-Callia-

  I left the headquarters and made my way to a bar on the outskirts of the city. It was the location that I set to meet with Hew and the others. I’ll admit I had expected the slaves we had acquired to disperse back into the city trying to regain their previous lives, but instead they were just grouped together outside the bar awkwardly waiting. Well, not all the slaves; in fact, it was only the youngest and the oldest who remained. Before I could even ask what they were waiting for, one of the elders dropped to his knees, crying out.

  “Lady Callia, it's rude and inappropriate to ask this, but we beg for a place under your protection. Those who remain are those who have no means of providing for ourselves now that we’ve lost everything.” I scratched my cheek. We had enough funds for the group, and it was only about a dozen or so. However, bringing them home with us felt like an unrealistic challenge. On the journey here we lost four of the six guards in our escort team. Now with only the last two left, while they had both grown significantly in the meantime, it was a joke to think we were up for this kind of challenge. I shrugged off the problem for now. It felt like the kind of issue I usually offloaded on my brother.

  “I’ll see to it that accommodations are provided while we are in the capital, but I give no guarantee that we’ll choose to bring you with us on the journey home. I suggest that while we remain in the capital, you find work and try to piece together a new life.” I looked down at the card the Eland had given me. He did say that he would have my companions taken care of while in the capital. I’ll just consider these people temporary companions. Though Eland may have forgotten to explain how I use the card. Was it for a specific residence, or was it like some kind of fancy noble voucher?

  I store the card again as I enter the bar. Hew and the others are waiting for me at a table against the back of the room. At first they give an expression of relief; however, it was shortly clouded by concern. I preempted any of their questions with my own explanation.

  “Callen got in over his head, but he is fine. He’s trying to find a way to escape our storage space, as he has gotten himself trapped inside it. He has already devised a means of escape but is struggling with the implementation. He should be done by tomorrow.” The others calmed down greatly at my explanation, though not completely. Getting trapped inside your own spatial storage space took a special kind of stupid. Lucky for him, he had a connection to the real world. “Now while Callen is stuck, I’ve received something that should grant us accommodations for the duration of our stay.” I show off the card, hoping that Hew might be more insightful on its use. He tended to know a lot of random things, so I wouldn’t put it past him to have trivia knowledge about it. Sadly, this time the blank look of interest regarding something new and interesting revealed how little he knew. They looked at me expectantly, waiting for me to explain what the card did, but I could only give an awkward smile.

  “The gifter didn’t mention how to use it.” I almost felt offended by how loudly Paul's face smacked into his hand. Philip seemed perplexed by the issue, but Hew’s wisdom prevailed.

  “Perhaps we could visit the inner city and ask a guard? Surely they would be more familiar?” I nodded in agreement but stopped as my mind jumped in a hypothetical but not entirely outrageous direction. Just entering the city with a random farmer lady accusing us was enough to get shipped off to a slave processing building. So some guard flipping out and accusing us of theft and then trying the same felt all too possible. Even if we cut out sending us to a branding facility, the odds of being accused of theft for possessing a high-value item that we didn’t understand seemed all too possible.

  My mind was probably jumping to the worst-case scenario, but after how much crap had gone down today. Yeah, I had enough city guard crap. Instead I’ll just bother the palace gate guard. They should be more familiar with things like the fancy runic card. With the plan set, I led the group into the heart of the city. The slave attire of our companions stood out starkly against the affluent attire of the rich inner-city aristocracy. Conveniently nobody stopped us as we reached the gates that I had visited in my previous hunt for the imperial guard.

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  Seeing the guard who had previously escorted me to the imperial guard among those on duty, I happily waved over to him.

  “Excuse me, Mr. Guard. Mind helping me out again? Lord? Or Prince Eland Talia gave me this card promising accommodations but never explained how I would use it.” At first the man didn’t seem to want anything to do with me, but the card seemed to stiffen the man's spine as he immediately went into a formal salute. I was going to ask what it meant, but the sudden arrival of a man and woman dressed in formal attire interrupted my comments. My eyes widened at the sheer speed. I didn’t see or sense their approach at all, which seemed to only be possible if they teleported.

  “Guests, I am Butler Davis. I am the lead caretaker of Prince Eland’s quarters and his guests. By my side is head maid Guinevere; she will see to any and all conveniences you might request while under our prince’s care.” They both bowed deeply. A satisfied smile creeps onto my lips. It seems like I might just get to enjoy what peak luxury means again. Time to see how much better being the guest of a prince is in comparison to that of a wealthy border viscount.

  The group was guided onto a cleverly hidden circle on the ground. The lack of markings suggested this was a piece of enchantment instead of a runic device. Callen was missing out on his chance to check out the cool tech. A flash of light and complete realignment of sense left me dizzy from sensory overload. I stumbled backward, but Philip managed to support me just in time.

  “Apologies, individuals with high sensor skills often struggle to adapt after experiencing a shifting plate. In the future before using any such plates, I recommend consciously dulling your senses.” The butler dropped to his knees immediately, presenting himself before me. “I have erred gravely, inconveniencing our guests. Please punish me as you deem fit!”

  “Just forget it. No punishment is needed, but warn me before using that in the future.” I didn’t want anything to do with punishing the staff. I already felt a bit guilty taking advantage of Eland’s gift to provide for the rescued slaves in the group. I thought the card would be access to some kind of luxury hotel, but living in the palace was more than I could anticipate.

  The servants immediately got to work providing accommodations to the whole group without discrimination. Everyone received their own rooms, and while I have no idea what the others got, mine was unlike any I had ever seen. A luxurious open-air access with walls made of windows, a snack bar with various treats, a minifridge filled with alcohol, ornate vases filled with exotic flowers, and a massive bed gleaming a soft golden color, but the most exciting was the open-air hot tub installed on the balcony with a skyscraper view looking down on the city below. The only building taller was the gleaming white tower that stretched off beyond the clouds.

  “I rate it 5 stars,” I whisper as I relax into an evening of luxury, grabbing a plate of chocolate treats and kicking back into the hot tub.

  The Orb

  Callen frowned in frustration as his latest attempt at creating an item with voidgate imbued collapsed. They had never tested trying to activate magic equipment inside the void, but something made active runes wear away nearly instantaneously. Meanwhile, enchanting was a whole other monster. For some reason trying to focus inward to view his spirit to identify the void gate skill was impossible. All kinds of interference made perceiving his spirit like playing a game of Where’s Waldo.

  Simple skills were easy enough to do off memory, but they got more and more complex the higher the tier, and Void Gate was a particularly complex piece of work, as it used aspects of other tier four skills. The only win was realizing that his original plan of making a Void Gate wand was an entirely unnecessary complication. The wands were enchantments that created runic spells, but all he needed was a regular enchantment.

  Callen hastily assembled a makeshift window out of wood and got to work trying to decipher through the static of the void to create a void gate enchanted window. Somehow despite all the interference, it finally came together. To test the gate, he let mana pour in. He was a bit curious about where the gate would open if it were activated from this side.

  Suddenly a powerful sense of vertigo struck Callen as the item twisted inwardly, collapsing into nothing. Callen wheezed while trying to regain balance. A careful inspection of himself revealed no immediate danger, but the floating black orb where he had created the gate didn’t seem safe. The faint shimmering of the golden barrier isolating the orb was all the confirmation he needed to know that he had done something stupid.

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