"Look at that." I pointed at a massive vine floating a good thirty feet in the air what looked like a few streets away. It had to be at least a hundred feet long, and it was covered in broad leaves, out of which flowers of every shape, size, and color had bloomed. Woven so that it spelled out words, I read the words aloud: "Galden's 201st Harvest Festival."

"They're using plants from the grove!" Tristan said beside me. Wrapping her arm around mine, she continued, "We use those vines during festivals back home!"

Looking over at the beautiful quarter-elf, I couldn't help but absorb some of her enthusiasm. She was smiling from ear to ear and beaming. "What's it called? I've never seen anything like it." I didn't have much of a green thumb, but the plant was gorgeous. I couldn't help but appreciate it.

Pulling her eyes away after a good minute, she said, "Silmaethel. It means, uh, something like 'bright message' in common. They're all over back home, but I've never seen one outside of the grove!"

"I think it's safe to guess that's where the festival is," Vral said beside me.

"Yeah, looks like it." Nodding with my chin, I asked, "Ready to go?"

"I'm so excited!" Tristan's eyes were back on the vine. "That has to mean that my people have come to visit Galden!"

"Let's go and find them." Squeezing her hand, I started walking, doing my best to avoid people as I weaved my way through the crowd and toward the floating vine.

After ten minutes of ducking and weaving through the increasingly dense crowd, we were standing in front of two large stone arches, above which the vine was floating. From this close, I could see that there was some kind of circular fruit dangling off the bottom. Each orb was bright green and pulsing with a deep inner light. "Look at those fruits! I've never seen anything like it. Are they edible?"

"No, silly. Those are what allow the vines to float." She spoke as if what she was saying was knowledge everyone knew.

"Yeah, silly. Isn't it obvious?" Vral was looking up at me and grinning. She knew what she was doing.

"You didn't know that."

"Did too. Everyone knows that."

"Oh, how stupid of me," I went with it. "What the hell's wrong with me that I didn't know that the magic vines from another world have magic flying fruit?"

"You said it, not me." Vral stuck her tongue out. "Get your shit straight."

"Don't make me smack you."

"Try it and see what—"

I smacked the back of her head.

"Hey!" She rubbed the back of her head and giggled.

"I don't see anyone," Tristan said. "But I'm sure someone I know has to be here. How else could that have silmaethel?"

Turning back to the quarter elf, I watched as she scanned the vendors lining the narrow paths shaped from the countless stands that were everywhere. "Couldn't someone here have purchased some?"

She shook her head. "No chance. People train for years to handle it. It's very poisonous."

"Oh, got it." Poisonous floating magic vines from elven groves made perfect sense. "What does it do, make you fly into the sky?"

"Yeah, that's exactly what it does." Looking at me again, she said, "So you do know it!"

"Um, yeah." Looking toward the crowd, I took in all the sights and sounds around us. The countless stands filled with various odds and ends, endless food, and fair games. It really wasn't so different from the festivals back on Earth, except for all of the magic, the presence of nonhumans, the smell of meats that didn't exist back home... Okay, it was pretty different. But the concept was the same. "I'm hungry. Who wants to eat?"

"Oh! You're hungry? Come on! I know something you'll love. It can't be far." Tristan reached out and grabbed Vral's hand before pulling us into the sea of people.

A few minutes later, we were standing in front of a large, amazing-smelling food cart with a sign that read "Dev's Vittles" painted in the arch above the serving window. Inside the cart, a half-dozen food service workers were hustling to and fro, performing three tasks each to feed the long line of festival goers.

"Found them!" Tristan pulled us up to a cart that was being swarmed with festival-goers.

"What is it? Smells great." Not even great. Amazing.

"Dev's famous all over Calvareth for his amazing finger foods." Tristan pulled us closer and pointed at an older man moving twice as fast as the others inside the cart. "It's kind of expensive, but it's totally worth it, I promise."

"Judging by that smell, I'm sure it is," Dev, huh? Small worlds. I watched as a fairly handsome and very frustrated-looking young man of maybe fifteen took orders as fast as he could from the nearly three dozen people surrounding his cart. Every one of them was barking their orders at him, with no line or queue to be found. Apparently, Reial didn't do lines.

"Hey, I'm going to go check out another cart real quick," Vral said as she darted away.

"We'll be over here!"

"M'kay!" The goblin disappeared into the crowd.

