Priscilla's bat was deemed fixable by a blacksmith, but it had to stay overnight for repairs. They were able to find a decent half-shield and sword in the blacksmith's wares for Illnyea to use, though it was clear that Illnyea shied away from the truly expensive enchanted weapons.

Illnyea refused to let Priscilla pay for it, claiming, "It's my weapon, I ought to pay for it myself," and scurrying away before Priscilla could argue.

As they browsed the shop, Priscilla kept half an eye on the people around Sulaiman. Sulaiman had been mostly silent during their outing, scanning over the wares with a watchful eye and occasionally guiding Illnyea away from poor quality metal. He was quietly waiting by the door as Illnyea paid with Kavil, who was staring curiously at the enchanted swords behind the counter. Priscilla spotted an older woman's lip curl into a sneer as she glanced his way and whispered something to her companion.

"Sulaiman," Priscilla said, insistently tugging on his sleeve to both get his attention and position herself to block the woman's direct line of sight. Sulaiman tried to ignore her but he sighed when she tugged at him again insistently, jerking him off balance. He furrowed his eyebrows in annoyance as he straightened and adjusted his sleeve before crossing his arms.

"What do you need, Priscilla?" Sulaiman asked, sounding like he dreaded her answer, which was rude.

"When do you plan to torture me with sword training?" Priscilla asked with a sigh, her ponytail swaying as she tilted her head up to meet his stare.

The sight of Sulaiman's black eyes gaining a glitter of boyish delight while his face softened with surprise and anticipation was one that Priscilla quietly committed to memory.

Priscilla was of the opinion fists were king, but the fight in the fens made it clear that Priscilla should try and get more tools in her arsenal for the next time she picked a fight with someone outside of her weight class. She didn't plan to become King Arthur or anything, but Priscilla liked the idea of becoming a jack of all weapon trades and she had a teacher ready and very willing to put her through her paces.

Sulaiman would be a harsh taskmaster and Priscilla would surely regret bringing her promise back up (she'd have to remember how happy he was at this moment to battle off urges to strangle him). But considering how he'd probably react to the news that there were supposedly Muloian bandits running about causing havoc, Sulaiman would need something else to devote his attention and focus to.

"Tomorrow," Sulaiman said promptly.

Priscilla gaped at him, as she had expected at least a few days to prepare herself, and smugness curled his lips slowly upwards.

"Are you going to give up before we even start, Priscilla?" Sulaiman asked, leaning forward as he tutted. "I thought you weren't afraid of a little hard work."

Priscilla scowled, saying, "I'm not giving up, fuck you for even thinking that."

"Good." Sulaiman looked far too pleased with himself, like he was already imaging a thousand ways to torture her. Priscilla eyed him suspiciously and opened her mouth to snap a witty comeback but Sulaiman was saved by Mr. Ordan as he came over to inform Illnyea's purchase was complete.

Priscilla stuck close to Sulaiman's side as they walked to the adventurer's guild under the pretense of pestering him about what he was going to force her to do under the guise of 'teaching' her and he kept his answers elusive. Sulaiman seemed to be getting a kick out of winding her up, so Priscilla obligingly played the part because it lifted his spirits.

But damn it all, Sulaiman could be so fucking annoying when he put his mind to it and her annoyance swiftly became real.

("Do you think we should stop this?" Illnyea asked in a whisper to Kavil, glancing nervously at Priscilla who attempted to bite Sulaiman's hand after he mockingly tugged the lock of hair framing her face to prove her reflexes needed work.

"Nah," Kavil said, laughing as Sulaiman's hand moved quickly out of reach of Priscilla's teeth just to hold her head so she couldn't reach him with her arms as she growled out threats of bodily harm, "they're getting along great.")

The adventurer's guild was a lot busier in the day time, a steady throng of people moving in with bounties hauled over their shoulders and leaving with fat purses and an eye on the nearest tavern. Mr. Ordan elected to wait outside with their purchases, claiming that he wished for them to move unburdened but Priscilla suspected he didn't want to push his way through the sweaty crowd.

