"Healer!"

Riley strolled forward to the fallen Minotauress. The underling Dullahans also tried to approach, but Venaz drove them back. Without their commander, the Human knights surged forward. By her un-expert opinion, the Humans would win this battle of the game.

But that wasn't important right now.

"Can you help her?" Venaz loomed above Riley.

"Yep!" She twisted her left wrist and pulled on of her emergency scalpels out of her forearm with her right hand. "No problem!" The hardest part was over - taking out her equipment without causing a fuss.

Should she change one of her fingers back into a scalpel? That would make times like this easier. It would also mean fewer darts per day, and people would definitely notice her fingertips cutting flesh. Still, a back-up weapon might come in handy.

Heh. 'Handy.'

She knelt by her patient and gave her a quick once-over. Her jaw was much thicker than a Human's. Minotaurs definitely seemed to be Brutes by their very nature. The question was how much magic was involved? Riley couldn't do some proper exploratory surgery, but there was a lot of information she could glean from repairing the shattered jaw.

Well, a lot of information Surgery could glean. However that worked.

Shailt's skin was tough. Her custom-grown scalpel didn't quite have a molecular edge... but it was close. Despite that, the Minotauress' dermal layer was surprisingly durable. Riley focused on her cells.

Yep. Galas muscle.

She was starting to see a pattern of how the magical cells formed in sapients. In the animals of the Dyed Lands, there had been concentrations. As per its name, Galas muscles tended to gather in muscles mainly. Bones second. Skin third.

Galas cells were much rarer in the people she'd been operating on. Dullahans had the most, but their Galas were... different somehow. It was doubtlessly a 'magic' thing - since all magic wasn't the same.

What would happen if she took some Dullahan spatial Galas cells and put them inside a Human? Probably nothing good.

In any event, after piercing Shailt's outer skin, the rest of the muscles and tendons around her jaw were easily cut away. She most likely had a skin 'skill'.

"Do you have a healing potion?" Riley asked Venaz as she operated.

"Yes! Here!" He shoved a potion in her face and she pushed him away. "It's a high quality one!"

"Not yet. I just wanted to confirm there was some on hand."

Magical healing shared a lot of similarities with some parahuman powers. The one she had the most experience with was Kevin's of course. Her brother's power was incredibly refined and could rearrange existing bio-matter as well as empower cells to both mutate to and grow other healthy flesh.

Compared to that, the healing potions of this world were lacking. They basically did the last part, but without any rearranging or mutation. Those were limitations that could be ignored for some injuries, but not others.. Case in point: if Shailt drank a healing potion right now, she'd be deformed for life.

Or, at least, deformed until she found someone that could fix her condition. There might be specialized 'classes' out there that could do what Riley was about to do by hand.

But... she doubted that. Unless they could sense and move bone with their minds, they'd have to cut Shailt open. Putting someone together after that was... tricky.

For everyone else. For Bit, it was like doing a jigsaw puzzle.

She used the tip of her scalpel to move a shard of bone back into place. Her Passenger provided the knowledge of where EXACTLY it needed to be. Each individual cell would line up. The ones on the edges were beyond repair - at least with what she had on hand, but that wouldn't be an issue.

All the damage she was both inflicting and repairing would heal on its own if kept in place. If she didn't have a healing potion on hand to accelerate that process, she'd have to resort to other things.

As she continued to maneuver shard after shard back into position, the idea for how she could alter the blood to form a spackle that would be able to both hold the bones together as well as fuse all the biggest arteries and veins.

She pushed the plan out of her mind. The healing potion would do all of that, she just needed... to...

"There." Riley nodded to herself as the final segment of the jaw settled into place. "Pour the potion on her now."

Venaz turned from where he'd switched from fending off Dullahans to fending off Humans. "Okay." He knelt next to them and carefully began to drip the potion into the still open wound.

Oooo... that was interesting!

Not that the Minotaur was smart enough to not splash it all over the place. Rather, how the potion was reacting with the damaged cells.

