Chapter 14 – The Canyon behind her

Sometimes she hated her job. After Alexa heard that she would report on the bonfire festival and what it actually was, she wished she could have stayed in the backwater villages.

She even tried to convince her superiors of a story she wanted to report. It wasn’t much, but at least it would keep her out of Roselake.

After she saw a slight change in the people of Gelt, a village she visited after she left the cursed and broken down tower, she asked what happened. They told her that there was a single man that destroyed the tower she was supposed to report on.

The same guy allegedly also killed the bandits that were plaguing the area and was now on a mission to stop the abductions.

Alexa couldn’t confirm the reports as the origin of the stories seemed to be the drunk blacksmith she tried to wake up to repair some equipment, but failed.

She still wanted to research the reports as the tower was standing for centuries and for a single person to destroy it would have at least been a nice addition to her documentary about the cursed places of Bredon kingdom.

But the bonfire festival would start soon and even with their expensive horses she and her bodyguards would take a few days to arrive. Her higher ups barely even listened to her proposal before dismissing it and ordering her to continue on her journey to Roselake.

She wasn’t even the main reporter who would talk to the king and nobles, but the one who would present the different kinds of foods and drinks that were sold.

Honestly, she didn’t even mind. As soon as she saw those piles of burning books a shiver ran down her spine and a lump formed in her throat. Books were always her companions.

Because of her work ethic she never had many friends. She didn’t like to read on screens and loved the feel of paper in her hands. How it smelled and even how it sounded when you turned a page.

All her life she had books at her side. And now her heart ached as she saw them disappear in flames under the cheers of the masses.

So she tried to keep the burning piles at her back while she talked about dozens of dishes halfheartedly, when out of the corner of her eyes she noticed some commotion.

A couple of players and NPCs were having an argument that looked like it would escalate any minute.

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Hall stood rooted to the ground while the spectacle continued. Dozens of food stands sold all kinds of local and international cuisine. ‘Guess burning books makes you hungry.’

While he remained speechless he saw a young boy grabbing a book from an unburnt pile and running in the direction of the street behind him.

As the kid almost reached him, Hall saw the boy’s bedraggled state. He didn’t wear any shoes and his linen pants were cut shortly below his knees. His shirt had holes everywhere. If their color was brown to begin with or if it was just all the dirt, Hall couldn’t tell.

His hair was a mess as it reached his shoulders. The kid was around 8 or 9 and as he ran, he clung to the book like it was driftwood in a storm.

The boy’s suspicious behavior must have alarmed a few others. He wasn’t completely sure but he thought it was a player that approached him. His armor was somewhat mismatched and his hair color and tattoos on neck and face all pointed in that direction.

He was clad in various silver and grey pieces of heavy plate armor with a crest engraved on his chest. A wingless griffon standing on a shield. The handle of a large two-handed sword was visible over his shoulder.

Hall’s Soul Perception allowed him by now to at least estimate the level of others if they were not too far above him.

The young man, who looked like a beginner knight or an armored swordsman, was probably between five and twenty levels above Hall. His short brown hair and stern eyes made him look like a diligent soldier.

He wasn’t evil, not really, Hall could tell from his soul essence. He would guess the man’s infamy only was slightly higher than his fame. Hall didn’t know it yet, but the soldier had actually no infamy at all.

It was the things he did to gain fame that caused his soul to become tinged in a light red and spots of black. If the government was corrupted you could even gain fame for assassinations or for burning down homes and stores, while deaths would be acceptable casualties.

One wouldn’t gain infamy, but Hall’s ability went beyond just simple numbers, he saw the very soul of a person.

The moment the kid passed Hall, the knight grabbed him from behind, yanking him back and pushing the child to the ground. “Boy, you are going against the king’s orders, these books are to be burned to prevent them from spreading falseness and lies.”

When the young man tried to take the book the kid clung to, the boy struggled, trying to evade the hand coming for him.

“Let me go, this is the only book I have left from my father. You already destroyed the rest, when you burnt down our house two months ago. You killed my parents you bastards.” Tears were streaming down his face but his voice was firm.

The soldier hesitated and frowned. “Two months ago… I remember, there was an order like this. Your parents were criminals, plotting against the king, a cancer to society and they got their just punishment.”

