Chapter 49

The three friends had left Redgrass late and returned to The Guild grounds close to two am. Jay walked M'redith home and they exchanged a hug good night. No one was very chatty, everyone being far too exhausted to talk. Jay had gone back to his room and gone straight to bed only pausing long enough to put his dress clothes away.

Elsewhere however some people were just getting to work. Boland's agent had just arrived at his prearranged spot and settled down to wait. He was dressed like a traveling peasant and kept to the shadows. He was crouched on the roof of a building that looked out over the putt-putt fields Jay had acquired. Or half acquired as he shared ownership with the former sole owner, Toren.

The agent had developed information that someone had apparently gotten the idea to buy up all the various putt-putt fields in the city. There weren't many, maybe five or six of them in total of which Jay's was one. The agent had discovered that someone had been waiting for putt-putt fields to close down and then had been purchasing them at a steep discount after the business has failed.

Boland had looked in to it and discovered that a few of the prior owners had attempted to repair their businesses, spruce things up a bit to try and lure in new customers. Every time it had been attempted by an owner they had been met with disaster. Fires. Theft. A crashed manure cart right at the entrance. Laborers scared off. The reasons varied but the results were always the same.

The putt putt fields failed no matter what the owners tried.

So Boland had sent his agent to keep an eye on things. The agent settled in to his spot, he was crouched down on a roof with a tarp of waxed leather with a mottled pattern on it thrown over him to hide his shape. The moon was only a sliver that night and the darkness was almost absolute.

Boland's agent sat without motion for quite some time before he saw it. He didn't see a shape or a person, no, he detected merely the slightest hint of movement from off to the side of the main office where there should be no movement at all.

Gently, the agent slipped off of the roof soundlessly and dropped to the ground. The leather tarp became a cloak that he drew about him as he moved. His footsteps were quiet and almost impossible to hear as he approached the spot he had alerted to.

He settled to the ground and arranged the leather tarp around himself to break up his outline. Now that he was closer he could make out two men. They had started off trying to be stealthy but had apparently given that up entirely and were now arguing between themselves.

“What do you mean ME? YOU were the one that was supposed to bring the alcohol! I brought the fire starter, I did my part!” insisted a thick boned bald man dressed all in black.

Dressing in all black was usually a bad idea and made you more visible rather than less at times. The agent was aware that one was far better off dressing in darker shades of brown or even dark blue. Black just stood out far too much – plus it looked extremely suspicious if you were caught. Seeing the two men arguing dressed all in black the agent's opinion of their operational abilities plummeted.

The agent was almost disappointed. He had thought this might be a challenge but it appeared he was just up against some common thugs. How pedestrian he thought to himself.

The shorter of the two black clad men hissed at the other, “Quiet! You'll give us away!”

“Shut up!” said the big bald one, “There's no one around here to even hear us! Let's just light some things on fire and call it a night.”

The shorter one grew angry at being told to shut up but let it go and followed his larger partner who went to the office building and attempted to light a wall on fire.

The agent sighed. These were not very smart men. Standing up slowly he readjusted the tarp as a cape and approached the men quietly from behind, stalking them.

The big man had given up on trying to light the wall on fire and had gone around the corner to see if there was anything flammable on that side.

As he did so he left his shorter partner alone on his side of the building with the agent unbeknownst to either of the two thugs.

Moving quickly the agent ran forward and grabbed the man's hair in one fist and pulled with all his might yanking the man's head back as he delivered a blow with an open hand knife strike to the man's throat. The short thug went down with a gurgle clutching at his throat. He was unable to breath and had thoughts only for getting air. There was no fight in him at all and the short thug quickly passed out.

The agent hoped he hadn't killed him but wasn't too concerned. Everyone knew the risks when they signed up for burning down a building in the middle of the night. At least they should have known the risks.

The agent could hear the big bald thug's footfalls coming closer. He must have realized his smaller partner hadn't followed him around the corner and was coming back to check on him. The agent looked around and realized he didn't have a lot of options. Quickly, he scampered up the side of the small building and perched on the roof overlooking the building's corner.

Just as the big bald thug turned the corner he froze as he caught sight of his downed partner. The moment he froze up the agent was already moving.

The agent slid off the roof behind the big bald thug and crept up behind him. Drawing a hand back he muttered something under his breath and one of his hands briefly glowed as it shot forward and struck the thug from behind right in one kidney.

If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

The magically enhanced kidney punch struck the thug like a sudden jolt of electricity and he dropped to the ground crying in pain.

The agent quickly dragged them off behind the building so nothing would be visible from the road. They would wake up enough to speak soon and the agent had some questions that needed answering. A shimmering field rose up around the agent and his prey masking any sounds they might make.

