When Lan slowly came to his senses, he was in the middle of the alley, and someone was holding him up by his shirt. The man was no taller than Lan but much more muscular than he was, with four other people, the red-haired boy and three other thugs.

Each of the men was dressed in worn and dirty clothes, which were not the only things about them that hadn’t been washed in some time.

‘Who the hell is that?’ The shortest man of the group called as the boy fought to escape his grip. With his head still spinning, Lan tasted metal in his mouth as his nose throbbed with pain.

[Status effect inflicted: Stun]

‘Is that who you robbed? I knew you had money. Now hand it over,’ The same man shouted as he pulled hard on the boy's arm. ‘If you don’t give it over, we’ll strip ya, and we won't give them back.’

For a moment more, Lan was still unable to put together what was happening. But as they started searching the boy's pockets. A word came on its own.

‘Stop…’ Lan breathed, and the men seemed to notice him.

‘Huh, he’s up? Get rid of him, Club,’ before Lan could say anything else. The man punched him again. Somehow not losing consciousness this time, he hit the ground hard and lost another health point.

[Hp 9- 8]

‘Haha! Did you see how far he flew? What a weakling.’ One of the others laughed.

‘Hmm,’ the larger man nodded, looking at his hand as if surprised by his strength.

Still struggling to escape, the boy caught a blow to the face that sent him into the nearby wall.

‘I said stop.’ Lan said with more power to his voice as he fought to get back to his feet.

‘Damn it, Club, I said get rid of him,’ the small man shouted, and the larger man picked Lan up again, his fist freezing in the air as Lan's tag fell out of his shirt.

‘Boss…’ the large man said, amazed, ‘this one is with the guilds.’ This got the attention of the others.

‘What? That one?’ the little man said mid-picking the boy up, ‘you said he was weak?’

‘I did,’ the large man mused.

‘Let the boy go.’ Lan said with even more force in his voice. Maybe it was the fact that his head was still spinning, but losing health had brought back the feeling he had during the battle with the razer wolves. He wanted to fight them, even though Lan knew it was the wrong move. He wanted to spend every point he had and swing at the man before him. His body sang for it. Instead, he forced himself to focus.

‘Oh yeah? And what are you going to do about it?’ the little man asked.

‘This.’ Lan answered, wiping the blood from his nose and grabbing the large man by the face.

‘Ugh! Boss!’ the large man groaned as he dropped Lan and stumbled back.

‘What are you doing?’ the little man demanded.

‘You said it yourself. I’m an adventurer, and my team has the best hunter and tracker in the city.’ At just the mention of that, the four jumped and looked angry. ‘And that,’ Lan pointed to the man’s face, ‘is insurance. Even if you wash it off and leave the city, they will find you.’ The large man paled at this while the other two looked at the smaller man as he turned red with rage.

‘Your lying. Who would team up with a weakling who can’t even take a punch.’ This was enough to bring more confidence to the little man, who smiled before looking at Lan’s face and frowning again.

‘I’m an apothecary, which means I make potions.’ Lan snarled at the large man who had punched him, who took another step back. ‘Do you know how many apothecaries are in the adventurers guild and what my team would do if something was to happen to theirs?’

‘We’ll take our chance.’ The little man said, only he seeming convinced.

‘I don’t know, Boss, what if he is telling the truth? I mean… look at him.’ Lan wasn’t sure what he meant but seized on the opening and stepped forward.

‘The way I see it, you have three options. But really, you only have one,’ he shrugged. ‘You can kill me and take whatever the boy may have. Knowing that my team will come after you. You can not kill me, and I can watch what they do to you, or you can leave before I have to ask you again.’

With his charisma being what it was, there should have been no way it should have worked. Lan was counting on them not having the highest mind stats and hoping he had used enough truths to mask the lie.

Even with all this, it looked like the little man would risk it. His face- an ever-shifting mould of anger, defeat, self-preservation, and greed. But once again, he looked at Lan’s face and growled.

‘You’ll regret this.’ The little man snapped as he dropped the boy and turned, the others following. Lan watched them go, all while making sure the boy was in the corner of his eye. He didn’t need to worry; instead of running, the boy just looked at Lan with wide eyes.

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The moment they were gone, Lan let his body slump, the dizziness, blood loss, and sand in his eyes all working to drain him. Lan still stood on his feet and walked over to the boy. Who was still just looking at Lan, then he started to speak.

‘Tha-.’ That was all he got out before Lan thumped him on the top of the head. ‘Aughh!’

‘That’s for stealing from me.’

‘Owww!’’

‘And that’s for throwing sand in my eyes.’ As the boy rubbed his head, somehow after everything he had been through, only now tearing up, Lan sat next to him.

‘You alright?’

‘No…’ he pouted, rubbing his head. ‘Yeah…’ he looked at Lan as if he was going to hit him again. ‘Thanks… why did you help me? You have to know that I already hid the money. At least you could have watched them knock me around a bit.’ He said before wincing when Lan turned to look at him, his feelings clear on his face.

‘Why the hell would I want that?’ This caught the boy by surprise as he watched Lan as if he had grown a second head, and both heads started singing old Sally Doodleady. After a moment in which his face twisted into all manner of shapes of confusion, he reached into his trousers.

‘Uh, what are you doing?’ Lan asked, shifting away from the boy. ‘if you need to use the bathroom…’

‘Oh shut up?’ he blushed and stuck his hand out with Lan’s coin purse in his open hand. Lan just looked at him with a feeling that bordered disappointment.

‘Really?...’

‘I said shut up,’ the boy shouted, his face reddening, ‘where else was I supposed to hide it?

