We left the shop, me with a lot less in my experience bank than I started with, and headed back for home. As we walked, I pulled one of the knuckles out and put it on my fist as I cast Scan.

  Bleedout Iron Knuckles

  These knuckles are made of dense iron and powered by mana. Each blow is capable of leaving lasting, piercing wounds that will resist clotting for several minutes after being injured due to enchantments on the knuckles. The tips can extend with an effort of will, forming an X when the weapon impacts something so when they are pulled out, a larger and more damaging wound is made.

  Bleedout Enchantment

  Increased Durability

  Weapon Rust Resistance

  Weapon Acid Resistance

  Active Ability: Tearing Wound

  I let out a whistle before putting them back. Deacon looked at me and raised an eyebrow, “You should probably stop opening that randomly.”

  I looked at him and shrugged, “Why? I make sure it’s not anywhere near someone.”

  He cringed as he looked away, “I saw the state of those bodies. If someone fell in…”

  I considered that as well and shuddered. I refused to mention several of the smaller insects that had found their way inside with the bodies from the adventurer attack on the road. “I… will keep that in mind.”

  Honestly, I had forgotten about how dangerous the thing was. I thought about the Trait Upgrade Token in my storage and wondered if upgraded it would make it safer to use. Maybe give it an ability to hold air inside, or even just let me store open containers. I only had the one, though, and didn’t want to waste the token on it just yet.

  Besides, there were a few other options that looked appealing. Second Chance, for starters, could shorten the cooldown on reviving from the dead. Not that I’ve needed it yet, but I didn’t want that to stop it from being an option. There was also the two manipulation traits that could help with spellcasting. Void, there was even Treasury, which could speed up how fast I earned experience.

  Lot’s of options… I thought. I continued thinking about it all the way back to the manor, where Elayne and Zaion were already waiting at the dining table along with Calmar, Porter, and Paige. They were eating some kind of roasted meat and mashed tubers that I was more than happy to dig into as Calmar went over the information he’d been able to get.

  “...overall, only one of the shops is owned by XCG and they have a couple warehouses under lease by the shop. Far more than they need, and one of them is outside the city proper.” He said with distaste.

  Paige looked confused, “Why does that matter?”

  “Slaves.” Porter said sourly. “Can’t confirm it, but the warehouses in the city by the River District are cheaper by half and better guarded.”

  “They’ve one over there too, so if you’re looking into them try there as well.” He looked between me and Deacon, “Did you two find out anything?”

  We both shook our heads. Deacon spoke up as I dug into my food. It was delicious, especially since the only thing at the bar had been bread rolls and some dried fruits. “Nothing solid. All three were pretty standard, though they’re running some kind of scheme with their skill books. At one shop a skill would be at a reasonable price, at another the same skill would be ten times as much.”

  “Weird.” He looked at Elayne, “And you two?”

  She shrugged, “One of them had a basement that I saw people standing around, but nothing immediately concerning. We didn’t spend a lot of time looking into it, though. Zaion was eager to buy some new materials.”

  “My apologies. I feel naked without suitable supplies.” The elf said directly. “I managed to find sufficient materials that I would feel confident going out on another job.”

  “Speaking of,” I said, after swallowing my food. “We should head out and take down some of those bugs. The quest for it is pretty good for getting experience.”

  Calmar winced, “I… can’t.” He looked towards Porter, “If you go, can you take Porter with you? I know he doesn’t get to go out of town much anymore.”

  Porter shook his head, “Not after the trip we had. Seriously, three packs of Flame Wolves and whatever else got out of the Fields. If that’s what it looks like with your father culling the strongest, I don’t want to see what he’s dealing with regularly.”

  “Did you manage to talk with him?” I asked, curious. I still didn’t know much about the man.

  Calmar nodded, “Briefly. We had to go to the fourth floor, and even that was pushing our luck. It’s why we took so long. We needed to wait for a supply run to join.”

  “Supply run?” Elayne was the one who asked. “What, is he living in the dungeon?”

  The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.

  Calmar frowned, but nodded again, “Yes. He looked fine… but I got the feeling he was tired.”

  “Sounds like even more of a reason to go out of town and crush some bugs. I need to get strong enough to survive inside.” I said as I sat back, plate before me almost completely clean. The food had been good.

  My brother looked uncomfortable when I brought that up. “Are you certain you want to go? It hasn’t been that long since… you know…” He trailed off, avoiding saying it.

  “You mean since someone raped and killed me?” I said. The entire room stopped and looked at me. Paige actually gasped, and I remembered suddenly that not everyone here had known about that. And I usually danced around it. “Don’t think I’ve forgotten. I’d still like to ‘thank’ whoever did it.” I cracked my knuckles as I thought about pummeling them into oblivion.

  Elayne barked out a laugh and was grinning like a maniac, “I’ll hold him for ya if you want. Let you get in some solid blows.”

