Pauwna glanced back at Dante where he lay in the pit, sweating and bleeding from the numerous scratches she had inflicted upon him. He was well past his limits, but bore it well. The strange man may not be talented, or have the temperament for battle, but he worked as hard as any she had known. Many members of their unit weren’t nearly as dedicated. It was the bare minimum as far as she was concerned if he wanted to survive.


    He was starting at such a disadvantage.


    She turned around and continued on her way, setting a course for the heart of the camp. After leaving the training field she quickly stepped off the main thoroughfare, favoring the small side passages between tents. Less people took those paths, narrow and chaotic as they were. At least while on them, she did not have to endure the indignity of being invisible to her fellow soldiers. As she fell into the mindless rhythm of walking, her mind was free to ruminate on her new punching bag.


    It was clear to her that he had none of the instincts of a fighter and plenty of the bad habits one picks up in peacetime. His build was not meant for direct combat like hers, she was not quite sure what it was meant to do at all. His abilities seemed scattered between defense, observation, and stealth. Despite the lack of challenge during the training, Pauwna still found it enjoyable. It was a decent excuse to exercise.


    Perhaps this teaching thing isn’t so bad. It’s kind of fun smacking a newbie around. Plus, his face whenever I sneak up on him never gets old. It makes me keep wanting to do it. It’s not like it isn’t helping him out anyway.


    Besides, it wasn’t like her time with him wasn’t enjoyable. Unlike nearly everyone not of her tribe, he treated her as an equal. The man hung on every single one of her words and never broke his gaze, despite how it pained him. His other social graces were just as bad. Something that caused most of the others to avoid him. A fact that he seemed to know keenly, despite his other failings.


    It was likely one of the reasons he spent so much time with her, as she didn’t care about such things. Whenever he saw her, he always perked up. It was adorable. Like a puppy seeing its master after a long day. Pauwna had to admit, out of everyone in the army, Dante was her favorite person and it wasn’t even close.


    A rather large group turned the corner. They were loud, shouting and laughing the way that drunkards often do. Without even looking at her, they spread out until they occupied the entire path, forcing her to step inside the mouth of a tent. Pauwna took special care to gaze upon them with the proper amount of reverence. She did not want trouble, especially not tonight of all nights. When they left her eyesight, she let her face fall back to her customary scowl.


    With such competition, it was not surprising that a foreigner from a strange land was more likable than any of these people.


    There were only a select few Sūnsian’s she had even a modicum of care for. Which was why learning his level had roused a righteous anger in her gut. This wasn’t even his land, but he had been made to fight in the Empire’s rebellion quashing. He was a delicate vase balancing percariously in the middle of raging tempest. It was utter, dumb luck that he had survived this long..


    What idiot allowed a Classless onto a battlefield?


    She bared her teeth in disgust. In her homeland, they would not have allowed such a thing. A Classless would not be considered an adult, much less a warrior. No, they waited until the second evolution at the least. The chances of survival were much higher.


    At least it won’t be for much longer.


    Judging by the glassy stare he possessed when she had left him, Pauwna thought he might be looking through his new specializations. The first time she had seen him in such a trance, she was afraid he had hit his head. That had been her first hint that something was different about Dante. She needed to have a talk with him about hiding that. The Sūnsians would not be happy to figure that out and she saw no reason to out him.


    After all, he was not a Sūnsian.


    She was not surprised that they didn’t know. Even Svōl, who she would consider the next closest to Dante, was completely ignorant. Despite his near constant vigilance. The only reason he hadn’t been present for their sparing was because he had enlisted Pauwna and the rest of the squad in his efforts — that boor. It was quite like his kind to only judge based on the surface level.


    To a Sūnsian, their vision was the most important sense. The higher in their society, the more importance was placed on it. Because of this, their scrutiny often stopped at the skin level. Once you understood this, it was easy enough to trick them. Visually, Dante looked identical to them save for superficial details like hair and eye color. Perhaps facial shape as well, he certainly looked exotic to her, though still within the bounds of what she considered Sūnsian.


    Pauwna was under no such illusions and would rate her senses of smell and hearing amongst the highest in the army. To her, Dante smelled different than any Sūnsian she had ever met. It was a small difference and another might conclude that he simply used an unusual soap, but she was confident in her nose. Even the internal sounds of his body had a different tenor.


    Pauwna had confirmed it during their sparring. By visualizing mauling the man, she was able to use [Hemetic Precognition] to dissect him in her mind''s eye. It was subtle, but his musculature and the placement of the organs was different. The most obvious case being that his heart was on the wrong side. He even had a few extra organs, the purpose of which she was unsure.


    She paused as she reached her destination, the market that was always formed by the army''s followers. Given that it was quite late, there were hardly any customers around and most merchants had closed shop. A rare few merchants were still open, though they were often distracted doing inventories or some such.


    Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.


    Now, where is Vun?r?


    She didn’t see his distinctive cart last time she visited, so she resolved herself to wandering randomly through stalls until she spotted it. She was resigned to it, having to do this every single time. It was annoying but, due to the nature of their work, necessary. Keeping a few eyes open, she began her search and allowed her mind to wander.


    By itself, discovering a new species would cause some stir. It was thought that all intelligent species had been discovered. The world was mostly explored, so Dante was likely from some truly remote place. Likely, his kind were vanishingly rare. If such a thing were found out, at the very least he would lose whatever preferential treatment his mistaken race had afforded. That was assuming he wouldn’t end up being dissected by some archmage.


