After spending months trudging through the forest and facing death, Lukas had finally found civilization, having made his way to a city. It felt oddly surreal. Just hours ago, earlier that morning, he had been lost and had only just gained his second rogue ability. It felt wrong in a way, not being deep in the middle of a forest after spending so much time there. Even before coming to this world, Lukas hadn't been into town for months, having been mostly self-sufficient out at his cabin.

Now he was in a metropolis surrounded by more people at that moment than he had been in the last few years combined. It was a fact that didn't help his overwhelmed magic and aura senses, which were picking up everything around him. Even then, he felt oddly relaxed, which he thought was strange.

He thought he should feel like pulling away, retreating back into the forest to get away from all the people and the noise. That was the reaction he would've had months ago when he was still bogged down by some invisible weight that made him apathetic to everything while sapping all his energy. His first reaction had always been to be left alone, not willing or able to deal with other people.

At that moment, however, he was eager and excited to see new places and meet new people. It was a feeling he'd never felt before, and he quite frankly didn't know how to act on it. Now Lukas found himself wanting to connect to people and learn all there was to learn about this new world, but because of the way he'd lived his life back home he had no experience to draw on when it came to talking to people.

Up till then this hadn't been much of a problem. With Sera, her teasing and playful banter was something he was used to, being very similar to his younger sister, Cas. Then there was Calayis, whose nervousness and childlike eagerness was endearing and easy to respond to, if a little awkward. Finally, there was Lyric, an easygoing guy who could fill the gaps of a conversation when Lukas fell short.

Lukas was once again reminded of his strange emotional awakening and the problems it brought as he sat awkwardly, watching Lyric jump off the wagon and warmly embrace his wife.

"The trip was good. Got a decent haul, but nothing special," Lyric told her.

"Does that include the blood-covered man in our wagon?"

Lyric extracted himself from his wife and made introductions, "This is Lukas. Lukas, this is my wife Leanna."

Lukas gave her a nod in greeting, "A pleasure."

"Likewise," she said, giving him an on look.

"I met Lukas on the way back to the city," Lyric explained, "He was lost in the forest for a while and stumbled upon the road before asking for a ride to the city."

Leanna turned a skeptical look onto her husband, seemingly able to smell the trouble he'd been in, "And that's all, is it?"

Lyric wouldn't meet her eyes, scratching the back of his neck, "There might have been some bandits involved."

"Lyric!" she gasped, scandalized, "And you weren't going to tell me?"

In a flash, she snatched up Lyric's head in her hands. Cupping his cheeks, she looked him over for any cuts or injuries, "I swear if they hurt you I'll go out there and hunt them down!"

"Sweetheart, I'm fine. Lukas scared them off. I didn't want to tell you because I didn't want to worry you."

Leanna's gaze turned to Lukas, and he found it more intimidating than most beasts. She gave him a good look up and down, "Scared off my perky flanks! The man's covered in dry blood and his clothes are in tatters!"

"Actually none of that's from the bandits," Lukas tried, but Leanna leveled her gaze back on him and he held up his hands in surrender.

Sera laughed, still sitting on the back of the marel, "I like her. It's too bad she's taken."

Letting go of Lyric's face, Leanna placed her hands on her hips angrily, looking every bit the disgruntled wife, "I've warned you about the dangers, but you wouldn't listen! What would've happened to my husband out there if this man hadn't come along, all because you didn't want to learn to protect yourself?"

With a huff she glanced over at Lukas, who was still sitting on the wagon, "You scared off those bandits, did you?. How would you like a job?"

"Leanna," Lyric tried.

She turned an angry look back on him, ready to scold him some more, but the chime of a bell coming from the still-open door forestalled it. Leanna looked through the open door then back to her husband, "We'll be talking about this later. You unload the wagon while I go deal with this customer. Would you mind helping him?"

Lukas simply nodded and Leanna whisked back through the door.

"Sorry about that," Lyric said awkwardly, moving towards the back of the wagon.

Lukas jumped down and joined Lyric as he lowered the tailgate, "Don't be. It's sweet how much she cares. She's right though—going out alone in a world like this is to invite danger."

Grabbing a few sacks, Lyric unloaded them, Lukas following suit with a crate, "I know, but it's expensive to learn how to fight, even more so to hire a guard, and don't even get me started on defensive talismans and arrays."

Lukas had no idea what those last two were and simply added it to the long list of things he had yet to learn about, "I'm sure you guys will figure something out."

They continued to unload the wagon, pulling crates and sacks out and setting them aside. Most of it was fairly light, the contents filled with herbs and other plants. Others were heavier, holding things like attuned rocks and stones, strange bits of bark, and other odd items. It was all still relatively light though, with his strength attribute being so high.

