The rest of the day was a flurry of questions, demands for explanations, and various expressions of gratitude and condemnation, often in the same utterance. Everyone wanted a thorough accounting of the day's events, how Jade's group was involved in them, and how exactly so many demons had slipped into the city. Neither Jade nor any of her friends had an answer to that last question, but they answered the others as honestly as they could. After all, as far as Jade was concerned, they had done the city of Estelhelm a favor by flushing out a cell of demonic operatives that had been stealing large portions of the palace's stock of dimension effusion, one of the most valuable substances in this region of the Labyrinth. Countess Montrell's agents had even managed to recover some of what the demons hadn't escaped with, thanks to their efforts.

  Despite that, there had been no small amount of collateral damage during the frantic chase and running battle. No civilians had died during the battle, fortunately, although there were many injuries. Around a dozen people had perished when the demons destroyed the gate with explosive magic, although it soon became clear that the sabotage had been in place before Jade's team, or rather Tara'lynn, had discovered the demon plot. All of this combined led to the city officials: The Silver Shield captain, the magistrate, the Mystic Order, and the countess herself, being annoyed with their group. Fortunately, that ire was tempered by the fact that they'd not only forced the demons out of the city, but had even slain a powerful blood demon before it could wreak havoc within the walls.

  In the end, Aylin was sent to the local guardhouse where their group was being… hosted. Nobody had specifically told Jade that her group was confined to the small stone building, but the stern-faced guards and some terse instructions from the city officials clued her in that trying to slip away would be a bad idea. That all changed when a very exasperated and familiar mage arrived.

  "I'm gone for less than a day, and this is what you get into?" The half-elf asked with a sigh, long robes swishing behind her as she strode into the sparsely appointed room they were waiting in. Siora was with them now, having volunteered that she was a member of their group after the incident had resolved. Jade wasn't sure if that admission had been the smartest move from the elf, but she appreciated the show of solidarity.

  "Aylin?" Luis said, rising from the bench he'd been resting on. "What're you doing here?"

  "I was sent to deliver Countess Montrell's decision as to what's to be done with you, after the day's events."

  Jade didn't taste any alarm or concern in the woman's emotions, so she wasn't worried. Instead, she asked.

  "Why you? You're not associated with the city, are you?"

  "No, I'm very much not." Aylin gave her a flat look. "But apparently, it's been decided that since you lot arrived with me, you're my issue to deal with."

  "Issue?" Tara piped up. The tek'kalla was frowning at the mage. "We solved a demon crisis that the local authorities clearly couldn't handle. They should be thanking us."

  One of the Silver Shield guards standing at the door of the room grunted, glowering at her. Naomi nudged her.

  "Hey, maybe don't antagonize the people in charge here."

  Tara flushed slightly, dipping her head and sitting back on the bench.

  "New friend?" Aylin asked.

  "She helped us find the demon hideout." Jade explained.

  Their other new addition, Ashar, had slipped away after the fighting had finished. He hadn't been taken in with the rest of them, and she wasn't sure what had happened to the enchanter.

  "Regardless." Aylin said, crossing her arms. "The city officials are grateful for your assistance. Grudgingly."

  "We did cause a bit of a mess…" Naomi conceded.

  "In light of the day's events, I'm supposed to express their gratitude for expelling the demon influence from Estelhelm, and also kindly ask you to leave the city."

  "And if we wanted to stick around for another day or two?" Jade asked. She still hadn't met the demon priestess captain Mar had mentioned on the first floor, nor had they purchased equipment upgrades from Ashar's shop.

  "Then the city guard will ask you firmly." Aylin said. She was trying to look stern, but Jade could see a hint of amusement in her expression. "The countess is very interested in learning more about your homeland, but I think she's decided to get answers from less… controversial guests."

  Jade sighed. That was disappointing, but she was self-aware enough to realize they'd gotten off easy. Best to take the win and get out before anyone in power had second thoughts. Maybe they could return later, once tensions had died down. And they could always buy upgrades from the Labyrinth store directly, if needed.

  The rest of her companions must've felt the same, because no one objected as they were ushered out into the street. The smell of smoke lingered in the air, and debris still littered the area near the gate.

  "How many people were hurt?" Fenrin asked, surveying the wreckage in the light of the setting sun.

