Chapter 30 The Mythic Melon
“I’ll see what I can do.” Isaac promised. “I can’t fix your legs myself but at the very least I can try to get you some prosthetics and the training to walk on them.”
Chris grinned. “Deal.” He agreed.
“Good. Now that that’s settled, what do you know?” Isaac pressed. He had no idea how much he didn’t know and that made him uneasy. It made him feel exposed like someone was building a trap around him that had yet to be sprung.
“There are three guards that Lisa is extra friendly with. One of them is actively accepting bribes. I’ve seen it.” Chris began. “Her father knows that she’s up to something shady. He is aware that she is the ‘Charles Clepto’.”
Isaac raised an eyebrow in question and tried to suppress a smirk. The name was awful. “‘Charles Clepto’?” He asked.
Chris nodded. “It’s what people have been calling the mystery thief. The problem is that people are starting to collectively believe that it is her. She’s going to make a move, soon.” He explained.
“How do you know all of this?” Isaac questioned.
Chris gave him a sad smile and then scratched the back of his head bashfully. “It’s complicated.” Isaac gave him a flat look but his eyes bored into Chris like they were trying to read his past written on his soul. “Okay fine, it’s not complicated.” Chris conceded. “She was the person who taught me to be a scout. She’s also my first crush.” He added the last in a whisper. “I keep an eye on her, ya know? Especially when people started whispering about her being the mystery thief. I wanted to prove that it wasn’t true.”
“You sure are getting around a lot for someone stuck in a wheelchair.” Isaac commented. He wasn’t trying to be rude but it looked suspicious as all hells.
Chris nodded. “Mom or Greg help me up and down the stairs. It’s nice that the roads are flat and level for the most part. I’ve been picking up odd jobs here and there to try and make back some of what mom spent on the wheelchair. She didn’t have the money to spend in the first place.” He explained.
“What kind of odd jobs?” Isaac questioned further.
“I fill in as needed at the armory, guild, guardpost, and I do monster processing.” He explained. “Every copper counts.” He gave Isaac a self satisfied grin. “I also hear a lot at all those different places. That’s not even mentioning the things you see when you aren’t running on the same schedule as everyone else.”
Isaac nodded. “If all of this is true then I might have a job for you in Safeharbor if you want it.” Isaac told the scout. If he was to be believed then he made a better spy than a scout.
Chris seemed taken aback. “What?” He asked. “I-I don’t think I heard you right?”
Isaac shook his head. “We’ll cross that bridge when we get to it.” He said to help bring them back on track. “For now, how much do you think her father knows?”
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“Enough that he should have stopped it.” Chris replied. “I don’t know if he is in on whatever she is doing though. Some of the guys were gossiping at the Guild Hall and when he caught them he gave them the evil eye like I’ve never seen before. It shut them up real quick but he seemed a little… off, ya know?”
Isaac nodded. “Alright. When does she usually leave? Is it always the same time? Is there any type of regularity to her schedule?” Isaac pressed.
“Woah, woah there.” Chris said with his hands out in a placating gesture. “I’m not a stalker. I just keep my eyes and ears open.”
Isaac frowned. “Honestly it’d be a lot more helpful if you were a stalker.” Isaac commented. “I need to know exactly when she is going to be leaving the outpost. We need to tail her when she leaves and I don’t like the odds of finding her once she is outside.”
“Can’t you just go invisible and follow her around or something?” Chris questioned.
Isaac nodded. “I could, alone, yes.” He agreed.
Chris glanced at Lenna again. “Why don’t you?” He asked. “She can just stay here until you come back. No one will know. We are good at keeping secrets.” They were obviously not good at keeping secrets from each other but Isaac had never expected them to so it wasn’t very surprising that Chris already knew about Lenna.
“If I leave her to go after someone and almost get myself killed again she’ll kill me for real when I get back.” Isaac replied only half jokingly. He looked over at Lenna. “I’m her lifeline. If I was in her shoes I wouldn’t let me go anywhere alone either.” Isaac shook his head as he turned back to Chris. “It would be a lot easier if the roles were switched.”
“Drow society is awful.” Lenna commented. It was the first time she had spoken up with Chris. His eyes got a little wider. Her voice always tended to have that effect on younger men. Specifically single, unromantically involved, younger men. She still didn’t know why. Isaac refused to tell her.
“No argument there.” Isaac agreed. “Still, it would be easier if you were the one who could move around freely without needing someone to vouch for you. If you were the one accepted by everyone and I was the ostracized one then I could just spend most of the time invisible and being annoying to the only person who could see me.”
Lenna turned her head slightly to face Isaac directly. “I thank all of the deities involved in our lives and meeting that that isn’t the case.” She replied smoothly. “Back on target, Isaac.”
“Right.” Isaac agreed. “Her and I will be going together. I’ll need to borrow some of your mom’s baggier clothes, something that’ll fit Lenna, even if the legs and arms are too short. Also, her and I will need to be at the gate waiting for Lisa to leave so we can slink out behind her without alerting either her or the guard.” He explained. “Actually, it would be great if you distracted the guard so he didn’t close the gate right away. That would widen our window a bit.”
Chris shook his head. “Why do I feel like you are roping me into some conspiracy to steal the mythic melon or something?”
“Mythic melon?” Isaac questioned in a barely contained giggle.
“Yeah, it’s a children’s story.” Chris explained. “You’ve never heard of the mythic melon?”
“Boys.” Lenna stopped them before they got sidetracked any further. “Let’s finish the plan in the morning.” She told them. “We all need rest.”
Isaac stretched and then laid back on the bed. He groaned as he sunk into it. “I hadn’t realized how much my body needed a bed.” He commented. “It’s been days.”
Lenna walked over and got the door for Chris. “Thank you.” She told the boy honestly. “I know it probably doesn’t mean much coming from me, but I am sorry that your father was taken from you.”
Chris rolled his wheelchair into the doorway and stopped to look up at her. “Thank you.” He told her sincerely. “It means more than you think, but probably less than you hope.” Lenna gave him a nod and he returned it. “Goodnight.” He told her.
“Goodnight.” Lenna replied. She looked over at Isaac who was pretending to be asleep already. Lenna could tell at a glance that his breathing was different then it was when he was sleeping but Chris definitely couldn’t. She gave Chris one last nod as he left and she closed the door behind him. She walked over to the bed and sat down against the footboard. The wood was softer than the wall to lean against. “Thank you.” Lenna whispered.
Isaac smirked. “You both needed that.” He whispered back. “You need to be able to move on with your second life and he needs to let go of any resentment he has built up.” Isaac’s eyes were still closed and he felt unconsciousness trying to creep in. “It’s not good for either of you to be too stuck in the past.”
Lenna took off her helmet and set it next to her on the floor. “Yeah.” She replied softly. She was going to make a comment about his wisdom coming out again but she knew that he would ruin the moment with some childish comment again so she refrained. She smiled and shook her head. ‘What a wise fool I’ve found myself.’ She thought to herself. ‘Okay Lenna, don’t fall asleep. Just meditate. Focus.’ She ordered her body and mind. It was going to be either a long night or a very short one.
“Rest well, my Lady.” Isaac whispered as sleep took him.
Lenna smiled. “And you as well, my Lord.”