The party was in two days.

  That wasn’t a problem for me, since I still really liked the outfit I’d worn to the last party. It was comfortable and I imagined it could handle at least one or two more parties before someone commented. I still wasn’t sold on the idea of updating my wardrobe monthly, which was something I’d heard Calmar discussing for his own needs. Based on the amount of dresses I’d gotten rid of, the old Danielle had probably gotten things more often than that.

  I was more interested in what the party was going to be like. The Duke’s party had been pretty boring. Lot’s of talking, a little dancing, but otherwise not a lot of interest. It felt like something done because it had to be done, not to impress or entertain. There was a different feel to the preparations from Germaine.

  For one, a couple high level musicians were scheduled to be providing the entertainment. Germaine also had an illusion expert on staff that often provided visuals to amuse the guests. And he’d brought enough goods from his last trip abroad to provide refreshments, but I couldn’t even guess what those would be.

  The guest list had been released though, and while Calmar said there were no big surprises, there were a few minor notes. The Duke was not expected to show. I asked Elias about it and he was also not planning to attend, though he explained it was because he had another event organized. Something about a union. Those weren’t a concern, though.

  What was an issue was the Collector that was still in town. I hadn’t heard anything about him since the fire at Chatterdeem’s, so it came as a surprise. He had gotten an invitation as well. Germaine had actually made it a point, especially after his chamberlain died from complications due to the punishments that had gone out. It was a possibility I’d been aware of, but not one I’d expected to cause issues.

  The Collector could be a really big issue.

  Then there was the David family being on the guest list as well. I promised my friends to be on my best behavior, but I was very intent on figuring out how much shit Jason could keep spewing from his mouth without a tongue.

  I heard a crack and looked down at my hand. The handle of the tankard had cracked where I was holding it, splinters falling off when I moved my hand away. I winced and leaned back in my seat, trying to think about something else.

  I took the letter I’d gotten this morning out of my pocket, checking the time and location I was supposed to be at again. Currently, I was waiting in the small, outdoor area of a restaurant where a purple lizard man was grilling strider meat on a grill with tables arranged around it loosely. He was also handling a couple smaller grills with other meats and vegetables. There was so much going on I was almost positive there was skill or trait fuckery going on.

  All I was supposed to do was sit there, order some food and an ale, and wait. I was not told how long to wait, but it had already been a half hour, and I was starting to get annoyed. The note said he wasn’t eager to meet with me. Maybe I’ll just leave him to his own thing. I can beat Paige’s location out of Jason at the party…

  Putting the letter away, I waved a server down and ordered a set of skewers and asked for another tankard. They saw the condition of the tankard and snorted, “Just upped yer phyiscal, eh? No charge, but you gotta arm wrestle the cook before ya leave.”

  I blinked at them, “Why?”

  They shrugged, “Fun? He’s like that.” They wandered off, taking the tankard with them. I stopped paying attention to them as I caught Deacon’s attention from the window of the restaurant proper. He was keeping an eye out, but when I raised an eyebrow at him, trying to ask if he’d seen anything, he shook his head.

  I got my food and a new tankard after a couple minutes and tried not to drum my fingers on the table. I know I’m the one who wanted this meeting, but I could be practicing spells. Or training. This is a waste of time.

  But even if I thought that, I waited the full hour I’d set aside for this meeting. I’d probably be here tomorrow too, unless something changed. I had an address for the XGC office in the city, but I’d been ‘forbidden’ from going due to my temper. I agreed with them too, since we had no guarentee that’s where Jason was staying either.

  Suddenly, I felt a clawed hand on my shoulder and I turned to look, already calling my knuckles to my other hand before I saw the purple scales. Looking up, I saw the cook and he had his mouth slightly open, though I couldn’t tell if it was surprise or a smile. He took his hand off, “Easy there, girlie. Thames said you were the one who broke the tankard, right?”

  I blinked before nodding. “Sorry about that.”

  “Nah, it’s aight. I noticed ya were waitin’ a while. Get stood up for a date?” His mouth shifted and it was definitely some kind of lizard smile now. His eyes had also changed color, though I didn’t know if it was related. The yellow wasn’t a bade shade though.

  “Something like that.” I said as the man grabbed a stool from a nearby table to sit across from me. When the man put his elbow on the table and held his hand up, I actually laughed, “You seriously want to arm wrestle?”

  “Of course!” The man laughed in a rasping hiss. “You’ll understand come on.” He motioned with his other hand for me to take his.

  I slipped my hand into his much larger one. I’d been expecting scales or for his claws to be sharp, but his hand was surprisingly smooth. And the claws were kind of dull on my skin, though I expected it could do damage if he wanted. “So… what’s the goal here?”

  The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

  “It’s a simple game I learned as a soldier. No moving your elbow, and you can’t let go. The goal is to use the least amount of strength to move my arm. If it slams on the table, you fail. If you can keep me at least half the way down for a ten count, you win.” I felt his grip tighten and suddenly I couldn’t remove my hand if I wanted to. My eyes went wide, and hte lizardman winked, “If I do the same, you’ve got to buy a round for the whole restaurant as compensation for the tankard.”

  That… is he literally strong arming me? It wasn’t like I minded. I was pretty confident in my strength by this point. “Alright, I’ll take that. What do I get if I win?”

  “A skill.” The lizard man said, “I’m Greg, by the way.”

  “Greg?” I said, surprised by the pretty simple name for such a… strange looking person.

