The festival lasted another day, but we didn’t go back to see the sights again. The reason is because Alice came down with a fever over that night.
I’m not sure what it was that brought it on, but it could have been any number of things. We haven’t exactly living well nourished and sanitary lives. Either way, though Alice wanted to go back and enjoy the festival again I forced her to stay and rest. I stole a few blankets for her and had to promise I would return them after Alice got better.
The next day her fever got worse so I went and got Zak to ask for aid. I think I really misjudged him initially. As soon as I came to him and said Alice had a fever he didn’t waste any time gathering up a few things and following me back.
Zak spent a while looking over Alice and asking her normal medical questions. What hurts, where have you gone, what have you eaten recently. That sort of thing. I just waited off to the side, feeling helpless.
When he was done he let her go back to resting and came to talk to me privately.
“It looks like a common cold. I’ll bet she picked it up from wandering through all those crowds.” Looking around our alley he continued, “ I had no idea you kids were living in such awful conditions. I thought you at least had a place to stay with a roof over your heads.”
“I wouldn’t know who to trust to look for a place that would take us in. If I misjudged somebody and they decided to take advantage of us I’m afraid I wouldn’t be able to resist.”
Zak scowled at my harsh assessment of our situation but could only look away and nod. “I wish I could do more, but my position at the church doesn’t exactly allow me to take anyone on. Maybe if I…no but that wouldn’t work. What about… not that either.” Zak put a hand to his chin and started mumbling to himself, going over ideas.
I left Zak to muse to himself and walked over to where Alice lay.
“How are you feeling, Alice?” She had a damp cloth draped over her forehead and her cheeks were flushed.
“I’m alright Stein, I’ll be up in no time. I’m sorry we couldn’t look around more on the second day of the festival.”
“Oh Alice, that's alright. I think we saw plenty the first day. Remember that magician who acted like his fire had a mind of its own and chased him around?”
Alice giggled, “Yeah that was funny. And that animal trainer who had all those crazy pets stowed away in that wagon. I never knew snakes could get that big. I do kind of feel bad for them having to spend their life in that wagon though.”
“I’m sure he lets them out to play from time to time.”
“I hope so.”
“I had wondered why you two weren’t at the second day after the enthusiasm of the first.” Zak cut in. “I was worried something had happened. I’m sure with such a spirited individual like yourself Alice you’ll be up in no time. By the way, how did you two manage to do the illusory wall trick at the entrance of the alley? It’s very impressive. I never would have known there's an alley here if Stein hadn’t guided me into it.”
“Hehe, you like that? It’s my specialty, illu-” Alice broke out into a fit of coughing before she could finish her sentence.
Zak rushed to her side, “Alright Alice no more talking. You need rest, here lay back down.”
“It’s illusion magic.” I finished in Alice’s stead. “Alice cast it so that we could have our own little safe space. She’s kept that spell going since even before I lost my memories.”
“That’s incredible. I had no idea you could do that, Alice. To be able to cast magic at all at your age is amazing, but something as rare as illusion magic as well? Simply incredible.”
Zak spent a while longer with us before leaving. He left me some money for food and instructions on what kind of foods were beneficial to breaking a fever. He also made sure I promised to go to him if Alice’s condition worsened at all.
Yeah, I think it’s pretty safe to say I hadn’t needed to call upon Bymos to check if the church was trustworthy. Zak had done more than enough at this point to earn my complete and total trust.
******
By the next morning Alice’s fever had greatly subsided. She wanted to get up and be about, but I forced her to rest at least until tomorrow.
I try and reread some of the magic book for memorization but I find it hard to focus. With a sigh I give up and decide to go out and get fresh water and food. I toss the book onto the crate I had been sitting on as I stand up. The only good thing about the cough that has been keeping Alice up is it saves me the trouble of waking her up to tell her I’m heading out. After that first disaster where she thought I abandoned her I’ve always made sure to go the extra mile and make sure she's wide awake and has gotten the message before I leave.
