Grey had never been to a hostess club before. She understood the appeal but simply had no interest in it. Paying to interact with people and drink alcohol was not her idea of fun. It was however for everybody else in the Undercity, clearly she was the weird one.

  Max had dragged her here with the pretext of an important meeting. He had however insisted they dress the part. She wore a bck mushroom fibre dress of Max`s and the scarf he had gifted her along with a back pack. She had never felt so beautiful and self-conscious before.

  Max ever the fashionista had adorned himself in a long sleeved top cut short to reveal his navel. The sleeves extended over his hands forming what he referred to as sweater paws. Additionally he wore the shortest pants Grey had ever seen, accompanied by thigh high socks and his thick bulky work boots. With the boots cleaned of all the muck and grime they tied the whole outfit together nicely.

  Grey and Max had arrived at the Milk Bowl, the top hostess club in the entire Undercity. Its popurity came from all the staff dressing like cats. Grey had never seen a cat but from how Max had described them they were incredibly complex creatures.

  The outside of the establishment was a flush of red tinted mp lights filling its immediate surroundings with a rosy glow. A rge man, missing his left arm but none the less intimidating for it, guarded the door.

  Max approached confidently and casually flirted with the man before being allowed to enter. The perks of being a regur Grey guessed.

  The door open before them, Grey found her senses overwhelmed with the smells of sweat, alcohol and perfume. They stepped inside and followed a dark corridor before turning a corner. Instantly they were greeted by beautiful feline featured men and woman who attempted to charm and ftter them.

  Grey felt consumed by the pure onsught of social interaction and clung to Max supportively. With a confident smile and a wave of the hand Max managed to rebuff the on comers.

  “We are here to see the Domina.”, he decred, the crowd of beautiful people parting before him.

  Having made it through the worst Grey could finally get a proper look at the Milk Bowl`s interior. The building was rge and old having the signature wooden floors and walls.

  Before her were enclosed seating arrangements, small stages with singers and dancers and a rge bar that featured a variety of alcoholic beverages.

  Everywhere she looked there was a beautiful man or woman adorned with fake cat ears, tails, mittens and not much else. Some of them attended to customers offering services from light comradery and a good joke all the way to a soft touch and passionate embrace. Some went so far as to ferry drinks from bar to table feeding it to their customers by way of navel or mouth.

  Grey felt her body grow excited and titilted embracing the atmosphere. Max held her close to his side feeling her growing distracted by the allure of it all.

  “Focus sexy, we are here on business remember. We can come back and py another time.”, Max whispered into her ear teasingly.

  Grey bit her lip asserting a level of self-control she wish she didn`t have to. Max diligently guided her through the crowd until they reached a set of stairs that took them away from the party and up to a closed door.

  Max knocked rhythmically; three times, a pause, two times and another pause then three times once again. The door opened to them and they ushered themselves inside the door closing behind them curtly.

  They found themselves in an office space simir to Mr Gibbens. The difference being in how clean and meticulously maintained it was. Grey felt she had stepped backwards in time to when the room was first constructed. Its walls were painted, its floor polished and the furniture was pristine. It was a pce out of time that Grey felt compelled to never leave.

  Across the room sat a striking, mature dwarf woman who also adorned herself with ears and a tail. Unlike those below however she had the rest of her body covered in a stunning leopard print dress. She looked up from her desk with an audible purr looking over Grey then towards Max.

  “Well, well, well, if it isn`t lil ole Max. Haven`t seen you here in a good while. Thought you might had lost interest in me and my kittens. Then I get a surprise message that you want to meet with me on a business level. Very curious.”, she purred gently. “Please, why don`t you and your, associate, have a seat. Can I interest you in a drink?”

  “Domina, you know I could never forget you. I have just been a bit busy with life and all that. I`m sure you understand.”, Max remarked, him and Grey taking a seat before her. Grey taking off her backpack and resting it beside her. “This is my friend and associate Grey.”

  Domina perked up at the vocalisation of Grey`s name.

  “Grey huh. You wouldn`t happen to be the same Grey that started those rat farms is it?”, Domina enquired pyfully.

  “I wouldn`t say I started them…”, Grey began.

  “Rumour has it your stepping up to challenge the Cartel. Have the backing of the whole agricultural sector if I`m not mistaken.”, she interrupted amusingly.

