Looking at the doorway and seeing no one had stirred from their sleep yet,

"Uh, okay, something happened…" I said to Milo and Jen in a whisper.

"Everything okay?" Jen asked.

"Yes, but, erm… how rare are permanent stat increases?" I asked, making sure no one else was awake.

Milo just stared at me before Jen responded.

"Unheard of."

"Do I want to know why you asked that?" Milo asked with a sigh.

"He's about to tell us something completely ridiculous that's absolutely going to have him locked away in the royal dungeons for life," Jen said with a nervous chuckle.

"Well, the dragon has a lot of buffs—but at the end, it also provides a +1 permanent Endurance buff," I explained.

"Don't tell Liane," Milo said sternly.

Jen just chuckled again, shaking her head.

"If she finds out, you know she'll want to test it—and the dragon meat will probably kill her," Milo said seriously now. "Also, what Jen just said—if anyone finds out about this, Trevor, and I mean anyone—if word spreads at all, we can't help you."

I just nodded. I kind of expected to be told not to tell Liane; after all, that's why I kept peering inside to make sure she was still asleep.

"That's the response I expected," I replied, nodding.

"Oh—and don't write that down anywhere," Milo added. "Any others?"

"Not yet. It's odd how the skill works—it didn't feel like I gained any knowledge, but I just know... it's hard to explain," I said, pulling out a roll and inspecting it.

I intuitively knew now that this particular roll would provide Minor Regeneration and +2 Endurance. I could also tell that the +2 Endurance came from virfolium, and when I thought about the herb, I also saw that it had a regeneration property itself—but it required a second ingredient to activate it.

Blood Tear had a minor regeneration effect of its own and was overwriting the regeneration from virfolium.

I saw that the Grain Flour had a linked buff: if mixed with another grain-based ingredient of similar type, it would gain +1 Willpower.

As I went through it, I realised every single ingredient had a buff—or at least the potential of a buff.

"You okay, Trev?" Jen asked, looking at me.

"Sorry, I zoned out. I was just thinking about this roll, and I realised every single ingredient has a buff associated with it—but a lot of the items need another of a similar type to activate it," I explained, before going through all the ingredients in the roll.

"So, using Virfolium and Blood Tear together is detrimental, and what you need to discover is an item that has some linked regeneration-based effect to achieve its potential," Milo mused, rubbing his chin like some wise elder.

After a moment, I had a thought. It was completely crazy—but I'd throw it out there anyway.

"So, unrelated… we know Lily will visit us in town, and, as was mentioned to me before, I need to get strong enough to make it seem not worth it to try to kidnap me, right?" I started.

"Right…" Milo said sceptically.

"Well, say I walk into town with Lily following us in the group—would they stop us?" I asked.

"I'm not going to ask how you'll convince Lily to openly join us by walking through the front gates of a town, but no… they won't stop you. But there's a non-zero chance they'll panic and start to evacuate the city," Milo answered.

"It would, however, confirm all the rumours that there's a Shadow Cat with the group, and the likelihood of any trouble once word spreads would be incredibly low," Jen added.

"Would it? Or would it just be the strongest people we get trouble from?" Milo countered.

"We don't have to—but I just thought it might make life easier with the Lord of Dunhearth or something like that," I added, a bit embarrassed by my idea. I didn't expect a full city evacuation, but I suppose it made sense.

"It's probably an idea to bring up with Hari, honestly, because we'll need to either go all in or hide it before the cap—" Milo started, but was interrupted as Hari appeared in the doorway.

"Bring up what with me?" he said.

After explaining the idea again to him, he didn't immediately shut it down.

"I know this could backfire, but if we want it to backfire in any town, it'll be this one," Hari began. "We have nothing to do there other than relax, and it'll be better to solidify those rumours—and especially confirm the news I'm sure the capital has already been told—before we reach our destination."

"Wait, you're actually considering this?" Milo asked, surprised.

"I am. Trevor needs to show the world he shouldn't be messed with—and this move screams 'Don't mess with me' to all but the most powerful. Then those who are at the very top—what do they have to gain from messing with Trevor?" Hari added.

Jen laughed.

Hari eyed her suspiciously but didn't ask—especially when Milo kicked her.

"Sorry, I was just laughing at the idea of Lily walking through the gates of the town," she said quickly.

"Sure you were," Hari replied, clearly not believing it but not prying any further.

"Trevor, I won't lie to you—it's a risk—but Lily is going to show up anyway, so maybe embrace it and lean into the fact you have a continent destroyer as a protector," Hari said before heading further outside to do stretches.

"Not the response I was expecting," Jen said.