  I almost lost immediately because of that. His arm bent at a perfect forty degree angle, barely seeming to put in any effort. Reflexively, I pushed back and almost slammed his hand into the table, barely stopping myself. I’d apparently surprised the man, because his expression grew serious as my arm was slowly raised back to the neutral position, despite trying to resist.

  “No wonder you’re breaking stuff.” He said as I noticed he had stopped moving his arm. Despite me trying to push against it. “Come on, calm down or you’ll break the chair too, and that I will make you pay for.”

  I stopped pushing and he moved both our hands back to center. How the hell is he doing this? My strength score is almost… I almost smacked myself in the face with my free hand. I still had my strength score locked at 25. If I’m having issues with 25, maybe its a good idea to keep it locked.

  “Regretting some decisions?” Greg asked, “It happens, especially if you get a bunch of levels in a new tier right away. Try again, but concentrate on control instead of power. Start light.”

  I did as he said and he barely budged. I was steadily increasing the force I was using, but besides a little shaking he barely moved. “How are you so strong? I thought cooks are generally weaker than this.” I’d seen the class and it gave Agility, Dexterity, and Perception, not Strength.

  “Former soldier and I took a class change. The skills keep your stats high, and as a Zilla we have an innate increase to our strength.” His eyes shifted between yellow and some kind of green. Is he amused?

  As I increased my strength, suddenly he slackened his effort and I almost tapped him on the table again. I stopped, but he brought our hands back up as I tried to modulate my strength. Grunting with effort, I tried to distract him. “I don’t know any Zillas, are your eyes changing color based on mood?”

  “Hah! That’s a rather rude question.” Despite that, his eyes had shifted to fully green. “Better than bein’ ignorant, though.”

  I notice he didn’t answer the question and I was surprised as I started to make progress with very little force. Someone cheered and I noticed that people had gathered around us, including Deacon behind Greg. I ignored them again and returned my attention to our game.

  “You’ve got a lot of stamina, little lady.” He said with a toothy smile, eyes yellow. “Most people give up by now.”

  I found I was sweating, but mostly had plenty of energy. My arm was getting tired, though, and my hand was starting to hurt from gripping so hard. “And yet, you don’t look even a little tired.”

  Greg laughed, and I felt his control loosen enough I could get his arm far enough down for the crowd to start counting. “Skills and traits. Like the one you’re learning here.” My arm suddenly jerked to the opposite side of the table, barely not touching. “Muscle Control does more than stop you from breaking mugs.”

  I tried my best to move him back, but it was no use. His arm was like a steel beam that wouldn’t budge. At the end of the ten count, I let go and slumped back in my chair, he patted my shoulder, “You did good, little lady. You get the skill?”

  I was catching my breath so it took me a moment to realize he’d asked a question. I checked my status since I didn’t want to dig through notifications. “Yea, Muscle Control… Rank 4?”

  “Nice!” Greg clapped me on the shoulder and I let out an grunt as he put a little too much force in it. “Come back whenever you want another round. I love training it.”

  He wandered off and Thames, a guy who I hadn’t really noticed until then as more than a random server, came over out of the crowd. Crystals were changing hands, and I got the impression this was a common form of entertainment. “There’s not a lot here, so five orange should cover it and your bill.”

  I pulled them out of a pocket, using the pocket to cover the withdrawal from my Experience Bank. “Here. Can I get a refill with that too?”

  Thames nodded, “Sure. You did pretty good against Greg, by the way. Most people lose early.” Then he was gone, and I was left staring at a brown haired man who I still hadn’t fully processed as more than a server.

  “That was fun to watch.” Deacon said, dropping a few crystals into a small pouch before sitting down, “You look pretty upbeat for someone who just got scammed.”

  “Really? Why do you say that?” I asked, draining the tankard I had before Thames came back to replace it.

  “Your smile. It’s probably the happiest you’ve looked around me.” He said, grinning at me.

  I reached up and felt my mouth, and sure enough, I was smiling. I hadn’t noticed. “I guess… I just liked pushing my limits for once.”

  “Speaking of, how’s your juggling? Get up to three balls yet?” He leaned forward, but I noticed his eyes weren’t focused on me.

  I resisted the urge to look around, “I think I can get four, but I think the skill is doing the heavy lifting. I haven’t checked in a minute, but I probably have dozens of notifications for skill rank ups.”

  “Probably. Hey, what did that kid look like again?” Deacon suddenly asked.

  “Uh… White hair, little shorter than me. Ears kind of had a point to them. Why?” I turned my head, looking around the outdoor eating area. I didn’t see anyone.

  “I think he’s been watching from the rooftop across the street. I didn’t pick him up inside, but I caught him with my Echolocation skill.” He said. “Three story structure, thirty meters back and to the right. Blue awning.”

  I was going to ask about hte skill later, but instead I turned and found the building easily enough. I didn’t see him at first, but a shadow shifted against what I guessed was stairs to the roof and he came into view. I zoomed my vision in, resisting the nausea from the sudden shift, and he motioned for me to follow before disappearing again.

  “He’s playing with us, I think.” Deacon said, putting the bag of crystals away. “What do you want to do?”

  I sighed, “Might as well go meet him. That’s why we’re here, after all.”

  We both got up, and I waved at Greg before we crossed the street to find our way to the rooftop besides clamboring up the side of the building. Thames looked confused when I looked back from across the street, holding two tankards on a tray and unable to find us. What a waste of mead. I lamented as we went inside.