Soul Merger

The alleyway was clear so Alissa waved Rosalina out before slinking across and checking the side streets. The main street would be too well lit for this little run. People would notice the idiot they were carrying along wasn't just a drunk. But the streets behind the smaller bars and hotels were less crowded. She waited for someone to finish taking out the trash, then motioned for Rosalina to follow her.

"So, stealthy thief type," the dragon woman said as they scurried towards their destination. "Interesting choice."

"Rule one of stealth: don't talk," Alissa muttered in return.

Rosalina raised an eyebrow. "It's not like we need to worry about people hearing us."

Technically true, but Alissa didn't like breaking the rules. Instead she focused on the next street crossing. This wasn't a main thoroughfare, but it was still big enough to have a few people using it. Finally it cleared enough so she could walk across, using her figure to shield Rosalina.

And with that they were at the river. Rosalina slipped off the man's boots and tossed him into the river. Alissa blinked. "You're actually stealing his boots?"

"Everything except his pants and sword," Rosalina said without a hint of shame. "Spoils of victory. You want one?"

"No thanks. Though if he had a spare knife I'll take it." Alissa had been looking for a secondary blade for a bit.

"Sorry. Got a bunch of non magic rings, perfume, and a pack of cigarettes." The dragon held them up. "Got any interest?"

Alissa briefly considered the dangers of robbery before nodding. "Any of the rings that don't have engraving would be fine."

"Hm, good idea. Think this is a signet ring." Rosalina tossed it into the water. "Four left, so two each!" She cupped her hands around the rings, shook them about a bit and handed over two. An interesting way of choosing, but Alissa wasn't going to complain. She wasn't good enough to appraise jewelry in the dark.

"Well that was an interesting end to the evening," Alissa said. "A pleasure meeting you."

Rosalina gave her a look over, eyes narrowing in thought. "Hey now, no reason to rush off just yet. Why not join me for a chat? We're both delvers, our evening plans are shot, and those nice gals said you could use a break. Besides, I've got a need for someone who can deal with traps and locks."

"Hm?" Alissa looked up at the woman's eyes. There was still the mischievous glint there, but also a fair bit of cunning. Still she was used to working solo. Best not to rush into anything. "What specifically do you need?"

The dragon woman motioned towards the Boneyard labyrinth. "I was doing a bit of cleanup on floor 4 of the Catacombs, when I found a door behind a coffin. Big lock, skull motifs in red instead of gray. Figured it was a storehouse that hadn't been hit yet. But I'm not dumb enough to randomly stick my head in whatever trap blender they've got there."

Alissa nodded slowly. That made a fair amount of sense. Storehouses were always trapped. "And the reason you want to hang out with me instead of just meeting at the dungeon is?"

"You seem like you'd be fun to chat with." Rosalina's ever present grin twisted. "And neither of us is dumb enough to go stumbling into the Boneyard with someone we haven't spent at least a little time with. Gotta see if you can get over that loner persona and actually fight as a team, and you gotta decide if I'm gonna stab you and ditch you in the crypts for a cheap score."

"That makes some sense." Alissa considered the woman. She kinda wanted to see if the woman was legit. But she didn't fully trust the part of her that was saying she could let her guard down.

"Ah, don't worry about me making a move on you either," Rosalina said as she pocketed the rings she'd kept. "You seem like the kinda girl who won't do anything on the first date. Though if you change your mind I won't complain!" The dragon girl chuckled.

That was what convinced Alissa. The dragon girl had known the joke would annoy her, and said it anyway. Because Rosalina wasn't the type to hold her thoughts back without a good reason. "Sure. But you're paying for drinks."

"Sure thing. Anyway my house isn't too far. It's not much but it's mine." Rosalina turned to head along the river.

"Bought a place that floods in the spring and enchanted the house to float?" Alissa asked. That's how she'd gotten herself a solo house. Well more of a shack, but it was all hers.

Rosalina shook her head. "No, but that's clever. Got a place next to a bar and soundproofed it. And fireproofed it after a week." Well that confirmed that the dragon woman was on the outs with whatever rich parents she had.

The heavy beat of magically enhanced drums and siren song told Alissa when they were close. The strange sight of a two story house in the middle of all the counting houses and shuttered shops was another clue. However unlike her own shack it was well made and painted a rich tan, with carefully groomed wisteria around the windows.

Rosalina unlocked the door and lit the lamps within with a snap of her fingers. "Come on in and make yourself at home."

Alissa followed in, finding the noise did die off once inside. The house itself looked fairly empty. It had all the pieces a house required like tables, chairs, an icebox, and stove. But it was obviously rarely used. She'd bet the bedroom was a mess, but she wasn't planning on finding out. Still all in all, "Nice place. Bet it cost, even before the soundproofing."

"Had a good delve," Rosalina said as she headed to the icebox to pull out a bottle of white wine. "Figured it'd be an investment. Helps that I can do the silence spell myself."