‘I don’t even know if I want it back now.’ Lan added, making him turn a deeper red.

‘Will you shut up and take it?’ he said, shoving the bag of coins into Lan’s chest. ‘All this over a stupid bag of coppers,’ he huffed, his frown deepening as his face tried to match his hair.

‘Sorry, sorry. I’ll stop.’ Lan laughed before what he said hit him. ‘Copper?’ he said without thinking. As soon as he did, the boy got a conspiratorial look on his face.

‘They are coppers, right? No one is stupid enough to walk around with that much silver on them.’

‘Yeah, they're coppers.’ Lan shrugged. He already had the money back. He didn’t see the point in ruining the boy’s day even more by letting them know what he had just given away. Clearly, he didn’t believe Lan as the boy grew even more suspicious.

‘Let me look.’ He said, reaching for the purse.

‘Like hell I will.’ Lan said, moving it away, his concerns about where it had been momentarily forgotten.

‘Come on, I’ll give it back, I swear.’ He said, trying to get around Lan's arm, which he braced against the boy. ‘I never had a chance to look because you kept chasing me,’

‘I said no,’ Lan laughed.

‘Fine, I’ll just steal it again.’ The boy pouted.

‘Hey, don’t even joke about that.’ Lan said as the boy looked defeated. It was clear from looking at him that he wasn’t doing this because he liked it. Lan was sure that whatever situation he was in, the money that Lan had gotten back would be life-changing. And he had returned it. At the very least, that was something. At the very least, he could spare some coins… the sound of a deep rumble broke his train of thought.

‘Oh, not you too.’ the boy said, holding his stomach before looking up, ‘what?’

‘Alright.’ Lan smiled. ‘Help me up, would you?’ once He was able to stand and after making sure that he still had his money. Lan looked at the boy. ‘I’m Lan.’

‘Seth.’ The boy nodded.

‘Well, Seth, I know a stall that does some pretty good meat skewers. You can come if you want.’ At the promise of free food and meat skewers, no less. A signature dish in the city and one that didn’t really need its quality vouched for no matter where you went. Seth swallowed hard.

‘You know I don’t have any money. You took it all.’

‘I took my money back, and It’s on me. But first, I really like to be able to see again.’

Once Lan and Seth were able to make it back to the streets that Lan was familiar with, they made their way to the market.

‘What’s a pot carrier.’ Seth asked, sitting on the edge of the well as he waited for Lan.

‘A what?’ Lan looked up.

‘You know, a pot carrier, that’s what you said that you were right?’

‘Oh, an apothecary,’ Lan said slowly so Seth could remember. ‘Well, I think they take plants and other things to make potions,’ Lan said, splashing water into his eyes.

‘You think.’ The boy frowned.

‘Oh yeah, I was lying back there.’ Lan shrugged and splashed more water on his face.

‘Wait, so your team wouldn’t have come then?’ Seth paled as Lan thought about it.

‘Well, I am sure they would be a little sad.’ he said. Even though he wasn’t a part of the team, Lan was sure that Locke and the others would at least feel bad if they found out he had been killed in an alley.

‘What’s wrong with you! You could have gotten yourself killed!’ Seth shouted, Drawing the eyes of all around them.

‘If you keep yelling, we still might. Ah! Damn it,’ Lan immediately cursed as he loosened another bit of gravel.

‘So you can’t heal yourself then?’

‘Nope.’ Lan breathed, looking up to find Seth with a pensive expression on his face. ‘What?’ It was Seth’s turn to sigh.

‘Come on then. I’ll help you walk…’ With that, Seth jumped from the well.

Once he could see, Lan exchanged one of the gold dragons for ten large silver talons at a coin trader. Each coin was still far more than most would need for a trip to the market. But Lan didn’t want to think about trying to hide smaller coins with all the odd looks they were getting. But it was when they stopped in front of the meat skewer stall, and the owner raised an eyebrow at them. Did Lan guessed they must have made for quite the sight.

With his injured nose, blood stains and soaked clothes. And Seth with a dark ring under his right eye and a new bruise on his cheek. It was no wonder the coin trader had asked if someone was making him change the coin. Lan had to stop himself from laughing at the thought of him being held hostage by the boy after losing a fight.

‘Uh, what can I get for ya? You get five for a copper piece.’ the man said, even though Lan had been there before and could still see the sign hanging over the stall.

‘Five skewers,’ he said, ‘and whatever the boy wants.’

Without missing a beat, Seth looked to the owner, ‘Fifty skewers,’ he said with the confidence that could only come with the knowledge that someone else was paying. He stared at the vendor, who in turn looked at Lan.

‘What? You never said how much I could have.’ He added defensively, and Lan was just about to say that there was no way he could eat all that when he remembered the other children who had helped him get away and the little girl that had distracted him. Lan cleared his throat.

‘Make that a hundred,’ he said as Seth’s head snapped over to him. The owner looked as if wondering if Lan had hit his head before he smiled at the sale.

A smile that Lan wiped away when he placed the large silver in his hand; with a grumbled curse word, he left to find the change, which couldn’t be helped. Lan had too much money on him. Carrying around another one hundred small pieces of silver was just asking for more trouble.

Returning with his change of nine silver coins and eighty copper, Lan realised he hadn’t really avoided the problem.

And though Seth once again tried to see the amount as it was returned, he was soon distracted by the large paper parcel from which the savoury smell of freshly roasted meat hung around.

Now that Lan had decided to feed all the children, he felt he should at least try to make it a filling meal, so next, he stopped at a bakery for bread and left with a happy baker and a basket of still-warm bread.

‘There you are, you little terror!’