  “I might take you up on that. Though I doubt I’ll ever find them.” I waved my hand dismissively, “I’m not sure where to even begin with looking for suspects.”

  Cal looked taken aback by my statement, “You aren’t going to try and find them?”

  “With what information?” I asked, leaning back in my chair. “It’d be one thing if I had a clue, but it’s not like I’m just going to bump into him at a party.”

  “You never know. Maybe that’s where he met you the first time?” Deacon suggested. “Actually… how would he even react if he saw you alive and walking around? It’s not unheard of for people to come back from the dead, but it’s certainly not common.”

  “Wait, really?” Cal asked, confused.

  Deacon had all of our attention. He shrugged, “Famous examples include Necromancers who could return from the dead in an undead form, high level priests putting peoples souls back into their broken bodies, and even a few people who found ways to copy themselves into golems.”

  “That last one is stretching a bit.” Elayne countered.

  “There’s also the system building we saw.” I mentioned and Deacon snapped his fingers.

  Deacon froze and cleared his throat, “Yes, well, that’s probably not an ideal example.”

  “What do you mean?” Porter asked, finally finished with his own meal.

  “I have a quest to rescue someone who is trapped in a loop of being brought to life and then dying over and over in one of the nests for the swarm.” I explained for Porter, Calmar, and Paige’s benefit. “We got sight of the place he’s in, but before we could go in somebody,” I turned and stared at Deacon, “Pissed off every bug in existence.”

  The bard shrugged, “I still need to figure out how to manipulate those sounds if we want to get in without leaving a field of crushed chitin behind us.’

  “What’s wrong with a field of crushed chitin?” I asked. Elayne nodded in approval. “There’s an active quest going on to kill them by the thousands.”

  My bodyguard sighed and turned to look at Calmar for help, “Please tell her its not a good idea.”

  Calmar looked back at him then at me. Sighing, he rubbed at his temple with one hand, staring down at the table. “I can’t. As much as I want to, it’s a good way for her to increase personal power and make a name for herself that isn’t connected to the old her.”

  I was confused, but Calmar continued. “With the bugs going out in force, farmland is going to be in trouble for kilometers around the city. Animals and trees are going to be in short supply and anyone out culling the swarm is going to be appreciated. A noble house being involved will also force others to act or be disgraced, even if they think the actual fighting is beneath them.”

  “A philosophy Lord Rosecrest has never ascribed.” Grimoire said from the side.

  “Exactly.” Calmar said. “Without him here, and with me not being suited to fighting, I’d have only been able to send out Porter. You’ve got a number of adventurers on board with you already, so you’ll be able to lead the charge.”

  While I hadn’t been expecting assistance from Calmar, it was appreciated. “Thanks. Though I’d like to wait for Deacon’s hand to get fixed before we try anything too crazy.” I looked at him, “When’s your next session with a healer?”

  “I have to let them know I’m back in town, but I could probably get an appointment within a week.” He held up the stump his lower forearm was just past the elbow. “Might be a couple more sessions to get it all the way.”

  Grimoire cleared his throat. “I have an associate I will contact to see if I can expedite any appointments.”

  Deacon stared at the butler, “Thanks… I appreciate all you’ve done, Grimoire, but why?”

  “The protection of this family is one of my primary responsibilities. Helping you do your job better only helps with that goal.” Grimoire responded as though the answer was obvious.

  Calmar stood up and pushed his chair back in while he looked around the room. “It has been a long day, so unless there’s anything else I think I will turn in for the night.”

  “Did Elayne and Zaion talk about-” I started to ask.

  “Yes, and salaries were talked about ahead of time. Paige will receive a stipend as well, though actual payment will have to wait until we’ve sold off everything from the last dungeon shipment that came back with us.” He looked at Deacon, Paige, and Elayne, “You’re all welcome to the guest rooms. Grimoire will guide you.”

  As he walked off, I stood up and stretched. “I think I’m gonna head to bed. A lot happened today, and I’m still tired from yesterday.” And the week before that.

  “What are we going to do about Jason?” Paige asked as a maid came in with a cart to start cleaning up the table. We all headed out into the foyer.

  I paused as I considered it. “What do you want to happen to him?”

  Paige stopped short and blinked a few times as she considered it. “I… don’t know…” She admitted. “He wasn’t there… but he’s been spreading rumors…”

  Deacon put a hand on her shoulder, “How about we deal with one problem at a time? First, we find who sent the people after you. And that’s going to take some time to untangle.”

  The girl nodded, and it felt weird thinking about her like that. I was pretty sure she was older than what my sheet said I was. “And you’ll have my help to do it.”

  I left unsaid what we’d do to them, but I was picturing a lot of fire, or maybe some test subjects for my new knuckles. I looked over at Zaion, more specifically the new bottles on his chest harness. Or maybe something chemical?