  "A few dozen. Only a handful died, all of them thanks to the blood demon." Aylin replied, stopping in front of them. She turned to face them, an odd look on her face. "You lot were crazy to take one on alone. But it's the reason you're not in any real trouble. If it had gotten loose in the city…"

  Jade recalled the story Aylin had told her when they'd first met. A blood demon had killed her sister and massacred several dozen people in a similar incident when she was younger.

  "It could have been a lot worse." Aylin finished. "Thank you for what you did here."

  "So, you made it out okay?" Ashar asked. He was leaning by the gate as they left the city, emerging at the edge of the plateau overlooking the river delta far below. The tan, dark-haired man bit into a large green fruit, as if he didn't have a care in the world. "I put in a few good words for you, hope it helped."

  "We did." Jade said, stopping just outside the city gates. "What happened to you?"

  "I can't help but notice that you weren't being questioned with us." Naomi added, crossing her arms.

  The author's content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

  "Getting taken in would've been bad for business." He replied with a nonchalant shrug. "Speaking of, would any of you like to purchase those upgrades you were looking at? I have a lot of costs to recoup from the day."

  "Unfortunately, we just got kicked out." Jade said wryly. "Maybe another time."

  "Ah well, I guess that can be my altruistic deed for the week."

  "One per week? That's not a high quota."

  "Altruism is also bad for business." he said with a wink. "But I can make an exception for a chance to be heroic. And for intriguing women, of course. You'll be fighting those demons again, won't you?"

  "Probably." Jade nodded, distracted. She'd suddenly remembered the bundle of papers she'd taken from the succubus. There hadn't been a chance to look through them during the questioning, and she itched to read through them.

  "Then take this." Ashar said, tossing her a necklace. "Maybe it'll come in handy."

  She caught it. It was the same detection necklace Tara had been about to buy from him before the day had spiraled out of control. The one that had revealed her nature to the tek'kalla.

  This'll come in handy…

  "How much?"

  "Don't worry about it." He said, turning away with a wave and walking back inside the city. "If you make your way to Illysport, stop in at my shop! Have one there, too."

  And then he was gone, through the gate and into the darkening city. Jade held up the necklace, looking at it thoughtfully.

  "Didn't think he'd be the type to give up something like this for free."

  "Jade." Naomi took her by the arm, leading her towards the lift that would take them down to the ground and shaking her head. "He was flirting with you."

  "Wait, really?"

  Luis, Fenrin, and Tara all nodded in agreement. Even Siora bobbed her head.

  "For someone who can supposedly feel people's emotions, you can be a little dense sometimes."

  "I… I was distracted." She said, feeling her cheeks heating up a little.

  "Don't blame you." Luis said, patting her on the back. "That's a pretty good lookin' guy."

  "That's not what I meant!"

  Fortunately for Jade, most of the group was now looking at Luis. He shrugged disarmingly.

  "I'm confident in my masculinity. I know a handsome man when I see one."

  "Eh…" Tara sniffed, shrugging. "His mana capacity is a little low."

  "That's… part of the equation?" Fenrin asked, giving the tek'kalla a bemused look.

  "Of course."

  They boarded the large platform that would convey them down to the plains beyond the city. The sun was starting to set, the river delta below darkening as the plateau of the city cast a long shadow that stretched across the numerous settlements and farmsteads clustered amongst the fertile hills. They were joined by a dozen other people, mostly humans, but with a few fellians mixed in. No one paid them much mind, although Jade did catch a few distrusting looks thrown Tara's way. After experiencing her own share of discrimination these past weeks, that annoyed her.

  "So, what are you going to do now?" Jade asked, moving to stand beside Tara, looking out at the sparkling rivers below. "Why were you so interested in finding those demons, anyway?"

  "I…" The tek'kalla sighed, lowering her head to hold it in her hands, elbows propped against the railing of the platform. The woman had maintained a confident, self-assured air all day. Now, she seemed to deflate. A breeze blew her long white hair into her face, and she didn't bother brushing it aside. "I came to Estelhelm to find a wayfarer party to join." she said at length, not looking at Jade. The rest of their group quieted, letting her speak. After several long moments, she continued.

  "My people, my clan, have left the arcane arts behind, turning instead to artifice." she said, patting her holstered pulsecaster. "When I made it clear that I intended to be a mage, that I still saw value in spellcraft, none of my peers wanted to accompany me on my trial."

  "Your spells worked pretty well today." Luis pointed out. "What's their problem with it?"

