The trip back to town was easier than I had expected. It probably helped that, as if by magic, most of the mud had vanished. Too bad the mud that covered me and my dress decided to stick around. And, while some of the mud had dried and flaked away, I was still decently covered by the time I stepped through the gate and into the city.
I wasn’t the only one either. Men, women, and even some older kids were just as coated. All of whom looked to be in great spirits. It was only as I through a break in the crowd that I noticed a pair of guards pushing their way in this direction. As I hadn’t broken any laws, or at least I didn’t think I had, I was fairly sure they were after someone behind me. I, and many other people, moved to one side or another as we made way.
Too bad for me, the guards changed directions until their path was back in line with my position. Which meant that they were here for me.
As I stopped, I ran through my options. Guards in a city were like modern police. While I knew I hadn’t done anything, that didn’t mean they didn’t suspect me of doing something. They would either ask me a couple of questions and move on, or they would ask for me to come with them to the station, or whatever it was called, to answer some questions.
I wanted to at least try and get them to ask their questions here. I mean, where else would I get a decent amount of witnesses? “What can I do for you gentleman?”
One of the two hung back while his partner walked closer. “Kyren Vulpier?” His voice sounded rough from years of overuse.
“Yes?”
“We need you to come with us.” So much for getting them to ask the questions in a public setting.
With a hand up, I tried to at least get an explanation before agreeing to go anywhere with the two of them. “Sorry, but can I ask what this is about?”
He shook his head. “I am sorry but we are not at liberty to say anything.” That wasn’t ominous at all. Guess I might be seeing respawn after all. And just as I thought I might survive this day.
Without prompting, an idea popped up in my head. “I was heading to meet with some friends. Mind if we stop and let them know I am going to be late?”
“Our orders are to take you directly to the station.” He stepped forward with a hand outstretched. When I stepped away from him, I noticed his partner’s hand rested on the pommel of his sword. A sword that I would have sworn hadn't been there at the start of the conversation. We stood there for a dozen seconds while I went over my options.
Seeing how relaxed the two of them were, they were either confident I would be unable to take them on or there was backup just out of sight. That fact, coupled with the amount of room the crowd was giving us, pretty much told me I was screwed. I would be going with them no matter what I did and there was nothing I could do about it. Well, short of death anyway.
Finally, I nodded and gestured for him to lead the way. His outstretched arm dropped as he pivoted around. His partner waited until I was past him to start walking. Together, they escorted me across the main road and onto a side road.
It was one of those side roads no one notices. The only use these kinds of roads had was for those people who lived on them or just on the other side. As such, the place was run down. Dirt and trash piled up in the corners while water from the last storm sat in stagnant puddles and potholes. Was it sad that the sight reminded me of the streets back on Earth?
The further we traveled, the closer the houses grew. In a fortunate turn of events, my feminine frame allowed me to walk normally while the two guards had to walk with their upper bodies slightly turned. With how filthy the walls were and the crusty film present, I didn’t blame them for not wanting to touch them.
Light had issues making it all the way down into the alleys. Which was probably why I couldn’t make out what was beyond the last building on the street. It was like seeing the light at the end of a dark tunnel. Like a curtain that continued to flutter at the edge of your vision. The thing made it hard to get a good look at it and everything beyond.
When we stepped through, I expected a small street similar to one of the first we had entered. To my surprise and confusion, the road was as larger than the one that connected the guild hall to the city gate. Well, I say the road was larger but the vehicles around us were the same size. The extra space was taken up by honest-to-god sidewalks. If not for the anachronistic vehicles and clothing, I could almost believe I was back on Earth, albeit one located in one of the old downtown districts of Europe used in various movies. Only cleaner. There was no dirt, mud, or stagnant water to be seen.
Did I say vehicles? Yes, yes I did. While there were a few carriages drawn by horses, there were also a few without. The sight of which caused questions to pop into my head. Too bad my two guards were unlikely to answer.
So we continued in silence as we followed the sidewalk to a painted section of the road. At which a little crowd stood as they waited for something. I took the opportunity to get a better look at the people living in this section. Something about the sight was tickling the back of my mind but, for the life of me, I couldn’t place my finger on what it was.
Every single person was dressed in fancy-looking clothing. Even the two men down the road loading a truck wore an outfit that looked expensive. If anyone looked out of place, that would have been me. The guards, with their clean leather armor and polished metal fit in better than my mud-covered self.