Turning back, I watched as the crowd got more unruly by the second. It was past noon, and the place was getting swamped.

"A plate of eitel!"

"Some pasktral here!"

"Three eilza!"

The guy behind the counter was getting more and more flustered as more people showed up.

Poor kid.

I knew exactly what he was going through. Back when I worked in Dave's cart, that was my life. I couldn't say I didn't enjoy the rush of the crowds or the flow of the work, but the people... it was always the people. Devon and I got crushed every festival.

Just as I started getting war flashbacks, Tristan kissed my cheek and said, "You're going to love this." Letting go of my arm, she tried to muscle her way into the crowd, but it was no use. Despite all the muscles she'd built over the past two years, muscles I very much appreciated every time she took her clothes off, they were no help here. Every time the woman tried to weave her way through, two more people cut her off. She was too kind for her own good.

"Um, would you all please..." Tristan's voice barely carried over the sound of the crowd.

"Shove off!" A short, fat man said as he brushed by her.

"Out of the way!" An older lady shoulder checked her and pushed past, her hands waving at the kid behind the counter as she muscled her way up to the cart.

"Please, I'd just like to—"

"Fuck off!" That was a dwarf's rumble.

I gritted my teeth as I felt my heart rate double. No one talked to my woman that way, and this was ridiculous. "Hey!" My voice boomed over the crowd. "Line up, or step aside! We're not fucking animals here, so get your shit straight!"

The kid taking orders looked up and, for a second, looked relieved before the crowd started shouting orders at him again. "One at a time, please!"

These fuckers were ignoring me!

"What did I just say?!" I stepped forward then and started physically moving people. "Line your asses up!" Even without my armor, which Tristan made me leave back in the manor, I knew I was an imposing sight. My size and height being what they were, most people, once they saw me, didn't try anything. Today was no exception.

Well, mostly.

"The fuck are you?" A dwarf man who was as round as he was tall turned and glared at me, hands on his hips. "And who made you the boss around here?"

"I'm the boss," I said as I walked up to him, "because you people are acting like savages. Someone needs to step up." When I was fully standing over him, he shrank back and looked like he wanted to bolt.

"Well, you see..." His rumble turned into a mumble.

To my side, I heard, "I like what I see, girl." A youngish guy of maybe nineteen dressed in bright-colored silks said as he placed his hand on her back, his hand far, far too low. Then, it went even lower. "What's your name?"

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"Tristan." Her sapphire eyes hardened. "And don't touch me."

"What, afraid of a man's touch? We can fix that." His eyes scanned her as she turned, trying to shake him off. "Damn, you look even better from the front than the back." His hand had moved from the small of her back to her hip.

"Thanks." Reaching for his hand, the guy grinned as her fingers brushed his. Then, his grin turned into a grimace as she grabbed his fingers and twisted. "But I'm taken. And even if I weren't, I said I didn't want you to touch me. Listen when people speak, idiot."

"Fucking bitch!" He tried to pull his hand away, but she didn't let go. "You're lucky I'm giving you the time of day! Do you even know who I am?"

"I don't give a fuck who you are." She twisted further.

"Shit!" Pulling his arm back, he balled his hand into a fist and swung at her.

No fucking chance. I knew she could handle herself, but I was done.

[Intercept]

The world bent around me. Then, I was standing in front of Tristan. Reaching down, I snatched the guy's wrist from her hand and twisted.

"What the—" The guy's eyes shot open, and a breath later, his fist collided with my chest. There were at least four snaps as the bones in his hand shattered. He yelped and tried to pull his other hand free, but I wasn't about to let it go.

"Damn, you're weak." Turning, I hooked my other arm around Tristan's waist and twisted his wrist until he nearly bent in half. "What a bitch."

"Let go of me!" He screamed and tried in vain to pull his arm free again.

I grinned at him. "What, afraid of a man's touch? We can fix that." I twisted until I could feel the spring in his tendons.

"Ow! Fuck!"

"Hey, you two, I got us some ice cre—" Vral's voice cut off behind us. "What the shit, Alex?! You know I'd love a good brawl, and you started one without me?!"

Looking over my shoulder, I said, "It's not a brawl. This guy just tried to start some shit."

"What, did he tickle you or something? He's half your size."

"Our friend here touched Tristan's ass, and when she told him to stop, he swung at her."

"Ohohoho, you're fucking dead, loser." Vral walked up and handed an ice cream cone to Tristan.