  "It's old fashioned. Slower. More prone to failure." Tara shrugged. "Mastering spells, at least those not gifted as Labyrinth boons, takes years of study. Letting manufactured devices like this do the hard work for you is less flexible, but easier."

  "If we only ever did what was easy, then we'd never accomplish anything." Jade said, thinking back to her days as a gymnast. The long hours of training, how close she'd come to giving up, the satisfaction of mastering each new level of skill. She never had to do that. She'd done it because she wanted to. Because she loved it. "Sometimes, we have to follow our passion."

  "That's right." Naomi nodded, patting her guitar affectionately. "Don't let anyone tell you what you can or can't do. If you think you've found a better way, prove them wrong."

  "I'd love to." Tara sighed. "When I discovered the demons in the city, I thought I had that chance to prove myself. But I'm a tek'kalla, and no one here wants anything to do with my people. Too many of our kind are hostile to lowlanders. I should've known that I couldn't change their minds on my own."

  "How about you travel with us?" Luis asked, looking at the rest of them for confirmation. Fenrin and Naomi nodded, and Jade shrugged. Siora, as usual, was a short distance away, distracted, and not listening to the conversation. "We could use someone who knows a thing or two about spells."

  "Wait, really?" Tara straightened, turning to regard them with bright eyes. Jade tasted hope in her mind, bubbling out of her as she latched onto Luis's words. Like all positive emotions, it had a bitter flavor to her succubus senses. Jade hid a grimace, feeling yet another spike of frustration at how such a wonderful emotion was tainted by her nature. She fought it, refusing to accept her inclination to view hope as a weakness. Distracted, she missed the next few moments of the conversation.

  "-thought you would be after the cores connected to your home world." Tara was saying. "Do you really want an outsider joining in?"

  "We'll take all the help we can get." Luis laughed.

  "You handled yourself well in a fight." Jade added. "And you know a lot more about magic than any of us. That can only be a good thing."

  "And that armor has a great color scheme." Naomi piped up. "White on black is striking! Where can I get something like that?" The bard tugged at her leather armor, an annoyed expression on her face. "This dull brown isn't doing it for me."

  "Naomi." Jade sighed, rolling her eyes. "We aren't adding people to our group because of their fashion sense."

  "Obviously." Naomi suppressed a giggle, giving Jade's 'armor' a pointed look.

  She rolled her eyes, pulling the cloak she was wearing over the revealing attire a little tighter.

  "Oh shut up." she grumbled.

  "If you want my help, I'll give it!" Tara said enthusiastically. "An opportunity to learn about a newly integrated world? To test my spellcraft in live combat environments with a team to support me? That's what I've been looking for."

  "Welcome aboard." Fenrin said, extending his hand. She shook it eagerly, starting in surprise as Mimi fluttered down to land on the handshake with a triumphant chirp. "She approves of you. Good."

  "Is that one of the requirements for joining?" Tara asked, smiling slightly.

  "Definitely."

  The tek'kalla let go, then threw a curious look at Jade. She was in her human form again, but the tek'kalla's eyes seemed to bore through her, scrutinizing her.

  "I'd also be interested in learning more about you." She mused, inspecting her as a scholar might study a particularly interesting specimen. "A demon wayfarer…? There are so many tests-"

  "No tests." Jade said, crossing her arms. "What is it with mages and alchemists wanting to test me?"

  "I think that enchanter had a few experiments in mind as well." Naomi said with a wink. "But I imagine he had some different ones in mind."

  Jade didn't grace that with a response. Instead, she turned to the papers she'd stolen from Malice during their confrontation. A couple of notifications blinked in the corner of her vision, including a level up notice, but those could wait. She wanted to glance through what she'd taken before the last of the daylight faded.

  Please be worth the trouble we went through to get you. She thought, retrieving the documents and scanning through them. They weren't in English, of course, but the Labyrinth's translation magic sorted that issue. It only took her a few minutes of reading to grow very, very concerned.

  "This isn't good." she muttered, not taking her eyes off the pages. Jade turned one over, scanning its back. "We have to get to the third floor as soon as possible."

  "Why?" Luis asked. "What's that?"

  "Something I took from Malice during the fight."

  "What does it say?" Fenrin asked, stepping beside her to read over her shoulder.

  Jade's lips drew into a line.

  "They're going for the cores. The ones connected to Earth."

  Jade had no idea why the demons would be interested in the Labyrinth cores that were powering the mining of her home. There was only one thing she was certain of: It wouldn't be good for them. Not at all.