The final count of monsters exceeded the fifty terrorvoles. I knew this because I picked up all seventy-four of the carcasses. Not a single ?ttir had even tried to talk to me while I tossed terrorvole body after body onto a cart. That almost changed when I grabbed the spider-like creature. No one told me its name, but it had some importance. The ?ttir kept stealing glances at it before I hid it under a layer of terrorvoles. Their attention only further encouraged me to hide it. A pile of corpses this large meant only one thing: hitting a lode. But if I added this creature on top of that...? I had no desire to draw even more attention by showcasing the monster when I hauled the cart out of the mine.

  My hopes of running into Dorian didn’t pan out. He would have explained everything. But he was still working, or we had missed each other when I dragged the cart to the [Harvesters].

  I parked the cart at the back of the building and stared at the structure for a moment. Where should I leave it? Dorian had managed it all before, but I didn’t trust just leaving it here. I circled to the front as Dorian had done and found a closed door. I knocked.

  A voice called out, “One second.”

  I didn’t wait long before the door opened, revealing the man—or maybe elf?—that Dorian had been conversing with back in the Commons. The lithe man was no Oresian. He was the most “Human” person that I had seen since arriving. His dark olive skin would look at home in any number of sun-soaked Latin American, Mediterranean, or Middle Eastern countries—if you ignored the pointy ears and vibrant green hair and eyes.

  “Can I help you?” His eyebrows were raised in question, but I would have sworn there was amusement as well.

  I shook away my shock. “I have monsters that need processing.”

  “Then you came to almost the right place. Bring your cart over here, and I’ll show you where to go.”

  So, valet service is only for Dorian. Still, it is hard to complain about the best service I have experienced so far.

  I went back and pulled the cart around. The craftsman was waiting, and I followed closely behind as he rounded his shop. We entered a quadrangle made of four rectangular buildings, each with large barn-style doors that opened toward the center.

  Skirting a center filled with multiple pits, we headed toward the only building that had light spilling from its opening. Most pits were untended, but a couple had workers with long poles slowly stirring a liquid with large lumps floating on their dark surfaces. The hides obscured the bottom, but occasionally, the worker would move the pole in such a way that an eerie, blue glow would escape to the surface. The color felt familiar, but I couldn't place it.

  Some of those hides looked quite large—at least larger than the terrorvoles in my cart. A morbid curiosity took hold, and I craned my neck in their direction.

  “Careful,” to which my guide added a not-so-subtle pull on the cart to recover the inches my cart had drifted with my look. “You will come off the path. The ground can be unforgiving, and I don’t want to stay late trying to fix your cart.” I straightened my gaze, trying to ignore the subtle warmth in my cheeks. He cut my burgeoning disappointment short. “Not many have interest in this type of work. I can give you a tour of the tannery at another time if you want.”

  “This is a tannery?“

  “What else did you expect?”

  “I...”

  I had no clue. How is leather even made? I had some vague recollections of it being a foul process—maybe with urine involved at some point in its history?

  “I am not sure. Maybe more smell? Dorian had mentioned that you had skills to suppress the smell, but this is almost unbelievable.” At most, I could detect a faint hint of an earthy musk.

  “I appreciate the compliment even if it isn’t normally this good. We are lucky to have a higher Aether density and a grade of crystals that can substitute for some of the less desirable compounds needed to tan the hides. And of course, we are only processing a fraction of our max capacity.” He paused in front of the barn door. “Now that you know that the smell will get worse, do you still want that tour? I would understand if this is just a passing curiosity.”

  Why not? It seemed interesting, and I would get to chat with another person who didn’t instantly hate me. “I would appreciate that.”

  The author's narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

  “Let’s find a time in the future.” He knocked on the door before shouting, “We’ve got a delivery.” His warning got a few chairs moving inside the building. He turned back to me. “You can start making a pile on the ground here. Is it all terrorvoles?”

  “Almost.” I started tossing them onto the ground. “There are seventy-four terrorvoles in various conditions. I also have one other monster. It’s…sorry, I don’t actually know its name.” I uncovered the spider-like creature. Even in the dim light, its chitin took on an opalescent sheen.

  “A crystalline assassin spider?” He rushed forward to examine it as if not believing it was real. “How many men did you lose?”

  “None?”

  “No way,” came a voice from behind me. I turned to find a man in standing in the doorway. He was the spitting image of my guide if you knocked off a couple of decades and ignored the hair and the extra muscle.