  “You`re well informed.”, said Grey, shifting around in her seat feeling vulnerable.

  “Domina, good to see you haven`t lost your edge. Means we can cut right to the point, as I know you prefer.”, interjected Max to the relief of Grey.

  “Max, sweetheart, please. I want to hear it from your friend and associate.”, she replied, staring at Grey with a predatory gaze.

  A cold sweat descended upon Grey and a feeling of anxiety wormed its way into her guts. Now was the time for her to step up, to lead the charge, but she couldn`t. The words wouldn`t come out, she couldn`t think, she was frozen in fear. The fear of not being enough for the people who in this moment needed her. The fear of failing and leaving everything worse than it was before she came along. The fear-”

  Max pced his hand on hers. She looked at him and he smiled at her. That sweet confident smile she had grown so accustomed to. He believed in her, he had faith in her.

  “I am taking on the Cartel and I want your help. I have the backing of the farmers as you pointed out. All I need now is the muscle to protect them. Something I am told you have a lot of. Together I believe we can bring real change to the Undercity. We can put an end to the Cartels rule and bring about peace. No longer would we have to struggle and scrape together a meaningful existence. I know things have improved already with the new farms but the Cartel isn`t going to let it stay that way forever. They are going to come and put their boot on the throat of the lower circle and this time I am going to be there to stop them. With your help, I might just succeed.”, Grey finished her impassioned speech and took a deep breath. Her body was shaking, but not from fear, from adrenaline. She believed in herself, because she had to, for every ones sake.

  Domina leaned back in her seat, looked over Grey and Max, and went into a state of quiet contemption.

  “This is… amusing. To say the least. Do I really need to point out the obvious fw in your pn though?”, Domina enquired dispassionately.

  “Lamp oil, yes. I am aware that the Cartel could just cut us off. We…”, Grey paused looking to Max for reassurance. He nodded confidently. “We have an alternative source of oil, a source hidden from the Cartels knowledge. A sufficient source we can use to make the Cartel obsolete.”

  Domina raised her hand silencing Grey. She got up from her seat and walked over to a window that looked out over the club.

  “Okay, I`ll take you seriously now. You want me and my muscle to keep the cartel off your back while you do your thing. You want us to protect the farms, the markets and the distribution of your new oil. It`s not impossible. I do have a lot of muscle at my disposal, but I think you’re missing an important fact. All my muscle consists of cripples and amputees. Sure they can rough up some drunks but they are hardly sufficient for taking on the Cartel`s Enforcers. Enforcers don`t mess around, when they come at you they will come hard and I do not want my people getting hurt over some fools hope.”, Domina decided.

  Max rose up from his seat and began to roll up his sleeve.

  “We know that, which is why Grey can offer you not just a means to even the fight, but a reason as well.”, he decred, revealing his prosthetic.

  Domina turned to look and her eyes went rge. Her confident intimidating demeanour evaporated and she slowly approached Max.

  “I have full range of motion, full autonomy. Grey did this, gave me back a part of myself that had been taken away. I won`t lie to you, it isn’t perfect. It’s a bitch to use and requires a lot of work. But it`s better than nothing.”, Max expined calmly to the firm attention of Domina.

  Domina took a step back visibly amazed and overwhelmed at what she was seeing.

  “You did this?”, she asked Grey in disbelief.

  “I did and I can do it again. As many times as is needed.”, Grey confirmed, getting up from her seat.

  “Wait here!”, Domina hissed, running out of the room.

  Grey and Max sat in an awkward silence the momentum of their pitch having been drained by Domina`s sudden departure. It didn`t take long for her to return however and to their surprise she had brought a young girl with her.

  The girl was small and sickly cking the usual stockiness often associated with Dwarves. She looked to be about six or seven years old, it was hard to tell. Domina carried her in and sat her on a small couch gently, moving away to reveal the poor girl had no legs. She looked at Grey and Max her eyes drawn to Max`s prosthesis.

  “This is my daughter, Moxi.”, Domina began softly.

  “Mommy, what`s going on?”, Moxi enquired, slightly disorientated by everything, clearly having just been woken up.

  Domina locked eyes with Grey from across the room and summoned her to her daughter`s side. Grey knew what was being asked of her and came prepared picking up her back pack.

