“We’ll start with something simple.” Euryale walked several steps away until the distance between her and Dallion was thirty feet. “This will be your first lesson.” She raised the dartbow she had taken from him in the air. “How do you use this?”

Dallion wasn’t sure what to say. He knew that the question wasn’t as obvious as it seemed, but at the same time he had no idea what answer she was looking for.

“You point and shoot?” He decided to play it safe.

“Okay. Do it.”

Both of them stood still for several seconds. After that Dallion took a step forward in Euryale’s direction.

“Wrong,” the gorgon said, taking a step back.

“What do you mean wrong?” Dallion blinked. “Didn’t you say that I needed to shoot the dartbow? I need to take if from you first.”

“Yes, you do. But that’s not the way to do it.” She pointed to the ground. “The reason I can’t use the weapon against you, is because it doesn’t belong to me. In the realms, you can only use weapons that belong to you. Just as I’m unable to shoot at you with your dartbow, I’m also unable to hurt you. The only thing I could do is to prevent you from shooting at me, as I’ve just done.”

That was strange. Dallion distinctly remembered being able to touch the weapons in Aspion’s awakening room. Then again, his mother had told him that he could only touch a skill if the Seven Moons allow it.

“If it doesn’t belong to you, how come you can hold it?” Dallion asked.

“You’re catching on. I can only hold it because it’s here. And it’s only here because you are keeping it.” She tossed the weapon on the floor. It rattled on the solid surface. “Since you’re the bookworm, you know that everything in the realms is a concept. You’re not you, I’m not me, this building isn’t a building. The only reason everything is here is because it’s part of us. And as such we can control it.”

“You can control the ring?” Dallion instinctively looked at the ground. That would be a useful skill to have, also very terrifying.

“The guardians do that. They are the embodiment of the items, but they have their limitations. Back to your dartbow. When you came here, it was on your holster. Guess what, you have no holster in the real world, so why is it here?”

Dallion looked at the empty holster. That was a good question. He had assumed that the holster was part of the weapon, at least that much was consistent with everything else he had. The swords came with a sheath and his buckler was always strapped to his arm.

Suddenly a most peculiar thought came to mind. What if it was the holster that was the weapon? Dallion vaguely remembered part of King Arthur’s legend from class. In it, Merlin had said that the sheath was worth ten Excaliburs.

Dartbow, he thought, looking at the empty holster. A split second later, the weapon was there, as if it had never left it. Confused, Dallion looked back at Euryale. There was no dartbow on the ground near her.

“Good. That’s generally the first thing an awakened child is taught.”

Somehow Dallion didn’t take that as a compliment. Even so, he was glad to have learned the logic behind that trick. During the fight in the dagger, Falkner had used the method a lot, constantly dropping and re-summoning his weapons. With enough practice, this could be a huge battle advantage.

Dallion drew the dartbow and shot a bolt. In the same action, he let go of the weapon. The dartbow appeared in his holster on the instant; after which it was snatched by Dallion and shot again.

So, it comes reloaded as well, Dallion thought. At the moment there was barely any difference in speed—the time it took to “reload” and the time he needed to drop and draw it were roughly the same, but he would work on that.

“It’s much more efficient with blades.” The gorgon explained. “But the dartbow has its uses as well. With enough practice you’ll be able to call it directly in your hand. Then things will really get interesting.”

No doubt they would. Dallion already imagined himself shooting multiple times, then switching hands only by thinking about it. Not to mention this way he could pretty much shoot at two targets almost simultaneously with the same dartbow.

“Okay, and now the good part.”

Dallion swallowed. There was an even better part? What possibly could it be? Maybe there was a way to combine weapons in the awakened realms? That would definitely be good. If he could combine the dartbow with a sword, or better with his harpsisword.. or batter with his buckler! He could see it now—a shield that launched dozens of bolts in all directions, moving towards their targets like homing missiles using the power of his music skills.

The awakened realm crumbled, returning him in the gorgon’s workshop. Confused, Dallion looked around. Was this part of the thing he was supposed to learn?

“Hold just a moment.” Eury disappeared into her room. A while later she emerged, tossing him a green and golden shirt. “Put that on.”

Dallion looked at it, then opened. It was much more delicate than what he was wearing now. If her skills were to be any indication, there was every chance that the gold threads were plated armor. If it were anything like the shoes, he’d have much better protection in the awakened realms.

“You can leave the other one here,” the gorgon said, while giving him a critical look with half her snakes. “And pick up your shoes. We’re throwing those away.”

Dallion’s first reaction was to protest, but given the quality of everything around him, he couldn’t make himself go through with it. The shoes he had been wearing so far—his crown achievement upon leaving the village—were an eyesore.

“Where are we going?” he asked as he grabbed them.

“Dinner,” the gorgon replied. “Your treat.”

“Wait, what?” Dallion paused for a few moments, just to make sure that he hadn’t misheard. Had the gorgon just invited him out? Judging by her reaction, that was probably something normal, even if it came out of the blue.

