Moriko was enjoying their stay in Riverbridge quite a lot; mostly at Kazue’s expe had been shog but cute when Kazue had asked for rabbit stew when she saw it on a menu, and she had blushed before muttering. “What? I am not going to create simuted rabbit meat a it there. That would be rude, no, that would be mean. And I think that rabbit is tasty.” That st was said with a meaningful half smile that made Moriko ugh.

  The little red-headed kitsune had also bee a local celebrity as soon as word had passed around that the dungeon’s avatar had e to visit, and while Kazue could be quite the extrovert, this much public attention was a bit overwhelming for her.

  All of the attention helped pick up business for a few days at the shop, however, as Moriko’s parents insisted that people at least buy some tea or infusions if they were going to stand around and gawk. Some of the shelves were empty by the time the initial hubbub had died down.

  It had also been a useful stress test while they were deg a final dosage for Kazue, and evehey gave her a leather pouch-roll with a lot of tiny, numbered pouches and a notebook, with instrus to gh her medie in order and take notes on her day. Moriko retty certain that she was going to have to be Kazue’s minder on that st part.

  She had been ‘t’ her wife as well. Moriko had deliberately not used a healing prayer on Kazue in order to find out which muscles were the sorest, and had beguing m stretches and exercises for Kazue to start w them out. When Kazue pi one point that the stretches were going to break her hips, Moriko replied that it simply meant that Mordecai had been too geh her, and smirked as she watched Kazue blush at the implication.

  They didn’t have a specific schedule, but Moriko wao dey until she was sure Kazue to the lorip. They were going to be taking the road that went around to the north of the Azeria forest before another road branched off to head to the itself. This was the first part of the route that Moriko had used when traveling to the capital. It was also slightly longer when going to the stead of the capital, but part of the idea behind this trip was for Kazue to get used to being away from the dungeon. So taking the southern road that passed by the dungeon was out for now.

  There was one evening of partiote: Moriko and Kazue were enjoying a drink at a tavern when a human man who looked like he’d had a bit too much approached their table with a fident smile. His at immediately caused Moriko to recall the ihree months ago with the noble. “Well, you two pretty dies look like you could use some pany, and I would like to buy you some drinks. And after that, well, we always see how things go from there.”

  It wasn’t the worst pickup at a bar someone had tried on Moriko, but it wasn’t the best either. She and Kazue exged gnces and small smirks, then raised their left hands to show off the matg rings. “Sorry, we already have each other. Happily married and all that.”

  The man frowned in slight fusion for a moment before his face cleared. “Oh yeah, that sort of stuff is legit out in the open here. So, ah, do you two, ah, ‘experiment’?”

  Moriko rolled her eyes while Kazue giggled and answered the man. “You’re out of luck there too. We also have a husband for that.” The kitsune gri him in what could be mistaken for a friendly gesture, but Moriko could see that she wahe guy to go away.

  As he took a breath to have ano, Moriko spoke up first, her eyes flig briefly down and back up the man’s body. “And I have to say, you don’t quite measure up.” She finished with a smirk. The ent was sharp enough to possibly provoke a ive response, but he’d already been told no, twice. Moriko started gathering her shadow-chi, preparing to end this quickly if the man didn’t heed this third ‘no’.

  Then a rge hand nded on the man’s shoulder from behind. “Enough.” Said the newer, an older man with a scowl on his face though with the same northern at. “You o learo walk away. Go outside, I will deal with you in a moment.” The younger man had paled slightly, and submitted to being pushed toward the door, where a few other younger men were frowning at him or shaking their heads.

  The older man bowed slightly to Moriko and Kazue. “I apologize for the disturbance. We are on leave, and some hahe reduced discipline less well than others. I will hahis if you will allow, and make sure he does not bother you again.”

  Kazue rexed with a swish of her tail and Moriko gave the slightly grizzled man a menuine smile even as she mentally reached out to grab Mordecai and other-Kazue’s attention. “You saved your junior some pain. I was just deg on how best to take him apart without doing anything perma.” When she rexed her chi, Moriko let it visibly ripple the shadows around her. “I don’t think even sober he’d have sted long.”

  Their visitor ined his head in aowledgment. “I was not sure, but I did notice both you and your wife leaning more toward a rather than leaning away.”

  Kazue started at that, and then blushed. “Er, I guess I was. Heh, I guess being married to two ass-kickers has rubbed off.” She made a face. “But this one is a sadist, makes me exercise every m.”

  Moriko eyed her wife as Kazue took ane sip from her mead. The man just ughed. “Then I must be evil inate, for I make many people exercise very early in the m.”