"Let him go," Tristan said as she took a lick from her ice cream. "He's just an idiot, and he already broke his hand. I think that's enough."

With one last twist, I let go. "Listen next time."

Cradling his broken hand to his chest, he spat, then said, "This isn't over! You'll see!" He turned and went to stomp away, but before he made it two steps, Vral's foot caught his ankle, and he tumbled to the ground.

"Argh!"

"So mean..." Tristan laughed, then stepped forward. Placing a hand on his shoulder, she whispered something under her breath, and white light passed from her to him.

He yelped as his hand cracked back into place. Without another word, he stood up and stomped away.

"Go in the light, asshole." The quarter-elf flicked him off.

I was proud. I taught her that.

A couple of people in the crowd clapped and began chatting excitedly.

"Is that who I think it is?"

"I think it is him."

"I thought the armor made him look big, but he's huge without it!"

"Wait, is that the Slasher, too?"

As more and more people started circling us, Tristan walked up to me, stood on her toes, and kissed my lips. "Thanks. I could handle it, but it was still sweet."

"I know you could, but I wasn't about to let him punch you."

She laughed. "Oh, trust me. The second I saw that coming, between you and Vral, I thought he was done for." With a sigh, she added, "But I swear to the Goddess, I wish we could go one day without getting wrapped up in drama."

"We sure do attract it, huh?"

Vral handed me an ice cream. "Take it. It's melting."

"Thanks." I took a lick. It tasted like a cross between cherry and mango. "That's great!"

"It's my favorite," she beamed. "Kerathi fruit ice cream."

I took another lick. "It's amazing."

The crowd got closer to us, and a stout dwarf walked up to me. "I apologize for the intrusion, but... are you the Iron Sentinel?"

My first instinct was to downplay it, but that wasn't what the people wanted from Hero of the Pit. So, I did the next thing that came to mind. "Your hero has arrived!" Flexing my bicep, I pointed my other arm to the sky.

The crowd, which had been chatting excitedly, erupted.

"It is him!"

"Hey, everyone! The Iron Sentinel is here!"

"Get his autograph!"

In seconds, it felt like half the festival was surrounding us.

Leaning down, I whispered in Tristan's ear, "Hey, I'll keep them busy for a bit. Use the opportunity and get us that food. And get a lot. I'm hungry." Standing back up, I channeled my inner announcer and called out in the strongest, hammiest voice I could muster, "Not only am I here, but so is the greatest duelist who ever graced the Pit's arena sands!"

"Who is it?" Someone yelled.

An instant later, Vral was standing on my shoulders. "Who else, but me?! Vral the Slasher!" The goblin threw back her head and belted out an actual "Muahaha!"

The crowd got louder.

"Didn't those two get hitched?"

"She looks nicer than I remember."

"You're my hero, Slasher!"

Responding to the latter voice, Vral said, "Of course I am! I'm me!" She stepped on my head, did a backflip, and landed on my shoulders again.

Holding out my arm, palm up, I shook my hand to tell her to jump to it.

Catching my meaning, the Goblin flipped through the air and landed in my hand, balancing on one foot. "If you think you've seen everything we can do, then think again, people!" Vral reached into her pockets and, even though Tristan insisted we spend the day without being strapped, she withdrew a half dozen knives she'd clearly hidden away and began juggling them.

A glance to the side told me Tristan was first in line and ordering, so I focused on giving the people a show. "Hey, Vral! Going up!"

The goblin snatched all her daggers up just as I launched her a good fifteen feet into the air.

***

"That was fun." Vral was smiling ear to ear as she ate a large bite of eitel, a spiced meat stick from the kingdom called Deneir to the east, across the Solara Sea. "We should do more routines like that. I like feeling like I'm flying when you throw me."

"We should." After fifteen minutes of throwing Vral around, we managed to break away from the crowd just as the food was finished.

"Think you could throw me higher next time?"

I laughed. "I'll throw you higher than the trees one day, just you wait." I'd gotten close to throwing her over the floating vine thing, but we couldn't quite get there.

"You two are problems," Tristan said as she hunked into a bite of eilza, which was kind of like an elven empanada made out of fluffy clouds and heaven.

"You like our nonsense," I said through a bite of eitel. It was so good. The spices were rich and delicate. It really was amazing.

Snorting, Tristan said, "Sometimes."

"Always," Vral nudged her.

"I will admit, your show was pretty great. You two really know how to lay it on thick."

