"Come on, we're celebrating!" Misa grinned at Derivan.

The half-orc's hand held a full tankard of beer that threatened to slosh out of the sides as she gestured at his helmet; it was only the weak enchantment on the mug that prevented that from happening.

"Take off the damn helmet already.

I've never seen you once without that thing.""I cannot," Derivan said.

He sat at his corner of the table, back leaning against the tavern wall.

A faint light flickered within his helmet, the only indication of his amusement.

"You know this.""Bah," Misa scoffed.

To her credit, her words were only slightly slurred.

"You should've met me earlier! I'd have told you that your armor was cursed.

What kind of armor is black and spiky and not cursed?""An [Armor of Melee Reflection]!" Vex piped up.

Their resident lizardkin-wizard was a little bit dazed, waving his mug of beer around before slamming it onto the table.

The liquid splashed over his hands, and he looked at it, blinking a few times, like he was befuddled about what had happened to the enchantment, and presumably forgetting that he'd pretended to eat it only moments earlier.His words, by comparison, were significantly more slurred."Whoops," he said, and squinted at his mug, and then at his hand.

"Good...

good thing I'm not wearing robes.

Bah! Wizards.

Make it too obvious that they're...

that they're wizards."Indeed, Vex was dressed in protective leathers and had a dagger for a focus.

Most people would have assumed he was a rogue; it was a trick he'd used more than once to keep bandits on the alert for a close-range surprise attack that never came.

"Aaalso! Other non-cursed armors.

[Black Thorn Armor].

[Evolving Armor].

Aand spikes are...

they're a very common deeck...

decorative element in Ely—""Vex," Sev interrupted, looking exasperated, though there was a hint of laughter in his eyes.

"You've had this entire conversation with Misa before.

She's just drunk.

And so are you.

I am not healing her from a hangover again, and since when did you drink?"Misa, in her corner, stared their human cleric in the eye, scowled, and then — maintaining eye contact the entire time — gulped down her entire tankard of beer.

"I don’t need you to heal my hangovers!" she declared once she was done, wiping some beer off of her lip and pointing at Derivan.

"Aaand another thing! What kind of stupid curse is that? Curses are supposed to be evil and shit! Yours lets you not eat and you just can't take it off? And what about bathing? How are you supposed to bathe?"Misa narrowed her eyes, leaning in to Derivan — who leaned back, both amused and faintly concerned — and took a big sniff.

"You don't even smell.

Cheater.

Your armor cheats.""I'd take that trade...

trader? Trade...

off.

Tradeoff," Vex agreed, looking probably far too proud of himself for remembering the word.

He grasped a little uselessly at his mug, still staring off in Derivan's general direction.

Sev squinted at him and stole the mug away before he could grab it, slipping a glass of water into the lizardkin's hands instead.

Vex barely seemed to notice.

He gulped it down with exactly the same amount of enthusiasm, not looking away from Derivan.

"I'd be able to study so many more things," he mumbled.

"Like magic.

And armor.

And magic armor."Evidently, the lizardkin had motivations.

But Sev had other concerns."Veeeex?" Sev stared at his friend, a suspicion forming in his mind.

Vex had always been quite vocal about his dislike for alcohol.

And he hadn’t reacted to the change in his drink..."Yeees?""Did you—""I cast a spell to numb my taste buds!" Vex interrupted gleefully, looking all too excited to share the details of his magic.

"Yesss.

Can't win against Misa without it! Alcohol tastes weeeeird.

Also I wanna sleep." Vex planted his face on the table, his snout thunking against the wood, though his fingers continued reaching for the glass of water near him.

"I'm good at spells!"Sev sighed.Derivan chuckled softly.

"I think perhaps we should retire for the night," he said, reaching for the lolling lizardkin and easily lifting him into his arms.

"I will get Vex to bed.

Can you look after Misa?"Sev, having only just sighed, pointedly took a deep breath so he could let out a louder, long-suffering sigh.

He glanced at Misa.

She appeared to be engaged in a staring match with the air above his head, waving down extra mugs of beer and gulping them down without breaking eye contact.

