– Era of the Wastes, Cycle 218, Season of the Setting Moon, Day 68 –
Terry was returning to the Flower House with the Blinding Flash glove in his hand and with an unsatisfied expression on his face. He had collapsed the headquarters of the local hunters or however they were called. He had made his point, but he was not certain it had come across.
He had thought it would make him feel better.
It did.
But not as much as he would have liked.
The more Terry cooled down, the more he was worrying that his actions would come back to the people he knew. He did not know the local organizations well enough to judge how the hunters would react. The fact that they had refused to involve the guards made him hope that they were the kind to focus their retribution on him personally rather than involving the people whom he associated with, but he could not be certain.
What’s the point in worrying now? Should have thought about that before acting.
Deal with it.
For once in his life, Terry thanked his intrusive thoughts and he muttered to himself: “Focus.”
“Hey!”
Terry was already in an irritable mood and he doubted that the people walking up to him would make his day better. Their crimson uniforms made him doubt that very much.
The group consisted of a canan man, an elven man, and a pair of dwarven women. One of the dwarves was addressing him: “Terry, right?”
For a second, Terry was distracted by the fluffy white fur on the canan man. It was not so much the fur itself, but rather that it brought back a memory from his time in Tiv’s Chara Settlement. It was always amusing to see Devon meet the canan deathguard coordinator Mal. Terry could not help but wonder how the Thanatos soldiers would react if he started petting the canan’s fur out of the blue.
The image almost brought a chuckle to his lips.
Almost.
“Yes, and?” Terry moved his gaze to the apparent leader of the Thanatos soldiers. The dwarven woman appeared unaspected and she was carrying a familiar style of two-handed battle axe on her back. The handle had been customized for thrusts.
“Just checking.” She winked. “You left a bit of a mess.” She pointed with her chin into the southern direction.
Pointless question, isn’t it?
“Maybe, what’s it to you?” returned Terry. “What is your business with the hunters?”
Friend or foe?
“Who says I’m talking about the building?” She observed Terry’s face. “I’m talking about the mess you left behind in Thanatos.”
Huh, I was wondering when that would come up again. Took longer than I thought.
Terry swiveled his head even though he didn’t need to do that to get an idea of the surroundings. Old habits. Afterwards, he looked at the soldiers and shrugged. “Is this going to turn into another fight? If so, I’d rather get it over with quickly. I’m already late for work.”
“So you’re not denying that it was you who escaped Whetstone?” The dwarf grinned.
Damn it.
Terry involuntarily recalled the faces of Lizzy and the Captain whenever they had chided him for spilling information. When his mind played back the words, he stumbled over something else.
“‘Whetstone’?” Terry furrowed his brow. He thought he could see a trace of confusion and doubt flicker across the woman’s face.
“He arrived as a captive,” interjected the elven soldier, which made the dwarven woman nod with realization.
“Whetstone is the largest southwestern City of Proving,” explained the dwarf. “District 47 in the outer boundary. That’s where you fought in the Proving Grounds. I was right. You’re the Whetstone Arcanian.”
Am I? Okay. And?
Terry sighed wearily and asked impatiently. “Fight or not? I’m busy.”
“What’s the rush? You’re already late. No point in hurrying now.” The dwarven woman ignored Terry’s question. “You know, when we heard about your arrival, we weren’t sure. We had to confirm to comply with our orders.”
Terry groaned. “Orders to do what?” At this point, he was pretty sure that this would turn into another fight, which left him stumped at the dwarf’s response.
“To avoid confrontation and observe.” The dwarven woman looked amused by something. “Under two conditions. If you appear to randomly pop out at a place of strategic significance. If you appear to be inviting trouble.”
Many questions popped into Terry’s head. Why would the Freedom Cooperative count as a place of strategic significance for Thanatos? Why did they think he was the one causing trouble when he was just reacting? Questions on top of questions and he had to pick a single one to ask.
“And why exactly would you tell me this?” Now it was Terry’s turn to observe the soldier’s facial expressions.
“To see how you would react, naturally.” The dwarf appeared to be having fun. “No worries about Whetstone. Most deaths have been attributed to the Bloody Duchess anyway.”
Bloody who?
Terry narrowed his eyes and subconsciously tilted his head.