I took a bite of eilza next.

So.

Freaking.

Good.

Somehow, they mixed sweet and savory to make some sort of holy explosion of flavor. And Tristan said it's even better in the grove. We had to go. "We had a lot of practice. Might as well make the most of it." I took another bite. "This is amazing, by the way."

"It is, isn't it?" Tristan beamed. "But seriously, you two could start a show."

Vral looked at the ground and smiled. "You know, if a little fame, some showboating skills, and you two are the things I get to take away from that shithole, then I can say I ended up coming out on top."

"Aw." Tristan leaned into Vral. "That's sweet."

"You like us, huh?" I put my arm around her.

"Yeah." Vral kicked her feet. "I do." She looked up then, her eyes smoldering. Pointing a finger at me, then Tristan, she yelled, "But don't go thinking I'm getting soft!"

Tristan gasped. "I would never!"

I held my hands up and pretended to be afraid. "You're as scary as ever, Vral."

The goblin puffed up. "Hell yeah, I am."

"There they are!" A voice I recognized but couldn't place shouted nearby.

Looking up, I saw that punk from earlier rushing toward us. Hot on his heels was Lize, who was looking equal parts frustrated and professional, followed by a few other guards.

When she saw us, she looked at the kid, then us, and shook her head. "Alex?" Lize asked as she walked up to us. "Tristan?"

We hadn't seen much of Lize lately. She'd been working basically nonstop in her job as a guard and mostly worked the bad hours. If we ever did see her, it was only ever for a few minutes during meals before she inevitably rushed out while muttering about being late.

"Hey, Lize." I stood. "Long time, no see."

"You're telling me. We should all get food sometime. I miss you guys."

"Us, too." Tristan stood and wrapped Lize in a hug.

"Now that we're not at the temple anymore, we never get to hang out anymore." Lize returned the hug.

"What is this? Arrest them!" The kid stomped up to me and thrust a finger into my chest. "They broke my hand!"

Lize sighed and shook her head. "That true?"

"Yeah, but... no." I pushed the kid back. "It's more complicated than that."

"It's not that complicated," Tristan crossed her arms and frowned. "He's an ass."

Sighing, the Templar-turned-guardswoman said, "Look, based on his personality, I can tell he's a shitty noble failson, and since it's you guys, I'm fairly sure you didn't start it. Maybe if he said it was Vral, I'd believe him, but not you guys."

"You know me well," Vral said.

Lize snorted. "But, a job's a job." The brunette stepped back and cleared her throat. Then, she was all professionalism. " He's been stating since we met him that you assaulted him, nearly broke his wrist, and broke his hand. But I find it hard to believe that's everything. What's your side of the story?"

"There is no other side to the story! They assaulted the second son of Riall d'Farin! I, Killian d'Farin, have been bodily harmed and will get my satisfaction! Arrest them!"

Riall... d'Farin?

My blood boiled. That was the asshole who'd tried to purchase Vral. Who wanted to break her in and all that shit. I thought he'd been arrested after the Pit's final fight.

"d'Farin? I'll kill this fuck..." Vral's voice promised murder.

Tristan's hand found mine, then Vral's. "He touched me when I explicitly told him not to, and in a place a lady ought not be touched without her consent."

Killian cackled. "I'd hardly call a commoner like you a lady. Know your place, woman."

Undettered by the asshole's commentary, Tristan continued, "When I tried get him to stop, he threw a punch at me and broke his hand on Alex's chest."

"How'd that happen?"

"Alex stepped in to protect me."

"Of course he did. Good man." Lize's eyes went hard as she turned back to Killian. "All that true?"

"It doesn't matter! These are the hands of one of the privileged few! I'm one of the superior men who walk this great natio—ahh!" The kid screamed as Lize took him by the ear and started dragging him away.

"Let's grab dinner soon, okay?" The brunette waved with her free hand as she disappeared into the crowd, Killian and the other guards in tow.

With a big sigh, Tristan shook her head. "What an idiot."

Vral was shaking. "If I see him again, I'll end his entire line."

"Yeah, you and me both." Fuck that guy.

With a shake of her head, Tristan pulled us forward. "Now that that's sorted out, let's go play. I saw some games that I really want to play with you two." With a big grin, she added, "I'm kind of really good at festival games, though, so don't get mad when I win."

"Is that a challenge, elfie?"

Tristan shook her head. "It wasn't a challenge. It was a warning.'

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