The boy shook with anger as tears stained his face. Anger at the person in front of him, anger at himself and his helplessness and anger at the whole world.

Hall remembered seeing those eyes, those expressions. He wore them himself many years ago. So he couldn’t help but care and although he didn’t want to raise any suspicion, he acted before he thought about it.

“Hey, why don’t you just let him go?” The man looked at Hall in surprise. “The orders of the king are absolute and every offender I arrest brings me some fame points, you’re a player right?” Hall nodded. “Then you can relate.”

This time Hall shook his head. “I can understand your motivation, that doesn’t mean I will allow you to do it.”

Still grabbing the boy, his attention now shifted to Hall and he straightened up, showing a smirk. “Listen man, I am a knight of the king, promoted to the royal guard, I have absolute authority here.

I just want to arrest the kid and get my reward, so how about you don’t make my life unnecessary complicated.”

Hall scratched his head under the hood that buried his face in shadows, making him unrecognizable to his surroundings. He sighed while signaling Lily with a nod.

“Counterproposal, you let go of the kid and I won’t kill you.” His voice was calm and cold, causing the man to shiver slightly. But instead of backing down, he grabbed the boy harder with his left hand while going for the sword on his back with his right one, drawing it in a single motion.

“A threat against a soldier of the king is like a threat against the king himself, an offense punished with execution.” They already caused quite the commotion. An armored knight grabbing a boy while holding a large sword in his hand and mysterious cloaked man facing him.

Of course the few people who noticed them saw a knight of the king protecting a boy from a dangerous criminal. So what they witnessed next shocked them all and clouded their joy over the festivities.

Hall just sighed again. “Well, I warned you.”

Shrugging he drew his dagger and sword while mana chains shot from the ground, binding the man who didn’t even realize what happened.

He was sure the man in front of him was a rogue, a ranger or something similar. Leather armor, close combat weapons. But out of nothing magic was cast without any chant and the weapons seemed to exude dark flames, while glowing blue light formed a path along the blades.

Without batting an eye, Hall rammed the dagger into the knight’s heart while his sword slashed his throat, casting an arc of blood as the blade left the neck and black flames closed the wound.

Critical Hit!

You have dealt 631 damage

You have dealt 437 damage

Before the knight could blink, a sixth of his health was gone and as his hands were bound he couldn’t even retaliate. Before he could free himself by forcible pulling the chain apart with his superior strength, the sword was rammed into his abdomen.

Hall didn’t even bother with his skills. A single knight, their level not that far apart, surprised and bound. It was pretty much two versus one, so Hall just continued with his routine.

The sword in the man’s stomach continued to burn his flesh, while Hall repeatedly rammed the dagger in his chest.

Soon enough he dropped to his knees, overwhelmed by shock and pain, his arms still bound to the ground.

When he fell, Hall finally pulled the sword out of his gut. The moment his knees touched the ground, Hall stepped beside him, sheathed the dagger, took the boys hand and stabbed the man’s back with his sword.

You have dealt 579 damage

You have dealt a fatal blow!

You have attacked and killed a player, you have been marked as a player killer

Because of your skill Judgement the time you carry the mark has been reduced to 25%

For killing a player you have gained: +25 infamy

Because of your skill Judgement the infamy you gained was reduced to 0

For killing a soldier of the king, a member of the royal guard, a bounty of 5 gold has been placed upon you. Because your face was not seen and your name is unknown, the chance of detection is low.

The bounty will be lifted if you pay 5 times the amount of the bounty to the king’s treasurer

This is the first time a bounty was placed on you, so you will receive further information

The higher the bounty is, the faster and from further away the guards will notice you.

If your name and face is known, you have a higher chance of being arrested.

The chance of you being recognized depends on your crime and your level, your skills and the information that is available on you.

If you haven’t been caught for a certain period of time (depending on the height of the bounty), you will not be wanted anymore.

If your bounty exceeds a certain amount or your crime was too severe your bounty will be kept up indefinitely.

The duration and the height of the bounty depend on your level as well as on your crime.

Screams, were emerging from the people who saw what happened. Shocked faces and yells for guards surrounded him. ‘Better get out of here. Fast.’