"That's all of it," Lyric grunted, setting down a particularly heavy box, "Why don't you go ahead and move them inside while I get the wagon and marel settled away."

"Sure. Where do you want them?"

"Just inside is fine. I organized them as I collected, so they're ready to get shelved and stocked. We'll deal with that once I'm finished up with the wagon."

With a nod, Lukas began moving everything inside while Lyric took the wagon somewhere. Inside, Lukas found a large storage room filled with shelves that were full of neatly organized and labeled boxes. Lukas had just set down the first box next to the door when Leanna came in through a door on the other side of the room.

She spared him a glance before looking down at a note in her hand and grabbing a small box. She proceeded to go around, grabbing various herbs and ingredients and putting them in the box. Lukas noted with some interest that there wasn't enough room in the box for everything that was going in.

Leanna had just finished filling the box when she noticed Lukas watching, "It's spatially expanded. It's short-lasting, just long enough for people to get home, which is good because the more permanent stuff is a lot more expensive. Where are you from?"

"A town called Ridgemoore originally, but I left that behind to go live in the forest," he said, noticing Sera's not-so-subtle interest, as Lukas never talked about his life back home.

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"That sounds dangerous."

Lukas just shrugged, "The beasts in that area weren't all that strong, and I had the tools to deal with those that were."

"Well, I'm glad you're here now. I don't want to think about what would've happened to my Lyric if you hadn't been there to help him."

"I'm glad I was able to help him."

"I assume he's taking care of the marel and wagon right now?"

Lukas nodded, "He is."

"Well, once you're done bringing everything in, you can go up those stairs and get yourself cleaned up," she said, pointing to a set of spiral stairs in the corner, "Go up to the third floor and there'll be a guest room on the right. It has a bathroom, and you can get a shower. I can get you a change of clothes if you need."

"Thank you," Lukas said, surprised by her generosity and eager to be clean again, " That's very kind of you, the clothes won't be needed though."

Leanna nodded and headed back through the door she had entered through, going back to the front of the store.

Back outside, Lukas found Sera there looking at the contents of the sacks and boxes with some minor interest, "Are you going to help?"

"Nope!" she said merrily.

"Why not?" Lukas frowned.

"Because I can't."

Lukas looked at her skeptically, "Can't or won't?"

"Can't. I'm not actually here, remember? I'm pretty much just a projection. The only thing I can interact with is you, but you don't seem like the cuddly type."

Lukas blanched and shook his head before getting back to work. He considered throwing everything in his inventory to make his task easier and faster, but he was reluctant to show off such an ability in case someone was watching. That, and his inventory was completely full.

Lukas spent the next five minutes moving boxes and sacks full of alchemical ingredients inside. Once he was finished, he turned towards the staircase that Leanna had indicated to him. He was hesitant to just go up into someone's home unattended, but he really wanted to take a shower and put on some clean clothes.

"Well?" Sera asked, startling Lukas, having moved inside with him without him noticing.

"Good lord," Lukas sighed, "are you ever going to get tired of that?"

"Not as long as you jump like that," she teased, "Come on, let's go shower."

"I'm sorry—'let's'?"

"Did I say that? Silly me. Come on," she grabbed Lukas' hand and dragged him towards the stairs.

"You don't need to lead me there, I'm not a child."

"Then don't act like one," Sera shot back.

Knowing there was no winning against the goddess, Lukas allowed himself to be dragged against his better judgment. They quickly passed the second story, getting a glimpse of a dining room and a living room that seemed more like a lounge. Upon reaching the third and final floor, they found themselves in a cozy-looking loft with bookcases and couches. Opposite the stairs was a hallway with one door on the left, one on the right, and another at the end of the hall. Lukas guessed the final door was the master bedroom, and had no idea what was in the left one.

Sera pulled him over to the right door, making him open it as she was unable to. She then proceeded to drag him in, revealing a rather pleasant guest room. The bed was larger than the one Lukas had lifted from Sera's cave, and just by looking at it, he could tell it was much better quality. Lukas considered asking to stay the night, just so he could spend a night in an actual bed, but he was way too awkward to ask these people if he could stay in their home.

There was another door in the room, this one leading to the bathroom, which wasn't as nice as Sera's. It was smaller and not nearly as nice-looking. It was simple but still had a sink, mirror, shower, and toilet. Upon entering, Lukas got a good look at himself in the mirror.

"Good lord, that's what I look like?"

"Yup," Sera said, standing behind him like a proud parent, "Like some fucking crazy lunatic. You can't even see your scars under all that dried blood and grime!"

"I'm surprised they even let me into the city looking like this," He grimaced.