A small stone that hung over the road started to flash yellow, catching my eyes. As one, the group suddenly surged forward, pulling me along for the ride. The group carried me along until they dispersed on the other side. It was then that I realized what I had found odd about the place. Humans were the only species present.
Now, I know the city's population was predominantly human, but there was always at least one other species in view. They might be elven, dwarven, or beastman, it didn’t matter. There was always at least one in the crowd.
That wasn’t the case here. This realization caused the pit of my stomach to drop out as potential reasons came to mind. While they would explain the undercurrent I had started to notice, I had hoped I was wrong. I just had to hope that I was wrong because if I wasn’t then I needed to run as far away from this place as I could before the situation escalated.
I wasn’t given any more time to look over the street as one of my escorts suddenly pushed on my shoulder. It wasn’t a hard push but enough to catch my attention and turn me toward a building. There wasn’t much memorable about the building, not when compared to those around it. It was a thin, grey building with a guard on either side of the door. They said nothing as I was led into the first room.
The room reminded me of a waiting room one would see in movies. All high-end, clean, and well taken care of. It was a mix of dark wood and pure white marble walls. Honestly, it was a gross showing of wealth and waste. I almost felt bad for the people who maintained the place. Especially with the amount of dirt I was still tracking behind me.
The author's tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.
Lucky for me, and whoever had to clean up the place, the two guards continued to walk as they led me deeper into the building. The further we went, the more used and less ostentatious the place looked. Dark stains covered sections of the worn floor and they didn’t look new. In fact, the marks looked like they were constantly being scrubbed at.
I chose to ignore the stains and focus on the rest of the place. The place made the first room seem like it was a front or something. This room was much larger yet I almost felt confined simply due to how full the place was. Given the amount of guards that walked, talked, sat, and completed paperwork, I was fairly sure this was one of the city's guard stations. Maybe even the main guard station given its location.
While a few of the guards glanced at me, the rest ignored us. Even as we made our way across the room and to the door at the end of the room, they ignored us. The woman at the desk next to the door, however, stopped us. “Mr Morrowgrave is busy at the moment. Please have a seat.” It took me a minute to realize that the guards were waiting for me to sit. Almost as soon as my ass hit the chair, they turned and vanished into the disorder that was this place.
Minutes passed as I waited. My eyes wandered around the room as I tried to find something to waste time looking at. Other than the people that came and went from the room, everyone and everything else was just out of sight. Blocked by mounds of paper, supplies, and even armor. I was so bored I contemplated asking my AI to play some music for me when the door next to me opened.
“I will make sure he gets the message.” An older woman said as she stood in the doorway bowing to the person inside.
“He better.” A hard voice I vaguely recognized said without inflection. “Send in the young man sitting in the chair.”
As her back straightened she turned and gave me a once over while lifting an eyebrow. Without saying a word, she walked away. While I had heard his order, she could have at least made the attempt to do what he said.
I let out a resigned sigh as I stood up and worked to smooth the wrinkles out of my dress. The gesture did nothing more than send dirt skittering off in all directions. The slight frown on the secretary’s face deepened which, for some reason, made me happy. Which was weird because she had done nothing to me and I didn’t just hate people without at least some cause.
In one motion, I turned and crossed the threshold into the office. The place was worse than the room behind me. Papers, weapons, shields, and bottles, some filled and others not, covered all but the surface directly in front of the man. A man that I recognized from the professor’s run-in with the city guards. He looked just as he had that first day. Well, except unlike then, he looked perfectly at home in this deathtrap of an office.
As he looked up from whatever he was reading, his eyes locked onto mine. His purple eyes bore into me as if he was trying to figure something out. To add to the creepiness of the scene, in the darker light of the office, they looked like they glowed from the inside. Maybe there was a skill that caused one's eyes to do that? I didn't know and, at the moment, it didn’t really matter.
“Please come in and close the door.” His voice broke me out of the trance I had somehow found myself in. As soon as the door was firmly shut, he continued. “Do you know why I summoned you here?”
“Did the professor do something?” It was the first thing I could come up with that might have this guy asking for me.
“Who… oh you mean the sphinx that was once human?” He waved the idea off. “That creature took off before the festival ended.”
He went silent as if he was inviting me to try again. I shrugged. “Then I have no clue.”