“Relax, we’re not here as covert spies and our orders regarding you are not confidential, so it’s up to my discretion if I feel like sharing.” The soldier ignored Terry’s change in expression and instead continued talking with a smile. “Not like I’m going to spill anything important since the motivations behind the orders are above my paygrade and I’m as ignorant as you are.”
Terry’s honest face was a transparent display of bewilderment and more than one of the soldiers started to snicker.
“Anyway, I’m Ruby.” The dwarven woman introduced herself. “I’ll be watching you. Just so you know.” She gestured with two fingers first to her eyes and then towards Terry before leading her subordinates away.
“Nope…” Terry muttered to himself and shook his head. “Not going to think about this shit now.” He began running up into the sky to avoid any more street encounters.
When Terry arrived at the Flower House, he caught the end of a conversation in the reception hall.
“...thought you were with Alexander at this time of day?” asked Iris before yawning heavily.
“He had to leave,” replied Daisy sadly. “Something must have happened.”
Terry stepped into the hall and immediately had everyone’s attention. He faltered slightly under their gazes and only managed to mutter an apology for starting late.
“Don’t kid around, where did you go?” Iris practically jumped out of her chair and looked expectantly at Terry who was confused by her agitated state. Normally, Iris would be either freshly asleep or still sleeping at this time.
“Mighty beasts! Is that…?!” Iris pointed at the glove in Terry’s hand. Next to her, Daisy stared at Terry with a hand raised to her mouth.
“I knew it!” Iris clenched her fists and held them in front of her chest. “I should have come with—”
“No, you should not.” Jasmine’s firm interjection arrived from the corridor and her figure followed shortly after. She sent Iris a chiding gaze. “He’s asleep now, so lower your voice.”
“How is he?” asked Terry with a worry he knew to be irrational. He knew that the potion he had left would heal much worse wounds, but still.
“He’s okay,” replied Jasmine. “Physically. The rest will take time. Thanks for the potion.”
“Sorry for being late to work,” said Terry.
“‘Late’, huh?” Jasmine looked at Terry quietly for a few seconds before asking: “I recall you arriving and leaving. That insane noise from earlier? You wouldn’t happen to know what that was?”
“Can you give that back to Brandon when he’s awake?” Terry held out the Blinding Flash glove.
The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.
Jasmine took a deep breath and then accepted the glove. “I suppose that suffices as an answer to my question.” She placed a hand on Terry’s shoulder. “Just tell me how deep you’re in now.”
“What?” Terry understood the individual words but had trouble making out the meaning of the whole statement.
“Who was it? What do we have to expect? Any trouble with the guards? Going by the ruckus, I assume that the guards made an appearance.”
“The guards called them the hunters, or some Whisperer,” said Terry. He added with a trace of anxiety. “I hope they’ll focus on me and don’t come here to—”
“Don’t worry about that.” Jasmine’s eyebrows had quickly risen up at the mention of the hunters but then became more relaxed and last, she sighed. “I wasn’t aware that locals were responsible. If I had known earlier, this could have been…” She spoke earnestly to Terry. “The hunters skirt the law but they have their own code. They won’t come after us. Thiago loathes those that hurt children.”
‘Thiago’?
Terry creased his brows but then focused on the important part. “They did not seem to care about hurting children when they attacked Brandon.”
“Every organization has their share of opportunists and idealists,” said Jasmine. “Not everyone sticks to the code out of conviction. Some only follow when being watched and Thiago is out on a larger hunt.” She sighed and shook her head. “With Brandon’s description and you tracing it to the hunters, I know who that scarred man is. Don’t worry about us. They wouldn’t dare to touch my Flower House.”
After a pause, Jasmine searched Terry’s gaze again. “What about the guards?”
“Not sure,” replied Terry honestly. “They seemed pissed but the hunters refused to cooperate.”
Jasmine traced her lips with the fingers of one hand while thinking. “If Edmund decides to press the issue, he can invoke the state itself to press charges, which would require them to gather a preliminary collection of evidence that convinces one of the attorneys.”
“Perhaps Alexander could help?” suggested Daisy.
“Perhaps…” Jasmine muttered pensively.
***
Inside a dark room, a man with a scar on his throat was punched in the gut.