"Should we double-check that's actually Hari?" Milo asked as he watched him stretching.

"I can hear you two, you know," Hari called back.

"Well, if I want to convince Lily to walk through the gates with us, I'm going to need food. Also, the Chironid stew I made last night is going to be a good test for my Second Simmer skill. I think I'll make a large batch of porridge this morning as well, in my second pot," I said, getting up from the bench and thanking Milo and Jen for their advice before heading back inside.

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It was such a strange experience—with every ingredient I pulled out, I could tell what it provided. For most of the super-common items, it would only provide a buff when cooked together with other similar ingredients.

I pulled out the rare honey. I figured now that we knew it was safe to eat, I could use some of it in the porridge. I was thankful that I'd already used this in Lily's cooking, because just thinking about the honey…

I knew it provided some amazing benefits: +3 Wisdom, +3 Perception, Moderate Mana Regeneration, Minor Poison Resistance. I also saw that from ingredients I'd used in the past, it gained a bonus ability when combined with Dawnroot and Thornroot.

"Unbelievable…" I muttered. Just how useful was this skill?

In the end, since I was making a particularly large amount—and I wanted to know how Second Simmer would affect it—I added in my fruit. In particular, I threw in several handfuls of purified Dilwater berries, along with the honey, and once it was brought to the boil, I allowed it to start cooling, infusing the dish.

Something I noticed: I couldn't tell what the end buffs would be for a dish until it was finally infused and completed. But I also couldn't tell how changing the balance towards potency or duration would alter it—so I guessed I still had to figure that part out the hard way.

After everyone ate, I went outside before we packed up. Looking around, I obviously didn't expect to see Lily there—honestly, I don't think I've ever seen her in the morning, but I decided to try anyway.

"Lily, are you nearby?" I said, feeling a little silly but looking around and waiting.

I waited for what felt like forever, though it couldn't have been more than a minute. Letting out a long sigh, I turned to go back inside—only to run straight into something large that knocked me to the ground.

Looking up to see what I'd collided with, there was Lily, just sitting behind me and staring in the same direction I'd been looking. Of course she was. She was just as bad as Liane at showing up out of nowhere.

"Oh, good morning, Lily. Sorry, I didn't see you," I began, getting only a head tilt in response.

I panicked for a moment because I completely forgot to have any cooked meat ready for her—besides some stew, maybe? Pulling that out along with a bowl, I quickly placed it on the ground for her before continuing.

"I was wondering if you'd be willing to walk into town later this afternoon with us—in the open?" I started, though she didn't look up from the bowl and just kept eating. I wasn't sure if she was even listening.

"We—um, I was hoping to send a message to anyone who might wish to harm me or capture me for my cooking…" I trailed off, and though Lily didn't look up, an unmistakable pressure filled the air, absolutely laced with blood lust.

"We basically want to scare off anyone who might try, and I thought if you walk into town with us, no one will try anything."

She finally looked up from her bowl, then glanced towards the doorway before vanishing.

I sighed. I knew it was a long shot. I didn't know what I'd been expecting, honestly. It's not like she's a companion or anything—at times it feels more like I've got a ridiculously large stray alley cat who just wants food but could lash out at any moment, or vanish for weeks or months at a time.

Before I could even get off the ground, Crisplet came through the doorway, followed closely by Lily. Crisplet let out a burst of embers.

"Oh, you will?" I said happily. There was a pause, then another burst of embers.

"Thank you, Lily—and thanks, Crisplet, for passing on the message." Another, smaller burst of embers followed before the two of them moved back inside the building.

Picking up the bowl, I followed behind. Everyone looked at me when I entered, then at Lily. I just nodded at Hari and Jen before packing up my bedroll and the leftover porridge.

Today was going to be a very interesting day.

***

The ride to Grey Rock wasn't that bad, and sure enough, George and Darren both looked much healthier. They were still skin and bones, but they had colour back, and George no longer looked like he was covered in bruises.

Lily stayed with us the whole day. She didn't run alongside us—rather, she casually walked, appearing in and out of the shadows cast by our horses in the sun. It was incredible to watch. The only time she didn't vanish from spot to spot was when she was with Crisplet.

I really wanted to know what they were talking about. Hopefully, one day I would.

As we got closer to the town, I grew more nervous—especially when Liane woke up and found out about the plan. She just laughed, and for a very long time, before asking what we'd done to Hari to make him agree to such an amazing plan.

Liane calling it an amazing plan really worried me. Would the town really evacuate?

When it came into view, I saw it lived up to its name. I'd expected it to be perched on a rock or something, but what I saw instead was a town built almost entirely from pieces of grey stone.

