Chapter 69

Give Him a Knife

Hawkin

Brewer’s Reputation: 592.

Dream Cutter Stone Shard Quest: 13,760/15,000.

The Loved Ones Mausoleum plane was slowly expanding. The man who stood at the path’s beginning could only be Evon. If by no other identification, he sported the dagger Abigail had asked Hiccup to arm him with. I approached him. He cleared his throat and offered a hand to shake. I didn’t reciprocate.

“Mr. Ballow,” said Evon.

“You stabbed Thrush.”

Evon blew a hefty sigh. “I cannot begin to convey the regret that I have. I am deeply, deeply sorry for that.”

“How did you get Thrush and Abigail to defend you?”

“Honestly, I don’t know. I know what I deserve, and it is to be apprehended by the guard and thrown into court…or worse.”

“Do you know why I’m meeting with you?”

“This was Abigail’s idea and at her urging. It truly is a way for me to correct my wrongs. I promise you, I aim to correct my wrongs a thousand fold. I must bite at this opportunity. Please…”

“We’ve been talking about hiring someone to manage libation beers for grievers. Your name came up. For the life of me, I can’t figure out why I should agree.”

"Abigail and Thrush have beneficent hearts. They’ve given me a second chance at things. I have been out of my mind. You see-”

“-All to do with the Alik incident?”

“That’s it. I was not only banished, my entire quest path was stripped from me by the Alik because…because of your refusal…rather, because of my inability to convince you to enter the Alik jungle. The Alik wanted every task completed without fail. I spent years succeeding. My only failure cost me everything; I was so very close to diamond rank.”

“You wanted to kill me.”

“...I did.”

“And when you realized I wasn’t easy to find, you went after Thrush to hurt me.”

“Not that this is supposed to be an excuse, or really matter, but it wasn’t to hurt you. It was to hurt someone I felt was responsible. At that moment it was Thrush.”

Evon sank to his knees, and then lower and groveled. Apology after apology poured out of him. He laid it out pure and simple with seeming tremendous shame. The man’s voice peaked, and he sniffled. Then he begged. With Abigail’s and Thrush’s support, he would owe us his life if I agreed to give him a second chance at things.

Memories of the time I grabbed Gloom-glower by the collar ran through my mind: the argument, shaking him, yelling, pitching Thrush into battle. I ground my teeth; my heart rate escalated. I sighed. …I needed to find out…

I strode right over to the groveling man, put my boot on his shoulder and pushed him over. “Get up.”

He scrambled back. “What?”

“Get up.” When he didn’t move—he just looked at me—I grabbed him by the collar and lifted him. “I said get up.”

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“What are you doing?”

“Fight me.”

“Mr. Ballow-”

With one hand I twisted his collar. The other I raised in a fist. “Fight me!”

He pulled back, cursing. His arm came up in guard. I unsheathed the dagger at his belt and put the hilt in his hands.

“Mr. Ballow!”

I put the tip of the dagger at my belly and advanced on him while he retreated.

“You wanted to stab someone! Stab me! Right here! No one will see you! This is your chance!”

“What? No! No, I don’t…no this isn’t what I want!”

Pebbles scattered at our feet.

“I’m your enemy, remember? Right through the belly! C’mon!”

With a desperate attempt to escape, Evon wrenched himself from my clutch, threw himself backward, and tossed the dagger at the base of gnarled oaks. “What is going on? Why are you doing this?”

“You have the chance to kill me here and now. Take it.”

“That’s not what I want!” He glanced around. “Is this a test? Please, you have to believe me, I’m deeply regretful of my actions. I don’t want to hurt anyone ever again. You have to believe me!”

We stared at each other, both panting. I put my back to him and closed my eyes. In a few moments, my heart rate cooled.

At last, Evon said, “I don’t want to hurt you. I don’t want to hurt anyone. You have to believe me! I was out of my mind. There are no words that can convey how sorry I am that I stabbed Thrush.”

I turned back to him. I spoke softly. “People will come here. People who have lost their pets, their loved ones. Elderly will come, parents, young men and women…. Abigail and Thrush defended you. I heard that Thrush said he killed your suffering; he sees no reason in making you suffer more by bringing your crime to the authorities.”

“I don’t understand. So, this was a test? You’re considering me for the position?”

“I’m the least happy about this, and I do have conditions.”

“Anything!”

“Hiccup will have to be responsible for you. I want one of his butlers with you here at all times until I’m confident you won’t be trouble on your own.”

“Thank you, Mr. Ballow. Thank you so, so much. You have no idea what this means to me!”

“I need you to know that I’m against this. I’m this close to rejecting the idea. You have Thrush and Abigail to thank.”

“Believe me, I will not let you down.”

“You’ve already let me down, and I don’t know you. You’re never getting that from me. If there’s anyone you don’t want to let down, it’s Abigail.”

“You have my word, Mr. Ballow.”

“She means everything to me.”

“Of course.”

“I’m growing to love her.”

“I’ve known her for years. An admirable soul.”

“I trust her judgment. If you hurt her…”

“I will not. I will not hurt another soul as long as I live. The soul of my mother on that!”

Evon launched into a row of apologies and promises. My mind meanwhile went miles a minute.

Was this the right choice? Was it all foolish? The goblins had taken advantage of Thrush. Would Evon take advantage of Abigail? What of the visitors and libation beers he would have to manage. If someone got hurt…but Abigail believed in him, and Thrush…What was possibly going through his head?

“You will transfer everyone’s remains to Thrush. I’ll brew libation beers for people and you will guide them on this plane as I expand it. I want a butler with you at all times. I predict that I’ll fall behind in producing these beers and likely stay behind as long as I brew.”

I was nervous about the whole scenario. Almost without emotion, I took Evon around the plane and left him barrels of landmark ales for him to spill to expand the plane into private areas for people. I had otherwise very few things to say.

I always kept my back to him every chance I had.

When he left the plane, Abigail dropped down from the shadows of high oak branches with a bottle of Slow Time attribute in one hand and a dagger in the other.

“See?,” she said.

“You were right. I’m surprised. I was ready to feel a knife prick at any moment. I still feel very uneasy about this.”

“With Hiccup’s butler, and Thrush, what do you have to worry about?”

“Weren’t a whole lot of HIccup’s butlers present when Thrush got stabbed?”

“Not fair. Thrush took control of the situation.”

“Someone could have stopped Evon before that.”

“Thrush is quick. He knows things, smells things, hears things. I think he knew something was off about Evon.”

The scent of honeysuckles soothed me. Pebbles crackled as we strolled along the path arm in arm. The atmosphere of the plane seemed to extend beyond a distance of real world horizons.

“So,”said Abigail. “You’re growing to love me? This really could become something like love then?”

I stopped our stroll. I took a moment to admire her. She smiled big.