“You bloody imbecile!”
“Brother, I—”
“You nothing!” His brother glowered at him. “First you got yourself entangled with a foreigner even though I had specifically told you to stop thinking with your dick!”
“She’s—”
“Then you broke our code! And of all the brats you could have picked on, you managed to pick an orphan from the bloody Flower House!”
“I didn’t know that—”
“I don’t give a rat’s ass, you bloody imbecile!” He slapped his brother hard across the face.
“I can make it right.”
“You can’t do shit! Which is why I’m always left cleaning up your messes! You better get a grip before mother dies or I’ll put you into the ground myself!”
“I’m your brother!” protested the scarred man.
“You’re an incompetent little shit and a danger to our family!” retorted the brother. “What do you think is going to happen when the Boss gets back from his hunt and we haven’t dealt with that man?!”
“I can make it right, I just have to kill that bastard and—”
“Kill?” The brother broke out in derisive laughter. “You? Bloody imbecile! Didn’t you see what that man did? Is it possible that you cannot see even though you have eyes? We would have to send a whole hunting squad to kill that man and even then it would be difficult. The runners have gathered some information and that looks bloody bleak. He doesn’t seem to leave the city boundaries, at least not beyond the dungeons. Worse, he spends half of his time as the Flower Protector in Jasmine’s place and that place is off limits.”
“I can get to him, I just need—”
“If you try, I’ll have someone kill that foreigner you like so much,” growled the brother.
“You…” The scarred man paled.
“We will not rush this.” The brother took a pile of documents with the information on Terry. “If there is an opportunity, we’ll take it, but until then, we’ll make him regret his actions another way.” He sneered. “Muscle isn’t everything. The amount of jobs he takes, he’s strapped for coins. He can’t punch his way out of that. Either he was too stupid to realize whom he’s messing with or he was too foolish to care. He’ll learn soon enough. The best thing is that he’s already gotten on the bad side of the Dungeon Cooperative.”
***
“Uhm, Terry?” Iris spoke up.
“Any problems?” Terry put down his mana-crafting tools and stood up. He hadn’t sensed any trouble.
“I don’t think so…” Iris looked confusedly towards the group of mana martialists at the counter. “...but they wanted me to ask you if…” She gestured some finger-quotes. “‘Senior’ would grace them with a minute.” From her face, it was not clear if she should laugh or not. “I thought they were here for me, but apparently they want to talk to you.” She grinned. “Well, one of them is going to stay for me, but he insisted on talking to you.”
Terry subconsciously closed his eyes while processing the ridiculous request. It had barely been a few hours since the incident with the hunters and already his quiet training days at the Flower House were getting disturbed.
“Fine…” Terry grumbled and walked while thinking to himself. I wonder what it is this time.
“Honorable Elder!”
“Venerable Senior!”
Terry had not expected that sight. A bunch of martialists in grey-blue robes with appearances ranging from young adult to outright elderly. They were all bowing to him. Hearing those martialists of obviously advanced age addressing him as ‘Senior’ was beyond surreal.
They must have confused me for someone else.
“I’m called Terry…” muttered Terry tentatively.
“Of course, Senior.” The martialists nodded fervently.
I’m getting the impression my point has not come across…
“How can I help you?” asked Terry with creased brows.
“Oh no!” One of the elders replied. “We wouldn’t dare beg for anything from you. We just wanted to say that we know what you are doing and that we are with you.”
Terry blinked silently while staring at the elders. Well, if you know what I am doing, then that makes one of us. “Come again?” Is this what Devon felt like with the loonies worshiping the Devonian Lord?
“We understood the lesson you wanted to impart on our disciples in the tomb of trials,” continued the elder.
Terry considered simply walking away. He didn’t believe the conversation would go anywhere productive. He couldn’t even place the mana signatures of those martialists, which meant that whatever sect they belonged to, he had not interacted with anyone with a matching cultivation technique much.
“Forgive our juniors for being too ignorant to understand your lesson immediately,” continued the elder undeterred by Terry’s absentminded expression. “After they have informed us about what happened. The way you sabotaged only those that betrayed. The way you hunted those that hunted others. The way you lingered around the heavens to show the juniors where their true aim ought to be. The altar. The burned tickets. The demonic cultivator. The final battle. The way you let the juniors prove their determination before showing your true might.
