Chapter 173: Be Prepared

“So it’s probably a trap,” I said. “And even worse, there may not be any super soft night robes.”

“What do you intend to do?” Vasil asked. “I suggest you proceed with caution. You do not need another enemy right now.”

I looked at him as if he was insane, because suggesting I was ever anything but cautious was insane. I moved through life with caution and grace, like a gazelle. Now I had never seen a gazelle before, but I’d heard stories. They were supposed to be graceful and cautious—like me.

Vasil got that flat look on his face again. “You are never cautious.”

How did he know what I was thinking? Did I say that out loud again or was I just that obvious with my thoughts? I really needed to work on that.

“Um,” Kasia said. “If it really is a trap, why would they give us a day to prepare?”

I raised my finger. “Aha, that’s the genius of it all. They obviously did that to make us think it wasn’t a trap, which means it totally is a trap.”

I could see from Kasia’s face that she didn’t think it was a trap and that I was overthinking it. Was I, though? They were a criminal organization, why else would they say such a specific time in the future. And they didn’t even say where it was. For all I knew Aurelia could be right and I could be teleporting into a vat of acid. That would be devastating for my hair.

“I wonder if there are some skills that could protect my hair,” I said, inspecting one of my beautiful dark locks.

“Your… hair?” Vasil asked.

“Maybe they couldn’t find a robe like yours and bought themselves another day to find one,” Bogumir said.

That could be true. I imagined robes like these didn’t just grow on trees. They were probably hard to get, and now Salomea had foolishly promised me ten. What would happen if they couldn’t deliver? Would they kill me instead, just so they wouldn’t have to make good on her promise? Not that they could kill me, since I was me, but they could try. Lots of people tried, despite knowing I was me.

Or maybe they were still filling up the vat of acid. Maybe there was no acid, but maybe I’d be teleported into some kind of narrow corridor that sloped down and they’d release one of those big round boulders, and I’d have to try and outrun it. They’d probably place bets on how fast I’d be flattened. At least, that’s what I imagined criminals would do.

Then again, Vitek had said we were all criminals now, and that wasn’t something I would do. Most of us wouldn’t. Bogumir might. I narrowed my eyes at him.

“What?” he asked, brows raised.

I gave him the old staredown. “Would you ever release a big round boulder down a sloped corridor?”

“What the hell are you talking about?”

“A rolling boulder!” I said, throwing my hands up in exasperation. “If you couldn’t get a vat of acid in time, would you arrange for a narrow corridor with a rolling boulder?”

“How is that—? How would I even—?” He got up and walked over to Vitek and tapped his jug.

“Why would it be easier to arrange for a rolling boulder and a narrow corridor?” Kasia asked.

“Good question, Kasia,” I said, nodding. “That’s a very good question indeed.”

“They probably have a slew of corridors filled with big rolling boulders,” Aurelia added.

“Hecate, this isn’t helping,” Vasil said. “Could you also unsummon your [Stunt Double]?”

“Since when is rational thought not helping? We need to be prepared. I could die!”

Vasil sighed. “Yes, we do need to be prepared, but I highly doubt you will need to worry about big rolling boulders. The meeting is with mayor Aurelia, so they will likely not try to kill her right away. It is more likely that they will try to size her up, see who they are dealing with. See if she can be controlled somehow, or manipulated, blackmailed, even. They will look for leverage. Having the infamous Hecate in her corner may work in Aurelia’s favor.”

“Or they will try to claim the bounty themselves,” Bogumir said.

“Or that,” Vasil agreed.

“That’s alright,” I said. “Since I’ll be Aurelia, they won’t be able to find me. Hecate me. Me me.”

“I suppose that is true. How many skill and stat points do you have left?”

“Four skill points and six stat points.”

“Good, good. Now that you have taken your fun skill, maybe we should consider some utility skills. We can leave some open so you can explore the crafting skills later.”

