Rimelion: The Exploiter

I made an executive decision to visit my old friend. His bar appeared exactly as I remembered it: wedged between two glass towers like a stubborn memory refusing to fade. No sunlight touched its windows.

It never had.

Roberto pulled the car up to the curb with his usual flair, the engine purring one last time before falling silent.

“One quick stop,” I said, already opening the door.

Lola’s hand caught my arm. “Lady, we need to go back. I’ve already notified the team.”

I looked at her, then at the bar’s faded entrance. “Five minutes.”

“Lady—”

Roberto was already out of the car, coming around to our side with that infectious grin of his. Before either of us could protest, he threw an arm around both our shoulders and pulled us toward the door.

“One drink!” he declared, as if this solved everything.

I nodded with a smile. “Yes, I haven’t been here lately.”

Lola dodged Roberto’s enthusiastic embrace, slipping out from under his arm. She glared at both of us, arms crossed, her professional mask firmly back in place.

The door creaked open with the same familiar resistance.

Inside, the bar was empty at this hour. Just dim lights, old wood, and the smell of cheap cleaner mixed with decades of history. Patrick stood behind the counter, polishing a glass that probably didn’t need it.

He looked up as we entered, and his weathered face broke into a genuine smile.

“John!” He set down the glass. “As usual?”

I nodded and moved to my old stool, sliding onto it as if the universe had been saving the spot. Roberto took the seat to my right, still grinning. Lola hesitated for just a moment before taking the one to my left, her posture rigid with disapproval.

Patrick was already pouring when Lola cleared her throat.

“Also, Roberto,” she said, her tone professional, “you’re not only driving, but also working.” She fixed him with a look filled with all the HR nonsense. “We have in our contract no drinking while working.”

Roberto’s smile became painful. He glanced at me, eyes pleading.

I just smiled back. “Get one, it’s fine!”

“Lady!” Lola deflated slightly in her seat, the fight going out of her.

I turned to face her fully, close enough that I could see the faint irritation in her eyes mixing with something softer. “This reminds me of when we met,” I whispered, holding her gaze. “Remember Rimecon?”

Her expression shifted, the professional mask cracking just enough to let a small smile through. “I was nobody guarding a door.”

“You were never nobody,” I said.

Patrick set three glasses down in front of us, the whiskey catching the dim bar lights in amber swirls. He looked between us with that knowing expression old bartenders seemed to master.

“Things change,” he said, more to himself than to us. Then, with a slight nod toward Lola, “But some things get better.”

Roberto raised his glass immediately. “To better things!”

Lola sighed, picked up her glass, and looked at me. “Five minutes, Lady.”

“Five minutes,” I agreed.

We drank.

In the end it was half an hour, and we would have stayed longer, but Lola threatened to make me sit through more boring meetings. So I made another executive decision, and we returned to the Rimebreak Tower.

I glanced at Roberto as we stepped out of the car. “Thanks for assisting, and good luck in Rimelion. Hopefully, you can join us soon.”

Roberto’s smile was brilliant. “Bella, I cannot wait! When I get there—magnifico! The adventures we will have!”

I motioned to Lola, and we headed inside, making our way toward the elevator.

“We’re late,” she said as the doors closed.

I winked at her. “The Queen is never late.”

Her face remained perfectly flat. “And yet, you are late.”

I couldn’t stop the pout that formed, feeling heat rise to my cheeks. “You’re no fun.” These elven hormones flared again.

Eventually, I need to stop it. Not now.

“Someone has to keep you accountable, Lady.”

“Fine, sweetie.” The elevator chimed, and the doors opened to reveal the executive floor. We walked down the corridor to the meeting room, and I could already hear voices inside.

I pushed open the door.

Lucas, Frozna, and Katherine were already seated around the table. Frozna had a dog curled at her feet, a sleek brown shepherd mix that raised its head briefly as we entered before settling back down. Katherine sat with her arms crossed, looking impatient but not annoyed. Lucas just... sat there, looking like someone who’d already accepted his fate.

Lucy found a pirate hat somewhere—it looked comical with her business clothes—and stood near the whiteboard, a marker in hand, having just finished drawing what appeared to be a very enthusiastic pirate flag.

She spun around as we entered, spreading her arms wide.

“Arrr, mateys!” Her voice boomed. “Welcome to the finest crew what ever sailed the—” She caught herself, glancing at the whiteboard where someone had apparently written “AGRICULTURAL MISSION” in neat letters. “—the finest crew what ever... sailed the... agri—aggra—” She squinted at the word. “—the farm-savin’ seas! Captain Lucy’s grand expedition to rescue the king—queen—kingdom’s... crops?”