He grabbed the kid, who gaped at him with an open mouth. Then he picked up the loot the dead knight dropped and ran back into the dark street, looking for a way to escape the soldiers and players who were alarmed by the screams.

With the player killer mark above his head he was open game for everybody and he really didn’t want to cause any more mayhem than necessary.

Right now it was time for stealth, he wasn’t ready for the sledgehammer. His level was too low, the foe too numerous.

With the kid in his arm he sprinted into dark alleys, ran around corners and climbed over fences until he didn’t hear anybody coming after him anymore and only the silence of the night surrounded him.

Panting he came to a halt and put the kid down. The boy stepped away from him, suspiciously eyeing the blood covered Hall, while still clinging to the book of his father.

“Thanks for helping me, but you know you signed your death warrant by killing a royal guard?”

Hall just waved it off and smirked. “Don’t worry, he was a voyager like me, he’ll come back and even if he didn’t in this corrupt kingdom a little gold would take care of every problem.”

Hall’s somewhat carefree attitude caused the kid to chuckle, which in return made Hall frown. ‘Even the kids are used to death and seem unfazed, that’s just wrong.’

So he got to his knees and cleaned the blood of the boy’s cheek with the tip of his cloak.

“So kid, what’s your name?”

He tried to push Hall away, while shaking his head, trying to escape the cloth on his face.

“I’m no kid, I’m Ralk.”

Hall smiled at the twisting and twirling child. “Well, it’s nice to meet you Ralk, I’m Hall.

Is there a place I can take you to?”

The boy stopped moving as Hall stood up again. “I live at the orphanage in the southern slums, but you don’t need to take me there, I can get there myself.”

Ralk straightened himself up while puffing out his chest, trying to look confident.

Hall could just shake his head with a smile. “Ah come on, I don’t have anything to do anyway and what do you mean southern slums?”

With a surprised look Ralk watched him for a moment. “I guess you aren’t from around here, there's a large slum area in the south of the town. Most of it isn't too bad, but there are some places you might want so stay away from.

Even the soldiers try to avoid them, except to collect bribes of course.”

His eyes were dejected and carried sadness when he talked about his home town like this, but they also held anger.

So Hall took the lead as the boy pointed out the direction. They barely made it to the next alley when a figure jumped from the roof and landed a few feet in front of them.

The person was clad in a tight dark crimson leather suit that emphasized her curves and didn’t leave much to the imagination. At least it completely covered her body, making it different from the ridiculously revealing armors he saw so often in other games before.

Of course Hall noticed her a few moments ago, thanks to his Soul Perception, but that didn’t mean her flashy appearance wasn’t a surprise.

The moment her feet touched the ground, she released an aura that reminded him of flames that spread from her back. It was a somewhat pleasant, glowing red, different from the bloody color he often saw on tainted souls or on his clothes after killing the ones that contained those souls.

Through her visible aura she exuded an incredible fighting spirit and if the one standing in front of her would be someone other than Hall, he would drop right to his knees.

Because it was directed at him, it didn’t affect Ralk, but the kid still hid behind the unfazed Hall.

Although he wasn’t affected, he recognized her strength. Not only through her fighting spirit but mainly because he couldn’t even guess her level, even though he carefully scanned her soul essence.

That in itself wasn’t an issue, because together with Lily he could kill a single opponent of a far superior level. The problem was her soul was absolute pure. Not a single speck of darkness stained it and there was no way Hall’s Judgement skill would forgive her death.

More than that, he did not want to kill her. He had no desire to slay those who did not deserve it.

The woman seemed surprised he didn’t falter, but simply brushed away her long, wavy, crimson red hair and with piercing violet eyes she seemed to look straight into his heart.

“Evil know thy enemy has a name. I am Himoto and I will grant you the painless death you don’t deserve if you let the kid go.”

Hall just raised an eyebrow. ‘Looks like we got ourselves a hero.’

The thought was filled sarcasm, but somewhere not too deep inside of him he felt a little bit of envy. Of course, if somebody asked, he would never admit it.

Back when he lost his parents, he often read comics and books about superheroes, fighting for what is right, fighting for those who couldn’t help themselves, fighting for those who lost everything.

