The so-called “hangover tea” is a combination of six herbs unique to Temberis. Nycil weed leaves, Alec’s flower petals, powdered root of the Leyos vine, Serras flower stems, Minkroot, and the leaves of the Einas cress. When combined, they provide a similar, if not better, effect of aspirin, electrolytes, hydration, and rest all rolled into a warm mug of tea. I wish I had a spectrometer. — Excerpt from Thomas O’Connell’s treatise on the botany of Temberis Not My Father’s Herbs, Cluster 5

  My head hurt.

  Like really hurt.

  It wasn’t the first time I’d had to deal with throbbing pain in my cranium, but we had left the inn before sunrise, so I hadn’t had time to brew my cup of hangover tea. Vessa appeared half-asleep, clinging to my horse’s mane.

  “You really shouldn’t be drinking that stuff every night. It smells wrong,” Vessa thought at me in a lightly reproaching manner. “And then you smell bad, Finn. Like you, but also the bad stuff in that drink!”

  I groaned. “Please, Vessa, don’t think so loud at me. I don’t feel so good,” I whispered. With the pain in my head, I decided not to glare at the hatchling. It just wasn’t worth it.

  Her tail rose up and wrapped around my right wrist and gently squeezed as she turned her head to look at me with concern. “I’m sorry, Finn, that you smell bad. Maybe later you can take a bath! Then you’ll feel better and smell better! With bubbles. Lots of bubbles, yes? I like bubbles!”

  My mouth curved up slightly at my ward’s enjoyment of bubbles and care for me. I had inadvertently introduced her to baths several days prior, and she really enjoyed the water. With her serpentine form, she cut through the water in a fashion that almost frightened me. I could imagine a bigger version of Vessa slicing through the water towards a deer, or a person, attacking faster and quieter than she had any right to be.

  “Why are you smiling and muttering to yourself like that, Finn?” asked Harper. She was riding ahead of us and had twisted in her saddle to look at me. She looked completely unbothered by the wine she had drunk with dinner, or the shots of God knows what with the overly loud stoneworkers after dinner.

  I had three shots to be polite.

  “Vessa’s giving me a talking-to about how much I drank last night,” I replied.

  Harper smirked at me. “You didn’t drink that much. Besides, it’s not like you’re hungover, is it?”

  This time I glared.

  “Oh, didn’t you have time for tea?” she teased. “It’s not like I didn’t give you fair warning before we left. You made the choice to stay in bed.” Her smile was closer to a smirk than I liked.

  “We never leave the inn so early. Why, Harper, why did we have to this morning?”

  “We are so close to Alsiger and answers from Eric. We don’t have anymore time to dawdle or wallow in self-recrimination. It’s time for action,” she said firmly.

  Before I could snap an answer to her, though not too loudly, she turned back in her saddle and sped her horse up. A sigh escaped me. I was resigned to my uncomfortable fate. There was no escape for me yet, and I would just have to suffer through it.

  And Vessa’s amusement. Her young wisdom was annoying me, with both her long time alive, but still being a child with the same level of overwhelming excitement and energy. At the moment, she was pretty chill. Later, however, she would have to stretch her legs and play.

  But for now, we were on our way to the capital city of the Kathelon Kingdom. My memory of the place was mixed, what with the escape and the sewers — and Juan. Losing the old Ranger was a blow to all of us. Well, to Harper and me. Who knows what I would have learned from him, or what questions he would have answered? And honestly, I really missed him. He took me under his wing when others in this world were scamming me. Like that bartender in the first village I came to, who overcharged me for a beer. The guy didn’t tell me the price in silver or copper, just gave me a number and took advantage of my not knowing any better.

  At least Juan had gotten my money back, minus the two coppers for the mug of ale. What was worse was that I hadn’t clarified the denomination. I should have known that two silvers were way too much for one beer, I thought to myself.

  Vessa raised her head and looked at me. “Wait, what? I don’t know how money works here, and that sounds silly to me!” she thought.