Having let her know I empty our bucket down a street drain and head towards the plaza for fresh water.
***
When Stein left the alley Alice wondered what to do. Her cough kept her from sleeping very well so she gave up on that. She didn't have much energy to run around but still felt like doing something to stave off the boredom.
She saw the book Stein had left sitting on a crate and decided reading should be a decent way to pass the time. She was reading on the household applications of fire magic when she heard the footsteps of somebody entering the alley.
Looking up from the book she started to say, “Welcome ba-” when the words died in her throat. The reason was simple, it wasn’t Stein who had come walking into the alley. Instead there was a thin man with unkempt hair and a sly grin on his face. The man was followed by a group of muscular teenage boys, all looking a bit older than Stein’s age.
“Aw man, we waited until after the festival and another day after that to avoid that priest and the boy ain’t even here when we pay ‘im a visit?”
“I-I’m sorry, I had no idea he was out at this time!” Said the teenager who looked the least buff. Alice could hear the hint of fear directed toward the man they followed.
“Nah, it’s fine. The girl he hangs around is here, I’m sure he’ll show up at some point.”
“W-What do you people want with my brother?” Alice managed to squeak out.
The man became silent and turned his gaze towards her. Looking into his eyes Alice felt a chill go up her spine. The look in his eyes reminded her of the vicious caged animals she had seen at the festival. Only this creature wasn’t locked behind a cage. He was here, in a place she had started to call her home away from home.
“Brother, huh?” The grin on his face turned from sly to sinister.
Alice didn’t bother talking any more, all of her senses screamed at her that this man was dangerous. She didn’t know what he wanted with Stein and she didn't care. She moved out of fear rather than any rational reason.
Perhaps because of the passage she had been reading she instinctively started forming her hand signs for her firebolt spell. “Fire-”
The man moved like a whirlwind in her eyes, one moment he was ten paces away from her the next the backside of his fist slammed into the side of her face. The blow sent her sprawling, and she tumbled down onto the stone floor of the alley face first. As soon as she managed to take a breath down on the ground she was overcome by a fit of coughing, making her feel like she wasn’t able to breathe.
“Ah, so the little missy is sick. I’ll bet the dutiful brother is out getting food or water and will be back soon. Well that works out well enough. Heh heh, let’s see how he panics when his poor sister is taken captive by some evil ruffians.” He laughed to himself in a sickening way.
Alice only really heard half his little speech though, her cough depriving her of oxygen and the savage blow to the head caused her to fade into unconsciousness.
**
I was whistling a tune as I walked back to our little home away from the eyes of the world. After getting our bucket refilled I had spent some money and got some cooked chicken kebabs for Alice. The stand I got the kebabs from used to just sell the raw chicken and eggs, but I think the festival had taught him how profitable selling cooked food could be.
I mused over this and other oddities I had seen around town in the wake of the festival as I came toward the spot where Alice’s illusion hid our alley. I guess I was so absorbed in thought I actually missed it when I wasn’t paying attention, as I realized I had gone too far past it and turned around. As I turned and started back with renewed attention it hit me why I had missed it.
Why?
On the way back from the plaza there were five other alleys we had to pass to reach our little hideaway. So when I had counted six I just assumed I was miscounting and kept going, but quickly realized I had gone too far. The reason was simple, and obvious of course. But I couldn’t immediately process it.
Why is our illusion gone?
A fragment of a conversation from over the past two weeks in this world flew through my mind. “Huh, so multicasting is supposed to be pretty difficult?” “Yeah! Our old teacher said it was so difficult it takes years of practice to achieve! He was a super old but mighty sorcerer yet he said even he could barely manage three spells at once.” “So even with how good you are at illusion magic you can’t do anything else at the same time?” “No way, just being good at a type of magic doesn't just mean it becomes easier to multicast. Teacher always said it takes a super duper amount of practice before you can layer arrays. Whatever that means.”