Shailt's jaw had a higher concentration of galas cells than the Dullahan, Human, and Lizardfolk specimens she'd gotten to see. Just like her dermal layer, it was a question of if that was a natural Minotaur biology, or if she had a skill that had empowered her in some way.

It could also be a combination of the two. Without further samples to examine, she couldn't know for certain.

The potion, however, was making more galas cells!

Not every cell that it repaired in the jaw mutated, but enough did so that Riley could still tell where the fractures had been due to the increased galas concentration.

That meant... that magical healing potions worked by infusing their magic into a person's cells! The excess that wasn't needed instead pooled in individual cells until they mutated.

It was really interesting to see. She'd have to examine the process with a microscope to get more details - which might pose a problem. She didn't think that healing potions did anything to dead cells, so she would have to use a live subject-

Shit!

The healing potion wasn't working well with the open wound around the jaw! No time for daydreaming!

Riley's hand blurred as she made small and precise cuts. She excised the duplicated flesh and pressed the proper segments together. They immediately fused as the healing potion worked its magic.

Honestly... she could probably just push everything together with her hands. The healing potion wasn't making NEW cells. It was just regrowing each half. Sure, given the amount of surface area there was, it would've only resulted in slight soreness and puffiness...

But if she was going to do something, she was going to do it well!

...Unless it was part of an experiment to see just how messing something up would work.

Luan watched Bit with wide eyes. Was there really someone like her in this world? Someone who could operate on people instead of just giving them a healing potion? Geneva was, but she was from Earth. The little girl in the fancy dress was cutting someone open with the same cool confidence.

"Dead gods." The [Healer] that had rushed over at Venaz' call watched alongside him. "I've never seen something like that before!"

"I have." Luan replied, but he was still in shock.

"You have?" The man turned to him for a second before looking back at the ongoing operation.

"Yeah." Luan nodded. "My company has the most skilled [Doctor] in the world." Possibly.

This place was so far behind technologically. How could a [Lady] from Terandria actually know something about surgery? Was Baleros just... a back-water? This continent was certainly wild with its jungles and mercenaries.

"Luan." He glanced over as Marian came up to him. She jerked her thumb over her shoulder a a [Knight] who'd taken off her helmet to reveal a mess of long auburn hair. "We're going to go see Wil."

"Right now?" He looked back at where Venaz was still keeping people away from the fallen Minotauress.

"In a moment." The Centauress pawed at the ground with one of her front hooves. "I don't think Venaz will leave with us, and after seeing what Bit can do, I'm fine with waiting 'till she's done too."

"Yeah." Luan mumbled as the girl began to apply healing a potion. He hadn't watched many of Geneva's surgeries, but he'd seen her use healing potions in them. Compared to Bit, the United Nation's [Doctor] was much more precise. She applied potion a drop at a time instead of pouring it over a wound.

Okay, well, he'd seen Geneva pour potions on wounds too. He really was in no position to judge who actually was a better surgeon.

Still...

Luan was lost in thought after Bit finished her operation. The four of them went with the Humans to see this Wil person. He was apparently one of Venaz and Marian's classmates and the brother of the auburn haired [Knight] - Talia.

The meeting went pretty much as he'd expected. Venaz was abrasive, but Wil had wanted to join forces.

Why wouldn't he? Luan was no [Strategist], but even he could see the Iron Vanguard was winning the war despite losing some battles.

Luan didn't pay much attention as Marian proposed his idea of bribing Forgotten Wing units to switch sides. It was his idea in the first place, but it apparently wasn't feasible now. A Gnoll with Wil then proposed an interesting idea.

Instead of bribing the other combatants... the Gnoll began to give a speech to the citizens of Daquin. She implored them to take part in the game and to fight against the Iron Legion. Soon a mob had gathered behind her as she marched off.

"We have one problem, though." Wil looked conflicted as the Gnoll left.

"Which is? You've just been given an army of tens of thousands! What could be wrong now?" Venaz snorted.

