Date: 23/06/33

  Reporter: Micah Vandenburg

  Dungeon: Chemist’s Drop

  Type: Abbarent

  Special Notes: Dungeon is unstable and should be closed. Dive partner Jill Gellentine incapacitated and in need of recovery.

  Log: Assisted Mr. Joseph Alderbright in monthly delve as per his guild contract. Dungeon expressed themes of crypt and flesh during delve descent. Monster density was light with light loot (see next page for full loot inventory). The core room was reached without incident. The core crystal showed signs of damage (cracks, discoloration and dark interior). Mr.Alderbight approached the core and was warned of its potential instability. He either did not hear or ignored the warning and was caught in the subsequent explosion when the core detonated upon contact. Delve partner Jill Gellentine administered first aid to Mr.Alderbright and myself. Once administered, we became aware of an additional nonhostile entity in the room. Said entity took on the appearance of a small child and was identified by Mr.Alderbright as a core beast cub. Entity was escorted out of the dungeon as the core had experienced a total collapse and the dungeon had become unstable. During evacuation Jill was injured by a rebounded spell and had to be carried out. Entity is currently in the care of Mr.Alderbright…

  -except from post delve report-

  The door to the clinic was opened by Mr.Hornsforward, Dr.Hornsforward’s husband. The styra man towered over the pair, being on par with a female lanoli like Merrie Carrie. Unlike the more human features of his wife, Mr.Hornsforward had a full goatish head and legs with the only human-like portion of him being a torso and arms devoid of hair. He was dressed in a flowing blue robe that was cinched at the middle with a wide leather belt. The baggy sleeves of his garment had been pinned back out of the way leaving his bare arms and collection of brass bracelets on full display. Both long ears sported brass studs near their base, positioned close enough in so their weight would not drag on his ears. One ear flicked as he studied the pair on the doorstep.

  “Well,” he said in a smooth rumbling voice, “I’d ask what I can do for you, but it’s fairly obvious I’m not the one you need.” The large man stepped aside, holding the door open for the pair. “You’d better come in. I’ll take you back to the examination room.”

  Joe hadn't been in the Hornsforward’s shop before. The ability to make his own medicine, and lack of style sense meant that he’d never really needed either styra’s services in the past. Although, I really should come in for a haircut Joe thought to himself as they crossed the open front end of the shop.

  The front room was the domain of Mr.Hornsforward, the town barber. It held a surprisingly modern looking set up complete with a lit mirror and adjustable chair. Said chair was still positioned close to the shop's large bay windows where the barber could presumably take advantage of the natural light as well.

  Where barber shops back home would have been dominated by the cold gleam of stainless steel and plexiglass, Mr.Hornsforward’s workspace was built on the warm colors of brass and earth toned ceramics. Brass and darkwood shelves held a collection of jars, while a short shelf directly under the mirror was the resting place of a collection of different sized shears, combs, and brushes all meticulously laid out on a deep red velvet runner. The place smelled of shampoo and cleaner in a pleasant way that made Joe feel safe just standing in it.

  They crossed the room in a few steps, the space being only about the width of Joe’s front room, arriving at the rear door that would have led under the second floor balcony and into Joe’s back room had this been his shop. Here the space was divided by a long wall decorated with several soothing paintings and a sturdy looking door.

  Mr.Hornsforward opened it without breaking stride, ushering them through. The room beyond was paneled in dark wood and bisected by a curtain. The side they were on had an old leather couch and small desk pushed against the opposing walls so that whoever sat on the couch faced the desk. Between them was a battered coffee table several decades past the point where it should have been firewood.

  Sitting at the desk was Dr.Hornsforward, who turned to look at them as they entered. Her eyes went up and down each of them, stopping at the cub and raising a meticulously maintained eyebrow before locking eyes with Joe. “Well, when I heard you were starting to delve I knew I’d see you in here eventually. What happened?”

  “I, uh.” Joe glanced at Micah, suddenly unsure how much to tell the doctor. ‘I got knocked over and landed on a pile of rubble.”