My legs were running before the bucket hit the ground, and even before my thoughts caught up with my instinct. So Alice cut her mana to her illusion spell? Did she run out of mana? No, if the spell was continually draining her she would have run out ages ago. So why? Why would Alice lower the illusion? She can’t multicast. But why would she try to even cast another spell when she knew it would bring down the illusion. She wouldn’t, right?
Unless she had no other choice. Unless she’s in danger. Fuck.
In the mouth of the closest alley there was a burly teenager leaning against the brick wall, looking deeper into the alley. No, not the closest alley, our alley.
I dash up behind him and draw my dagger in a fluid motion. Whirling, I slam the pommel into the side of his skull. The thought passes through my mind that hey, maybe I’m just making assumptions. But the adrenaline has already flooded my system and this dude's head has already smacked into the wall and he’s taking a nice freefall to the stone floor below.
As his unconscious body falls out of my line of sight I look past him, and the sight before my eyes confirms my worst fear.
The first thing my eyes lock onto is a familiar dirty but undoubtedly feminine head of hair, and the facedown body it’s attached to on the ground. Next I see the slim man standing over her. Last is the three other teenagers loitering around our alley.
They all turn as they hear the fourth boy finally hit the ground like a worthless sack of hay. The boys all draw blades. I look straight at the man who is now also looking at me and I say to him in a voice devoid of all emotion, “If she’s dead none of you are leaving this alley alive.”
Something in my voice makes all of the teens freeze in place, but the man just wears a sly grin and responds, “Don’t worry, I just had to rough her up a little because she tried to attack me. Horrible manners, you know? I think you kids have been going on without guidance for a little too long.”
“Oh? And who exactly do you propose should be guiding us? A piece of shit I wouldn’t feed the dogs like you? I don’t think so.” I take a step forward.
“Stop.” He picks Alice up by her hair and I see her bruised and bleeding face. I stop. I want nothing more than to gut this piece of filth where he stands, but with Alice’s safety on the line I can’t do anything in this situation.
“Good. Let’s have a nice chat. I was wondering if you remembered us.”
“I don't typically associate with scum.”
“Aw, how mean. I guess our encounter was rather fleeting. We met outside the Know Not tavern, remember it? You roughed Al up pretty good back then.”
The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
His words spark my memory and taking another look at them I realize I do recognize them. I recognize two of the teens as the ones from that fight outside the bar (well, three if you count the one already unconscious). I also recognized the man as the drunk who had turned our little scuffle into a spectacle.
“What is this, some kind of revenge?”
“Not at all, though I can see how you might think that. I was actually wondering if you would maybe be interested in some work. When I saw you fight that night, oh I just knew you had such potential. And I want so badly to see how far you’ll go with that talent.”
“Seems like you’ve already got a nice little posse here already.”
“Yes, but none of them have your gift. Won’t you come and be my ally? We could accomplish so much together.”
“Does your hiring process usually involve beating on your potential employees' family?”
I didn’t miss that the two boys I didn’t know the names of looked a little off to the side as I said that. The man simply kept wearing that sly grin and said, “Sometimes.”
I don’t say anything for several seconds as we stare each other down.
Eventually he sighs, looks down at Alice and says, “Alright I’ll admit, this isn’t exactly how I had imagined this pitch going. So I think we’ll try a different approach. You will work for me, or I will sell both you and your dear little sister off to some slaver or perverted noble. A girl this young who can cast something as rare as illusion magic could fetch such a high price, it almost makes me think that might be more worth my while than this little thing we have going here.”
So in the end it came to threats. Not like men like him knew any other way of doing business.
“Let me guess, I bet you’d have me running around picking pockets for you. That and beating on anybody who looked at you the wrong way.”
“You’re sharp.”
“And you say I would be your ally, and we would accomplish so much together. But really you just want another disposable tool that you can use threats on to do your bidding and make you money.” The man's smile faded a little. I knew men like him from my past life and exactly how they treated their young ‘recruits.’ “But you really talk too much, because you’ve let go of the only possible thing that could have forced me to work with you.”
He frowns, “And what’s that? In case you’ve suddenly lost your mind I would remind you I’m currently holding your sister hostage.”
I smile ruthlessly, “No, you’re not. You talk like a king of your own little world but you’re just a rodent, grabbing anything you can within arms reach. You’ve already told me how valuable she is. That tells me that even if you wanted to do something to her to get to me you couldn’t, because if your plan for me falls through she’s your backup. All your threats are as meaningless and empty as you are.”
The man’s grin was long gone, replaced by a derisive sneer. Abandoning any attempt at feigning goodwill he asked, “And what would you know about people like me?”
I felt a thin smile form on my face, but it wasn’t aimed at him or any of the other teens in the alley. It was something of a mocking smile, aimed at myself.
I know because at one point I was almost as much of a piece of shit as you are.
When I didn’t bother saying anything to the man he just scoffed. He lowered Alice and released her, letting her unconscious form flop back onto the floor. “Fine, negotiation breakdown. We’ll just do this the hard way. I hope you have no regrets when I make you watch as I sell your dear sister into slavery.”
His face twists into a sadistic smile, “Maybe I’ll sell you to the same person so you can also watch as she’s ravaged and her innocence is repeatedly stolen from her.”
I can tell he's still trying to get in my head, “Nothing you say will matter in the end.” I fall into a fighting stance with my knife, “Because you won’t be leaving this alley alive.”
“Alright Al, you wanted your shot at a rematch so here it is.”
“Yeah.” Al stepped forward with a knife of his own and took a stance right in front of me.
I doubt words will work on the rowdy teen in front of me but I try anyway, “I bear no grudge against you. If you leave now I’ll spare you.” I lower my voice, “If you refuse to get out of my way I won’t show you any mercy.”
Al snorts and replies, “Big talk. This won’t end the same way it did last time.”
“Yeah, you’re right. This time will be significantly more painful for you.”
Al rushes forward, knife in hand and makes a few cautious jabs. I avoid them, weaving from side to side. I try a few swipes at his exposed wrist, but he anticipates them and always manages to move out of the way before my blade connects.
He disengages and we resize each other up in our minds.
This kid is far better at fighting than I initially gave him credit for. I had CQC training in my past life and he’s easily taking the lead in this fight. I need something else, something to give me the edge. But can I really do that again?
I thought back to the fight outside the tavern and how my body had seemed to move on its own with some deeply ingrained instinct. I wanted to draw on that again but I knew from experience that just winging it in a lethal fight could end really bad really fast.
Let’s just keep it simple. Here he comes again.
Al came in again with the same style of attack. We more or less repeated the same dance we just had. At least that’s what I thought until I felt my shoulder touch the brick wall. A wicked grin came over Al’s face as he shifted his position and started pressing the attack even harder. It became almost all I could do to defend.
Shit! He kept attacking my left so I would move into the wall on my right!
The fact that he had used the characteristics of my own alley against me showed just how much more combat experience Al really had.
Seeing as he had my back against the wall he pressed his attack harder and harder. I took a cut to the face from a swipe I couldn’t perfectly dodge. I knew if this kept up I would lose. I needed to get my back away from this wall even if it means taking a hit.
In a desperate gamble I see him take a stab at my shoulder and instead of trying to dodge I slide into it toward him. I feel the blade slice along my right shoulder as I bring my own knife down with all the strength I can manage in such an unbalanced position. I feel my knife sink into his thigh and he cries out in pain. He tries to bring the knife in his outstretched arm down onto my back but I kick off the wall and roll forward, going past him and managing to dodge the blade.
Al is visibly in pain but I still see the anger in his eyes. I know he isn’t ready to give up from that. And I feel that sensation I felt before coming back to me now.
Alright Al, let's run it back. I’ll show you how outclassed you really are.
Since Al had a knife in his leg and wasn’t moving forward I chose to take the initiative this time. I raised my fists and let out a battle cry as I charged him. He clearly wasn’t expecting me to bum rush with just my fists while he still had a knife, and he made a panicked jab at me. Which was exactly what I wanted.
Two paces away I brought myself to a sudden halt at the same time Al made his thrusting attack. Weaving my right hand around the blade I grabbed his wrist and pulled it toward me, off to my right. As I pull his arm to my right I lift my leg up and stomp down as hard as I can on the knife still embedded in Al’s thigh. He lets out a roar of pain as his leg crumples underneath him and he comes tumbling down.
Al grabs pathetically at his brutalized leg and cries out repeatedly in pain. I pick up the knife he dropped seeing as how it would be a waste of time to try retrieving my own out of my opponent's leg. I walk up to him and crouch down next to him. Lifting his head up by the hair I whisper in his ear, “I told you this time would be more painful.” Then I smash his face down into the stone floor.
Leaving the now unconscious Al where he is I stand back up and look towards the other two teens. I don’t bother saying anything, I just give them a look that asks whether they want some or not. Both drop their knives and back up to either wall with their hands raised.
“Ah great, this day keeps getting better and better.” The man seems undisturbed by his underling bleeding from the leg and unconscious on the ground. “I must admit, you are even more impressive than I remembered. But I see the error in my ways now.”
“Oh really? You’ll go home and start being a useful member of society now?”
Ignoring me he continues, “It was clearly a waste of time trying to negotiate at all. I mean really… it seems the only way to bring a wild dog to heel is by teaching him who his master really is.”
I consider his words before replying, “You know, I had a similar thought. It really is better to put down a rabid dog than to try and teach it manners. No matter how hard you try they just aren’t capable of change.”
The man assumes an open handed stance and stands ready to fight. I wait a few moments to see what he’ll do but he just waits.
Alright, if you’re going to let me come to you I hope you don’t mind if I strategize a bit first.
I think about this situation, my capabilities, and my opponent. Honestly my prospects are pretty shit. I could match a boy a bit bigger than me blow for blow because of my previous training in hand to hand combat. But me, a malnourished 15 year old taking on what looked to be a man in his early thirties was a completely different scenario. Another thing that bothers me is his open handed stance. I can very clearly see a knife of his own on his belt, as well as what looks to be a flintlock pistol. Yet he chooses to neglect these options and fight against a knife with his bare hands.
With these factors in mind it’s very clear he’s aiming for a grapple and restraint using his superior body mass. And if he’s willing to take a cut or two to achieve that then there's really not much I can do physically. What other options do I have?
I’ve spent half the time given to me in this world developing a spell to make Alice happy, so I’m seriously lacking in the offensive magic department. The biggest barrier that I’ve come across in making basic spells deadly is their velocity. I can move conjured fire and even physical water and stone around easily enough but when I try and accelerate them they just refuse to go faster.
Shit, what other options do I have?
***
As Stein had surmised, Portkin was in his early thirties and physically far stronger than him. During his life on the streets he had picked up a considerable amount of experience brawling, and had a decent talent for reading his opponents.
He thought to himself, Come on, little sparrow. Come to me so I can clip your wings. There's nowhere to go, your sister’s right here.
His strategy was also almost exactly as Stein was predicting, with the addition that he planned to have his two little helpers help restrain the troublesome child if necessary. And so he waited for the child to make the first move.
It took almost a minute for that first move to finally come, but it wasn't what Portkin had predicted. The child before him actually backed up almost 10 paces before forming a hand sign. He interlocked his thumbs with his knife held between them and spread his fingers out.
No way, this kid can use magic too?
“Firework.”
“Kh!” Portkin had no idea what ‘firework’ was supposed to do but he could assume it was some sort of fire attack. He knew when facing magic you needed to protect the vitals, so he brought his arms up in front of his face in a boxers guard.
However, a moment passed and nothing seemed to happen.
Looking around his arm he saw that the boy was looking at his hands in confusion and surprise. Whatever ‘firework’ was supposed to be had failed.
Now’s the time to strike!
Seeing the opportunity arise, Portkin abandoned his initial strategy for one more his style: attacking. He rushed forward with the speed he had used to overwhelm the girl.
As he dashed forward he saw the look of confusion on the boy's face turn to a grin of satisfaction. Before Portkin even had time to register he was being goaded into offense the boy moved his left leg to the side to reveal an angled tube that had been fashioned out of the stone floor.
Again before Portkin had time to react he watched as a little ball of flame shot out of the stone tube directly at him. The little ball exploded about three paces in front of him, blinding and slightly disorienting him.
He came stumbling to a halt and took a defensive stance, far less composed than his previous one had been. Blinking his eyes to try and see again he tried to regain his sense of where the boy was. The spell still had lingering effects of small balls of fire that bounced strangely off the wall and ricocheted around the alley. He felt little stings as some made contact with his arms and face, but he paid them no mind.
It took all of two seconds for Portkin to almost completely regain his composition after Stein’s surprise firework spell. It was far less time than Stein had been counting on as he rushed Portkin with his knife. Portkin opened a single eye to see and regained a line of vision on Stein as he attacked.
There. Thought you could get the advantage with a bit of magical trickery, eh? Too bad you don’t seem to have anything useful up your sleeve.
Portkin watched as the boy raised his blade up high and prepared to stab it down onto him. Portkin moved like a viper, and thrust his hand out to catch the wrist of the arrogant boy as he brought the knife down. But as he moved to defend one of the little balls of fire flew past his line of vision, blinding him again.
Dammit! Portkin thought. But even as he closed his eye he was confident he could still catch the boy’s wrist. So as he opened his other eye and closed his fist around where an arm should have been, it confused him that there was… nothing there. Nothing except a knife that continued falling, that turned in the air and bounced uselessly off his chest before clattering onto the stones below.
What?
As he stupidly tried to figure out what had happened, Portkin felt a pair of hands press against his chest over his heart and on his back in the same place. He looked to his right side and saw the boy nestled up next to him, looking like he was giving him a hug. It terrified him how much that nice little image contrasted with the look in the boy’s eyes.
“Freeze.”
***
As I activated my spell I felt the flesh between my hands balloon outwards as I changed the temperature of every water molecule between my hands from what had likely been a normal 98 degrees to 0 instantly. The instantaneous drop below the freezing point caused all the water in the man’s body to expand instantly, making his flesh puff out like a balloon and perforate the frozen skin.
He coughs up blood and staggers backwards, staring down at his chest and bringing his hands up to what looks like a bloody bubble that’s formed on his shirt. With one last look up in my direction his legs give out and he collapses onto his back. I hear him continue weakly wheezing and see him writhing on the ground. I know he won’t last much longer, I froze his heart solid and he’s going through the process of brain death from lack of blood flow. You don’t come back from that. Period.
Looking away from the dying corpse at the two teens left standing in dumb shock I say, “Pick up your friends and leave. I ever see any of you again and you’ll regret it.” They nod dumbly and rush past me to pick up Al and the other teen before carrying them out of sight.
What now?
It hits me suddenly how tired I am. Despite being a malnourished teenager I just went through two life or death fights, so I guess it makes sense how tired I am. I feel wetness on the fingers of my right hand. Bringing it up to look, I see its blood, my blood. It had dripped down from the cut I received on my shoulder.
I pinch myself to snap out of my daze and try and refocus on what I should do next. As I start wondering that I realize I’m not alone in the alley anymore.
I turn to the mouth of the alley and in it is a weathered man with an eyepatch and unkempt black hair. I can’t help but notice he also has a sword and flintlock at his waist.
“Aw hell, this is quite the mess I’ve just walked into.”