"No one can stop Xol. Without lances, the [Knights] have as much chance of slowing him down as..." Wil shook his head. "We tried ropes and he pulled a dozen horses off their hooves. Could Centaurs do better, Marian?"

"Uh—"

That sounded like a 'no' to Luan. However... they were still treating this like a battle instead of a game. Underhanded tactics were something that could be used. If bribery failed...

"Let me try." Luan spoke up. He had a plan.

Pinky had a plan.

She couldn't get through the net. She couldn't go over the net. She couldn't go around the net.

Well... she MIGHT be able to get through it with a [Scarlet Beam], but she could only use it twice a day and it was a beam - not a slash. If this was a less serious situation, she'd definitely try. It was a wonderfully 'Foolish' thing to waste a resource on step one of a plan that had no other steps.

But... no. She had to save it if she was going to save the Titan.

The net was too tall to go over. Not without touching the net itself that was.

Presumably there had to be at least one way through it somewhere. The Tallfolk had to get in and out, right? But that way would probably be guarded. Her [Rouge] skills might not be good enough. She only played at being a [Rogue] after all.

So... she'd come up with her plan.

Sure, it was 'Foolish', but not THAT 'Foolish'.

Her mom had told her a story once. About how the allotment had been exceeded, and how that in turn had attracted Mana Moths. They had come non-stop to their city and the Tallguard had been forced to deal with each and every one because letting them feed would only have attracted bigger animals and made things worse.

So, it had been a grueling week with every Tallguard working triple shifts and responding to the slightest disturbance.

Given that the net was being watched by Tallfolk that could even detect ghosts - kinda, they were clearly very sensitive about disturbances.

"C'mon Cubey!" Pinky urged her only ally. "Let's circle around and come at it from another street!"

Cubey blinked at her before racing off. Pinky giggled at how fast she was going. [Adrenaline High] was kicking into gear!

The pair raced through the fog. Cubey had gotten used to the small bubble of clear air Pinky was projecting. The cubic animal had wonderful reflexes and dodged out of the way of obstacles and turned corners despite its rapid pace. Once again, the net appeared out of the fog, and Cubey skidded to a halt.

Pinky took out her dagger. It was small, even for a Fraerling, but it was sharp. She grabbed the net and started sawing through it.

She was almost done when [Foolish Thoughts] went from 'this is stupid' to 'this is very stupid'.

"Let's go!" She whispered in Cubey's ear and her mount raced off into the fog. Tallfolk were coming down the street - doubtlessly trying to surround her, but like all Tallfolk - they never looked at where they were walking.

"What's a War Walker?" Riley asked Luan as she trailed after him.

He turned and gave her an incredulous look. "You don't know?"

"Nope!" She smiled up at him with her biggest grin.

The City Runner sighed, but replied. "When a Dullahan gets the right class, they can grow bigger. They get stronger and tougher, but are also bigger targets."

Class-based evolution? Suddenly some of the observations she'd made about Lizardfolk made sense.

"Is that what Nagas are?"

Luan turned and frowned at her. "Yes..." They walked in silence for a while. Riley was sure he was thinking about something.

...But there was an important matter to discuss first. "So, what is it you know about War Walkers?"

"Huh?"

"I said: 'What is it you know about War Walkers?'"

He narrowed his eyes. "I'll tell you if you tell me something in return."

"Okay!"

"Where did you learn to perform surgery?"

For some reason, that seemed like a loaded question. Riley considered her answer. She wanted to be honest, but she also probably shouldn't tell anyone about being a Parahuman. Pinky still didn't believe her, and others might not either.

"I learned on my own."

He looked surprised. "Really? How could you..."

Riley sighed. "Look. There was a bad situation, okay? And my family were hurt. I had to help them and so I did. I wasn't as good then, but I got better and better."

"Oh." He looked away and resumed walking. "Sorry. I didn't mean to pry into something like that. I had just thought that you might've gone to a school for it... or something..."

