. She picked through the sparkling metal baubles until she whittled them down to three rings. She muttered as she took one of the three and tucked it into one of her pack's front pockets, then stood up with the other two.

  "Give me your hand." She pulled my hand down and shimmied a ring onto my finger. It was gold with a large ruby set in the center. "I measured your finger when you were sleeping a while back. This one fits best. Plus, it looks good on you." She placed the other smaller ring into my hand. Looking up at me, her eyes softened. "This is your last chance to run." As the words left her lips, she smirked. "I'll chase you, though, so you better run fast."

  I looked down at the ring. It was a simple platinum band with a single small onyx set in the center. Simple and elegant. I looked into her red eyes. I realized I loved that eyes. I took her small hand in mine and shimmied the ring onto her finger. The ring fit perfectly. It sat snugly against her green skin, and the contrast was breathtaking. When the ring was in place, the tension in her arm relaxed.

  "Now give me a vow or some crap, you big softy."

  My head was buzzing, but I couldn't stop the stupid smile that was spreading across my face. Vows. Okay. I could do vows. Not knowing what to say, I said whatever felt right. "I pledge my life, heart, and body to you, Vrah Tuvigh. Together, we will overcome every challenge until we've gained everything we want in this life and the next."

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  "Damn right we will." The fire in her eyes blazed with intensity. "I may not be as hot as your other future wife, but I'll always be the one you gave your hand to first. That's good enough for me." A devilish grin split her face. "Plus, I have my perks. Have you seen my ass lately? Hard work really does pay off." She smacked her butt. "If I keep it up, I'll make that elf-blood Goddess worshipper wilt with envy."

  "You two aren't competing, Vr—"

  "It'll always be a competition, and I'll win every time. That's my vow." She stood up on her tiptoes and grabbed the collar of my armor. Pulling me down, she planted a kiss directly on my lips. Hers were soft, plump. After a moment, she pulled away. "There's the kiss or whatever. Now you're stuck with me."

  I expected a flash of doubt or anxiety, but it didn't come. I wanted this. "I'm blessed to have you by my side."

  "You really are." She patted my arm. "Now come on, loverboy. We've got work to do." She took a step, then looked over her shoulder. "Once we're done, I'm getting my rematch. And you better put me in my place, or this'll be a short-lived marriage." With that, she spun on her heel and marched away.

  I watched as my hot goblin wife sauntered past the statue.

  It really was a great ass.

  ***

  "Elna. Her name's Elna. Gnome. Alchemist. Probably annoying. Do you know her?" Vral tapped her knuckles on the wooden counter as she talked to the barkeeper. We'd narrowed the search down to the northernmost part of Highcliff. Several adventurers had mentioned she frequented taverns looking for people to buy her potions and salves in the area, so we'd found the most well-populated and visited tavern, hoping to get some information.

  Unfortunately, the establishment wasn't exactly friendly to newcomers. One step inside the smoky building and we were met by at least a dozen sneers. The building was filled with people dressed in the finest clothes I'd seen since coming to Reial. Every single person wore more jewelry than was necessary, and more than one person was dressed in so much fur that they looked like moving carpets.

  Despite being filled with royalty, the tavern was filled with tobacco smoke, booze, and gambling. There was no shortage of money exchanging hands as wealthy individuals threw away their crystals playing cards, roulette, and darts, and more than a few scantily-clad women sat on the men's laps. The whole scene was decadent and depraved. Not my ideal scene.

  After a few seconds of being eyed by the well-to-do clientele, we headed straight for the bar. The burly bartender ignored us for a good half hour before finally meandering over.

  "Little thing. Hair like dirty snow. Always looks like someone pissed on her cat? Never heard of her." The bartender raised an eyebrow at the goblin leaning against his bar. He rubbed his fingers together.

  That made Vral scoff. "Pay the man." She snapped her fingers at me.

  "Pay the man, what?" I sassed. I noticed the bartender's eyes drift down to Vral's chest when she wasn't looking. When he noticed me noticing him, he smirked.

  "Pay the man... now?" She bared her teeth at me.

  Rolling my eyes, I tossed the bartender two crystals. The man looked down at them and laughed. He laughed!

  "Don't embarrass us like that," Vral hissed at me. "Sorry, my husband's not from here. He doesn't know how things are done." Vral said. She snaked her hands behind her back, held all of her fingers out, then flashed them.

  Twenty crystals?!

  "Where's he from?" The man looked me over. "Looks Deneiran to me."

  She shook her head. "Traveler."

  "A traveler, eh?" I watched as the man scrutinized me more closely. "Doesn't look like much."

  "He's more than enough. Trust me." Vral added a little huskiness to her tone. "You think our third and I would keep him around if he weren't useful?"

  That did the trick, at least on me.

  The bartender shrugged. "Don't need to know." The man picked up a clean glass and pretended to wipe it.

  My heart beating a few beats too fast, I fished out the other eighteen crystals from my rapidly dwindling purse, lamenting that I'd nearly spent all of the money we'd earned on Harrick's ship. This quest sucked, indeed.