“We understand.” The elder smiled knowingly. “We’ve long said that our sect is more important than the individual, but I’ve been rebutted whenever I state that there is a natural extension beyond our sect. Thank you for helping me enlighten the others!”
The elder leaned slightly closer and lowered his voice. “And we know that your lessons here will prove to be valuable as well. Now that you have shown the first sign of acting, we will be here to learn. We stand with you, Venerable Elder!”
“Thanks,” muttered Terry half-heartedly. I guess.
Weirdos.
***
“Terry, come with us.” Jasmine walked out of the reception hall with Daisy behind.
Terry just nodded and followed. He knew that they were supposed to meet Alexander somewhere in the city. Apparently, the knight in politics had some news about the legal proceedings regarding Terry’s actions with the hunters.
Terry understood that Alexander was doing him a favor at the request of Daisy. What he did not understand was why they had to meet in the inner city. As far as he knew, Alexander would visit Daisy at the Flower House later anyway.
Terry decided to let the question go. He knew that he should be happy to have someone intervene on his behalf even if it meant spending an hour in the city… even though that could have been an hour training.
A waste.
Terry shrugged inwardly and used the walk to practice creating small disruption fields and attempting to pull them without losing the rotation. That endeavor was still as frustrating as ever.
Eventually, they arrived at a street of food stalls where Alexander was already waiting and eating a stuffed rice ball that had been breaded and fried.
Terry was surprised to see the rather impersonal greeting between Daisy and Alexander. He realized that he had never seen the two interact with each other outside the Flower House. Even in the Flower House, Terry had not seen them interact but rather felt them through his mana touch when he was keeping an eye on the hidden entrances.
“You know, you’ve really caused a mess.” Alexander grumbled at Terry. “You can’t pull crap like that. The situation is unstable as it is. We can’t afford this.”
“They attacked Brandon,” stressed Jasmine and Daisy nodded slightly.
“I know and I’m not saying they didn’t deserve to have their roof collapsed over them.” Alexander spoke placatingly. “Believe me, some of the hunters deserve much worse.” He took another bite from his rice ball. After swallowing, he looked at Terry. “I can at least commend you on your choice of action. New construction is a boon to the economy. Well done creating demand for local labor.”
Something about the man irritated Terry. He was sure that a large part was the profession Alexander shared with Tiv’s Preacher, but also…
“If they deserve much worse, why isn’t anyone doing anything?” asked Terry with forced calmness.
Alexander licked some of the tomato sauce filling from his thumb. “It’s complicated.”
“Not that complicated,” interjected Jasmine with a scoff. She looked at Terry. “Many crimes were forgiven in exchange for supporting the new country.”
“In exchange for a better future,” rephrased Alexander with practiced ease. “And a semblance of stability.” His tone shifted to one of cynicism. “Unfortunately, people are messed up and blindly pursuing everything would also mean tearing everything apart.” He eyed Terry. “Which you shouldn’t complain about.”
“You mean?” Daisy piped up.
“The presiding attorney has made her preliminary ruling,” announced Alexander with a playful smile. “Not guilty.” He looked at Terry with a more serious expression. “And don’t do it again.”
***
“No,” said the elven sales person with tightly pressed lips.
“Uh, what?” Terry had just entered and wanted to sell the mana cores from the dungeon.
“No, we won’t buy from you.” The merchant stepped next to his employee and elaborated. “We won’t sell anything to you either.”
It took a moment for the words to sink in, but he chose not to care. “Fine, I’ll go find another merchant.”
“They won’t do business with you either,” declared the merchant smugly.
Terry stopped and looked at the pair. “And why wouldn’t they?” He knew for a fact that the mana cores he had were in great condition and high demand.
“Because you’ve been put on the trade shitlist.” The merchant seemed to take pleasure in informing Terry. “You should not have messed with the Import-Export Cooperative. Who do you think is representing the traders? Good luck selling your cores when no reputable merchant will deal with you.”
Terry glared at the merchant while taking deep breaths until he felt calm enough to leave. It seemed that he had lost yet another option to earn money from dungeon work. He had to look for a new alternative.
***