"I'm sure they've seen worse. Now, get naked!"

Lukas gave her a flat look, "Get out."

Sera snickered to herself, "No fun!" she said, but disappeared anyway.

Lukas knew that she could still watch over him with the blessing and he'd be none the wiser, but he knew her well enough to know that even if she put on a mask of playfulness and mischief, she would still respect his privacy. Now that he was alone, Lukas began undressing. It was a bit awkward pulling off the tattered remains of his shirt and pants, but he managed. He wanted to throw the rags and his cloak into his inventory, but it was full. To make room, he pulled out the clothes that Calayis had made for him, planning on wearing those after getting cleaned up. Throwing in his cloak and ripped-up pants, that left Lukas with the remnants of a shirt.

Unsure of what to do with the thing, Lukas just threw it to the side for the time being. Staring at his bloody and naked body in the mirror, Lukas had one last thing to take off: his mask. He watched the unnerving amber eyes as he reached up to take it off. Once it was removed, Lukas was surprised to find his face hadn't changed since he'd entered Sera's cave so long ago. His hair, while matted in dry blood and dirt, was still the same length and unkempt, his facial hair hadn't grown either, leaving him with a decent five o'clock shadow, the scars on his cheek and jaw bare of any hair. Speaking of bare spots, he ran a finger over his left eyebrow, feeling the raised scar tissue that broke up his brow.

Shaking his head, Lukas hopped in the shower, finding the controls similar to the one in Sera's cave. Fifteen minutes later, Lukas exited the bathroom fresh and clean, wearing a new set of clothes. They were extremely soft and comfortable, far superior to what Sera had left for him. These also had fancy designs in the hems of the shirt and pants; they didn't do anything, but Lukas imagined Calayis added them because they looked nice.

Feeling great, Lukas sat on the edge of the bed and let out a happy groan as his body relaxed, to the point that he didn't even jump when Sera reappeared next to him.

"Looking good, though the whole crazy psycho thing you had going on before might be better if you want to keep the ladies at bay."

Lukas rolled his eyes, and began looking through his inventory to see what he could take out. The answer was nothing. Most of it was taken up by the things looted from Sera's cave, from furniture to bookshelves, alchemy equipment, and ingredients. There were also some things Calayis had given him, mostly food that she kept making for him. Then there were the natural treasures he'd picked up in the forest. There were also the two bodies of the bandits he had killed, but he wasn't sure what to do with them just yet.

In the end, Lukas took out the ruined shirt he had stored before his shower and all the other ruined clothes he'd accumulated over time. That freed up a few spots, enough for Lukas to store his mask.

"Why are you putting the mask away? Didn't you like it because it would help make sure people left you alone?"

"I can always put it back on later. Besides, I think it's best to show Lyric and Leanna my actual face, otherwise I'm just some stranger in their house."

Sera just shrugged, "Whatever you say. Just remember that you're in the thick of it now and should be careful before you get caught."

"I know," Lukas sighed.

Leaving the guest room, Lukas made his way down the stairs. At the bottom, he found Lyric rifling through the crates and sacks, storing their contents. Looking up from his task, Lyric did a double take upon seeing Lukas.

"Lukas? Is that you?"

Lukas couldn't help but grin, "I look much better when I'm not bloody, I know."

"The lack of the mask makes a difference," he said pointedly, "Where did you get something like that anyway? You weren't wearing armor or anything, so seeing the mask was a little incongruous."

"I got it from my benefactor. It helps with alchemy and acts as facial armor."

"Would've been nice to have to avoid those," he said, gesturing to his own face.

"I don't mind the scars, they're a reminder of how far I've come. You got a place where I can throw these things out?" Lukas asked, holding up his ruined clothes.

"There's a trash can there," he pointed to the trash can nearby, "I hope you know you're more than welcome to stay the night. I don't imagine you've got a place lined up, having been lost in the forest for so long."

"Thank you, that's generous of you. I'll go out tomorrow and find a place so I can get out of your hair."

"No worries, it's the least we could do after you helped me. Just a heads up—all the inns and hotels on the outer edge of the city are a lot cheaper, not as glamorous as the ones in the center, but they'll do."

"After the forest, anything with a bed and a shower is good enough for me."

Lyric laughed, "True enough. Leanna will be starting dinner here soon. Are you going to stick around or go out exploring the city?"

Lukas glanced out a nearby window, noting the evening sun, "It's getting a bit late. Wouldn't be wise to go out wandering just to get lost all over again."

"No it would not. Feel free to get comfortable, I imagine months alone in the forest put you on edge."

"Ain't that the truth. You sure you don't want help down here?"

"Don't worry about me, I'll have all this finished up in no time."

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