  “That must have been one hell of a pile.” Dr.Hornsforwards tone wasn’t scornful or accusatory in any way, but Joe could just tell she didn’t fully believe him. She nodded at the little girl holding his hand. “Who’s the little one?”

  Well fuck, “That’s,” Joe thought fast, but he caught the slight frown on Dr.Hornsforwards face as she registered the pause. Joe wasn’t good at lying at the best of times, and Dr.Hornsforward wasn’t a fool. “Crystal. I found her in the ruins of my shop.”

  “So she’s either someone’s lost child,” Dr.Hornsforward drawled, her hand coming up to stroke the wispy goatee on her chin. “Or, she’s a dungeon born monster that somehow slipped through the barrier, which if that was the case it is either incredibly strong or the dungeon core is failing.” She glanced at Micah who wilted visibly. “Has the guild been informed?”

  “I, uh,” Micah made several vague hand gestures as he slowly backed towards the door. “I was just off to do that.” He tucked Jill under an arm and slipped out the door with a perfunctory “Bye Joe.”

  E tu brutus? Joe thought glumly as he turned back to Dr.Hornsforward.

  Her frosty glare thawed a little as her eyes fell to Joe’s wound. She let out a long sigh. “Alright, let’s at least get that shoulder looked at.” Her eyes hardened again with a no nonsense look. “While we do that you can tell me all about your little friend there, and you’d better not lie to me again Joseph Alderbright or by all the gods above I’ll break your other shoulder.”

  <><><>

  “A core beast.” Dr.Hornsforward said flatly as she led Joe through a range of motion tests.

  “Have you heard of them?” Joe rotated his arm, following the pattern the good doctor was demonstrating.

  “Only in books.” She glanced at the little girl who was sitting quietly next to Joe. Her husband had brought Crystal a glass of juice and the little one was sipping it placidly through a straw as she kicked her dangling legs back and forth. “I must say though, the stories I’ve read might have exaggerated their demeanor somewhat.”

  “Oh?” Joe let his hand fall to Crystal's head where he started absentmindedly scratching her scalp. Wordlessly Crystal leaned into Joe, still sipping her juice.

  “Yes, it’s a lot of death and destruction, whole towns raised to the ground, multiple senior adventurers needed to bring them down, that sort of thing.” She gave the little core beast an appraising look. “You said she used two high level spells in rapid succession, all without a visible source of mana?”

  “Yeah, I probably would have been crushed flat had she not.” Joe gave Crystal an extra scritch and the little girl sighed contentedly.

  Their conversation was interrupted by the sucking sound of a dry cup. After a second or two Crystal released the suction on her straw and held the empty glass towards Dr.Hornsforward. “Mo’peas”.

  “Well she’s at least polite for a vicious killing machine.” Dr.Hornsforward deadpanned. “Darling!” The last word was said at volume, summoning her husband from the other room.

  The styra man stuck his head into the office and looked at his wife. “Hm?” he inquired.

  “The little one would like some more juice please.”

  With a nod Mr.Hornsforward’s head retreated from the room.

  Once the door closed Dr.Hornsforward turned back to Joe. “Well, there’s definitely some underlying damage. From the color and the difficulties in rotating your arm I’m betting you managed to pull the short lot and broke your collar bone.” She turned around in her chair and started opening drawers. “ Since it’s not a compound fracture there’s only so much a topical application can do in this case. We’re going to have to secure the bones in place and administer a dose of grade two healing potion to the bone directly.”

  When Dr.Hornsforward turned back around she held what looked like a complicated metal clamp and a wooden box, both of which she placed on the table in front of Joe.

  “What are those for?” He asked, trying hard not to look too nervous.

  As always Dr.Hornsforward seemed able to look right through him. She gave a little chuckle before pointing to the complicated clamp.

  Boneset

  A medical clamp that utilizes mana to manipulate bones without breaking the skin.