His face looked a bit disappointed at the fact that I wasn’t willing to play his game. “Truth be told, there are a few reasons I wanted to talk to you.” He steepled his fingers as he continued. “At first I was curious who it was that had convinced the elf Barti Vendlewood to train them. It wasn’t that long before my daughter started to rant and rave about a new person she had met. Someone she felt had decent potential.” He scoffed. “Imagine my surprise when I found out the two people were the same person.”
Something about his eyes made me think he wasn’t all that surprised. As I didn’t know who his daughter was, I ignored that part of what he said and focused on the fact that Barti was training me. “The sub-guildmaster told him and his party to train me.”
“Yes,” The guy nodded, “Ginny Metaleater. She has been known to help others she feels need it. Though typically she helps only those that are from a non-human race. Yet, for some reason, she decided to help you. Why is that?”
“No clue.” And even if I did, it wouldn’t be my place to say.
“Hmm… Well, it doesn’t matter.” Our eyes once again met. This time, I found myself frozen in place. “I need you to report everything those two, and their friends, are planning. Preferably to me but I can arrange for you to report to someone else if you want. Maybe my daughter?”
It took a shit ton of effort, but I managed to get out a single word. “Why?”
His eyebrows lifted as he answered. “Because this city is at a turning point. Those two, and the group they are a part of, are trying to tip the scales. While they think they are doing what is best for the non-humans, their plans will kill hundreds of people.”
While I still could barely move, whatever was causing the pressure on me lessened enough for me to talk. “If it is that big of an issue, why don’t you go talk to them?”
He sighed. “They refuse to talk to me or anyone else from the city guard. They even refuse to talk to the government. Of course, there are plans in the works to force them to listen to what we have to say, but I fear it will be too little too late.”
“Hence your desire to get me to watch over them for you.”
“I knew you were the person I should talk to about this.” His hand flicked out to point at me. “Do this for me and I promise you won’t regret it.”
Quest:
Watcher
Quest Type:
Personal - Unranked
Description:
The other races seem to be planning something. Watch them and report anything suspicious.
Requirements:
For the next 72 hours, report any plan that you hear about.
Reward:
Unknown
Failure:
Unknown
Well, that quest was fucking vague. So much so that I couldn’t just agree to do this for him. But I also couldn’t outright say no. I debated asking for some time to think everything over and get back to him but that was likely not an option. Something told me that if I said anything other than yes then I wouldn't be leaving the building. So time to take a quest and potentially fail it. Oh, joy. “Sure, I can keep an eye out for you.”
“I look forward to what you find. Dismissed.” He waved me off as he picked a paper off his desk and started to read through whatever was on it. I didn’t hesitate to open the door and re-enter the main room. Unlike a few minutes ago, everyone stopped what they were doing and stared at me. The synchronization and creep factor was nearly enough to send me sprinting from that place. Only my nerves kept me at a mild speed-walk as I made my escape.
People flowed around me from the moment I stepped out of the building. I ignored them as I tried to recall which alley the guards had brought me through. After a minute of wracking my brain for the answer, I gave up and just walked in the general direction I thought we had come from. Even if I didn’t find the right path back, I would eventually run into the wall.
As I walked, my AI prompted me. “You have an urgent message from your bank. Shall I read it?”
“Sure.” While it was weird for them to reach out to me, it wasn’t like I didn’t have enough to pay my bills.
“We regret to inform you that the check from Tracer Metalworks Inc. has had an indefinite hold placed on it by the sending party. If you feel this is in error, please contact your local bank representative during bank hours. Thank you.”
“WHAT THE FUCK?!” I screamed into the air. The few people nearby didn’t bother to look up. Given the area and how it looked, I didn’t blame them. Then again, I didn’t care if they did try to get up and come see what the issue was. They couldn’t help me. It took me a moment and a deep breath to keep myself from outright beating on the nearest surface in frustration. “What the fucking hell is going on?”
“Searching.” My AI said before it fell silent for a full minute. “Tracer Metalworks Inc. is in the middle of a legal battle with a number of your previous coworkers. They sent out a press release stating that, as the outcome would impact all local employees, past and present, all contracts and agreements will be put on hold until the court decides.”
AKA, the company was holding everyone's final checks hostage to get the court to rule in their favor. It wasn’t the first time I had heard about it. Hell, it was a practice that had grown so common that I should have expected it. And, knowing the overworked and underfunded courts, they wouldn’t make a decision for months.
I had enough saved up to pay my bills for a little while, but nowhere near enough to pay for the pod. I was screwed and needed to find a way to make some money and fast. As I thought over my options, I resumed my meandering trip back to the guildhall.