A tall guy dressed in rags opens the wooden door in front of him, letting Fleck and the boy enter into the hideout. As they both enter, Fleck turns back once more, seeing the long passage they just have went through, still impressed to see how such thing can exist within the capital of Zunko, the seat of power for the entire kingdom.

After the door is closed, Fleck turns once more to see a huge room, clearly excavated, with pillars made of wood up against the walls and a second-floor made entirely of good, with stairs connecting them. There are a couple of light sources that faintly light up the place.

He thinks back to the words Ereshkigal told him before.

-”Other things demand my attention, I’ll leave you to your devices. Even so, keep searching for the fastest way to get out of there… after all, she is waiting…”-

Even if it isn’t her… She would be always waiting…

Feeling a tug in his wrist, the boy keeps pushing Fleck.

-”Com’ on sire! We nee’ to go to the secon’ floor!”-

Looking around, the room is full of people of dubious appearance, something that the lighting accentuates since it isn’t strong and thus casts a lot of shadows over them.

-”Alright, lead the way then.”-

Walking towards the stairs, Fleck and the boy encounter two women guarding it. One of them, with a spear in hand, steps forward and raises her hand, stopping their momentum.

-”Selvin, where have you been?”- the woman, clad in dark robes and her head enveloped in a dark cloth, speaks.

-”Sis, le’ me through, I nee’ to see the boss!”-

The woman raises her gaze in order to give Fleck another look and then says -”As long as your new… friend… stays here.”-

-”No can do Sis! You see, thi’ man save’ ma’ life! And didn’t ask for anything in return!”-

-”He saved your life?! What happened?! Are you ok?!”- says the woman as she drops the spear on to the ground and grabs Selvin by the shoulders.

-”I ma fine! That doesn’t ma’er right now Sis. Remember what granny alwy’s told us?”-

-”We must always pay our debts. Yes, I remember.”- Says the woman as she relaxes her body, still biting her lower lips -”Still, are you sure you’re ok?”-

-”Yeah, I ma fine! Anyway Sis, please let me through.”-

After some moment of thought, she incorporates herself and says -”Very well”- then, looking at Fleck, she adds -”You there, the one with the butt face, you can pass, but behave lest you want me to behead you.”- she accompanies these words with a motion of her right thumb moving from left to right in front of her throat.

Fleck snorts -”It wouldn’t be the first time that I lose my head because of a woman”- and then, raising his right arm as she passes by, he adds -”Your spear, you dropped it.”-

The woman is startled by this mistake. Quickly she grabs the spear as she makes signs to her partner at the stairs to let them through.

-”Mister Fleck, that wa’ awesome!”- the boy says as they start going up.

-”What are you talking about?”-

-”Sis can be quite scary! You mus’ be wha’ they call a lady killer!”-

Fleck feels his guts tightening -”You… you aren’t the first one that tells me so. Even so, I don’t do anything special.”-

-”Woah, it is something that comes to you naturally?”-

Before Fleck could answer, a voice reaches them from the side -”Selvin, why don’t you hurry up and include me in your conversation?”-

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-”Woah, boss! I’ll go right away!”- Selvin says as he reaches the second floor, tugging Fleck along. Going through another door, they come face to face with a man on a sofa surrounded by a couple of people in various types of armor, from leather to steel. Behind the man there’s a large scroll up against the wall depicting a J’avo’s mouth open as if anyone who extended their arm could get it chopped off.

From the corner of Fleck’s eyes, he sees the door from where he moments ago entered this place close again, and a strange person with a huge cloak and hood standing between the people in the floor below.

Why is it… Does no one seem to notice?

Another tug and Fleck comes back to the conversation with Selvin saying -”I’m sure this man will be able to protect you all the way to New Arcadia, boss!”-

-”Well, he certainly looks able to do the job”- says the man as he leans forward and rubs his chin, showing off the multiple rings he is wearing that gleam with the room’s light. Fleck couldn’t prevent associating the man with a pig, seeing how unnaturally round his body is.

-”I need to go to New Arcadia, now. If you are going there, I can offer my services not only to fight and win against bandits but also against J’avos.”-

The man’s eyes open, his eyebrows jump, Selvin stays mute for a couple of moments and the room erupts in murmurs and snorts.

Then, coming back to himself, Selvin says in excitement as he turns to the man in front of him -”It is true boss! I saw it with my own eyes. Mister Fleck was able to chant something strong enough to push back two anti-J’avo officers! He sent them flying through the air!”- he adds movements with his arms and hands to reenact the scene.

-”Is that so?”- says the man, rubbing his chin as he lets some chuckles escape, while Fleck can do nothing but put a smug smile, knowing the deal was done.

A sudden strong noise reaches everyone in the room. Turning, Fleck sees how the door has been just blasted away, leaving burns behind. On the floor, the guard that opened the door for them lays down, a huge black area covering his chest.

As the smell of charred flesh reaches Fleck’s nose, the guards manage to yell -”We have been discovered! Run!”-

-”Alright lads, time to roll out!”- says the boss as he moves faster than expected, reaching the scroll behind him and moving it all in order to reveal a secret passage -”Anyone who doesn’t want to experience fifty years of Zunkois hospitality, come with me!”-

While the boss enters the passage, surprising Fleck as he didn’t think he would fit in, he notices that the strange figure wearing a large cloak and hood is nowhere to be seen.

What was that…

Turning back to Selvin, he grabs him by the arm and takes him along.

Selvin struggles -”Wait, mister Fleck! Wait, my sister!”-

Fleck was about to stop when a large group of law enforcement officers started pouring in, at which he just jumped straight up into the passage, pushing out of the way to the lower floors two men that were trying to get through. Fleck took Selvin with him as his screams echoed within the secret passage… and all inside himself.