  “That’s a boneset. I use it for repositioning broken bones so they can heal properly. Be thankful you didn’t try and fix the break yourself in the dungeon. I’ve had to go in and surgically rebrake more than a few bones in my time when idiots forgot that potions don’t align bones.” Her hand moved from the clamp to the case where she pressed the catch allowing it to open. “Once everything’s matched up we’ll use this subdermal injector to administer the potion directly to the break.”

  Subdermal Injector

  A device intended to deliver medical grade healing potions directly to damaged tissues without the need of opening new wounds. Uses mana to sterilize and sharpen the needle.

  It had to be the single biggest needle Joe had ever seen, and it took every iota of willpower he possessed to not jump straight out of his chair. Good to know it’ll be sterilized Joe though, clamping down on his fight or flight response.

  He must have twitched however, as Dr.Hornsforward shot him a sympathetic look. “ I know, no one likes it, but it’s the needle or it doesn’t heal properly” She picked up the boneset and came around the table to Joe’s side. “Just hold still while I get this in place.”

  At that moment Mr.Hornsforward returned with a fresh cup of juice for Crystal. The male styra set the new glass down on the table, spotting the needle as he did so. He shot Joe a sympathetic smile over his wife’s shoulder before once again retreating out of the room.

  Getting the boneset in place was remarkably fast and mildly disturbing. Once Dr.Hornsforward had wrangled the cumbersome thing roughly onto Joe’s shoulder she pressed a bronze manacoin into it. The coin fizzed into vapor before the clamp came to life, shuffling around on Joe’s shoulder like a grumpy spider and pressing into his flesh. It felt to Joe like his bones had become magnetic, with the broken ends of his collarbone shifting under the skin as they were manipulated by the clamp over them.

  He grimaced. “Oh that feels really weird.”

  “Never had a boneset on you before? You either have strong bones or didn’t get out much as a child.” Dr.Hornsforward commented, making some minor adjustments to the device before collecting the injector from the table. She tapped the tip of it against an iron manacoin and the needle section briefly glowed a dull red. “Alright, now here’s the really fun part. I always suggest shutting your eyes or looking away for this, but it’s really up to you.”

  Joe did both, only aware of her approach when he felt her hand rest on his neck and push his head slightly to the side. With his eyes closed Joe missed what happened next.

  “No!” There was a flash of light bright enough for Joe to see it through his closed eyes, followed by a very meaty thunk. When Joe opened his eyes it was to find Dr.Hornsforward slumped over on her desk, the subdermal injector buried tip first into the wall about a foot away.

  The sound of hooves on wood heralded the arrival of Mr.Hornsforward, opening the door with enough speed and power that it bounced off the hinges and he had to catch it. “Is everything alright?” He came up short as his eyes took in the scene before him. Before he could ask anything else however, Dr.Hornsforwardd had recovered enough to respond.

  “Everything’s fine dear,” she said as she scooted off her desk and retrieved her injector from the wall. The tip was slightly bent and she glared at it as if the little device had failed her. “I got careless around something I shouldn’t have.” Her glare transferred from the bent tip of her instrument to the little girl now standing next to Joe on the couch.

  Stolen story; please report.

  Her husband pursed his lips at her vague response, but seemed to understand that he wasn’t going to get anything better. With a quick nod he exited the room, once again leaving the three of them alone.

  “I’m sorry.” Joe started to say as the door shut, only to be stopped by Dr.Hornsforward when she raised her hand.

  “It’s ok Joe, I’m sturdier than I look. Honestly after what you told me she did back in the dungeon I should have been more careful.” She eyed Crystal who was still standing protectively close to Joe clutching her ceramic cup of juice. She sighed through her nose and started rummaging the drawers in her desk again. “Unfortunately I wasn’t able to administer the healing potion before Crystal decided to step in.” She retrieved another box similar to the first which held a second injector. “So we’re going to have to do this again.”

  Dr.Hornsforward fixed Crystal with a stern look as she drew a measure of potion into the long chamber of the injector. “Now honey,I’m going to have to do this again.” Joe realized she was speaking to Crystal now, who perked up slightly at being addressed. “I promise I’m not trying to hurt him, so I need you to be a good girl and not get involved.” Dr.Hornsforward tapped another coin to the injector to sterilize it before presenting it to her for inspection. “I know it looks scary, but I assure you it’ll help.”