Before he started to play Novus Vita he thought he might have a chance to do exactly that. But now he knew, that was not his role. He was not the one in the spotlight, not the one being thanked, not the one with the flashy appearance.

He was a shadow, he was darkness, he was death.

So when Himoto dropped in front of Hall, he just shook his head after he pulled up his hood again before she could see his face.

“Listen up firecracker, I’m way too tired right now, so I’m bringing the kid home. Then I’ll get something to eat and some well-deserved rest, so if you would kindly step out of the way...”

Wrinkles formed around her delicate nose as she distorted her face in anger and her full red lips trembled. She couldn’t believe Hall’s attitude at seeing her. She worked hard over the last weeks to make herself a name in this town.

She was feared by bandits and robbers and even corrupt nobles were afraid of her. Scarlet Fire they called her, if they dared to speak her name at all.

She was a vigilante, a figure of justice, her flames burnt for righteousness and all that was good. Well, at least that’s what she thought.

Himoto even tried to avoid killing if it wasn’t absolutely necessary, especially NPCs. So she couldn’t stand by when she saw a knight getting slaughtered and a child being abducted. And now the man who did these atrocious acts stood there belittling her.

“I guess I have to teach you scoundrel some manners.” She took the whip on her belt into her right hand and it instantly burst into flames as she unrolled it. Her left hand unsheathed a dagger that glowed white hot and seemed to distort the air around its edges. Even her eyes seemed to spew fire.

‘She’s way too into this. Is she really a player?’

Hall again just shook his head, now slightly annoyed. He was online for quite a while now and he was actually really tired and just wanted to get some sleep.

It wasn’t his proudest moment, but he thought about attacking her for a second.

But he dismissed the thought instantly. Still, he had to be careful, he felt her power even though she was several meters away from him.

So he decided he would try a different approach for a change. Talking it through.

The moment he opened his mouth though, he saw a stream of flames approaching him and only then did he hear the loud crack of her whip.

He didn’t even have time to grab his weapons or to get his chains ready as the flaming lash wrapped around his neck and excruciating pain spread in his chest.

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The air was pressed out of his lungs and as he was forced to his knees as the girl clad in red approached him. He could have sworn he saw flaming wings on her back as his view slightly blurred.

Lily screamed in shock and cast mana chains to stop Himoto’s steps but before they could even touch her they crumbled away in the surrounding flames.

Before she could try again Hall shook his head while looking at her, signaling her to not interfere. He also didn’t use his chains just yet as the flames around his neck caused him agony but didn’t do any actual damage.

When she stopped in front of him she wore a smirk on her face and as she looked down on his kneeling figure she lifted her dagger.

“I can feel the darkness in your heart. I can see it as clear as day. Shadows clawing into it, tearing it apart and causing pain to your surroundings.

So I will cleanse it with the blazing fire of my heart.” When she spoke those word the heat and brightness of her flame increased even further.

But he grit his teeth and instead of screaming in agony he looked her straight in the eyes and with unyielding will he lifted one leg, placing it in front of him, unsteady at first.

With the use of Blast Tyrant he released a roar while pushing himself up and standing firm, gasping for air, but with his eyes still fixated on a baffled and aghast Himoto.

“My heart may hold darkness and shadows may reside in it. But don’t be fooled, thinking they make me weak or that I will bow down to evil. I am stronger than you. Not because I am pure, but because I challenge the darkness every day.

Not only the darkness that lives in others, but the darkness that dwells inside my heart and when it gets stronger, I will grow too, so I can control it, defeat it, now and always.”

As he spoke the woman seemed shaken, not only because of his words, but because he could defy her flames.

Slowly the fire around Hall’s neck dimmed as it was overtaken by a blue, pulsating glow that seemed to suffocate the scorching blaze.

“I will show you how my soul stands up against your flames, thwarting them, overwhelming them and I will make you see: It’s not only those pure of heart that can stand up against darkness, but also those who chose to, despite the shadows that might haunt them.”

The now completely bewildered girl took a step back as her eyes darted between the unyielding Hall and her retreating fire.

Hall put his whole will into the blue light that he exuded as his soul energy slowly pushed back the flames around his neck.

With determination he grabbed a hold of the whip with both hands and in a flash of glowing blue light the blazing whip was extinguished and replaced by his soul energy that approached Himoto’s hand.