"So you're a mage?" Alissa asked as she slipped into a chair and let her cloak loosen a bit. "Or an enchanter?" She'd never really gotten into the details of magic but she knew etching spells and flinging magic around were apparently different skills.

Rosalina poured herself a glass and drank half of it before filling it again and offering some to Alissa. "Priestess. Excommunicated now I bet, but they were setting me up to be a Saint. Have the full suite of body and mind rituals, as well as some spirit etchings sitting around. Traced them myself so you don't need to worry about the temple coming after me to get their stuff back."

"A solo priestess?" Priestesses were trained from birth to control spells relating to healing and protection. Unlike mages they couldn't make new spells, and most couldn't even use spells outside their expertise. But the skills and training needed to heal the wounds of living creatures using modern magic required that level of dedication. "Are dragon skills really that powerful?"

"Hey I'm not a solo girl all the time." Rosalina waved her finger. "I'll join parties when I want. But yeah, being able to toss around lightning and squash trash mobs like goblins lets me wander solo a bit."

Alissa mulled that over. "So why ask me to be your thief? You've gotta know some decent locksmiths already."

Rosalina lifted her glass to 'toast' the point. "The ones I know I don't trust, I don't like, or can't protect. You on the other hand have your merge abilities and know how to fight. That knife throw and stab combo was a skill wasn't it?"

"Technique," Allisa corrected. "Skills take control of your body. I have control of my techniques. Though none of them are really good against undead."

"Eh, we can both punch our way through skeletons and zombies." Rosalina shrugged, her blond ringlets bouncing along. "And if we run into anything stronger you can keep them back long enough for me to blast them."

"Hmph." Alissa sipped the sweet wine. Rosalina was being fairly carefree about wandering through a labyrinth. But Alissa had soloed the upper layers of the Boneyard before. If they kept their wits about them it shouldn't be more dangerous than any other run. "Fair enough. So, fifty fifty split? And if you try to charge me for healing I'll steal your pouch and ditch you."

Rosalina laughed. "Oh, are some healers stupid enough to pull that trick? You'd think they'd have enough problems just trying to keep the dumbass frontliners from claiming most of the rewards. Nah, fifty fifty is good. And we'll split after sale and appraisal if it's not gold or materials.

"So!" Rosalina leaned forwards. "Now that business is done I've gotta ask. Does your merge ever speak to you?"

"What?!" Alissa's stomach heaved and her vision turned crimson. She heard her blood surging through her body, filling her brain with rage. "That thing is still inside me? Alive?!"

Her vision cleared enough to see she'd stood up and slammed on the table hard enough to knock over both glasses. Rosalina was staring at her, mouth wide open.

Several moments ticked by, the rush of hatred slowly ebbing in her body, while Rosalina seemed to shrink a bit. Finally the other woman bowed her head. "Sorry. It seems I brought up some unpleasant memories. I didn't realize your merge wasn't planned."

Alissa took several deep breaths, then sat down. "You wouldn't have known. Sorry for spilling the wine."

"No worries. I'll clean it up." Rosalina stood up and grabbed a rag while Alissa awkwardly righted the glasses. "As for your question, I don't know. Powerful merges can remain conscious. But succubi are lesser demons so most don't have developed souls. At least that's the impression I'm getting from the dragon."

Alissa took another deep breath letting her hatred settle. She still felt ill, but her mind was clearing. "I hope it's unconscious then. And stays unconscious until it's gone. Monsters should die, but I'm not a sadist. Despite my fighting style." She looked over at Rosalina. "I don't know how you could stand having a monster sitting in your head."

Rosalina wiped up the spills with several sweeps. "It helps that I only knew him as a sacrifice. A living being tied up to give me power. He's still an amoral beast, but he's been very helpful to a girl who shoved a lance in his eye just because she wanted silver scales."

The idea still seemed disgusting to her. Still succubi weren't on the same level of dragons, so hopefully she could throw this into things she didn't need to care about. "Not curious about how I got a succubus' power by accident?"

The dragon woman's perfect grin reappeared. "Figure you stabbed her in the back like a proper thief. The rest... well I'm curious but I've got my own secrets. You can tell me on your own time. Or not."

A chuckle escaped Alissa's throat. "Suppose that's how it usually goes for desperation merges. Well now that we've poked at our dark pasts let's chat about something nicer. Like how ridiculous the noobs look running from jackalopes."

That got Rosalina cackling. "Oh! You mean those kids who want wolf merges but are too cheap to just buy the kill? And are too stupid to bring a net or something to keep the rabbits off them? Oh god, those are hilarious! I remember one time the kid scrambled up a tree and was just feebly poking at the rabbits with his staff trying to make them leave."

Alissa relaxed as they began talking about the things they'd run into as delvers. Perhaps this would be a fun excursion.

And it was nice to talk to someone. Especially since that sea serpent idiot had ruined her plans.