The big bald one whimpered. He was about to have a very bad night.

----

Mini golf construction going as planned. Some hostile interest was uncovered and temporarily dealt with. Permanent solution in the works. No further funds required. On schedule to open this coming weekend. -B

Jay had found the sealed note taped to his front door that morning after he had gotten up far too late to eat. No one had come to get him that morning and there was a good chance that his friends were still sleeping. They had all gone to bed quite late and Jay wasn't sure what to do with himself and a wide open Sunday morning.

Jay almost activated Tropical Island Aura but decided against it. He really felt like he could use a real bath and a chance to soak for a bit. Jay grabbed his soap but left his laundry since he could clean it himself now with his aura. It saved him a little bit of money but every bit counted or so Aiden said.

Jay went to the bath house and paid for a standard bath. Stepping in to the heated water Jay submerged his head to get his hair wet before soaping up. He thought about his mini-golf project and the note Boland had sent him. What exactly did hostile interest mean exactly? Who the hell would fight over a putt-putt course anyway?

Jay sighed. Boland would take care of it. Having someone he could trust to take care of the business dealings he fell in to was priceless. Jay wasn't a businessman at heart but Boland lived and breathed the stuff. Jay looked forward to seeing how things worked out.

Jay got out of the bath but didn't grab a towel just yet. Standing on the tile dripping wet he had an idea. He activated his Tropical Island Aura and was pleased to discover that it wicked away moisture as well. After thirty or so seconds he was perfectly dry.

Jay grinned, he loved finding new ways to use his abilities. At first Jay had left Tropical Island Aura on constantly as he enjoyed its cleaning effects. It also came complete with ocean breeze however and Jay found that it could be a bit much at times – he enjoyed being able to smell things other than the ocean breeze.

Still, having something that could overpower bad smells would surely come in handy someday. For now though he kept it off unless he needed it.

Dried and dressed Jay left the bath house and walked in to the dim sunlight and headed towards the dining hall. The sun was desperately making a go at shining while at the same times some clouds had rolled in and disgorged a light misty rain. The sunny rain combo was pretty and Jay could make out more than one rainbow in the late morning sky.

Jay had another thought. If his aura dried him off would it also keep him dry? Jay turned his aura back on and stopped in the middle of the path he was standing on. The rain passed through the aura and struck his skin but was almost immediately wicked away. Heavier rain would have overpowered the effect but in the light misting rain Jay was protected it seemed.

Jay grinned and turned the aura off again. That was two new things he had learned about his aura that morning. Not bad for a guy that hadn't even had breakfast yet.

Jay had been stopped right in the middle of the path for a few moments by that point and a person bumped in to him from behind. Jay turned to see a woman with long red curly hair done up in to a pony tail wearing a green dress. Her hair had a single white flower tucked in behind one ear. She bounced off of him but caught herself from falling by grabbing on to his arm as he turned.

They stood like that for a moment before the woman dryly remarked, “Thinking big thoughts?”

Jay looked confused, “Huh?” he replied lamely.

“You. Coming to a complete stop in the middle of a path and just standing there for no reason. What were you doing, thinking some big thoughts, hm?” the woman half teased and half scolded him.

Jay tried to explain which only seemed to frustrate the woman.

“I'm on my way to lunch and you're blocking the path you big ox – Gaia, how tall are you anyway?” she said self consciously as she realized she was still clutching his arm and gave it a firm squeeze. She pushed him away and stood up straight. “Paths are for walking!” she said as she dusted herself off even though she hadn't fallen.

Jay nodded and stepped to the side of the path, “I apologize. I'll try and be more careful,” but her antics made him smile just a tiny bit.

She caught it and she allowed herself a smile as well, “Hey I know you! Jay, right?”

Jay looked surprised, “Yes. How do you know me?”

The woman peered at him as if he were joking and waited a moment just to be sure before stating dryly, “We're in class together.”

Jay slapped his forehead. “Right! Sorry! You're.. Carly, right? The mage!” he asked as he searched his memory for her name.

She had looked perturbed at him for not immediately recognizing her but she seemed to perk up when he said her name. “Yes. The mage. I mean I'm other things too but I suppose to you I'm just the mage.”

Jay looked embarrassed, “I uh didn't mean it like that is all you were..” he tried to explain lamely.

Carly looked up at him with an unflinching expression. “Sure. Women love being reduced to a class.”

Jay winced and stammered, “Sorry. I just meant that I remembered your class.”

She continued to stare up at him and his discomfort before her face bloomed in to another smile as if she had been playing with him the entire time. “I'm going to go eat. See you in class Jay.”

She winked at him and left him standing there quite confused.

Jay stood there in the middle of the path alone once again, thinking deep thoughts.