Once Blossom and I are done playing prince and princess she puts me down and I instruct her to get dressed in the clothes Ayame bought for her. My beloved shortie has long since left the two of us to our own devices and went to sell my armor which I’ve outgrown.
While I wait for Blossom to get ready to depart I examine our other gains from the slaver pair, namely their few pieces of jewelry and paintings. The necklaces and rings seem inconspicuous enough that I’m not worried about them being traced back to Julia, but the paintings are a different story.
Well, not that they are masterpieces or anything, but I don’t know how smart it would be to pawn off items that are obviously hand crafted and are one a kind. Perhaps if we go to a far enough town?
Eh. They are simply not worth the risk. I decide to just toss them to a hidden alley when the opportunity presents itself.
I ask Blossom to also get a full-body robe over her form to hide her identity. I might have my papers which indicate she is my legal property, but it’s for the best if as few people see the girl in my company whose previous master’s corpse rots in some abandoned shack.
To better hide her true self I summon her status with my Slave Monitor skill in order to give her another legal name.
[Name: Blossom]
[Race: Dog-Kin]
[Title: -]
[Level: 13. XP 107/2330]
[Class: Phantom Canine lvl 16]
[Vitality: 36]
[Strength: 36]
[Agility: 65] (52 + 25%)
[Intelligence: 22]
[Wisdom: 22]
[Unused Skill Points: 0]
[Unused Attribute Points: 0]
Oh, my theory is finally confirmed. Non-primordials can also have differing Class Levels and Normal Levels.
Blossom probably gains Class Levels from stealth kills which grant more XP to her class than normal level, furthermore, Phantom Canine sounds more varied than the basic Assassin class, so she probably gains class XP from non-combat actions as well, such as stealing and successfully sneaking around guards and stuff.
I can also finally see why she has much more Agility than Ayame, Blossom invested heavily into the stat while Ayame spread her free points evenly between all physical attributes.
I then hold a short conversation with her explaining my thought process and she rapidly accepts my proposal, after which we settle on her legal name becoming Luna. With this, she will be just one of the many beast-kin war slaves kidnapped from the Beastman Confederation, which borders Greenveil, the duchy we are currently in.
As long as no one who personally knows her appearance sees Blossom no one should know who she truly is, which just adds another point to my giant list of reasons to get out of Aldoria for the time being.
I’ve been asked to visit Eric Winterwood so that he can thank me for my heroics at the goblin extermination event, but he will just have to wait. I could quickly drop in and have a chat and be done with it, but I have the premonition that he doesn’t just want to hand over a coin pouch with a few thank yous, so it’s better to leave it for another time.
With that we are finally ready to leave. We’ve packed everything into our bags and we go to the reception to check out. The innkeeper looks at me very suspiciously but I just tell him that I’m Quinlan’s friend and bolt out of the establishment.
Blossom and I then stop at the nearby bakery to buy a few pastries to really start the day.
Neither of us has a clue where we could actually rent a carriage. I mean, what kind of a tard would be brave enough to lend their property for a few coins in the hope that I’d return it instead of disappearing with it forever?
Ayame soon catches up with us and informs me that they bought back my armor for 30 silver. Its original price was 40, so I lost 10 coins. However, the transformation of my physique was totally worth it, so I’m not too annoyed. I used it in the labyrinth once, and to be fair, it’s no longer in pristine condition. I gave it a good break-in.
Now we have 301 bronze, 115 silver, and 1 gold, or 21801 bronze coins. Our coffers are starting to fill up wonderfully. I can’t wait to count our wealth again once we are done with the fencing activity.
I tell Ayame about our conundrum, and she suggests visiting a large merchant coalition. They are the most likely to rent out a few mules and a carriage, as a single farmer or struggling merchant would never risk their own property due to the potential loss.
Following her recommendation, we head to the coalition, and after much unsuccessful haggling, we agree to pay the full price of four mules and a sturdy carriage as a deposit. We draw up a contract stating that we must pay 3 silver a day while it’s in our possession.
This amount will be deducted from the deposit, and the remainder will be refunded once we successfully return the vehicle and animals to the coalition. If we lose or “lose” their property, they get to keep all our money.
Thankfully, they have a coalition branch in Braedon, our selected city to sell our wares at, so I won’t have to rush back here just to end the rental period. Their branch will pay back the rest of my deposit that I’m owed once I give them the carriage and the animals.
Though somewhat frustrated, I must admit that this is the only fair way to conduct this transaction. In their position I wouldn’t trust anyone else with my belongings either.
And just like that, our pouch is 70 silver coins lighter. Good riddance. Our time together may’ve been short, but it was good while it lasted.
After finalizing the paperwork and receiving our keys, we make our way to the merchant coalition’s stable where our rental awaits.