“Dinner. One trick, one favor, remember?” She went towards the exit. The most ominous part was that she could still keep a few dozen eyes on Dallion even with her back turned.

“But I have work—” Dallion began.

“I know, that’s why we’ll go to the Gremlin. Been a while since I ate there. Food is generally good.”

There was no getting out of it. Dallion could argue that Hannah had a strict policy of no girls in the tavern, but that would be a good excuse. Then again, there was nothing wrong with that. The only reason for his hesitation was the suddenness. Everything aside, this was the second time he had met Euryale, even if she did seem to have a rather free lifestyle.

As the two made their way to the Gremlin’s Timepiece, Dallion scanned the people around, observing their reaction. No one seemed the least bit bothered, or even intrigued, that a gorgon was walking among them. By the time the two reached the inn, the previous anxiousness was replaced by a new fear—what would Hannah say. There was only one way to find out.

“Hey, hey,” Dallion greeted the innkeeper the moment he came in.

Hannah gave him a serious glance, as if saying “I don’t know what you did wrong, but I just know you have.” Her glance quickly moved to the gorgon.

“Eury,” she said in a measured fashion. “Haven’t seen you around in a while.”

“I know.” The gorgon offered a polite smile. “That’s why I decided to see you. Like what you’ve done with the place. You must have an awakened.”

The innkeeper sighed.

“Quite good work, too. I’d say you’re ready for the crowds.” Eury made her way to a table in the corner and sat down. Uncertain what to do, Dallion hesitated for a second, then followed. “Oh, don’t mind me. I’ll wait here until the crowd has thinned. I’ll have my usual, Hannah.” The gorgon tossed a coin in the innkeeper’s direction—it was a gold piece. “You remember what it was, I take it?”

Hannah caught the coin, then tucked it away in her pouch.

“Dallion, we have customers,” the innkeeper said. “Bring her something to drink and get ready for the crowd.”

An unusual request since there was about half an hour left before the first of them started showing up. Even the regulars weren’t here yet, making the room particularly empty.

“Lemonade,” Eury said. “A whole pitcher, no honey. Tell Aspan it’s for me, he’ll know what to do.”

“Okay.” Dallion was starting to feel more and more nervous. “Is there anything I should know? Between you and this place, I mean?”

“There’s nothing going on between her and this place,” Hannah raised her voice from the counter. “Not anymore. Not since she left.”

“Left?” Dallion blinked.

“I used to be the inn’s awakened,” Eury said with a curt smile. “That was years ago, before I finally bought a place of my own.”

As it turned out, things were more complicated than Dallion thought, though not as bad as he feared. No doubt about it, the gorgon hadn’t left on good terms. Apparently, she had been an employee of the place way back, along with Jiroh. The reason for her coming to the city remained unknown, but Eury had diligently done her job for years. There had been several problems from Dallion could make out, though none of them meriting more than a shouting match between her and Hannah. Then, one day, the gorgon had simply taken all her things and left. No reason was given, no letter, not even a single goodbye. She had packed up and left Nerosal altogether. Half a year later, she had come back and rented a workshop where she remained today.

Is that what you meant, what you said that every awakened moves on? Dallion wondered. He didn’t know what Eury’s reasons had been, but in a way, he understood them, just as he understood Hannah’s reaction. The big question was, would he even have to make the same choice?

The first Twenty minutes Dallion spent exclusively with Eury. Excluding the fact that Hannah would give them disapproving glares every now and again, one could say It was almost like a date. Both were unwilling to talk about their past, so the conversation was centered on city highlights, fashion, and awakened stories. When it came to the latter, it was Dallion doing most of the talking. Eury would add to the conversation every now and again, but she rarely mentioned any actual battles she’d had. The only thing that Dallion managed to learn from her was that she had improved an item to level twenty, after which she had stopped. The number seemed ridiculously high from Dallion’s point of view.

At one point the standard patrons began arriving, forcing Dallion to return to his usual duties. A few days without, Jiroh had brushed up his waiter skills to the point that Hannah felt confident enough to let him do it on his own. The mending requests had trickled down single-digit numbers, and the improvements remained at three. It was safe to say that the initial interest had faded, despite Dallion’s charming demeanor. While pleased with his service, the patrons mostly preferred to enjoy their food, while the curious had likely found another inn in Nerosal to spend their money.

As evening turned into night, the customers started to leave. One by one the tables emptied, leaving Dallion to clean them up and mend what damages there were.

“You’re training with her, aren’t you?” Hannah pulled him over at one point.

“Err, yes,” Dallion replied, fully aware that Eury could see and hear the conversation.

“Unless you’re really desperate, I’d tell you not to.” The innkeeper glanced at the gorgon. A few dozen snakes glanced back. “That’s your business, but move too close to the flame and you’ll get burned.”

“Because she’s a gorgon?” Dallion couldn’t help himself.

“Because she’s—”

“Hello, Hannah,” a high-pitched voice interrupted. It didn’t take any guesswork on anyone’s part to guess who it belonged to. “I’m finally back. How did you cope without me?” Jiroh smiled, standing at the entrance.