  “Hi Moxi, I`m Grey, An apprentice Necromancer. Do you know what a necromancer is?”, Grey asked her, opening up her pack to reveal bones of various shapes and sizes.

  “Does it have something to do with bones.”, Moxi looked at the packs contents, then over to Max`s arm.

  “In a manner of speaking. I`m here because I want to help you walk again.”, Grey decred with a smile.

  Moxi looked at her mom a little confused.

  “It`s okay sweetheart. I`m right here.”, Domina reassured her daughter.

  Moxi reached out and gripped her mom`s hand tightly. She looked at Grey with uncertainty but nodded bravely.

  “Will it hurt?”, she asked.

  “Only a little.”, Max cut in, familiar with the process.

  With a silent nod, Grey dumped the bones out of her pack onto the floor. She knelt down in front of them and began to focus. She cleared her mind and opened up her soul to the world around her. Everything that existed in her immediate space faded away until only her and Moxi remained. She tapped into it as she had done so many times before and reached out to the young girls soul.

  Moxi felt a cold chill grip her body, she closed her eyes and y back letting it take hold. Her breath steadied and a stirring sensation wormed within her. Her heart slowed and she felt removed from her body.

  Grey caressed Moxi`s soul softly feeling its composition. She gripped it gently causing Moxi to gasp in pain. She squeezed her mother`s hand and found strength in her support. Grey pressured and maniputed the girls soul stretching it out and removed a small piece of it.

  Moxi gritted her teeth and tears swelled in the corners of her eyes. With one hand Grey channelled the essence of Moxi`s soul and with the other she reached out to the bones with her own. The bones began to quiver and move assembling themselves into a set of legs held together by sheer will.

  Grey took a deep breath and drew the two together creating a link between the legs and Moxi`s soul. Her body fought against the intrusion and she cried out in pain. Grey applied more pressure drawing off of her own life force to make the connection hold.

  The piece of Moxi`s soul that Grey had attached to the legs drew itself back into the rest of her soul and brought the legs with it. The connection cemented, Moxi gasped and choked as she began to feel a tingle where once there was nothing.

  The legs of bone and magic infused themselves to her stumps replicating a standard set of legs. Something was wrong however, Grey could sense it.    The legs began to weaken the connection growing weaker. Grey bit her lip and tapped back into her soul to provide the connection with more strength.

  “Moxi, I need you to focus and feel my touch. I need you to feel the legs and make your body accept them.”, Grey uttered out painfully, fighting to maintain the ritual.

  Moxi cried out and attempted to feel the legs that wished to fix themselves to her. She tried with all her might to make the connection stay but didn`t know what to do. She felt and thought with all her being for the one thing she had always wanted, to walk.

  Grey felt the connection growing stronger again and pushed herself hard to strengthen the reconstruction of the bones. To her surprise however they required little input, Moxi had somehow taken over.

  With determination the bones linked back together forming the legs Moxi most desperately desired. The very flesh of her stumps began to creep onto the bone in some kind of twisted attempt to give flesh to the bones.

  Grey broke out of her focus and back to reality marvelling along with Max and Domina as the bones fused themselves to Moxi`s stumps. The lifeless bones fused with living skin and necromantic energy filled in the gaps.

  The room fell silent, the ritual done. Moxi regained herself and opened her eyes looking at her new appendages. They were nothing like Max`s, far better formed, more directly connected to her body.

  Gingerly she tried to lift herself from the couch struggling to maintain her bance. With great determination she rose up her mother supporting her by the arm.

  Her new legs lifted her from the couch and she looked down at them with wonder in her eyes. Her mother began to cry, tears of joy streaming down her face and onto the floor. Moxi lowered herself cautiously and embraced her mother breaking down into joyful sobs.

  Grey reached out for Max and had him support her weight, exhausted from the process.

  Domina looked over at Grey, amazement and thankfulness in her eyes.

  “I`m with you. Whatever you need, it`s yours. Me and mine stand with you.”

  Grey took a deep breath and forced herself back up right. “We need time, to get everything ready, to get your people outfitted.”

  “You`ll have all the time you need. I`ll look into the Cartels pns and see what I can do to slow them down and keep your movements secret.”, Domina decred confidently.

  “Great. Now if you`ll excuse me. I need to rest. These next few weeks are going to take a lot out of me.”, said Grey before colpsing into Max once again.