Neave finished eating her first eel kebab in a matter of moments, and the second wasn't far behind.
"I hope you enjoyed that," Alexei said with a sigh, "Though how you even managed to taste it I'm not sure."
The girl looked up at him, a content smile on her face. Yes, she'd definitely enjoyed it.
Eventually, he was going to have to try to teach her to talk somehow. Or communicate in some way beyond head nods or shakes at the very least. He was growing tired of trying to decipher what she was feeling already and it had only been fifteen minutes at most.
"Well, I'm glad you did," Alexei said, "Next we're going to get you some new clothes, we can't very well have you running around in a torn-up oversized night shirt, can we?"
In a flurry of movement too fast for Alexei's eyes to track, Neave launched herself out of her sitting position, cocked her arm back, and let loose a colossal right hook.
For a moment Alexei was worried that the punch had been intended for her, that her meaty meal had given the girl the strength to try and run away.
Instead, her fist sailed past his head and connected with something behind him, causing a resounding boom of energy and a sickening cracking sound.
Alexei sprang up from his sitting position in surprise with his ear ringing.
The slave master wasn't kidding when he said Neave was strong. That was a ridiculous amount of speed and strength for a kid who was so tiny and malnourished, even if they were a beastkin.
"What the hell was that!" Alexei yelled, his voice sounded a little muffled in his right ear.
The fox-girl, as was customary, didn't say anything in reply. Instead, she pointed urgently at something behind him.
Alexei twisted on his heel and was surprised to see a man sprawled out on the floor, groaning under his breath.
The figure was dressed in an all-black cloak that had a hood that hung low over his face, obscuring his identity.
In his hand sat a short but lethally sharp dagger. If Neave hadn't realised what was about to happen, if she hadn't taken him out when she did, that blade would likely have been jutting out of his neck in a spray of blood and viscera.
Someone had tried to kill him.
Someone had tried to have him assassinated in broad daylight.
Neave had saved him… and knocked his assailant out cold.
"Thank you Neave, you did a good job," Alexei said. Neave grinned at the praise.
Alexei closed the distance to the would-be assassin, picked up the dagger, and tossed it into the nearby river.
"There, with that out of the way we can have a more civilised conversation, don't you think?" He asked, before flipping the man from his front to his back with a foot.
Unfortunately, the attempted murderer was still unconscious.
Alexei activated his power and began to combine hydrogen and oxygen. It coalesced into a small ball of floating water in front of him… which was subsequently dropped directly onto the killer's face.
The cloaked man woke with a start, coughing up water that had made its way into his open mouth and down his throat.
"Why did you try to kill me?" Alexei asked, stepping down on the man's chest to stop him from trying to escape.
The man's eyes were wild, darting back and forth as he tried to figure a way out of the situation.
There was none.
Instead, the man clamped his teeth down hard against each other until one of them cracked open, spilling a clear white liquid across his mouth.
"Wait, no!" Alexei yelled, he recognised the poison for what it was immediately.
The last resort of the Assassins of Delsi.
They were a sect of assassins, some of the most dangerous in all the land, and when they had been bested they had been trained to take themselves out of the picture. Permanently.
It had only been dumb luck, a combination of Neave's strength, speed and good hearing, that had saved his life.
The poison took hold quickly, in moments the assassin was frothing at the mouth. His life leaving his eyes.
"Damn it," Alexei muttered under his breath. "Come on, we can't stay here. I was taught in the Academy that Delsi always travel in twos. The second won't be far behind."
Alexei's plans melted away in an instant.
They couldn't go and buy clothes for Neave now, it'd put both of them at risk.
With one of the assassins dead, the other one would likely try to take them out as quickly as possible, both due to being hired for the job and now out of a need for revenge.
Instead, with his eyes constantly checking his surroundings, Alexei decided to take the fastest route back to the Trout's Gills. At least there he knew there were people that he could trust.
Perhaps the barkeep would be able to give them some information about hiring some bodyguards. At the very least, with four walls around them, he'd feel a little bit safer.
He only hoped that they didn't ask too many questions about Neave.
The barkeep hadn't seemed to be the questioning sort so far, but explaining the sudden appearance of a beastkin girl and her bedraggled appearance to the barkeep wasn't something he looked forward to doing.
They made it back to the pub without any further incidents, but the whole way he couldn't help feeling like he was being watched by someone. The hairs on the back of his neck were bristling uncomfortably. But whenever he turned around, no one looked even the slightest bit suspicious.
He ushered the girl over to a table and got her to sit.
"Wait here while I go and talk to that big strong woman behind the bar," He said, biting back the feeling of disgust he felt when that purple mist glazed over Neave's eyes once again before she took her seat.
They were safe, he hoped, for now at least.

