No matter what I thought about Astrid or the inconsistencies of the Hold, I had to follow the Fate projections just in case. If Astrid went anywhere except her stronghold, I'd never find Lacy.
A few minutes later, the projection of Lacy and Astrid led to that familiar location. I wasn't exactly pleased about Lacy being held prisoner in the Beasts' headquarters, but at least it was a known entity. With a basic idea of its makeup, I could at least plan Lacy's rescue with some foresight.
On an overlooking rooftop, I watched the Beasts' stronghold for any movement. Though, I knew Astrid could hide herself from me with her powers. And at this distance, my Fate energy couldn't project far enough to reach the stronghold gate. All I could do was gameplan and act fast.
The question now was: try to sneak in solo and take my chances or gather as many allies as possible and try the brute force method?
Though I was partial to the brute force method personally, I also had to acknowledge that it was the higher risk plan. Even if I gathered the bulk of the Kaori's fighting force—all five of them—and as many Co'xatl as possible, there was still the possibility that Astrid would just kill Lacy as a 'fuck you' to me and my allies.
The third option was to enlist a small strike force and try for a breakout. But—
A familiar voice behind me ripped me from my thoughts.
"Pardon me. Would you mind—"
I whirled around to see Watcher Yuri standing casually on the rooftop behind me. My stomach flipped and I acted on instinct. The diskslinger was in my left hand even as I pulled out my katana in my right. For a precious half-second, I scanned my Inventory for a portal token to no avail.
Inwardly, I cursed myself as I fired three disks high up at an angle on the off chance I could control them to come around the Watcher. At the same time, I threw myself backward off the roof. I fully expected Yuri to pin me in place with his telekinesis and so was quite surprised when I found myself falling through the air toward the street below.
Before I could react, my back thud into the cobblestones below, my head cracking against the road. The air whooshed out of my body and my head felt heavy as I tried to stand. I released the Fate energy cycling through my body and swapped over to my Mass core. My Strength and Endurance shot up, helping me fight through the pain and dizziness.
Far too slowly, I got to my feet and prepared to run. But something stopped me in place, and it wasn't Yuri's powers. The incongruity of the situation struck me and I realized that in my panic, I had ignored a few critical details. Yuri's arms had been held up in a peaceful gesture when I had turned. Which was odd, but I wouldn't put it past these old monsters to be crafty, even with an advantage.
But no, that didn't feel right. He had the drop on me and hadn't taken it. Instead, he had very politely warned me of his presence, affecting a non-hostile stance as I faced him.
And though I had a high opinion of my abilities and reaction speed usually, I knew that I had been far too slow in this instance. Yuri had shown multiple times that he was faster than me, both physically and magically. He should have been able to lock me down instantly.
"You okay down there?"
I craned up to see Yuri standing at the roof edge, a concerned expression visible under his hat's wide brim.
What was his game? Why give up his advantage and give me a possible escape? Why was he staring down at me with an open look of concern when he had never been friendly in the past?
In the back of my mind, I felt my connection to the three disks buzzing through the air. Yuri's back was exposed. It would be so simple to direct them through his spine and remove a massive threat from the board.
But he wasn't acting like a massive threat. In fact, as I looked up at him from the street, he almost seemed confused.
"I'm fine," I called up. I had decided that I needed more information before I struck first. The disk dissipated in mid air as I released the energy.
"That's good," he replied. "Could I have a few minutes of your time?"
He was being so damn polite, it made me almost regret releasing the disk's energy. I could trust his open contempt from before. But this…?
"Do you plan on attacking me?" I asked. Though I imagined a being as old as Yuri would be an excellent liar, I was at a bit of a loss on how to proceed. Couldn't hurt to just ask.
His head tilted and he raised his eyebrows in an innocent expression. "Attack you? No, absolutely not. If I wanted to attack, I wouldn't have announced my presence earlier."
Well, it was hard to argue with that logic—unless he needed something from me.
"Will you sign a Soul Contract attesting to that?"
An embarrassed look crossed his face as he lifted his hat and scratched at his thinning hair. "I'm afraid that's impossible. I—uh, I'd rather talk about it in private." The pedestrian traffic was sparse on the street—only a couple people had passed by as we talked. When they had noticed Yuri up above, they had sped off in a hurry. Though I generally would have preferred a public discussion, the truth was that there was no higher authority in the Hold that I was aware of. If Yuri decided to fold me in half, no one would even bat an eye.
The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.
I eyed the street, then the distance between the Watcher and I. There was still time to flee. But my Fate energy wasn't sending me any impending sense of danger and I was pretty sure Yuri could snatch me even from the rooftop if he really wanted to.
Which meant he actually wanted to talk.
"I'm willing to talk, but not in your line-of-sight," I called up. "Meet me down in the alleys and stay around the corner. If you try to come around, I'm out of here."
He nodded and disappeared from view. This was it, this was the time to run if I was planning on it. But Lacy was being held captive right down the street and I couldn't rescue her if I was running my ass off in the other direction. And to be honest I found myself just too damn curious.
Heading off the street and into the nearest alley, I sent my Fate energy questing forward, searching for Yuri's location. Up ahead and around the corner, I felt his presence. He had paused in the alley out of sight just like I had asked.
"What can I help you with, Watcher?" I asked. Even though I couldn't see him physically, my Fate energy gave me a sense of his positioning and his mood to a certain degree. That was why I couldn't help but notice him flinch at his own name.
"Watcher…is that what you know me as?" he asked hesitantly.
This was getting stranger by the minute. But I didn't have time to dance around whatever the hell was going on.
