to wonder as they wander...

Demon protested but Alex insisted that she remain at the guild. He did however agree to let her remove the magic suppressing collar, allowing her to still follow his movements even at opposite ends of the city. If there was any real danger on the streets then Alex wanted to have contingencies in place, and the Guild Hall of The Street was perhaps the safest place for her to remain. This would keep her from being spotted by a curious mage, and if by some chance the worst happened and Alex was overcome by a foe the automatic resurrection effects of the soul link could be exploited.

Alex however wasn't trying to tempt fate and immediately headed for the main roads through the non-orc district before wandering back towards the military district. Spike had said that all the armories were still over that way so he wouldn't find a suitable craftsman for his needs near The Street.

For the most part Alex didn't appear to be drawing any attention, there were enough merchants with guards and mercenaries that passed through the city than one more walking through the city in broad daylight wasn't enough to garner anything beyond normal human interactions. Alex left his traveling pack and extra weapons in his room, so he didn't even stand out as a new arrival.

The news that a former sphinx was in the house lead people to assume that she had collected a vast amount of trivial and profound wisdom over the ages. The assumption was true, but it wasn't considered that sphinx HOARD knowledge the way a dragon hoards treasure, and so parts with it almost never. Unless you can tell a sphinx something they do not already know they are very hard pressed to share anything with you that you also do not already know. Which currently meant listening to her unending gripes about being abandoned in a strange house with weirdos who wanted to poke her brain for knowledge.

During one outburst Demon complained, (If one more of these little girls doesn't except the answer that the most successful way to keep a man from straying is to give him the best sex in his life I'm going to start scratching eyes out!)

(Do you actually believe that?) Alex questioned.

(It's as good an answer as any. So sure, why not believe that men who are motivated by sex will stay with the person who is better at it than any of the competitors.)

(Not all men are motivated by sex.)

(Every man except you is. There's something wrong with you.)

Alex sighed, she was probably right. But after 10 years of sharing thoughts with a demon he wasn't sure if there was anything "right" with anyone. Just innocence or jadedness.

Alex began to tune out Demon and her complaints as he got lost in his own thoughts. He believed that he had given up on the constructs of justice and righteousness after he contracted the demonic curse, but his years of living as a hero stayed with him. Perhaps he would always grapple with his own conscientiousness about the effects of his actions on the world, he'd lived long enough to experience firsthand his decisions had changed the world, here in Grumen 'Kal it was perhaps most obvious.

From the many watchtowers that dotted the city walls hung orc banners of the ruling clans. One of those clans he had help in their ascent to power, in large part for his actions they had made it. A young and reckless gamble that had paid off had changed the the city forever. External trade was no longer a point of debate in the council, the value of dealing with non-orcs was solidified by the fact the clan not only had a seat, but that several subservient clans also had seats, and all of them had gained their seats with the assistance of merchants and mercenaries, two things that do not exist in orc tribal culture.

Walking past booths and shops Alex could see that the customers included many orcs now. Not even 10 years ago an orc walking into a outsider's shop would have lead to being shunned within his own tribe. So far there had been a careful tradition preserved against all outside influence, but the lines of culture in Grumen 'Kal were blurring, and Alex was partly responsible. Were his action right? He felt they were at the time, but he no longer knew. He didn't think they were wrong, but he wondered what the city would look like now if the cultural purest factions that he helped fight against had won instead, what would a city of just orcs look like? He wondered, all the while convinced that there was no right answer to the question.

Older and wiser now he spent more time contemplating the consequences of his actions than the opportunities themselves. Perhaps if he lived as long as Demon he would grow past these questions and just say "fuck it" to life in general the way she had. In a sense she was so detached from her own actions, in other ways she was so completely sure that her actions had merit simply because she decided to take them.

Alex still pondered his choices of past, present and future as he spoke with some of the armorers, the one he had always worked with in the past had died the previous year and his apprentices had divided the shop and each started their own practice. So Alex had people competing for his business. After evaluating all the options he settled on one armorer who lacked positive personality traits, but showed a deep love for his craft and as a result produced quality goods, but lacked a waiting list for his services.

He and Alex spoke for a bit on the things that they both found annoying about people as a generality and bonded over the fond memories that they both held for the late master smith.

All of it was business relevant. The relationship between a customer and a craftsman is a sacred rite. As a result of building the respect between each other the smith insisted on trading out Alex's shield for a brand new one of nearly identical design and weight, but for the price of a repair. In exchange the smith would reforge the well maintained, but now dying frame of Alex's old shield into a fresh shield. Alex had taken great care of his gear, but after enough time the welds and rivets were done. Alex agreed to the trade and left the shop with a promise that the smith would have his business anytime Alex was in town, and that he would send other people who would value the quality of work over the flourishes in design to the smith.

Both men ended the dealing with the conviction that they were better for their meeting, and thus it was for Alex and his previous musings. Friendships are made from the sense of mutual benefit, and if maintained they will last for a very long time and be more fulfilling than imaginable. Alex thought about Spike and Vickary, they were so dissimilar people, but they thought of that as their greatest contributor to the success of both their marriage and their guild. You would be hard-pressed to find a more loyal pair, and Alex was one of the few people who was there for them when the rest of the guild tried to separate them, they did a lot of arguing and people thought that was a problem.

Alex stopped to process his actions in the case of their partnership. Perhaps that was his answer to his larger question about his actions in the world. The ripples of his actions might change the world, but everything he did was done because he believed to his very core that he was supporting the people he was closest too. In that sense he never felt to question his actions, nor did he feel like he should.

" 'As good an answer as any' Demon would say." Alex muttered to himself. "True, it really is. It's good enough for me too."

Content with the productivity of his day Alex proceeded forward, confidant to being in the right place at the right time, and now also believing again that his actions and plan were the right thing for the people he cared about.