  Crystal regarded it without getting any closer than she had to. It was clear to Joe she didn’t like what she saw, but after a moment she nodded and went back to sipping her juice. She behaved for the rest of the procedure, only intervening enough to take Joe’s hand when he grimaced as the needle went in.

  Another range of motion tests later and Joe was on his way, although not without a warning from the good doctor first.

  “Joe,” she said, standing up after giving Crystal a lollypop, “I wouldn’t get too attached to her.” She forestalled Joe’s question with another raised hand. “If Micah fills out his report the right way.” Her tone made it clear she wasn’t sure if he would or not. “Then the adventurers guild will likely demand that you turn her over to them.”

  “What? Why?!” Joe sputtered, not fully believing what he was hearing.

  Dr.Hornsforward gave a shrug. “She’s technically dungeon spoils. No, don't argue with me on that Joe, she counts trust me. Unless your contract with the guild states that you get full rights to all spoils, they’ll demand their pound of flesh from your earnings.” She seemed to realize what she said and frowned. “That may have been a poor way of saying it, but that’s essentially right.”

  “What would they do with her?” Joe asked, his gut twisting with anxiety.

  “Likely auction her. It’s what normally gets done with dungeon spoils.”

  “She’s a child!” Joe couldn’t believe what he was hearing.

  “No, she’s a dungeon spawned creature that happens to look like a little girl.” Dr.Hornsforward cut him off just as Joe opened his mouth. “No, do not yell at me again. I’m not saying it’s right. I”m just warning you what is likely to happen.”

  <><><>

  It was a much more subdued JOe that made it back to MOira’s, a fact she keyed into instantly. Moira’s eyes darted back and forth between Joe and the newcomer in his arms. Although she was prevented from asking about her immediately as Moira was busy with a customer. Knowing that she would want an explanation, Joe loitered around the stairs, using the treads as a convenient seat for Crystal so he didn’t have to hold her.

  Joe caught Gretta’s eye from her position over at the glass kiln. He mouthed “hold on” to her raised eyebrow of inquiry. Once Moira had seen off her customer, she waited just long enough for them to get out of earshot before rounding on Joe.

  “Ok, you go on a dungeon delve and come back with a baby,” Moira paused, looking the girl up and down for a moment, “something. What the hell happened Joe?”

  “It’s a long story.” Joe sighed.

  Next to him Crystal nodded solemnly with a “hmph” of her own.

  “Oh ye gods, that was adorable.” Gretta muttered from her spot blowing glass bottles.

  Joe smiled and ruffled Crystal’s hair. “Yeah she’s pretty cute.”

  “Excuse me.” All three turned to the newcomer, who was holding up a sky blue glass bowl. “How much for this, or is it the same price as the others?”

  Moira looked back at Joe and breathed a sigh out through her nose. “Ok we’ll pin this to the board for now, but I want a full explanation at dinner Joseph Alderbright.” There was nothing JOe could do but nod before the might that was Moira’s full powered glare. With a satisfied nod, Moira turned to address her customer.

  “Pst, Joe.” Gretta stage whispered. She’d finished the bottle she’d been working on and tucked it away in the cooling cabinet. The orc now leaned on her blowpipe, the smile on her face exposing the silver wire on her teeth. “Sarah’s finished her course work for the day. Why don’t you go introduce her to your little friend there?”

  I’d really like to go talk to Paul Joe thought, but I doubt he’ll be able to help much until after he’s closed for the day. Out loud he said, “That sounds like a great idea.” Joe stood with a grunt and looked at Crystal. “What do you think Crystal? Want to go meet Sarah?”

  The little core beast seemed to give the idea a serious amount of consideration before nodding. “Hm,” she said with a determined look on her face.

  “Oh gods she’s just too cute.” chuckled Gretta as she turned and got back to her glass blowing.

  Crystal insisted on holding Joe’s hand the whole way up the stairs and into the Fairchild’s home. Sarah looked up as they came in, her tail making lazy arcs back and forth as she played with some salt dough. Her ears perked up as she spotted the newcomer with Joe.