  Apparently, I had thought too loud, and she had overheard. With the mind connection she had developed with me, she was always there. I wonder if there was a way to mute my thoughts…

  “In my defense, I had woken up in this world earlier that day, had to run from a mercenary, hadn’t eaten or drunk anything, and felt like I had a hangover,” I grumbled. “And no one had told me what the coin values were, nor what things were worth.”

  “At least you didn’t give the man two gold! That would have made me question my sanity for bonding to you,” Vessa thought, letting out an amused string of meep-meep-meep.

  “Didn’t you say you didn’t know what the coins were worth?” I asked. “What makes you think two gold would be worse?”

  The baby dragon cocked her head and looked at me curiously. “Finn, everyone knows gold is worth more than silver. I know it, and I was in an egg for the last two hundred years,” she thought and burrowed her head into my horse’s mane. “So warm! Have I told you how nice and warm Rocks is? He’s so wonderful.”

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  I grunted. Really, that was the least of the things Juan had done for me. Walking me through how to access the system information and what attribute stats to focus on gave me the tools to survive. That, and teaching by example. I’d never be the hero Juan had been, but that wouldn’t stop me from trying. After Harper and I had hunted down and killed the bastards who killed him.

  Then, and only then, could I focus on being better. Then, I could walk the better path.

  By the time the sun was good and up, we were approaching the bright towers and walls of Alsiger in the morning light. My head still throbbed, and I was looking forward to getting some hot water for tea. Then, maybe some coffee. Then some shopping, if we didn’t go directly to meet with the Wizard, Eric.

  The road was filled with a crowd of people and wagons full of produce and various goods. I noticed one filled with standing mirrors of various sizes, and it gave me a shudder. All that breakage, just waiting to happen. Ahead of it was a wagon full of a large family, maybe farmers, all wide awake and excited. The eldest child cradled a swaddled babe in her arms, making noises and faces at the giggling baby.

  I moved Rocks closer to Harper’s mount. “What’s our plan today? Are we going to ride directly to the library, or can we do some shopping first?” I asked. “We need supplies, and I need more potions. Plus, we have loot that needs to be identified.”

  She glanced at me for a moment, pursing her lips. “You still look like death warmed over. First, we’ll stop at a tea stall and get you some hot water. We’ll go from there, okay? Don’t want to talk about it right here.”

  I let out a sigh of relief at the chance of getting some hangover tea down my throat. “Thanks, Harper. And maybe some coffee?”

  “Coffee does sound good. I think we could both use a cup.”

  It took us roughly half an hour more to get through the gate into the city; the guards gave extra scrutiny to everyone and stopped random groups to ask questions. Vessa stayed still in front of me as we had discussed the night before. I had been worried about nosy guards with sharp halberds. Or nets.

  We walked the horses over to a series of hitching posts near several stalls before seeking one that prepared and sold hot tea and coffee. Vessa took her usual place draped over my shoulders. The stall owner was a short woman with frizzy hair and pointy ears barely poking out.

  “Why hello, dearies! What can I get you? A bit of tea? Or some coffee? I have a new brew out of the south of the Beran Kingdom. It’s super nutty and dark!”

  Harper smiled widely. “Why, I’d love to try some of that coffee. Could we get a mug of hot water as well? And a cup of milk if you could swing it.”

  “Of course, of course! Let’s see, that will be five coppers for the coffee, one for the hot water, and two for the milk,” the drink merchant offered.

  I reached into my pocket to pull out the eight copper coins, but found only three. I’d have to search through my backpack for the bags of mixed coins I hadn’t gotten around to sorting. Instead, I pulled out a silver coin. “You wouldn’t have change for a silver, would you?” I asked.

  She smiled regretfully. “Oh, no. I’m sorry, deary, I don’t have 50 coppers yet today, let alone the 42 you’d need for change.”

  “I got this.” Harper sighed and handed over the coppers, and the little woman beamed at her.

  “That’ll be ready in a jiffy!” she exclaimed, and busied herself with our drinks.