"Nope." Riley followed at his side. "I have read a lot since then, but I'm just naturally better than everyone else." Hmmm... That sounded conceited, even if it was true. She should change the subject. "So what is it you know about War Walkers? Some secret vulnerability?"

She was curious if it was a genetic flaw. That's why she'd followed Luan instead of going with the army. It was a little selfish to indulge her curiosity like this instead of helping with any casualties, but she wasn't really needed - even more so than normal. Honestly, the healing potions they had worked just fine against real wounds. Against bruises from the game?

Yeah. There was no real point unless Venaz shattered someone else's jaw again. Or someone panicked and used something nasty. Or someone got unlucky.

"No... no." Luan smiled. "Nothing like that." He chuckled as he tossed the bag with the silver coins up and down. "In a real fight, there would be nothing I could do, but this isn't that."

"Oh?"

"Yeah. So things that wouldn't work in an actual battle are fair game. Stuff like bribing healers or other soldiers. Things that are discounted because they wouldn't work normally."

"I think I understand, but if this Xol person is a bigshot, you won't be able to bribe him." Riley was starting to get a bad feeling about this. "Not with that amount of money."

"It's not him I'll be bribing." He pointed at a window that had children peering out of it. "It's them."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa." Riley stepped in front of him. "What are you talking about?"

"War Walkers never hurt children." Luan smiled smugly at her. "Once a Dullahan becomes a War Walker, they can't have kids, so they're very protective of them."

Riley stared at him blankly. "What." Her voice was flat.

"They'll be safe, have fun, and earn some money!"

"Using kids to prey on a person's better instincts to win is something a supervillain would do!" She crossed her arms and glared at him. She should know. She'd seen Jack do the same exact shit dozens of times. He'd done it to HER! He'd done it to HER FAMILY!

"Easy there." Luan held up his hands. "This is just a game."

"Oh yeah?" She stepped forward while grabbing a bow from her dress. "Then why not use children as a human shield for all of it? Huh? Why not walk around carrying a baby?"

"It's not-" Luan's reply was cut short as the anesthesia from her crushed bow knocked him out. The tall man crumbled to the ground.

Riley glared at his unconscious form. She wanted to kick him. Or leave him in the middle of the street so that someone might come by and trample him. Or rob him. She let out a sigh and grabbed his shoulders and hauled him into an alley.

"I'll come back later." She turned and walked away while muttering 'maybe' under her breath.

She wasn't a saint, but really? Using kids as human shields?

Riley wished she had her backpack so she could whip up a mood stabilizer. Instead she took in a deep breath and decided what to do. The rest of the students were counting on Xol to be neutralized or delayed. Plus, she was curious as to how big a War Walker was. From what she'd gathered they were usually about two times taller than a regular sized person. So... twelve-ish feet?

Xol was supposed to be even bigger.

Drugging him... probably wouldn't work. Not with something 'normal'. Even if she disregarded the galas cells that War Walkers must have a significant amount of in order to be so big, getting the dosage right would be tricky - and that was assuming she'd have time and the supplies needed to synthesize something.

Still... she had a trick or two under her skin.

Riley smiled and skipped down the street. She knew she was reverting and acting childish to get herself in a better mood... but it worked.

Xol of Ingrilt moved down the street.

Despite his size, he had to move slowly with all of the people that were crowding the street. The rest of the [Soldiers] that had accompanied him had already rushed ahead to the rally point. This was the endgame, and the final fight of this mock battle would soon take place. A Lizardfolk kicked him as Xol reached down to brush a group of Centaurs out of the way.

He didn't know how the Titan's students had rallied the citizens of Daquin to their side. Had Tulm expected it? Was it within the scope of his plans? Like Xol, if Tulm the Mithril was allowed to fight without care or concern, he would win.

...And nothing would be left behind.

The rules of the game, the location, and now an army of noncombatants... They were chains that bound them both and were stronger than Mithril. If only...

As if in answer to his unspoken desires, Xol turned the corner and came across an empty street. Empty - save for a sole human girl. He moved to carefully step past her, but she ran to block his path.

