Nightmare Realm Summoner

“Holy shit,” Mite breathed. He reached out for the Baveroth, then caught himself a moment before he touched it. “This is for me?”

“It’s for you to work with,” Alex corrected. “I figure you can probably get a lot of magical energy from using materials like this, right?”

“Definitely,” Mite said. He didn’t even bother hiding the interest in his eyes. Swallowing, he tore his gaze away from the dead bear so he could look at Alex. “This is crazy. I’ve never heard of a magic-resistant fur coat before. Have you properly considered all the things we could make with this?”

“No,” Alex said. “That is why we brought it to you. That doesn’t mean you get to keep the whole thing. It was too damn hard to kill to just give it away.”

“Can I buy it with credits or something?”

“No,” Alex said. “But you can have a portion of it. It’s a damn big bear. More than enough to share. Just don’t go trying to shave pieces off to steal yourself, yeah?”

“Are you implying that I would employ underhanded tactics to try and get myself more of a rare material to work with?” Mite asked, pressing a hand to his chest and sending Alex an affronted look. “Just because I take pride in my work and am always seeking to reach new heights?”

“Yeah, that sounds like a pretty accurate interpretation of what I was implying,” Alex said with a nod.

Mite grinned. “Well, you’re goddamn right. But that’s a fair offer. I’ll take it. Of course, I’ll have to test the hide to see just how strong it is. But the possibilities are limitless if it’s even half as tough as you say it is. What do you want? A shield? Unbreakable underwear?”

“Why is your second idea unbreakable underwear?” Claire asked.

“Nobody wants to walk around wrapped up in furs looking like a recently divorced noblewoman,” Mite said with a snort. “And who wouldn’t want their private bits nice and protected? I’d rather not get stabbed in the dick, thank you very much.”

“And it also leaves you with a suspiciously large amount of the hide to work with once you’re done,” Claire drawled. “I’m sure that doesn’t have anything to do with your decision making process.”

Mite coughed into his fist. “Right. No underwear. What do you want, then?”

“Why don’t you see what you can make?” Alex asked. “You’re not even a tailor. Underwear is hardly your specialty. I’d ask Barbara to make me something if I just wanted clothes. You know what I’d like, Mite? To be able to put trust in you to actually create something worthwhile that maximizes the fur’s potential. It would be nice if my town’s engineer was actively trying to help both the town and himself rather than just looking for loopholes, wouldn’t you say?”

Mite hesitated for a second. Then he sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck. “Right. I got a bit carried away. Sorry. You can trust me. I’ll make something good. I don’t know what yet, though. I’ll have to see what this fur is really capable of, then look at what else I have to work with.”

“That’s fine,” Alex said. He clapped Mite on the shoulder. “We’re counting on you. Should I just have Princess leave the body here? Or should she take it somewhere for you?”

“You can leave it here,” Mite replied. His voice went somewhat distant, and it was a moment before he said anything else. “I’ll deal with it.”

Alex nodded. Princess unceremoniously plopped the corpse down on the ground before Mite.

“Looking forward to seeing what you make,” Alex said. “Let us know if you need anything.”

Mite just nodded, eyes not leaving the corpse on the ground before him. It didn’t look like he was entirely present with them anymore. Alex and Claire quietly headed off toward the town hall, their package delivered.

“Well done,” Claire said.

“Huh?”

“That was probably the best way you could ensure that Mite would actually try to make something good rather than skimming off the top. Appealing to his abilities to make something genuinely good with the fur as well as making it clear you’re putting trust in him… that’s the way a leader would go about it.”

You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

“What else would someone do?” Alex asked with a furrowed brow. “I don’t think it was anything special.”

“Never said it was special,” Claire said. “But you’d be surprised how many people think just tossing orders around is the best way to get others to do your bidding. The best worker is one who is genuinely motivated to perform, not one forced to. For all your talk about not wanting to be a leader, you’re doing things right.”

“Pretty sure I’m just doing them normally. I wasn’t trying for anything. I was just being honest,” Alex said as they headed into the town hall. “I don’t want to have to be looking over his shoulder constantly and wondering if he’s going to try to stiff us.”

“Do you think he will?” Claire arched an eyebrow.