  Handing them over, the man counted the crystals, then gave us a toothy grin. "There was a little old gnome lady with bad posture and worse clothes sniffing around here just yesterday, asking if anyone wanted to buy her stock. No one did."

  "Why's that?"

  "Besides being lowborn, word is, she's in with some shit. No one'll work with her."

  "What kind of shit?"

  "Don't want to know."

  I chimed in. "Where can we find her, exactly?"

  The man rubbed his fingers together again.

  Fuck.

  I fished out ten more crystals. Farvad owed me for this.

  "Northern edge of Highcliff, just outside the wall of Arante, you'll find a well. She lives in the little house next to it. Can't miss it. Pretty sure it's the only gnome-sized hutt this side of Llyn." The bartender pocketed the crystals and kept wiping the glass.

  "Thanks." Vral kicked her chair back and stood up. Before she turned, she added, "hey barkeep."

  "Yeah?"

  "If we see each other again, keep your eyes off my tits. Next time you ogle them, I'll gouge your eyeballs out. Got it?" She fingered the hilts of one of her long daggers.

  "Yes, ma'am," the man gulped.

  As she turned away, Vral looked up at me. "Let's go."

  ***

  We could smell the house before we saw it. The second we turned a corner and saw the well, the distinct aroma of cat, potion, and herbs wafted over us. My eyes were drawn to the building beside the well. It was less house and more of a squat hut. The entire front of the home was taken up by a huge bay window, filled with dozens of bottles of colorful liquids sparkling in the afternoon light. Just below the window, a wooden sign hung with a crude paint drawing of a cup of bubbling liquid. "Potions, Herbs, and Things!" was written underneath the cup.

  In front of the building was a single wooden chair. Curled up atop it was a small ball of black and white fur. When my boot crunched on the path leading up to the house, the furball softly lifted its head, gave us a single look, then yawned and fell back asleep.

  "I think we found her." Vral walked forward. Pushing open the rickety wooden door, a bell chimed as she stepped into the building. I tried to follow, but the house was about two feet too short for me. I crouched over and waddled my way in. Inside the small shack, it was even messier than Farvad's shop had been. Rows upon rows of shelves were filled to the brim with potions, vials, and dried flowers, and more than a few piles of cat shit littered the dirt floor.

  "One moment." A woman's voice emitted from a room in the back. Through the cracked door, I could just barely make out a large, greyish blonde ball of hair flitting around. "Ah! Dang it! You're not Mittens! Get out of here! Ugh!" I heard her swat at something. In response, a cat hissed and shot out of the room, through my legs, and out the front door.

  Vral looked around with a clear look of disgust on her face.

  "Hello!" The door opened, and an older, heavyset gnome woman waddled out of the back room. In her arms were more than a dozen potions of a variety of colors. "Welcome to Potions, Herbs, and Things. How can I help you?"

  "Hi, ma'am," I started. "I—"

  "Are you customers?" Her boisterous voice turned sharp. "I don't do solicitors." Her round spectacles flashed as they caught the light leaking through the window. The look in her eyes brooked no argument. "Well? Out with it! Tell me before I kick you out!"

  Vral and I exchanged looks. What was with the change in demeanor? One minute, she was fine, and then she got rude. Was her brain all chewed up like Farvad's?

  I cleared my throat. "We've been sent by your father. He was worried you might get approached by some nasty folk, so he—"

  "My father sent you?! Where is he? Is he okay? Oh, thank the gods!" She ran up to me and took my hands in hers. "He hasn't returned a single letter I've sent! Tell me, did he perfect that potion he was working on? Can you imagine such a thing? It would change history forever! He's always been so smart, so brilliant... Did he ever tell you how he saved my mother from dying of illness when I was young? Oh, I am so glad he sent you, otherwise, I'd worry myself sick over him... but what is he doing, sending such..." She eyed us both, "... folk like yourselves to my shop?"

  "We're adventurers. He hired us."

  "Really? But... you look a bit scrawny. Aren't adventurers supposed to be big and beefy?" She somehow plucked a potion out of the bundle in her arms with her teeth and tossed it to me. "That'll beef you up real quick. Or is that the kind that gives you pink toenails? I can't remember now."

  I placed the potion down on a nearby table. Like father, like daughter. "The thing is, we're not here to check in with you. Your father wants you to come to Light's Hope Temple with us. He thinks we can protect you better if you're there." Something about the smell here tickled my brain. I knew that smell.

  Elna rolled her eyes. "So he still doesn't trust me." Her tone was one that only a daughter could have toward her dad. "Listen, adventurers. It was nice of you to stop in, but I have to do business here. I can't just up and leave my home. What would Mittens think?"

  The cat that had been sitting outside on the chair meowed from the cracked front door and sauntered into the shack.

  "Yeah, mommy's here, baby." The cat walked up and actually stood on two legs to be picked up. Elna placed her potions on the most precarious three-legged table I'd ever seen and scooped the cat into her arms. "No, mommy's not going anywhere without her favorite little Mittens, right?"

  The cat nuzzled its face into her neck, making the woman giggle.

  Vral looked up at me and shook her head. I could hear her voice in my thoughts.

  That's when the door to the shack opened behind us. Devon walked in.