  “Hey Sarah, This is Crystal.” Joe put his hand on Crystal’s head, causing the little girl to look up at him. “Crystal,” Joe looked down at her, “this is Sarah. Sarah could Crystal play with you?”

  Sarah nodded, scooting over to give Crystal some room and dividing her ball of dough in half. Crystal let go of Joe’s hand and toddled over to sit by Sarah. “You can squish it around, see?” Sarah demonstrated the squishability of the dough. “You can make it into all sorts of things, but it’ll dry out so you’ve got to play with it fast.”

  Crystal picked up the lump Sarah had presented her with and gave it a tentative squeeze. The dough squished out between her tiny fingers in a very satisfactory way, bringing a smile to the little girl's face. Joe sat and watched the pair play, with Sarah showing Crystal how to make several different animals while the little one tried to keep up with the older girl. I wonder if she even knows what any of those animals are. Joe thought to himself.

  After around half an hour, Sarah scooted closer to Crystal and put an arm around her. Crystal continued to play with her dough, giving no obvious indication that she’d even noticed the gesture. It made Joe smile to see Sarah accepting the little girl. I’m glad Sarah seems to like her. Considering that if she stays, she and Sarah will need to share a room it’d be better if they got along. A dark cloud rolled over Joe’s mood as he remembered Dr.Hornsforwards words. I really need to talk to Paul. She’s a thinking and feeling person, not some overgrown lizard or magic plant. They can’t just take her and sell her off like some exotic pet. That’s slavery plain and simple.

  He tried not to think about Dr.Hornsforwards explanation of dungeon spoils. The doctor was a good and solid woman, not prone to exaggerations or drama, however there was just no way she could be right about Crystal falling into that category. There’s just no way the powers that be would allow them to sell a child like that. I can’t believe it. I can’t believe it and I won't let them

  <><><>

  When Moira and Gretta came up for dinner it was to find Joe with a child on each side of him. “-and the dragon went to sleep.” Joe finished, closing the book as best he could with a child hanging onto each arm.

  “Well aren’t you just the picture of paternal perfection.” Gretta teased as the pair of them entered the room.

  Joe stuck out his tongue at the orc, which only encouraged her to laugh.

  “Alright,” Moira cut in, folding her arms over her chest, “time to fill us in on how you managed to find a child while delving.”

  “Well,” Joe unconsciously set his hand on Crystal’s head and started scratching her scalp. “She’s not really a child…”

  The explanation of what had happened ended up taking the rest of the evening, mostly because Moira and Gretta kept interrupting to ask questions Joe didn’t know the answers to. Amongst the most repeated was ‘how could a dungeon core just become a person’? The idea that Crystal was anything other than what she appeared to be was just as difficult for the two smiths to grasp as it had been for JOe. By the time dinner had been cooked and consumed, the two little girls had migrated over to Moira. Each took up a side and leaned into her chest. Moira had wrapped an arm around each, holding onto Crystal with just as tightly as she did her own daughter. Moreso in fact when Joe mentioned what Dr.Hornsforward had said.

  “They wouldn’t actually do that.” Moira said, making the statement do the work of a question.

  Gretta pulled a face from her position on the floor. “Honestly Moira, I’d be more surprised if they didn't. Live monsters are on the guild loot tables and I’ve met more than one hardass of an adventurer just at school who’d carve up a puppy for a core if they thought there was a payday in it.”

  “That’s barbaric!”

  Gretta gave a shrug to her employer. “Not to them. A lot of adventurers don’t consider dungeon born monsters as ‘real’ because they were generated via mana nodes. Even the ones that escape their dungeon and go on to establish breeding populations aren’t really treated any differently.” Gretta held up a hand to ward off the look her employer was giving her. “Hey, I’m not saying I believe that myself. But you have to remember that with very few exceptions dungeon born monsters are aggressive to most other species. They’re considered invasive species wherever they go, so most don’t put much thought into them.”