There was a diverse crowd in the adventurer's guild, a wide range of skin colors, clothing, and heights, and Priscilla even spotted a half-elf in the corner speaking in low tones as they waited in line. Someone far ahead of them was arguing that half a hyena ear should count as a full bounty and held up the line for ten minutes as they tried to convince the tired clerk they deserved the money. The adventurer eventually stomped away in a huff, stalking out the door with their already fat purse like missing a few pieces of silver ruined their day. Sulaiman was sent several looks by the surrounding adventurers, but those were more cursory in nature, like they were sizing up competition rather than looking down on a bug.

It was a relatively painless process to get Kavil and Priscilla an official membership once they finally reached the counter after another fifteen minutes of waiting. The clerk working there wasn't the same woman they had turned in the hyena ears to, instead a plain faced man with an implaccable smile named Raol.

Illnyea served as Kavil's guarantor and Sulaiman Priscilla's, and Raol looked through the guild's records to make sure they were in the active directory. They had to sign documents and swear to Yoleri, god of adventure and travel, that they would adhere to the guild's rules.

Then Priscilla and Kavil both pricked their fingers and pressed the droplet of blood to a piece of enchanted metal that neatly carved their names into the side magically which was fascinating to watch.

Priscilla held up her shiny new metal card to the sun as they walked out, marveling at how it glinted in the light, proclaiming her an adventurer. In her first life, she had commissioned one based on the description in TDE but those were nothing compared to the real thing, whose metal had a strange luster to it that was slightly sparkly.

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The metal tingled against her fingertips, the faintest hint of magic remaining from when it became bonded to her. It was fading rapidly, but when Priscilla focused, she could sense the faintest hint of a connection between her and the dog tags. It was most reminiscent of her bond with Asha, but to a far lesser degree, more like the thinnest strand of spiderweb silk connecting them.

Kavil eyed his card appreciatively, running his thumb over his name, but he didn't seem to notice anything strange with it. Priscilla chalked up the odd knowledge to have something to do with why her body reacted so badly to magic and promised herself she'd study it another day. The chance of the card becoming sentient like Asha was near zero but in a world with magic, Priscilla wasn't going to discount any possibility.

They didn't have much more to do in the city but Priscilla insisted they stop by one of the stalls that was set up early for the harvest festival because they were selling something that smelled suspiciously like french fries. They weren't frying potatoes, it was some other starchy, root vegetable thing that was a bright pink, but Priscilla groaned in delight as she ate them. They weren't salty but there was some other delectable savory powder dusted over them that made you want to eat them forever and Priscilla insisted that anyone who didn't enjoy them give her their share.

That just earned her sharp looks and 'are you kidding me' expressions from everyone, even Mr. Ordan who had been daintily eating them one at a time, and Priscilla grinned. On a whim, Priscilla ordered several extra batches and instructed Mr. Ordan to distribute them amongst the staff as he saw fit – but to make sure Bella the cook got some. If Priscilla was lucky, Bella would figure out how to cook them and she could enjoy them even more for free.

Once they were back in the manor and Mr. Ordan wandered off with the fries with a surprisingly pliant Perry in his arms, muttering about what he's supposed to feed a platypus, Priscilla sat her party down and shared what Arnold had told her. Kavil sat to her right and Sulaiman sat across from her with Illnyea.

The previous good cheer Priscilla had worked so hard to bring out of Sulaiman had vanished when she finished speaking. Sulaiman's face had gone utterly blank, his gaze distant as his fingers clutched tightly against his biceps. He swallowed roughly but said nothing.

"Did Arnold tell you anything else?" Illnyea asked. Her eyebrows were drawn together in concern and her mouth had an unhappy slant.

"No," Priscilla sighed, running a hand through her bangs. The idea of Muloian bandits attacking people had been swirling around in the back of her mind the entire afternoon, and the more she thought about it, the less it made sense."I honestly don't know where I'd even go about getting more information about this but if I'm being honest, I don't even think the bandits are Muloians."

Sulaiman startled at that, his dark eyes now locked on her like he was hanging off her every word as his fingers tightened further.

Kavil leaned forward, fingers laced together as he frowned. "You don't?"

"I doubt any sizable group of Muloians would be this blatant about attacking people," Priscilla said, leaning on an elbow as she tapped her finger on the table, "especially after how the last rebellion was dealt with. They wouldn't be so foolish as to announce who they were while they attacked, and even if they were, why are they leaving behind witnesses? If all the evidence people are working with is that travelers and cargo are being set on fire, well, you could just as easily do that with alchemical fire or a bucket of oil and a well placed flame arrow."