She finished with a flourish, hat tilting sideways on her head as she grinned at me.

Katherine snorted. “Lucy drew flag. Took ten minutes.”

“Was important,” Lucy defended, gesturing at the skull and crossbones. “Sets the mood, aye?”

Lucas raised one hand weakly. “I tried to stop her.”

“Ya tried nothing,” Katherine corrected. “Ya just watched.”

“I was tired,” Lucas muttered.

Frozna, still calm, reached down to scratch her dog’s ears. “She also tried to rename the mission ‘Operation Plunder the Potatoes.’”

I looked at Lola.

She was already pulling out her tablet, stylus moving across the screen. “I’m adding ‘arrives on time’ to the official meeting protocols,” she muttered.

I grinned and moved to the head of the table, sliding into the executive chair. “Alright, Captain Lucy,” I said, unable to hide my amusement. “Let’s talk about saving some crops.”

Lucy saluted, still grinning. “Aye aye, yer Majesty!”

Katherine leaned back in her chair. “Finally. Was waiting long.”

“Yar weren’t,” Lucas said.

“Felt long,” she countered.

Lola took her place beside me, tablet ready, expression perfectly professional despite the jokes being thrown around. “Shall we begin, Lady?”

I nodded, looking around the table at my team. “Let’s begin.”

Lola recited what we already knew: we were going to board Lucy’s ship, then sail north-east for half a day to an old harbor. Or something. Apparently Yuki had found it on an old map.

Huh. My people were capable.

Then she gave the word to me.

I rose and cleared my throat, moving to the whiteboard beside Lucy’s pirate flag. “These mountains—well, hills—aren’t in our lands. They’re between three borders, and everyone claims them. There’s a small trading village, and from there we can trek toward the old mines.”

I picked up a marker and started drawing. A river, simple and flowing. Then a ship.

Lucy giggled.

I ignored her and continued, adding a few symbols that could pass for houses if you squinted. Then I drew several... mounds and made a line from the village toward one of them.

“Decades ago, Altandai had a mining operation here. That’s why the village existed.”

At least, that was what I remembered from my “future vision.” I shook my head, pushing past the weirdness of that. “These old mines were automated. Pretty advanced. Golems—not goolems—and a few types. One for mining, others for guarding against monsters, like in any mine.”

I tapped the mound I’d drawn. “We’re after this.”

I started drawing a simple gem shape, trying to make it look crystalline and important.

Lucy couldn’t hold it. “What is that?”

“Temporal shards,” I said, a bit hurt. I’d made sure to make it look good.

Lucy started laughing outright, her voice filling the room. Even Lola was holding back laughter with all her willpower, but I could see it cracking at the edges. Her lips pressed together, shoulders shaking slightly.

“Guys, focus!” I said, heat rising to my cheeks.

Katherine leaned forward, squinting at the drawing. “Is... rock?”

“It’s a shard,” I insisted. “Temporal. Very important.”

“Looks like rock,” Katherine repeated, nodding to herself.

Frozna studied the whiteboard with her usual calm. “The proportions are off. Shards typically have more angular facets.”

Lucas pinched the bridge of his nose. “Can we just… can someone else draw?”

“No,” I said firmly, marker still in hand. “I’m explaining this.”

Lucy wiped at her eyes, still grinning. “Aye, Captain—I mean, Yer Majesty—please continue with yer... artistic vision.”

I glared at her, then turned back to the board. “The temporal shards are a solution for a recursive growth-null loop causing the sabotage.” I drew some angry lines around the gem to indicate... interference? Danger? “The golems are still active and we need shards inside leaders. We go in, clear the golems, retrieve the shards, problem solved.”

“Yar make it sound easy,” Katherine said.

“It won’t be,” Lola added, finally recovered from her near-laughter. She pulled something up on her tablet. “The mines have been abandoned for decades. We don’t know what else might have moved in.”

Frozna nodded. “Abandoned places attract things. Dungeon?”

“Great,” Lucas muttered. “Just great.”

Lucy straightened, her grin turning sharp. “Then it'll be a proper adventure! Danger, treasure, glory—”

“And agriculture,” I interrupted. “Don’t forget the agriculture.”

She deflated slightly. “...Aye. The crops.”

I set down the marker and turned to face the table. “We leave in an hour. I still need to get to Altandai’s harbor, but Lucy’s ship is ready. Everyone has their gear?”

Katherine patted her armor. “Ready.”

Frozna nodded once. “Ready.”