"Move, child. Please. I am needed."

"Yep! And I'm here to stop you!" The Human said in a high-pitched voice while smiling innocently up at him.

Xol sighed and reached down to gently pick her up. He knew not what was going through her head, but children often got up to foolish things. "Where are your parents?" From the way she looked and acted, he'd bet she was Terandrian. She looked too small to be a [Lady] herself, but everyone looked small to Xol. She was obviously part of the forces that had landed in the harbor.

"Wow!" She nimbly dodged out of the way. "You really are big! I'd love to examine you when this is over."

Xol didn't know what to make of that statement and he had no time to spare. He started walking slowly. As agile as she was, he probably could've moved faster - but any mistake he made didn't result in just a scraped knee. "Desist with this, child. I do not wish to hurt you."

"Right." She stepped out of his way. "I was doing this to keep you from... never mind. I'm not your opponent." She jerked her thumb to the empty street in front of him. "He is."

"What?" Xol had suspected a trap, but he still saw-

A pure white monster suddenly appeared. It looked... like a bear/crab chimera. The creature pounced and its considerable bulk met his own.

[Sturdy Stance].

Xol was a [Juggernaut]. The animal, while large compared to regular people, still didn't have more mass than him. Even without his Skills, it wouldn't be enough to topple him. He grabbed it to pull it off...

[Grip of Iron]. Xol's hands clenched down on the claws that were gripping his sides. His hands were as strong as metal. He'd just pry it off... and... and...

It. Just. Wouldn't. Let. Go!

Xol began to punch it. He was bigger and stronger. He also had no qualms about killing something like this. [Grand Punch].

He heard its bones snap over its roar.

It still clung to his body as it tried to bite and claw him. It was as tenacious as a Selphid [Deathgrip Warrior]!

...

It finally lay unmoving and Xol managed to pry its claws open and disentangled itself from his legs.

"That was pretty impressive." The Human girl said as she clapped. "I wonder if Badgy could take out a regular War Walker, but you're something else, aren't you?"

Xol glanced at her, but she still stood by the side just like she'd done for the entire 'fight'. "I am leaving."

"Okay!" She smiled at him and waved. "I hope to see you around!"

Xol strolled down the street. The final clash had already started and he was late.

This was what you got when you played games with the Titan.

"Woo Hoo!" Pinky screamed as Cubey raced along the side of the building. Their slash and run away tactic was working great!

...Or so she assumed.

After half an hour of it, she'd stopped laying it wait to see how the Tallfolk responded - opting instead to rush from one point to the next as fast as possible. That, as it turned out, was VERY fast.

"Who's a good cubic hamster?" She scratched his head. "You are!" Pinky giggled before she had an even BETTER idea! "Let's run ON the net!"

It was more 'Foolhardy' than 'Foolish', but it was still a great idea - just as long as they moved around randomly. Running in a straight line that anyone could predict was the bad kind of 'Foolish'.

Cubey obligingly leapt from the building to the net. Pinky, for her part, leaned up and drug her knife across the fine threads. She couldn't cut through the obstacle, but she could fray it some.

"Wait." Pinky frowned to herself. "Something has changed." She concentrated on her Skill. "Cubey, stop here. Now climb up and out of the fog."

To be honest, the fog had been getting thinner and thinner. Plus, as something conjured from a Skill, it was pretty likely that certain Tallfolk could see through it anyways. The fact that it was letting up meant... something.

Probably.

Who knew?

What Pinky did know was that stopping now wasn't 'Foolish'. Neither was climbing up and over the net. As they broke through the cloud layer, she saw the reason why.

"Oh, wow." It was a Tallfolk army. Two Tallfolk armies. Perhaps three? Four? In any case, she finally got to see what was happening. The heavily armored Tallfolk were surrounding the town square. Dozens, no, hundreds of them were standing guard.