“Woah there,” I said. “[Stunt Double] is not a fun skill. It’s essential. It’s a life saver. The way I see it I have at least one fun skill choice left.”

Vasil grumbled a bit. “You need to be prepared.”

“So,” Vitek said as he stood up and stroked his beard. “What kind of skill would prepare our fearless Hecate for dealing with Banda Masvih?”

I tapped my chin. “They probably can’t blackmail me, because I’m already a wanted criminal, and because they would be dealing with Aurelia. I mean, they could tell everyone where I live, but no one will find me there.” I met Vasil’s eyes. “Yes, I will start sleeping in my Aurelia disguise from now on.” I looked back at Vitek. “So that leaves control and manipulation.”

“Surely there are a million other ways to blackmail you,” Bogumir said. He walked up and sat on the edge of the table, facing me. “They could blackmail Aurelia by threatening to tell the Church that you’re working with her.”

“There is no way to prove that. I just don’t see it. I’m also not very manipulatable or controllable.”

“What if they promised you another soft night robe? Or what if they offered you a potion that would make your hair even shinier?”

“I would never fall for that.” I leaned in closer. “Does that exist? Does such a potion exist? Where could I find one?” I took a step back, regaining my composure. “Not that I would want such a thing. Especially not from a bunch of criminals trying to manipulate me. But say there was such a potion, where would I find it? So I could avoid it, of course, so I won’t be manipulated. My hair can’t possibly become shinier anyway. It’s already perfect.”

“But does such a potion exist?” I whispered to Vasil.

Vasil looked like he was suppressing a scowl. “Try not to mention your hair to them.”

So the potion did exist. Good to know. Not that I needed it, buuuut if I ever was in the neighborhood of where they sold or created those potions I’d probably check it out. Not because I needed it, just so I would be able to recognize it in the future and to avoid getting manipulated.

“What about mind control?” Vitek asked.

I snapped out of my shiny-haired thoughts. “What about it?”

“Do you have any abilities that help you resist mind control?”

“Why would I need that?” I scoffed. “My mind is impervious to assault. No one can control me.”

Bogumir laughed. “So she needs a skill that stops her from getting mind controlled.”

Vasil nodded.

“Look, guys,” I said making sure to give all three of them a good point of the finger. “I don’t need that, alright? Those skills are a waste of points. Those are for weak minded fools. Nothing can penetrate my mind. I am simply too intelligent.”

“Intelligence has nothing to do with it,” Vasil said. “There are plenty of mind control skills that do not take into account the user or the victim’s intelligence. I think you should take one, just to be safe.”

“No,” I said, dragging the word out. “What else they got besides shadow killers?”

“Probably a variety of classes to ensure that at least one of them will either catch you off guard, or at least be a weakness for you.”

“Then that will be their fatal mistake.” I smiled. “I don’t have any weaknesses.”

“Except your hair,” Bogumir rudely said.

“My hair is my greatest strength. Good that you mention it, I should get a skill that involves my hair! Not to make it shinier, of course, because it doesn’t need that. But you know, something, you know.”

“No, I don’t know, actually.”

“Oh, but you will know. Right after I assign these stat points I will take a gander.” I winked at Vasil. “I will take a gander at my skill list and see if they have some useful skills for my hair.”

“Hecate…” Vasil groaned.

“Shhhh. I need to concentrate.”

I took a look at my stats. I hadn’t put anything in Dexterity in a while, and I was starting to feel like maybe I should. But my Stamina was also very low. I was going to get double stat points from now on if I leveled so soon I’d have a lot more of them. What would be most useful when dealing with Palets? I opted to put five of my six points in Stamina, taking it to 20 and one in Dexterity so it wouldn’t feel left out, taking it to 42.

I dusted off my hands. “Now let us see how hairy we can get.” I paused. “No, wait. I didn’t mean it like that. Let’s forget I said that. Let me start again.”

I cleared my throat. “Let’s… let’s… You know what, screw this I’m going to check my skills.”