She started to panic as she saw her flames disappear and the blue light approaching her. She felt the power and yet she couldn’t let go of her whip. She was afraid. Afraid, she was too weak once again. Scared she didn’t conquer her flames. Frightened of another defeat.

A second before the light reached her she closed her eyes, expecting a crushing blow against her weakened heart. Scarlet Fire, nothing more than a flickering candle, extinguished by a gust of wind, not even able to illuminate a shadow and now smothered once again.

But the blow never came. When she opened her eyes she saw the tip of her whip lying on the ground. She watched the man in front of her rubbing his neck and her eyes were filled with confusion and incomprehension.

With weak knees she fell on her behind, looking up at the criminal she just wanted to execute so proudly, who was now staring at her without any maliciousness in his eyes. She just noticed he took off his hood as she stared in eyes like steel that still held kindness.

In her state of shocked she could just utter single word. “Why?”

Hall was surprised too. Surprised by her reaction as he just put out her flames. He didn’t attack once and yet she was on the floor, looking at him as if he just took all she had.

She was still stronger than him by far and he wasn’t sure he could defeat her even if he were to pull all the tricks he had up his sleeves and yet it was she who was now on the ground.

The single word she spoke brought him back. It reminded him of the time he was knocked down, asking the same thing and he would make damn well sure she wouldn’t get the same answer he got.

So he slowly approached the girl, who still sat on the dirty earth.

“Why? Why I could annihilate your flames? Simple, they hold no conviction. You don’t believe in them yourself. With your act you convinced everyone you are a hero, everyone but yourself. So your wavering heart never stood a chance against the power of my soul.”

His words were harsh, but they were true. He didn’t want to insult here and yet his words shook her to the core.

“If you want to know the reason why I didn’t attack you…” Hall shrugged, smiled and reached his hand out, offering to help her up. “I only kill those that deserve it and you’re one of the good guys.”

She couldn’t straighten her thoughts and the words she heard confused her even more. Still, she grabbed his hand and stood up, her legs still weak. “Th...thank you…” Her voice was so soft, he barely heard it.

There was nothing left of her confidence and pride. In front of him stood a confused and frightened girl.

Hall could just sigh seeing her like that. “Listen, you are strong, very much so. Stronger than me, stronger than most. Yet you lack faith and conviction. Trust in yourself and your flames won’t be smothered this easily. And I mean really trust, not your mask of confidence you put on for everyone to see.

Don’t lose hope just because you meet a powerful foe. That’s when you should fight even fiercer with your fire burning all your obstacles and carving out a path for you to tread.”

When he said what he wanted to, he stepped back, took Ralk by the hand and walked past the trembling Himoto. “Goodbye.”

It took her a minute but she finally regained her composure and turned around, seeing Hall and the boy about to walk around the alley corner. “Wait, what’s your name and …” She hesitated as he slowed down while turning his head. “Do… do you want to be fr…friends?”

Hall just chuckled and as he turned around again, he spoke to her while walking away and raising his left arm, waving slowly. “My name is Hall and sure, why not, just message me if you want.”

Himoto has been added to your friends list

‘My first friend!’ They both had the same thought as they separated, smiling.

After a while of walking in silence Ralk looked up to Hall. “That was pretty awesome. I think she was Scarlet Fire. Even the worst criminals in the slums fear her and you just took her out and then even became her friend. You are the best.”

Meanwhile Lily was pouting a little over the fact he befriended another girl so easily but was glad at the same time as she would have done the same.

Ralk lead him through various mostly pitch black streets and alleyways. Barely any lights were illuminating the night and instead of casting away the shadows they just seemed darker, harder, more threatening.

Hall continuously used his Soul Perception to check his surroundings so they wouldn’t get ambushed. Since he arrived in town the skill has increased significantly, but he had to tone it down a bit so he wouldn’t get overwhelmed by the sheer number of people.

Instead he focused on a single person at a time, sensing their sins, their intentions, their strength. He also sensed the town, at least the part around him that was in range.

It was vastly different from the forest. No calm, soothing atmosphere and no serene glow surrounding him, twisting and twirling like a stream of lights.