  “Captain,” Moriko said thoughtfully, “seems like you lot have traveled a long way. If you want to tell some tales over a drink or two, that sort of pany would be wele before parting ways.” She lightly stepped on Kazue’s foot to silence her when she frowned in fusion. Moriko was running this by the others even as she acted, so far they’d seen no reason to ge her pns.

  “Hah, even that would make him fume, maybe I should.” He paused, then grinned. “And you got my rank without asking, well done, and good guess. Captain Ain Vitomir, at your service. May I have the honor of knowing your names?”

  “Moriko of Riverbridge, and Kazue of Azeria .” She answered with a smile, deliberately not mentioning the Azeria Mountain Dungeon. How much that mattered depended on what the captain already knew, but she didn’t want to actually lie either.

  “A pleasure to meet the both of you. But while I rather like the idea of sing tales, I think it would be bad form to do so tonight, or at night in general, for the sake of discipline. However, if you are avaible in the m, I would be gd to be shown around by some locals, and would be happy to pay for a couple of meals for your troubles. Ah, and to be clear, I am also hoping to hear more about this new dungeon of yours. I thought it might be a fun training exercise, but it is not something that could be done on duty, so I got some of my men willing to spend their leave for this.” The captain shrugged. “We’ve only been here a day, but most are very vague in what they are willing to tell us.”

  Moriko’s suspis had beehough she appreciated the straightforward approach. She wasn’t sure she bought that they were actually on leave, but it was reasonably pusible. It also bought deniability. She smiled at Ain. “That we do. We’ve both been there. As for the rea you’ve received, well, you are fn soldiers. Even without uniforms, it’s easy to see the military bearing. And we all really like our crazy little dungeon. But I think I give away a little more without saying anything that the dungeon wouldn’t like.”

  Moriko could see Kazue biting her lip to keep silent, and ohe captain had left after a meeting time and pce had been arranged, she leaned across the table to whisper at Moriko, “What are you doing? Doesn’t that mean these guys are allied with the ohat tried to kill us?”

  She smiled calmly at Kazue. “Maybe, maybe not. It might be some other fa gaining information, the cult hardly represents the whole empire. But this seems like a good ce to learn something iurn.” Moriko tapped her head then. “And I’ve been in tact since we started talking with the good captain.”

  “Bah.” Kazue made a face. “I don’t like not being in the loop.”

  “I’m sorry love. I wish I could fix that part. But sometimes you just have to trust someone’s judgment when you don’t have the time to talk about it.” Moriko leaned across the table to meet Kazue’s lips with a kiss. “e on, I want to talk to a few people tonight and make sure toes smoothly, and then we go to bed.” She smirked at Kazue. “And then we see about adjusting your definition of me being evil.”

  Things had picked up a bit at the dungeon while Moriko and Kazue’s avatar were enjoying their vacation. It had been amusing for Kazue to watch the arrivals be fused over the small town that had grown outside the dungeon. There had been only a handful of buildings when the caravan had left, but the bunkin had been quite industrious.

  She’d spend a bit of time helping the new bosses adjust to their position, and she guided a few of the ganthros in what to say wheing visitors know of the new rules, but overall it had run smoothly. As an added bonus, having a few inns and taver that people had a better way to mingle, which meant more ces froups to mix and match.

  Not everyone who challehe dungeon did so at the maximum of seven, but a lot of people did. And there were people ing from farther away now as well, so some of them were tight-knit groups that didn’t want to mix others in.

  Kazue had been worried that with so many people having heard about them there would be a lot of stronger warriors and mages showing up who would be able to clear the dungeon, and after that attack she was a little nervous about hosting people who could clear the floors, but Mordecai didn’t seem to think it was likely that they’d get a team of people as strong as her parents, or at least, not very often. As iing as some of their s might be, most of the people who could overwhelm them had more profitable work to be doing. It was alossible they’d get a trio of legends who were bored or such, but her husband didn’t sider it likely to happen often. The people who were just strong enough to clear the dungeon without casualties were the ones who could make the most retive profit.

  Still, she was nervous running so much of the dungeon herself. Mordecai ending a lot of his core’s attention on keeping Li eained, and his avatar was usually either pying with Li in person or w on his crafting.

  Speaking of which, part of her wao be ahat he’d set up his workben his bedroom and it illing out into the tral bedroom. But, it was also unoccupied by anyone else at the moment, si wasn’t like she could use it without her avatar here.

  Sleep and cuddles had been added to her list of things she was missing about having a physical body.

  Well, tomorrow should be an iing day, she and Mordecai were both eager to find out what they could about the captain and his men.

  Zagaroth