    What was more noteworthy was that she had not seen him perform a single status ritual. At his level and in this environment, he should be doing one every few days. It wasn’t as if he was deliberately putting it off, she had seen him get stronger in a way that only attribute increases could explain. She was certain it was related to the moments in which he would zone out, sometimes for minutes at a time.


    While such symptoms weren’t uncommon on the battlefield, in fact she knew of many who weren''t quite all there, she didn’t think that malady was the case here. Dante’s eyes were too clear, the movements too deliberate.


    That knowledge would see him disappear into a dungeon, no doubt about it. The materials used for status rituals were always in incredible demand since everyone needed them. This necessitated that they be placed under state control. If an alternative to the ritual existed … the implications would be staggering.


    It was the kind of thing wars were fought over.


    If the gods weren’t dead, she would have thought they had a hand in this. As it was, Pauwna wasn’t quite sure what to make of it, much less have an idea what to do about it. If nothing else, it would be entertaining to watch what became of him.


    Amongst the sea of garish colors, Pauwna spotted a pinstriped tent with a red and white pattern. She altered her course and arrived at a sizeable tent which had one of its sides drawn up. Inside was a diverse selection of fabrics, perfumes, powders and lipstick spread across the shelves at the tent''s walls. In the middle, looking quite out of place — at least to the Sūnsian eye — sat a Wraunian. He was large even by their standards. Bolts of fabric lay unraveled and led to an unfinished dress in the hands of the man, much like a fat spider in the middle of its web. Like all others of his kind, he was bare chested and only wore a small tunic. The indigo patterns painted on his body were an especially vivid shade, far more striking than most of his brethren. Vun?r always did like to advertise his wares and his body paints often sold the quickest. He glanced up from the fabric in his hands, a merchant''s grin on his face which soon transformed into a more natural smile as he caught sight of her.


    “Pauwna! It’s been too long.”


    Vun?r surged to his feet, instantly crowding his tent, and enveloped her in a hug. She endured it for his sake. At least it was less odious than the greetings that the Sūnsians preferred.


    “It has, hasn’t it?” She said when she was returned to the ground. “How’s the family?”


    “Svīva is doing well, though she has recently been with child. Our third.”


    Family was always a safe topic with Vun?r, it was all he spoke about. She was always happy to let him go on about it as she had been there since the beginning, having been the one who introduced him to his wife. Wait, what was that last part?


    “Really? You are having another?” Pauwna hesitated before adding, “Uh, that is to say congratulations! Please invite me to her name day ceremony.”


    Vun?r’s grin grew awkward and she knew that he had not missed her slip up. Unlike Pauwna’s people, the Wraunians had a custom of forming large families. Vun?r’s would be considered rather on the small side, but he seemed to be intent on fixing that discrepancy. Pauwna did not envy his wife. Though she was sure Svīva was happy, Pauwna would hate to be indisposed for that long.


    Before the moment could stretch to uncomfortableness, Pauwna piped up: “And the rest of your family?”


    Vun?r was only too happy to continue. “Aside from that, Roan and Slarin are getting bigger every single day. As is the trouble that they are causing, the little Repili! Why just the other day, Slarin collapsed a tent on an officer that was getting mouthy with me. She is so defensive of her Dad!”


    Pauwna listened patiently to the tirade, only interjecting with a “Is that so?” or a “really?” occasionally to show that she was still listening. She loved Vun?r, but he had a way of getting caught up in his own stories and forgetting himself. It took him many minutes, but he paused at the end of his third story and she had a feeling what his next words would be.


    “Anyways, you should come and have supper with us. Svīva would be glad to have you. We haven’t had company in a while.”


    Pauwna hesitated, sorely tempted, but decided to press on.


    “While I would love to Vun?r, I am afraid that I came here on business. Another time.”


    A sad look passed over Vun?r’s face and he sighed heavily. He reached into a drawer, withdraw a crystalline enchanted item and turned a knob. All sound outside the tent disappeared. Ushering her into his shop, he began drawing the open side of the tent closed. Pauwna squeezed past his bulk as he finished undoing the flap, then he began pushing aside some of his displays in the back.


    “Always business with you Pauwna, never anytime to visit old friends eh?”


    She snorted as he rolled up the carpet, revealing compacted dirt. Vun?r grabbed on to an innocuous rock and heaved. It resisted him for a second, then a square section of the floor swung upwards, now revealed as a disguised trapdoor. Below, a dark passageway yawned deep into the earth.


    “You know for a fact that isn’t true,” she said as she descended a few steps, “Why I just visited a few weeks ago. I didn’t even bring up the cause once during the entire visit.”


    She was expecting a laugh and when that failed to arrive, she glanced backwards to see Vun?r looking at her with uncharacteristic seriousness.


    “You know what I mean. The cause isn’t everything Pauwna. You have sacrificed enough and the risk —”


    “Psshh, your one to talk! Besides, I can never be done with the Empire until it is done with me!” She snapped back, then winced at the hurt look on Vun?r’s face. She returned up the steps to lay a comforting hand on his arm.


    “I need to do this.” Pauwna said sadly, “Things can’t continue as they have been and I have the power to change things. I have to do this.”


    Vun?r patted her hand a couple times then removed it gently, sighing loudly once again.


    “I know. I don’t agree, but you have your mind set on this. Just … be careful, ok? Know that you will always have a friend in me.”


    Pauwna nodded, then turned her back on Vun?r and descended to the bottom of the stairs. Stone grinded on stone as Vun?r lowered the slab. Right before the last slip of light died out, Pauwna murmured into the darkness.


    “I can’t promise that. But I will try.”