Instead there was chaos, grey clouds shifting and moving in an unrecognizable pattern. It felt eerie somehow and made him a little nervous. Though he slowly got used to it, it didn’t mean he liked it.

After walking through parts of the city that seemed dead as a graveyard, they finally arrived at the orphanage.

It looked like an old church with stairs leading up to two massive wooden doors and dozens of stain glass windows, several of them shattered.

The orphanage was one of the few stone buildings surrounding them. Though it was completely run down. Many of its roof tiles were gone while weeds and moss grew on its walls and water was leaking through its cracks.

Although it was in dire state, the houses around them were in even worse condition. Mostly made of wood and straw they were rotting away under the influence of the elements and had to be constantly repaired by their inhabitants to not fall apart.

Ralk pulled Hall by the hand and led him up the stairs of the building with an excited look on his face. “I can’t wait for you to meet father Shep, he is the priest who watches us orphans. He’s bit grumpy sometimes but he’s the only one who really cares for us.

I haven’t been here for long, but the others told me stories about him. How he defeated whole gangs to defend the orphanage, he even stood against the nobles who wanted to tear down the building after they were bribed by the criminals.

You know, I was lucky he took me in or else I would have landed on the street, dead by now or forced into joining one of the gangs.” Sadness spread on his face but after he shook his head, Ralk knocked firmly on the dark wooden door.

First there was no reaction, but soon enough there was a commotion and even through the thick door he heard a barrage of curses that even made him raise an eyebrow.

The man who opened the door stood a whole foot taller than Hall who had to take a step back as the man dressed in a brown robe eyed him with blatant suspicion. But without as much as a word to him his bald head turned to face Ralk and through his thick, brown beard he yelled at the kid.

“Boy, I told you to be home before the sun sets and why the hell did you bring this guy with you. Damn, he’s surely not someone I have to take care of. What are you even thinking?” His gaze fell upon the book in Ralk’s arm.

“Don’t tell me…You went to the bonfire even though I told you not to and took your father’s book. What if the soldiers would have arrested you or followed you here.”

Hall wanted to say something, but Ralk jumped in front of him and started to talk in excitement like a waterfall.

“Shep you should have seen it, that one soldier grabbed me and then Hall here dealt with him like it was nothing and before anyone could get to us, we ran like crazy and then we thought we were safe but, you won’t believe it, Scarlet Fire showed up because she thought I was kidnapped. She attacked Hall, but he defeated her without pulling his weapon and instead of hurting her, they actually became friends. It was so awesome so please let him stay.”

The kid spoke without taking a breath and talked himself into a hype until he had to gasp for air. The tall man’s face turned into a frown while he taxed Hall carefully and when the boy finally stopped babbling he used a deep but calm voice to question him.

“So you defeated Scarlet Fire?” Hall just shrugged at his question. “Not really, took her by surprise, she still can’t use her full strength, especially when she’s shaken up.” Shep nodded as if to approve of Hall’s deduction and continued with his question.

“How did you get rid of the soldier?” Again Hall only shrugged. “Killed him.”

No reaction was seen in Shep’s face. “Did he deserve it?” A simple nod was Hall’s answer.

“Alright, get in you two.” Ralk’s eyes went wide at the priest’s reaction. He was sure he would scream at them and maybe smack Hall right in the face. Some kind of reaction in any case. But not that he would just let them in.

The priest, who was dressed like a monk, sent Ralk to bed while signaling Hall to follow him.

Before he walked away, the boy jumped at Hall, hugging him. “Thanks, thanks for saving me.” Without looking back he ran out of the room into the back.

The two men were left alone in the entrance room of the orphanage. It looked a lot nicer than the outside indicated. The walls were covered with wood and cloth, pictures drawn by children were hanging from them. The furniture, a few cupboards, shelves with books and a large table with a bunch of chairs, was made out of light brown wood. Cheap, but nicely crafted.

Thick blue and green carpet covered most of the grey stone floor. A few religious symbols were hanging over the doors, Hall didn’t know which god they signified and it didn’t really matter to him.

There was no second floor and the room was rather high with an impressive chandelier hanging from the ceiling, spreading warm light while a huge fireplace at the opposite wall warmed the room, keeping out the cold of the night.

Next to the fireplace he saw a door to a hallway with several more doors where several kids poked their head out, watching who would knock at this time.