"Yeah, fine," Sev grumbled.

It was going to be a nightmare getting her to even leave.

"Youuuu." Vex poked at his armor a few times, and Derivan looked down at his friend, suppressing an amused chuckle.

"You know Misa isn't really pressuring you to take off your armor, right?""I know, Vex," Derivan said.

It wasn't the first time he wished he could smile — the light in his helmet glowed faintly in his closest approximation of one, though.

"She is teasing me about it, yes? It is fine.""Good!" Vex declared.

"Cause I've told her not to pressure you."Derivan chuckled.

"I do not mind it, Vex.

But I appreciate your support.""Also your armor isn't cursed," Vex said, poking him again; Derivan froze, barely controlling the flinch that threatened to drop his friend.

"Can't taste any curse magic coming from it.

So...

not cursed."He knows — Wait.

Did he say taste?"Did you say taste?" Derivan repeated out loud, staring at the drunken form of his friend.

"Did you...

lick my armor?""Noooooo," Vex said, in a way that Derivan decided sounded suspiciously like a yes.

"But you picked me up and my tongue wasn't in my mouth.

So, technically, your armor licked me.""I do not believe that is how that works," Derivan said, but he laughed, shaking his head in fond amusement.

He nudged the door to Vex's room open with a hand, walking backwards into the room and surveying it briefly.

The whole place was a mess, typical of their wizardly friend — scattered scrolls and dispersed drawings, rubbings from runes arranged haphazardly on his desk.

No doubt half of them were trapped, too.

He'd made the mistake of trying to touch some of Vex's belongings without permission once.

Never again.Instead, Derivan carefully made his way to the bed and knelt to roll the lizard onto his bed.

"You must sleep, my friend.""Nooo," Vex protested.

"I don't wanna...

sleep.

Sleep is a stupid spell anyway.

It only works as a sleeping aid! I wanna make a spell that replaces sleep...

that'd be neat.

A sleep spell, but it just gives you all the rest that sleep gives you...

how would it go? Maybe if I [Sleep]—"Credit where credit was due — Derivan had never seen a spellcaster accidentally cast a spell on themselves.

It was quite genuinely impressive.

Spellcasting usually required some level of concentration, and Vex’s ability to do this mid-ramble was a testament to the fact that he was, in fact, ‘good at spells’.He let an amused smirk touch his eyes, glancing around to find the lizardkin’s enchanted pitcher of water.

He’d let it run out of mana again.

Derivan let some of his mana flow into it so that Vex would have some water for when he woke up, then slipped out of the room and back into his own, just across the hall.There, in the privacy of his room, Derivan paused.

He stared at the bed sitting just beneath the window, at the barely-disturbed covers that laid across it.

With his back to the door, he slid to the ground with a sigh.For all that he tried...

relating to organic beings was difficult.

He understood the purpose of beds.

The others had certainly complained about not having them often enough.

But the idea of comfort was...

foreign to him.

He stared at the bed in the corner of the room.

It did nothing for him, because he couldn't feel anything except when his armor was damaged.

Even the weight of anything he carried was only a faint ghost of a sensation.

The idea of getting drunk, or needing water, or getting embroiled in a competition to drink more of a substance that only seemed to make people feel worse when they woke up — it was all incredibly foreign to him.Still, when he watched his teammates do those things, it was with a sense of inexplicable fondness.

With a thought, he pulled up his status, and stared at it.

Derivan, Level 26 <HIDDEN: Level 86 Infiltrating Armor>

Health: 520/520Mana: 260/260Stats:Strength: 30 (84)Intelligence: 26 (62)Wisdom: 17 (72)Agility: 17 (90)

[Disguise Status — Level 26] [Buff]Applied by the [Disguise Status] skill.

Appear for all intents and purposes like a person of your level or below.

<WARNING>: Restricts your stats and skills to the chosen level.

Skill List:[Consume], [Disguise Status], [Combat Proficiency], [Guard Stance], [Meditation], [Paralyzing Slash], [Oneshot Protection]