  I couldn’t determine if his disbelief stemmed from seeing the creature or the battle’s outcome. An Oresian who looked a few years older than Dorian followed right after him. The three men crowded around the cart, though the two additions stood behind my guide with a clear deference. Given their relative positioning, I placed good odds that my guide was the head of this place and, if I remembered correctly, Auren L?dermak?r.

  I gave them all space as they examined the body.

  “It is a shame the body is so damaged,” the Oresian chimed as the head [Leatherworker] lifted it up by the legs.

  “Better it than the crew,” he scolded. “You will have to forgive my apprentices. It is not often we find a specimen like this, and it is even more uncommon that we get one without significant losses. More than once, I have had the displeasure of harvesting the body of one of these creatures that had ended a small group of unprepared [Miners]. If no one died, a little damage is a worthwhile tradeoff.”

  I tended to agree. “So it is worth something?”

  He smiled. “Oh, yes. Speaking of which, let us take this and get it measured and documented. My apprentices will finish unloading the rest.”

  They almost stifled a groan when he pulled the spider from the pile and headed into the lit building. I sympathized but said nothing. I had done my fair share of scut work as a medical student. Every job worth doing required putting in your dues.

  We entered a building arrayed with large worktables covered with raw hides, slaughtered monsters, and quite a few tools. Even more wickedly curved or pointed tools hung from the walls. And stuff that I rather not think about, even after taking Gross Anatomy, covered the floor.

  He put the spider on a clear workbench, lifting each leg and inspecting the body in detail. “Even if my apprentices can’t watch their mouths, they were right. The damage does reduce its value." I frowned, but he waved it away. “Not that much, mind you. Its chitin carries the majority of the value. However, the organs and venom sac would have been nice if they weren’t liquified. What killed it?”

  “I am not sure the name of the technique the ?ttar used, but it seems like some sort of blast wave. I have seen him pulverize rock to a depth of almost 3 feet with a single blow.”

  “If he was an ?ttar, it was probably [Concussive Strike] or a variant.”

  “He used it inside the spider.”

  "That would do it. These monsters are quite resilient. Often, you need to fully dismember it to stop it. They can put up a significant fight with just half their legs. With even fewer legs, they can slink away into the darkness and regrow what was lost. You were very lucky not to lose a single person to one. I also imagine that your lode will be far richer than you would expect with having to fight only seventy-five terrorvoles.”

  He continued his inspection, making a few measurements before pushing it aside. “We will take care of the processing. You are with Dorian’s group, correct?”

  “Yes. He spoke to you about me?”

  He gave me a knowing smile. “Only in passing, but even if he hadn’t, it’s become common knowledge among certain circles that an unaffiliated Human is around.”

  “I see.” Was that a good thing?

  He tapped the table. “Now, do you know how this kill will be split?”

  Dorian’s past complaint returned. “I don’t know. The Verndari didn’t give me any specific directions.”

  “Then it probably has been prearranged. Were you present in the battle?”

  “Yes. Only Dorian wasn’t.”

  He wiped off his hands with a towel. “Give me a minute. I will check.” He walked to the back with a desk full of books muttering, “Complications of life debts.” He took out a large book and opened it on the desk. At this distance, I could barely make out a series of lines and numbers as he flipped pages. Ledgers? He shook his head before he returned. “I got it sorted. Things aren’t typical, but that isn’t unexpected with a group composition like yours.”

  Which of course meant that Dorian probably would lose out on this. First, the Verndari tries to poison me, then he screws Dorian out of his cut. And I could do…nothing. I would not take it out on the messenger.

  “Thanks for your help. So, is that it? Do I need to do anything else?”

  “Yes, I got the information I needed. And no, we will take care of the rest. Just tell my apprentices that they can join me if they are done.” I nodded in confirmation. “Now if you will excuse me, I have some work to do.”

  I left him to his work, but something stopped me at the door. I took in the intensity he brought to studying the monster’s body. His gaze was that of a master excited about a new project, not at all unlike Kyria Rhaptis with the null materials. Then it clicked. I should have noticed it right off the bat. Or rather, I should have noticed what was lacking. In a world where levels meant power, what did it mean when every bit of his skin was covered save the part of his face not hidden by his hair?

  The air took on a stillness as he continued staring at the monster’s corpse. Then the Aether density shifted dramatically. I swallowed. Whatever his level, it was high enough that I didn’t need to overstay my welcome. I fled the place, only pausing to pass along his last instructions to his apprentices. I had a date with the [Tailor] regarding my Marks. I just had one other stop I needed to make first.