  The diminutive woman was true to her word, and I was soon sipping my hangover tea. I had come to like the weird flavor and smell of the odd herb mix, as it always brought relief. The tea had its desired effect, and I could feel my head become clear. My stomach settled.

  My eyes had inadvertently closed while the mistakes of the night before lost their sting, and I opened them to the delighted cooing of the stall owner watching Vessa slurp up the milk. I had that moment of panic before I realized everything was okay and the stall owner was enraptured with the hatchling.

  “Well, aren’t you just the cutest dragonkin I’ve ever seen! Yes, you are! So adorable!” the small woman fussed.

  Vessa finished slurping up the milk and chirped cheerfully at the stall owner. “Can I have some more milk, please?”

  I put my empty mug of hangover tea down next to the empty milk. “May I get another milk for her and a coffee for me, please?” I asked, handing the silver piece to the woman. “And keep the change. You made this day so much better.”

  The small woman took the silver coin as her eyes widened. “I couldn’t possibly…”

  “Please do. Maybe provide us with a coffee each and some milk for Vessa next time we come by?” I asked.

  She thought about it only for a moment before grinning. “I think we can do that,” she answered. “My name’s Cloe, by the way, Cloe Leafwater.”

  “Finn. And this is Harper,” I replied with a smile.

  Caffeinated and feeling pretty good, we made our way toward the Royal Library slowly. We got the basic shopping taken care of rather quickly, mostly the food and potions. As it turned out, we had to head further toward the center of the city to find the higher-end shops and the Enchanter’s Guild.

  We were leading our mounts through the crowded, twisted lanes of the outer city, moving toward one of the main throughways, when Harper dropped that knowledge nugget.

  “Wait, why do we need to go there?” I asked Harper. I had to raise my voice over a trio of street musicians that wandered with the crowd. “Do I have to join it, or something?”

  “No, or at least I don’t think so,” she answered. “The EG holds a monopoly in the identification of magical items. If someone isn’t part of the EG, then they aren’t certified to give legitimate information on items, and anything you get from them is suspect.”

  “Huh. I hope they aren’t too expensive,” I said.

  In my head, I heard what sounded like the clearing of a throat.

  “New Quest! Join the Enchanter’s Guild! Finn the Mage, aka the Cockroach, is eligible to join the Honorable Guild of Enchanters. Not because he is honorable in any respects, but because he has levels in the Enchanting skill. Finn will need to demonstrate his skills and pay his entrance fee of ten gold coins. Rewards for finishing the Join the Enchanter’s Guild Quest: fifty gold coins, a twenty percent discount on the identification of magical items, and a snazzy new hat! Not that Finn will be any better looking. Magic has its limits, after all!”

  The Voice’s cheerfulness wasn’t forced, but it still was being a jerk. I would have thought that my completion of the first part of the main quest would have led to it, or he, being more, well, nice to me? It seemed both amused and outraged that I had survived. I didn’t know how to feel about that.

  Harper laughed. “Well, that time, I heard the Voice make fun of you! What did you do to piss it off?” she asked.

  “Nothing! I still don’t have any ideas. The Voice has been like this since day one,” I replied. “But the rewards sound nice. A discount and fifty gold? I think that’s worth it.”

  We continued on through the twists and turns until it opened up onto a wide road, and we were able to get mounted again despite the crowd moving around us. I hadn’t really noticed how odd it was, but we had come in through a different gate last time and the route we took didn’t seem so bad.

  The capital city was laid out similarly to a wheel, with the primary thoroughfares radiating out from the royal palace like spokes on a wheel. Their convenience was lessened by the fact that none of them lined up with a gate. It made sense in a way to prevent enemy forces from easily taking the city and the palace. With several choke points prior to hitting the larger roads leading in, defense of most of the city would be relatively easy, if not overall annoying the rest of the time. I wondered, though, what in the past would have led to such a design.

  All of that left my mind when we stopped in front of a building with vivid images of people and colorful monsters dancing on its walls. And a blazing-bright sign above the door.

  The Enchanters Guild.

  Thank you for reading!!!