  Joe thought back to his very first encounter with a monster. The writing ball of malevolent tentacles had attacked on sight and only the timely intervention of a door had saved him from a face full of horror. Gods, imagine if those things got out and started stalking the alleys of the town. The croarks are bad enough, but at least they are big cowards. I don’t think that thing was smart enough to be scared of anything. Joe imagined what would happen if one pounced on Cha as he took their garbage out. Heaven forbid it got into their shop somehow.

  Suddenly Gretta’s assertions seemed less cruel. Joe’s eyes wandered down to where Crystal had wiggled herself as close as physically possible to the soft warmth of MOira’s side. His love was running her fingers through the little girl’s hair, causing Crystal's eyes to flutter as she fought off sleep.

  Joe waved to get Moira’s attention, then gestured down to the little girl. Moira chuckled softly when she saw what condition Crystal was in. “Baby,” Moira whispered, tapping Sarah on the back and gesturing for her to sit up. “Can Crystal sleep with you in your bed tonight?”

  Sarah thought for a moment, her tail wiggling behind her in short back and forth waves. “I don’t have to go to bed right now do I?” She eventually asked. When her mother shook her head Sarah nodded. “Ok, but just for tonight.”

  Gretta had to cover a snort as she siddled over to Joe’s side of the couch to allow Moira room to stand. “Don’t worry, if Sarah doesn’t want to sleep with her she’s always welcome with me.”

  Joe looked down at the orc who was watching Moira scoop a now sleeping Crystal into her arms and princess carry her into her daughter's room. “Are you sure” We can have her with Moira and me, or I’ll just sleep with her on the couch.”

  Gretta waved Joe’s suggestion away. “And see that little thing squished flat? I love you both but there’s just no room for her in your bed or on the couch.”

  “Are you calling me fat?” Joe huffed with mock indicnation.

  “Well I’m not calling you skinny.” Gretta shot back with a silvery grin. Joe just herumphed, causing the orc to snicker quietly. A few minutes later MOira emerged from Sarah’s room, quietly shutting the door after her. “She gave me a little trouble going back to sleep,” she explained when she caught the unspoken question on their faces. “That girl is a stage five clinger if ever I saw one.”

  “Thankfully we know how to deal with those,” Gretta interjected, giving a meaningful look at Sarah who blew a raspberry at her.

  “I hope we get to keep her.” Moira sighed, sitting down again and pulling her daughter close.

  “Why wouldn't we?” Sarah asked, pulling away to look up at her mother. The three adults shot glances at each other.

  Joe bit the bullet and played spokesmen for the adults. “Well Sarah, she’s not really my daughter. I found her and she may need to go live somewhere else.”

  The six year olds' tail thrashed back and forth. “But I don’t want her to go!”

  Moira wrapped her up in her arms and planted a kiss on Sarah’s head. “I know baby, but we may not get a choice.”

  “Actually,” Joe stepped in before Sarah could get worked up. “ I was hoping I could talk to Paul. He helped draft my contract with the adventurers guild, maybe he could figure out some way to keep them at bay.”

  Moira ran her fingers through Sarah’s hair for a moment before responding. “That’ll have to wait until tomorrow. I don’t think we should disturb his dinner. I mean, it’s not like they’d come for her first thing in the morning.”

  There was a long pause before Joe stood up. “I’ll be back in a bit”

  <><><>

  “I’m sorry Joe,” Paul said, stifling a yawn with the back of his hand. “But the guild contract is pretty clear. If you cannot produce the twenty percent due to the guild one way or another, then the goods will be confiscated by them and sold off. You would then get the eighty percent share of the proceeds like you did with the mana blaster.”

  “She’s not ‘goods’ Paul, she’s a little girl.” Joe all but growled. The hob took his glasses off to give his eyes a good rub.

  They’d spent the better part of the last three hours working away at the problem. It had started with trying to bring the hob up to speed on what had happened. This had been followed by a furious bout of research as the two looked through every book Paul owned on the presidents of core beasts. Never before had Joe so acutely missed a part of his old life as he did while trying to research something without the internet. What little they were able to scrape together was not comforting. It seemed that all prior contact with core beasts had been devastatingly hostile.