“Nah.” Alex shook his head. “No way. He likes to screw around, but he’s damn serious about his job. Mite definitely likes making things. I don’t see him intentionally creating something shitty just to save more of the hide for himself. Besides, he isn’t stupid. He’ll know we won’t give him anything else if he scams us now. Everything is give and take.”

“So it is,” Claire agreed. “Well, I’m with you. The Baveroth was really quite impressive. He should be able to make something pretty good if he can figure it out. And speaking of which — you want to pull its fang out?”

Alex extended his hand, summoning the dead monster’s fang from within his Spatial Ring. The large tooth materialized in his palm.

“Here.” He handed it to Claire. “I still have no idea how to get it open. You think it’s got a password protecting it or something?”

Claire examined it for a second. Then she pursed her lips. “Yeah. It might. I mean, probably not a password. That seems like it would be a huge hassle. But there’s definitely something keeping us out.”

“You think Rhyss might know?”

“Know? Almost certainly. But something tells me he’s going to tell us he can’t help because this isn’t a town related problem,” Claire said with a small, amused huff. “It still can’t hurt to ask, though. Rhyss? Are you around—”

Before she could even finish her sentence, there was a faint pop as Rhyss appeared in the air alongside them. The Advisor’s lone eye observed Claire silently, boring into her with its ever-present intensity.

“Yes?”

“We got this thing from a monster,” Alex said, nodding to the fang in Claire’s hands. “And we were wondering if you happened to know how to work it. We can’t get it open. Surely it’s not just empty, right?”

“A Spatial Object,” Rhyss observed. He studied the fang for a moment. Then he shook his head. “You realize that this is not a part of the town. I am incapable of providing suggestions for anything personal. It exceeds the boundaries placed upon me by the System as your Advisor.”

Alex and Claire exchanged an amused glance.

“Couldn’t hurt to try,” Alex said. “Even if we’re planning to use the supplies within the fang for the purposes of the town? Can we like… business investments this for the IRS equivalent of the System? Tell them that it’s actually an expense so it’s justified or something like that?”

Rhyss didn’t seem amused by the suggestion. “The System does not view things with such partiality. This item is not a part of your town. It is unrelated. I am unable to safely provide guidance.”

Safely, huh?

“Right,” Alex said. “Thanks anyways. Anything else we should know while you’re here?”

“There have been no significant changes in the status of Mirrorwane since the last time you were present. Everything is continuing as expected. There have not been any more messages left for you. It is not in my belief that there is presently anything to be concerned about with regard to the status of the town.”

“Great,” Alex said. “Thanks for keeping an eye on everything. It’s appreciated as always.”

“Of course,” Rhyss said. “Please call for me if there is anything else you find yourself needing.”

Then Rhyss was gone, and they were alone again.

“Well,” Alex said. “Can’t say I’m all that surprised. Finley, then?”

“Finley,” Claire agreed. “If anyone knows how to crack this open, it’s him. It’ll probably just end up costing us a few credits.”

“Fine with me. I don’t suppose you’ve got any idea where he is?” Alex asked.

Claire shook her head. “Not the faintest. We probably should have asked Rhyss.”

“Probably,” Alex agreed as the two of them headed back out of the town hall. “But it’s fine. We can just wander around. That guy can detect a deal from a hundred miles away. I’d wager he’ll find us soon enough.”

They both fell silent as they passed under the shadow of the looming Forsaken Grounds. The powerful building and’t become any less of an eyesore. The massive bone tower loomed as if aiming to carve through the clouds overhead.

Derek ambled along the path near it, nodding to them as they walked past him.

“Heya.”

“Hey,” Alex replied with an absentminded nod.

They continued on. Only a moment later did Claire glance over her shoulder.

“That was odd.”

“What?” Alex asked.

“Derek,” Claire said. “Did he seem a bit different to you?”

Alex turned to follow Claire’s gaze. But it was too late. No sight of Derek remained. He must have already turned behind one of the houses scattered throughout Mirrorwane.

“Not really,” Alex admitted. “But I wasn’t paying attention. Why?”

Claire shook her head. “Never mind. I was just distracted. Let’s just find Finley. I’m eager to pop the fang open and see what kind of loot we’ve got in it.”

“Yeah. Me too,” Alex said, giving up on trying to spot Derek and setting off once again. “If it was anything important, I’m sure he’d tell us.”

“Yeah,” Claire said, but she didn’t sound all that confident in her own words. “Probably.”