But ONLY standing guard. In fact... yes! There! Those were the groups that had been chasing her and Cubey for the last hour. They, along with almost every other armored Tallfolk were gathering at the Southern end of the square.

"Hang on." She meant that both figuratively and literally to Cubey as she clamored on top his side and pulled off her backpack. "Okay, first things first." Pinky took her weather device and put it back inside. She'd have to attach it properly to her tent later. For now... "Here we are!" She pulled out a spyglass. "Let's see what's going on..."

It looked like a different group of armored Tallfolk were massing to the South. There was going to be a fight. Going there would be the absolutely wrong kind of 'Foolish'.

In fact, there was a third group as well. A swarm of Tallfolk that didn't have armor. Sure, the Tallfolk in the center of the town square didn't ALL have... Oh, wait, four groups. Dullahans made up most of the Tallfolk that were defending, but there were also groups of Lizardfolk, Centaurs, and Humans among them. Pinky wasn't a [Strategist], but the non-Dullahan Tallfolk didn't seem as organized as their allies.

Same for the attackers. It looked like all the heavily armored people were Humans, while the disorganized and unarmored force was mostly compromised of Lizardfolk.

Oh! She got it! It was the citizens. They were revolting!

Strangely, as the forces collided, there didn't seem to be much blood. Pinky kept an eye out for the Red liquid, but aside from some broken noses, the whole affair seemed... sedated. No. That wasn't the right word. Restrained? Non-lethal?

"I have no idea what's going on." She confided in Cubey before shifting her focus from the major clash. Dullahans still stood guard around the net... but only a few. Almost all of them were joining the fray. All except... "Hey! There he is!"

She'd found Lord Astoragon! He was in the very center of the square - standing on a stool! A solid line of black-armored Dullahans surrounded him in a circle. His guards? Captors? Whatever they were stood shoulder to shoulder, as if they had orders not to let anyone even approach him.

"Okay, Cubey!" Pinky patted her loyal mount. "We're going to save the Titan!" She suddenly realized what she said was 'Foolish'. "I mean, we're going to save the guy in the center of the square. The one who's normal-sized."

The cubic Hamster waited for Pinky to put her gear away and get a good grip, then it raced up the net to the very top... and leapt. "Woooooo hooooooo!" Pinky cheered as they sailed through the air. She didn't have a plan for what they'd do after getting to Niers. Perhaps both of them could ride off on Cubey?

Down below, a Centauress charged the circle. A Minotaur tried to get past a very shiny Dullahan. The Human forces pushed forward - getting closer to the rope that encircled the place where Niers was.

Just before Pinky landed on a rooftop, she saw a yellow head pop up out of the ground next to the Titan. Then, she was on a roof - racing towards her target!

She and Cubey landed on the ground and sped in between the legs of the Tallfolk - who all seemed to be standing still for some reason.

"Enough! The game is over!" A voice cried out from up ahead.

Pinky burst into the town square. "Lord Titan! I've come to save you!"

Niers, who'd just managed to stop laughing after seeing Umina pop out of the ground like an overripe yellow pepper, turned to the Fraerling who'd just ridden up on the golem. The Fraerling who was dressed all in red. The Fraerling who clearly had no idea what was going on.

Ah, if only she'd stayed hidden until after the game was over. Oh well, that was the risk he'd accepted when deploying the cubic beasts. And to think, he'd actually had nearly gotten to the end without anyone but Wistram noticing them.

Not that he'd expected to actually have 'good' luck. Being adaptable and taking opportunities that presented themselves was the better way to win. He glanced around for Perorn. "Would you explain to my kinsman that this was a game, and I do not, in fact, need 'saving'?"

After waiting for other Fraerlings to visit his city for so long, it was gratifying to have two groups show up in such quick succession. Now... how to deal with the golem?

Teura and the Wistram [Mages] were still refusing to broadcast its presence on the scrying orbs. It would become more and more noticeable with each passing second - if he didn't give them something to watch instead. Besides, he DID need to wrap the game up and announce the winners.

