“Which god? Do you mean the god of fertility? The one with all the provocative murals? I'm not looking to take things that far.”

“Wait, what god is this?” Jason asked. “Should I be checking out these murals?”

* * *

Jason wandered into Rufus, Farrah and Gary’s suite, crashing down on a comfortable sofa. Farrah was at the dining table, which had a half-dozen open books on it. She was scribbling in a notebook, occasionally looking up to read a passage or turn a page. She looked consumed in her work, so he didn’t interrupt.

After a few minutes, Jason heard the sounds of books closing and Farrah joined him in the lounge area, dropping into a plush armchair.

“The furniture they have here is amazing,” she said, luxuriating in the chair. “I wonder where they get it.”

“There’s a craftsman out in the delta,” Jason said. “He uses all local materials.”

“How do you know that?”

“Madam Landry told me,” Jason said.

“The landlady?” Farrah asked. “How do you get along with people so well when you seem bound and determined to annoy them?”

“That’s rich people,” Jason said. “Aristocrats and such. Why would I mess with decent, ordinary people? Madam Landry is a small business owner who works very hard to run a quality establishment. I have nothing but respect for that.”

“But you’re a rich person,” Farrah said.

“And am deserving of challenge, as such,” Jason said. “You know Humphrey took me to task the other day. Once I cooled off, I realised that there was some insight in parts of what he said.”

“Self-awareness after the fact does seem to be a pattern for you,” Farrah said. “I've been on the receiving end of that myself.”

“You were right then, too,” Jason said wearily. “What you said about killing people.”

“Did something happen on your job today?”

“We were attacked,” Jason said. “I killed… I don't know. A dozen people?”

“How are you taking that?”

“Better than I'd like, to be honest. It was easy. I don't mean the fighting, although, that too, but the killing. It should feel harder, shouldn't it?”

“Adventurers have to be ready to act without hesitation. Honing that reflex to kill probably isn’t good for the soul, but it’ll keep you alive.”

“It’s not like I wasn’t warned,” Jason said. “Rufus told me going in there would be a price. When he said that, I thought I could be different. The guy who doesn’t kill. It was breathtakingly naïve. Now, I don’t know what to think. How I feel about it doesn’t match what I think I should feel about it. I killed people, but if I’m being honest with myself… I had fun today.”