Latest Chapter
Return of The Proto Lord
After his last encounter with the Proto Lord Alexei had never wanted to hear the hoarse croaking laughter of the creature ever again. Now that he had the hairs on the back of his neck and his arms were all standing to attention and every fiber of his being was telling him to flee, run as far away as he could, and never look back. But he couldn’t do any of that. He had a mission to complete, people to save, and a kingdom to protect. “Show yourself, Proto Lord!” Alexei called out, his staff held defensively in preparation to ward off any attacks, “I’m not the man you faced before, I’ll take you out myself this time.” “So you say,” The Proto Lord wheezed from somewhere in the dark, “And yet you still bring so many users of the Power Divine to fight alongside you. So many snacks for me to feast upon.”That was the final straw for Alexei. With a pulse of arcane power, Alexei slammed his staff down onto the ground. A sphere of light erupted out from where he stood, a magery spell desi
Manifest
Nerves had seeped into the hearts of the men that Alexei and Harold had chosen to take with them into the underground sanctum of the Proto Lord the moment they took their first steps into the tunnel system that the creature had made its home. They all looked to be strong and full of heart, but Alexei could sense it. The fear was electric and it was all he could do not to get caught up in the worry himself. Instead, he drew his staff and allowed it to shift forms into that of a magery wand, perfect to be used in enclosed situations and easier to maneuver with so many bodies around. With a flex of his will, Alexei summoned a ball of light at the tip of the wand and sent it out ahead of the group. It illuminated the dank depths of the tunnel that they were slowly descending into. Once upon a time, Alexei could have imagined the tunnel being used for mining and most likely to serve as a lower down access port to the well that he had originally sensed the malaise of the Proto Lord seep
A New Team
As Alexei explained what the Proto Lord was to Harold and the other members of the Royal Defence Corps he could tell that their willingness to fight such a creature was waning further and further. Alexei could understand. After being told to go to the front line and expecting to die in combat defending the kingdom the shades had all disappeared. That had given them all a second chance at living. Being told that they instead had to fight a being that was well on its way to becoming the next Demon Lord? Something that, just like the shades, could kill you and then perhaps use you to fight the rest of your friends? That wasn’t something that a lot of people were keen on. Harold, though, was a brave man and always had been. “Very well,” He said as Alexei came to the end of his explanation, “If that is the case then this so-called Proto Lord must fall before the Proto part of the wretched thing's name becomes Demon instead.“I will not order anyone to join myself or Alexei in this f
Ancient Evil
Alexei placed his hand onto the Warp Gate and sent a pulse of magery through the system. He’d never actually had to operate one of the things before, but thanks to his more innate relationship with magery it was a bit like opening a book and simply reading from the pages. He placed his palm onto the stone and it fed information directly to him and allowed him to open a temporary link between the gate he was standing next to and the gate that was back in Alandria. It opened with a sputter at first and then, as Alexei made the link between the gates more solid, it blazed into life with a swirling blue glow. “You really are full of surprises now, aren’t you,” Harold said with a shake of his head, he couldn’t believe how different his friend had become compared to the last time he had seen the man. “Just a bit of advanced magery,” Alexei shrugged, “What did you expect me to do when I got kicked out of the Academy, go become a merchant somewhere?”“That probably would have been the sm
Royal Defence Corps
Alexei worked his way through the woods until he was able to catch up with the soldiers of the Royal Defence Corps. These were all men and women who had gone through the training at the Academy and come out the other end, each of them with a Power Divine powerful enough for the previous Demon Lord to want to absorb it. Perfect for fighting against a Proto Lord who hadn’t fully come into the powers that Eldreth was offering them. At first, Alexei wasn’t sure who he should approach, but then he noticed someone who looked just a little bit familiar. Without any doubts, Alexei was sure the man he saw walking in the centre of the column was none other than his old friend from the Academy, Harold. “Harold!” He exclaimed, “Is that you?” The column of marching soldiers froze instantly, like a rabbit caught in the path of an oncoming dragonhorse, before turning on Alexei with their powers at the ready. It took only a moment for Harold to realise who had called out to him. “A… Alexei?!
Good News
“Okay, wish me luck you two,” Alexei said, he was standing in front of a Warp Gate, one that Risa had told him led to a town that was very close to the front. Neave wrapped her arms around him as best she could and he returned it by holding her close. “You better come back safely, yeah?” Risa said, she held his gaze with a stern look. “Hey, if the Shades are running wild then you have my promise that I’ll be jumping right back into that Warp Gate,” Alexei said, “This is a recon mission, nothing more nothing less. Promise.”She gave him a critical eye, “You know, every time you’ve ever said that you’re just going to look at something or do a bit of recon you’ve come super close to dying.” “Yeah, but those times I had no idea what I was going into, this time it’s either going to be one of two things, and only one of those two things could actually be dangerous. Pretty good odds if you ask me,” Alexei said with a grin, though he could tell he was only annoying Risa with his banter.
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