He leapt up to the helmet of one of the Midnight Shields. "[Healer]! Healers to the front at once! Everyone else, hold your ground! Weapons down! The game is won! Anyone with a healing potion, bring it out now and treat anyone in dire need! Move back! Slowly—I want those on the outskirts to move back! Disperse! Clear the streets of bodies if you're uninjured! Anyone who is injured, scream for help!"

...

The announcements were over.

The prizes had been awarded.

The Iron Vanguard had left beforehand. Tulm wasn't the sort to sit around and let his failure be rubbed in his face.

Niers was hiding under the pedestal. It was easy to hide from the scrying orbs. Wistram [Mages] used all sorts of spells for detecting invisibility or skills. It made them reliant, and they overlooked mundane measures.

Perorn, however, was used to him. The Centauress' hooves stopped by the pedestal and he peeked up at her. "Quick, put me on your shoulder. Before they notice me."

She gave him a look like she was considering yelling to everyone where he was, but lowered her hand instead. "Her name is 'Pinky'."

Niers scrambled up Perorn's arm. On her shoulder, obscured by the Centauress' hair, was the red clad Faerling who'd nearly 'won' the game she'd had no idea was going on. "Pinky?" He smirked at her.

"Well, it's a nickname, sir, Titan, and well..." The girl blushed. "It's so nice to meet you! And that you weren't in trouble! I mean, of course you weren't! How could the Titan be in trouble! It would be silly for you to be alone in a dangerous place without all of your troops!"

He held up a hand. "Yes, yes, thank you." It was nice to meet an actual Fraerling fan - even if she didn't seem like a [Strategist]. "Might I ask why you came to find me?"

It obviously was the cubic Hamster. Dincal had said that he had no idea how many of them there actually were. The reports he'd gotten from the [Artificer] during the game suggested that the Hamsters did indeed have some way of communicating. Thus, the most likely scenario was that Pinky had found a Hamster somewhere, and it had brought her to Daquin to be with its brethren.

From there, the game would've looked like an invasion, and the rest had played out in a predictable manner.

"Oh! I wanted to have you help my Human friend!" Pinky nodded. "She's looking for her brother, and I thought: The Titan knows stuff. He could help her find her brother! Since Bit saved my life, like, a lot, I owed her."

"Hmmm..." It looks like he might've made some faulty assumptions. "And the golem?"

"You mean Cubey?"

Niers chuckled. "I suppose I do."

"Oh, well, I found him in the city. He's one of Bit's minions."

"What?" He leaned forward.

"Yeah. Or, like, her brother's? I'm not sure." Pinky shrugged. "She has other ones and well... it's a long story."

"One that I would very much like to hear." Niers began to plot. Others would have noticed both Pinky and 'Cubey'. They wouldn't necessarily respond. Well, Wistram might. "Where is she?"

"I don't know." Pinky smiled guilelessly at him. "We were going to sneak into the city, but she's a Tallfolk, so she probably never got inside."

Niers sighed. "Perorn, could you take us to a secluded spot for now?"

"Fine." Her voice was flat, which was fair. Being so close to the person who had been responsible for her injury all day had been tough on her, even if Tulm had already left.. Perorn limped as she trotted down the street.

Right. His other plot to get in contact with the United Nations Company. That hadn't worked out like it was supposed to. Luan should've been talking about the Last Light of Balerous, which would be an excuse for Perorn to request her to come. That, in turn, would allow the Forgotten Wing company to make contact with the otherworlders without alerting any of the parties that kept track of the Titan's doings.

Instead, that Human [Lady] was getting the spotlight as a [Healer].

Still, the plan could adapt. He'd have to come up with another way to meet the otherworlders, but it did give Perorn someone else to see about her wounded leg. All in all, still a success if her old injury could be treated.

"After that, why don't you go find that [Healer] that repaired the Minotauress' jaw?" He smiled as Perorn warily glanced down at him. "She might be able to help you."

Note: Some dialogue was taken directly from the Wandering Inn.