The second Muloian rebellion wasn't even supposed to hit Kavendash first, despite it being the country that prospered from Muloi's subjugation the most. The rebels hit the country of Aswar first, as it had the weakest defenses of the triad, and that had been a swift, targeted attack on their capital that came with no warning during a celebration of their country's foundation. By the time Kavendash and the Confederacy had learned of it, almost every noble in Aswar was dead.

The new Muloian rebels were quiet, meticulous, and cunning, and random bandit attacks did not line up with that at all.

"You think someone is framing the Muloians," Kavil said, his voice coming out like he was speaking through gritted teeth. His copper eyes had a dark shadow within them and his frown was so deep it was nearly a snarl.

Priscilla sighed and gave a half-shrug. "Until I get more information, I can't say anything for certain, but, yeah, I do think some cowardly fucks are spreading rumors to cover their ass and stir up shit so they can get away with it."

It was silent as everyone took her words in and then Kavil abruptly stood up, turning towards Sulaiman.

"If anyone tries to hurt you because of this," Kavil said fiercely, leaning forward across the table, "I'm going to make sure they regret it. I won't let anyone intimidate you into staying cooped up indoors because of something you had nothing to do with – I am going to go to the harvest festival with you next week and we are going to have fun playing all the games and watch the parade and eat so many sweets we get sick and throw up and stupid people aren't going to ruin it."

As Kavil's declaration finished, his shoulders were heaving slightly as the words had all come out in a single breath. Sulaiman was staring with wide eyes at Kavil, his mouth falling open. There was a vulnerable shine to Sulaiman's eyes as he swallowed, at a visible loss for words.

Gently, Illnyea reached out and laid a hand on Sulaiman's shoulder. He jolted at the touch but Illnyea just smiled, tilting her head.

"If anyone lays a hand on you," Illnyea said sweetly, "I'll chop off their hand with my sword and feed it to Perry so Mr. Ordan doesn't have to worry about feeding him anymore."

That startled a laugh out of Sulaiman, a choked sound that was more a release of tension than true mirth, but he took another deep breath, breathing out slowly as he recomposed himself, his lips wavering as he pressed them together.

"I plan to eat a reasonable amount of sweets," Sulaiman finally said, his deep voice roughened and raspy from emotion, "but otherwise… otherwise, that sounds like a fine plan."

Kavil and Illnyea's faces broke out into huge grins and Illnyea began to plan out their itinerary for the festival with Kavil, both of them feeding off each other's energy as they discussed how best to try each and every sweet thing that would be on offer from candied apples to maple bark to what sounded suspiciously like a root beer float.

Priscilla tilted her head, smiling as Sulaiman looked at her once more.

Sulaiman stared at Priscilla with a complicated expression, blinking as if he was still struggling to get rid of wetness, his jaw clenched from lingering tension, and his lips firming and slackening like he didn't know what to say.

Priscilla leaned forward and Sulaiman seemed to subconsciously mirror her.

"If I find out who's behind the attacks and spreading rumors," Priscilla said softly, "I'll let you know and you can decide how we deal with them."

Sulaiman swallowed roughly but let out a slow breath as he nodded.

"Thank you," Sulaiman said, his words nearly swallowed up by the noise around them.

"No need to thank me for doing what a friend should," Priscilla said.

She leaned back and reinserted herself into the other's conversation, "If there is funnel cake, I want macerated strawberries and powdered sugar on it."

They discussed the fair for an hour more before Kavil challenged them all to Drake's Hoard and, once again, Priscilla was absolutely smashed. She minded it less though, because destroying her made Sulaiman smile, so it was a worthy sacrifice.

As Priscilla combed her hair before bed, struggling with the uneven locks and wondering if she should get a hair cut, there was a knock at the door. She discarded the hairbrush, glad to have an excuse to pause.

Illnyea there, her two arms tucked behind her back as she toed at the ground. She was looking at the ground rather at Priscilla.

"Um, can we talk?" she asked, voice small and unsure.

"Of course," Priscilla said immediately, opening up the door further, though she wondered just what was on Illnyea's mind.

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