Lucas looked down at himself, then back up at me. “...Define ‘ready.’”

I smiled. “You’ll be fine.”

He didn’t look convinced.

On the side, I heard Lucy whisper loudly to Katherine, “Do ye think she’ll draw more pictures on the ship?”

“Hope yes,” Katherine whispered back. “Was funny.”

I pretended not to hear them and turned to look at Lucas. He was sitting there, staring at the table like it held answers to questions he hadn’t asked yet.

“Lucas,” I said, and his head snapped up. “What’s wrong?”

The room went quiet. Even Lucy stopped mid-gesture, her theatrics paused. Lucas opened his mouth. Closed it. Tried again. “I... drank the potion.”

My eyes lit up immediately. I’d tasked Scamantha with making him something special—a potion from Saevrin’s feathers. The god should have boosted him, maybe even given him some amazing class upgrade. Something powerful. Something worthy of what Lucas had been through.

I stepped closer to the table, leaning forward with barely contained excitement. “And?”

Lucas met my gaze, and something in his expression made my enthusiasm falter slightly.

“I... met a god, yeah.”

The words hung in the air. Katherine grinned. “Tat good! Gods give power!”

Frozna tilted her head slightly. “What did Saevrin offer?”

Lucas’s jaw worked for a moment. His hands were flat on the table, fingers spread as if he was trying to anchor himself to something solid.

“He offered...” Lucas started, then stopped. Swallowed. “He offered to give me a legendary class.”

I blinked. “That’s... that’s great! That’s exactly what we needed—”

“With conditions,” Lucas interrupted quietly.

The room stilled again. Lola, standing beside me, shifted her weight slightly. “What conditions?” I asked carefully.

Lucas looked down at his hands. “I… I have a transformation. The...” He gestured vaguely, as if the words themselves were too embarrassing to speak aloud. “The Windprincess.”

I frowned. “What do you mean?”

“After I—” he paused, then drew in a breath like a man facing execution. “After I say: By heart and horizon—let the wind remember me—”

The moment he spoke the words, light flared around him.

“It wasn’t supposed to work on Earth!” he groaned before wind slammed into existence, not violently, but enthusiastically, lifting Lucas off his chair as spirals of air wrapped around his body. The meeting room filled with the rush of movement, papers scattering, Lola’s tablet nearly flying from her hands.

His clothes unraveled in a burst of light, threads peeling away and dissolving into drifting petals of white and turquoise.

Lucas’s body shrunk.

Not collapsing, just... compressing. Shoulders narrowed. Weight vanished. His limbs slimmed, graceful, proportions shifting into something unmistakably cute.

A flared skirt snapped into existence mid-spin, layered in soft whites and sky-blues, short enough to flutter with every breath of wind. A fitted bodice followed, trimmed in silver filigree shaped like feathers.

Sleeveless, of course.

Delicate arm ribbons wrapped around his wrists, tightening into translucent bracers that glowed faintly. Fingerless elegant gloves formed next . His boots assembled themselves from swirling gusts, ankle-high and light, with little wing-shaped accents at the sides.

His hair lengthened in a rush, spilling down his back in a silvery-blonde cascade before snapping up into a high, bouncing ponytail tied with a massive ribbon. Loose strands framed his face, fluttering constantly.

His face softened. Cheeks smoother. Eyes larger, brighter. The sharp edges of his usual expression rounded into something alarmingly expressive.

Adorable.

Devastatingly so.

A heart-shaped gust of wind popped theatrically near his shoulder.

The transformation finished with a flourish, wind spiraling inward before bursting outward in a ring that rustled everyone’s clothes and sent Lucy’s pirate hat fluttering wildly.

Lucas, Windprincess, floated gently back down, landing delicately on the balls of his feet, skirts and ribbons settling around him.

The room was dead silent.

Katherine’s mouth hung open.

Frozna blinked slowly, once.

Lucy’s eyes were the size of dinner plates, her theatrical persona completely forgotten.

Lola had frozen mid-reach for her tablet, stylus hovering in the air.

Lucas—small, absolutely precious—stood there in the middle of the meeting room, ponytail bouncing slightly with residual wind, and looked at me with an expression of pure mortification.

“Three hours,” he said, his voice lighter, clearer, and annoyingly cute. “Every time. Minimum. Punishment for me turning you into… you.”

I stared.

He crossed his arms, which only made him look more adorable. “So yes. I have power now. Legendary wind magic. Very useful.” His skirts fluttered. “And this.”

Katherine found her voice first. “...Ya look pretty.”

“I hate everything,” Lucas said flatly.