  “What about the lamnotta?” Joe asked “They were once hunted as escaped dungeon monsters. Couldn’t we use them as a precedent to classify Crystal as a sapient species?”

  Paul shook his head at that. “While it is true that historically contact with lamnotta ended in violence, no lamnotta that I am aware of ever leveled a town. The sheer magical might a core beast has at its disposal puts any hostile action it takes leagues above a lamnotta.” Paul stifled another yawn. “Honestly, even if you could somehow scrape together the money to buy out the adventurers guild, there’s a good chance the crown itself won't want something like Crystal simply lose in their lands.”

  “Could they really just take her?” Joe’s heart, which he thought had hit rock bottom. Somehow dropped lower.

  “Can the national government confiscate a perceived threat?” Paul’s rhetorical question was cut off by another yawn, making Joe painfully aware of just how much he was imposing on the kindhearted hobgoblin. Once Paul had regained control of his mouth he asked “Do you mind me asking a somewhat callous question?” When Joe nodded he went on. “I know the reason is likely that you’re a very warm hearted person, but why are you so dead set on keeping this thing? She’s not really your child, hell she’s not even amongst the recognized sapient species. To put it simply, she’s not really your problem.”

  Joe opened his mouth only to stop and close it again a moment later. He does have a point Joe grudgingly admitted to himself. She’s not my daughter and there is no reason I should have gotten so attached to her. She’s just so small. Ok I know she can level a city block but she’s, she’s just a kid and she needs someone to be there for her.

  His thoughts went again to the lightning spell she'd used on the giant amalgam monster. The image in his mind slowly shifted, replacing the monster with a group of strangers and the dungeon with a darkened city street. The devastation she could inflict if she thought she was in danger, even if it was just a misunderstanding. And after she did it once, would anyone try to do anything other than attack her on sight?

  “I see you’ve got a lot to think about” Paul cut in, scattering Joe’s thoughts with a hand on his shoulder. “Why don’t you sleep on it? Who knows, maybe we’ll think of something in the morning.”Joe wanted to protest, but he knew the hob was right. Raising from his seat Joe thanked Paul for his time and left.

  Darkness had fallen as Joe exited onto the street. Not far off was the hollow husk of his shop, the street lights turning the windowless frames into dark voids. Joe stood there on Paul’s front stoop staring at the broken facade without really looking at it. Hods, have I only been here for a few months? Joe thought to himself. My old life feels like a bad dream at this point. I wonder how Regina is doing without me? They must have hired a new banker by now. Did anyone try to find me?

  Joe wracked his brain, trying to come up with a list of people who may have known him well enough to file a missing person’s report. It was shockingly small. I shouldn’t be surprised, Mary was the one that made and maintained our circle of friends. After she died, they all started drifting away.

  A moving speck in the night's sky caught Joe’s attention and he looked up in time to see the descending bulk of the mari lwyd mail carrier. When it touched down it seemed to become confused by the doorless frame, turning its head this way and that as if trying to understand what to do. Joe took pity on the creature and let out a short whistle.The mari lwyd’s horse skull head snapped around to look at him, its smoked glass eyes shimmering in the streetlight.

  Ye gods, those things will never be not creepy to me. Joe thought as he crossed the deserted street to sign for his package. I wonder where they get the skulls from? I haven’t seen a horse in this world. He waited with outstretched hands for the mari lwyd to cough up his bundle and fly off.

  It was the same rune wrapped parcel he’d gotten every month he’d lived here. The contents were never anything to write home about, but the extra ingredients he didn't have to pay for were nice. Somehow the weight of the little box in his hands was comforting to Joe, like a tangible bit of normality despite how it was delivered. “ I don’t know what’s going to happen Mary.” Joe sighed, tucking the parcel under his arm and looking up at his ruined store front. “But I’m not going to waste this life like I had my last one. No matter what happens I refuse to just sit and let life go by. I’ll keep moving forward and fight for whatever happiness I can find.”