"What is this?" I asked. "What's your game?"
In my mind's eye, I could see him chewing his lip. I realized that he didn't have his characteristic wheat between his teeth. Through the Fate energy, I could sense his hesitation, sense just how uncomfortable he was.
"There's no game," he eventually replied. "I woke up this morning in a strange bed, wearing strange clothes, with no idea how I got here." My blood ran cold, a shiver trailing up my spine that had nothing to do with my Fate energy. "My only clue—the only thing I could latch onto—was this connection in my soul. For some reason, it brought me to you."
"The Soul Contract…" I muttered.
He perked up at that. "Soul Contract? We signed a Soul Contract? So we must know each other." In my mind, I saw him take a step forward.
"Stop! Not another step," I demanded, edging back toward an escape route.
He froze instantly, then retreated. "Sorry, sorry, I-I just got excited. Do we know each other?" The longing in his voice was almost pitiful—if I didn't have the memory of his snapping Mileen's neck like a twig looping through my mind.
"We…know each other," I replied hesitantly. How to play this? If he truly was an amnesiac, could I leverage the situation to my advantage. "We're friends, of a sort," I added, deciding to gamble.
"Friends?" he asked skeptically. "The way you jumped off the roof when I appeared suggests otherwise. The fact that you won't even let me look at you is tough to reconcile with friendship."
Shit! I'd responded too hastily. Wracking my brain, I struggled to come up with a lie to cover my slip up. "Last time we saw each other, you went wild," I said quickly. "Attacking anyone and everyone around you. You noticed the people passing by earlier, right? The way they looked at you? Everyone's a little cautious around you right now—me included."
My whole body was tense, my legs bent and ready to sprint away if he wasn't buying my bullshit.
"Went wild…" he repeated to himself.
"Yeah," I added hastily. The more I could keep him off balance, the less time he'd have to see through my bullshit. "You're a Watcher of this city—like the police or town guard. Does any of that make sense to you?"
He nodded, rubbing his hand against his jaw. "I understand the words, I just…can't remember how I got here. I'm an outer member of the Ardent Rose sect. If you have some way to contact them, I'd be forever in your debt."
Ardent Rose sect? What the hell?
"What do you remember last?" I asked, trying to piece the puzzle together.
"I was in the Zenith sector. There were reports of a D-Grade Rift Storm and I was going to try my luck," he replied. He chewed his lip in thought, then shook his head. "After that, nothing. I don't even remember entering a Rift." His eyes went wide and he snapped his fingers. "What year is it? 3049?"
Shit, what year? I considered lying so as not to betray my ignorance. But getting caught in a lie sounded even worse. And if I had to guess, 3049 was probably many hundreds, if not thousands, of years in the past. That was the kind of information that could break a person though, so I didn't suggest it.
"I'll be honest…I don't know." His shoulders noticeably dropped in my mind's eye. "But from what you've told me—" His head snapped up. "—we're all stuck in this Tower. I believe you have a condition or maybe a Quest to get you out of here."
"A Quest…" He stared off into space, presumably combing through his interface. "What is…an Unseen Champion?"
Oof, that was a line of questioning that could only lead to trouble. "I'm not sure…"
"Damn! Do you have any idea what caused my memory loss at least?"
Obviously it was related to him violating his Soul Contract with me. But as I was about to feign ignorance, an idea began to form. I sensed an opportunity.
"Not what, but who," I answered. "I'm guessing the name Astrid Black-Eye doesn't mean anything to you?"
He shook his head. "No, should it?"
"She's a vile human that runs a sort of gang in this city. Last time I saw her, you were in an altercation together and you had to put her down rough. I suspect she held a grudge. If I were you, I'd consider her as my first stop."
"Astrid Black-Eye, Astrid Black-Eye," he repeated her name, likely hoping it would spark a memory. "Okay, any idea where I can find her?"
I very purposefully kept the smile off my face and the glee out of my tone as I replied. "Actually, that's her stronghold right there off the street we came from. She's taken a friend of mine and I was scouting the place out before I attempted a rescue."
"She sounds like trouble," Yuri said.
"You've got that right. I believe her Quest is related to kidnapping and forcibly enlisting innocents into her affiliation."
"And no one stops her?" he asked incredulously.
I coughed into my fist to suppress a laugh. "Actually, you're the law around here. If anyone is gonna stop her, it's you."
"Me? I'm only a middling Adept. Are there no Adjudicators in the Sector to uphold basic law?"
How much to say? Aw, fuck it. I had a missile standing ten feet away from me, so I might as well aim it toward Lacy's kidnapper.
"As far as I can tell, you're the strongest person in this city."
He snorted, then paused when I didn't follow up with the punchline. "You're serious?"
"Afraid so. To that point, do you have your powers still? The amnesia or whatever happened didn't cut you off…" Or burn out your cores, I didn't say.
"My stats are pretty much in line with my memories. My energy is cycling just fine." I felt a fluctuation of power and heard the sound of something whipping through the air before crashing against a wall. "Everything seems to be normal."
Excellent…
"Well, I have a suggestion, if you're up to hear it."
"Of course," he replied earnestly. "You're literally my only lifeline to getting some answers."
"Not your only lifeline," I said pointedly. "I propose we go find out what Ms. Black-Eye knows about your situation. And if she doesn't give you the answers you need, I'll be more than happy to help in any capacity I can to get to the bottom of your memory loss."
"You-You'd do that?"
The desperation in his voice almost made me feel bad for the guy.
"Of course…what are friends for?"