"It's where they get the name. They quarry the stone from a nearby cliff—it's incredibly hard, but there's an abundance of it in this region," Milo explained as we got close.

No guards came out to stop us as we approached the gate, and there was no line waiting to get in like there had been in Boltron. As we slowed our pace, Lily walked happily alongside us with Crisplet next to her.

I noticed that one of the gate guards ran off somewhere, leaving just three of the four behind. Hari slowed our pace further to a very sedate trot.

When we finally reached the gate, the remaining guards looked unsure whether to stop us or run. They looked terrified—their eyes locked on Lily and Crisplet.

I could feel a faint pressure in the air, but it was nothing like Lily's usual aura, so I knew she was holding back—for our sake, at least. Then, in the distance, we noticed a group running towards the gate from inside the town.

It looked to be several adventurers accompanied by at least ten guards in heavy armour. Behind them came an older man in fine clothing, and further behind still, a woman in a fine dress, struggling to keep up.

Dismounting, Hari moved forward, ignoring the three terrified gate guards and waiting for the group to arrive.

I got down as well and stood next to Crisplet and Lily, making it very clear they were with me.

I couldn't help but laugh internally—Crisplet was much larger than normal, standing about the same height, or even slightly taller, than Lily. When the first of the group reached us, their eyes went straight to her, but none of them said a word.

Finally, when the older man in fine clothing arrived, he was the first to speak.

"What is the meaning of this?" he demanded, a mix of anger and fear in his voice, his eyes fixed on Lily.

"Hello, fine people! We are The Polite Company from the Adventurer's Guild, just passing through to relax and restock supplies," Hari said calmly, as if nothing at all were wrong.

The older man looked at Hari as if he'd just been slapped.

"What do you mean, 'relax and get supplies'? You'll not be raiding my town with that beast!" he practically yelled—before a wave of bloodlust washed over everyone. The man's eyes went wide, and his knees visibly shook.

Then the lady finally caught up.

"Now, now, I think we may have gotten off on the wrong foot," she said gently, patting him on the shoulder. "We've not even done introductions properly."

"My name is Lady Renee Greyrock. This is my husband, Lord Darien Greyrock." She gestured towards the man who'd just made the outburst.

"Pleasure to meet you, Lady Greyrock. We don't mean any harm to your city—we're just passing through," Hari said jovially, completely ignoring the Lord now glaring at him.

"I see. And those two?" She gestured towards Crisplet and Lily.

"The elemental is a bonded companion of our party member, and the Shadow Cat, Lily… somewhat of a protector of his," Hari explained, gesturing to me when he said his.

She nodded. "And if we don't let you into our town?"

"We'd be rather disappointed," Hari said lightly, "but I'm afraid we'd still need to visit the Adventurer's Guild to make a report."

One of the others, who hadn't spoken until now, stepped forward.

"I'm the vice-captain of the Greyrock Adventurer's Guild—Patrick Carmine. I take it the report is serious, then?" he asked, trying to stay composed despite the lingering bloodlust in the air.

"Very much so," Hari said. "We executed the colonel of the army brigade that passed your town for the murder of several dozen boys and girls, as well as torturing and abusing countless others. It's strange that the Lord and Lady of this town would allow such actions." He shrugged casually.

"That's a very serious accusation. I suppose you have proof?" Patrick asked.

"We do. We have two witnesses here—one of whom was thrown into a wagon with nearly twenty others and left for dead." Hari gestured towards Darren and George, who were still mounted on their horses.

"We would never all—" the Lord began, but was cut off as Lady Greyrock's hand tightened visibly on his shoulder.

"I see. Very well. That will need to be reported," Patrick said, his tone firm. "Did you pass judgement on anyone besides the colonel?"

"No. We handed command over to his second-in-command, who promised to heal those left for dead in the wagons and feed the starving group."

"And he agreed to that?" Patrick raised an eyebrow.

"We have a persuasive group," Hari said, gesturing—and I couldn't help but notice the implication was very clearly Lily.

"Very well, let's proceed to the guild. The guild master will undoubtedly need to speak with you. She was in training, but this is good enough reason to bring her out," Patrick said with a short laugh.

"That old bat's going to get the fright of her life," he added.

"They're with the guild and must be granted access as per our standing agreements," Patrick said now, turning to Lady Greyrock.

It looked like Darien really wanted to object—but again, I saw her grip tighten.

"Very well. I trust the guild will accept any responsibility…" she said, leaving the rest unsaid. Patrick nodded before leading us on. Hari didn't remount, instead taking his horse by the reins and walking into Greyrock.

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