Shep’s voice roared through the whole house after he saw them. “Everybody back to bed. NOW!” Without delay they all scurried away and giggling as well as the rustling of blankets could be heard.

Signaling Hall they both went into the room left of the entrance. It seemed to be Shep’s private quarters. Besides a small bed in the corner, a large cupboard and several shelves filled the room. A desk was placed in the middle and it had dozens, if not hundreds of different papers spread on it.

When they entered Shep took off his brown robe and threw it in the corner. “Damn, this thing is so uncomfortable, but it helps keeping up appearance.”

Under the brown cloth he hid a body that didn’t really suit the image of a priest. His chest was like a barrel with arms like tree trunks. He was almost all muscle and on his belt hung two daggers. The armor he wore was made of some kind of leather, but one Hall never saw before.

It was brown, but with intricate designs, which were incorporated into the dark leather. There were worlds between Shep’s and his own armor. Hall made a mental note not to cross him anytime soon.

The priest that now looked like a full-fledged, experienced and most of all, dangerous warrior sat down at his desk, taxing Hall from top to bottom again.

“I smell something on you. Something I know very well. It is Death.” Hall raised an eyebrow in surprise which caused Shep to smile.

“I may look like this boy, but I am a priest. Of course I don’t serve any god anymore, yet I still have faith and I know death, as I caused it and I guided many souls on their way into eternal darkness. Stood by their side when they took their last breath.

Trust me boy, I know death and you are closer to it than any living man I have ever seen. Don’t worry, I won’t ask you any details. Everyone is entitled to their secret and I know you aren’t one to cause mayhem and the death of innocents and above all you saved one of my kids, when you had no obligation to. I thank you for that.”

After a moment of silence his face had a dejected and slightly troubled look. “Unfortunately I cannot give you any rewards. Every coin I have goes into food and clothes for the kids. We barely have enough firewood to survive the next winter and our storage room is empty.

This city is dying, as is the kingdom. Slowly rotting away from the inside.”

He grabbed his bald head in sorrow. The man who looked like a monk at first, then turned into a warrior with scars on his bare arms and clad in dark leather, now changed into something else. A troubled man.

Worries about those he cared for probably kept him awake most nights. His skin had an unhealthy tone and his eyes lost focus as he thought about the orphanage’s situation.

Because of his past Hall had a soft spot for orphans. So he felt sadness and anger creep up into his heart. But it also fueled his determination to shake up the very core of this kingdom.

After a minute Shep seemed to have pushed his worries away for the moment and focused on Hall again. “I think you should stay here for the night. Usually there is a curfew in place. Nobody is allowed on the streets after an hour past sunset.

Today, because of the festival, the time was pushed back until midnight, which is approaching fast. If you should be found you will be fined or imprisoned for the night.”

Hall nodded at his suggestion and instead had something to discuss. “It’s alright, I don’t need a reward but I have a question, have you heard about the Cattle Hunt?”

As with the merchant before he was sure he could trust this man and put the note and the badge he took from the fake bandits on the desk in front of him.

At the mention of the hunt, Shep’s face became darker and even before he had to read the note he clenched a fist. “I heard rumors but I wasn’t sure they were true. Even I didn’t want to believe our kingdom was this rotten. It seems I was wrong. What do you plan to do boy?”

Without any hesitation and without raising his voice, Hall answered calm. “Find those guilty and punish them.” The way he said this would make most people flinch in fear but Shep simply smiled while his eyes glowed with joy and anger.

“Right now you are too weak to do anything against it. Go and become stronger, when you return I will have names for you. I know the underground of this city like only a few others do and word travels, there has to be information somewhere. With this you can carry out your sentence.”

Shep smiled because he knew the sentence. Death!

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Author’s Note:

Another chapter done, hope you liked it

:grin:

Sorry I can’t get them done faster, unfortunately I just don’t have that much time right now.

I’m really happy about all the comments last chapter

As always, please tell me your questions, opinions, suggestions and point out any mistakes you find, I appreciate the support and every comment

:bye:

P.S: After last chapter the rating of my story took a serious dive, so I would be grateful for some advice to make it better and I’ll try to put some more effort into it so you can continue to enjoy it

:grin: