CHASE OR STAY

The thrashing wind was cold, torturing my skin through my thick leather jerkin and wool-threaded arming doublet. But, the day was beautiful, with clear skies beside the freezing air. Beads of cold sweat slid down my eyelid, and I nearly slapped myself in the face to wipe it off.

MANTIS

Oh, careful, Hilly!

Mantis, dressed in a thin gray tailcoat, studded vest, breathable pants, and studded high boots, laughed at me from across the field, his long purple hair furling in the wind. Around his waist, similar to mine, he wore a belt holding several various leather pouches.

MANTIS

Gonna get shit in your eyes.

He was right. We were both at the backside of a horse stable within the spacious pasture, shoveling small amounts of fertilizer into deep rabbid holes. We were two among seven other gents doing a job that was beneath us.

MANTIS

You'd have a stinky eye after that.

He laughed. I rolled my eyes at him and moved further away.

HILROY

Keep laughing,

I threatened him.

HILROY

And I'm gonna lob a pile of shit down your throat.

He only laughed harder, and I fought the urge to laugh along with him. Fucking Mantis, a purpled-eyed bastard who always knew how to brighten up my day. Not to mention, his light blue and pink crescent skin patterns on his face made it look like he was always smiling.

MANTIS

I'll just eat it. No difference from the shit we eat at the inn.

HILROY

Yet you scoff it down every day.

I snorted while he laughed at his joke, but we became silent as five more gents filed out from the stable and grabbed a shovel.

I sucked my teeth—so many gents in this pathetic excuse for a city looking for work. I lowered my head as I patted the smelly fertilizer into the hole. This was all my goddamned fault—not paying attention when I should've been. I should've been keened and ready, but no, I'm a damned idiot.

I need to realize this was the real thing. We are adventurers, I confirmed internally. It could've been a knife in the back or a blade across the throat. I could've died... Mantis or Panuka could've died. I clenched my jaws at the thought of losing any of them.

MANTIS

Hey!

Mantis shouted, and I realized he was staring at me.

MANTIS

I know that look. Stop it.

I shrugged and shook my head—glancing back at more gents showing up.

HILROY

Good gods.

The pasture wasn't even enormous, but this city's lack of jobs and work was unreal. We were done within minutes with almost twenty gents working this pasture.

Mantis rubs his hands together as we put our shovels into the barrels near the stable's back entrance.

MANTIS

Time to get paid.

A gent behind Mantis scowled,

GENT

Will you shut up?

Mantis spun on him,

MANTIS

Why don't you make me!

He shouted, smashing his knuckles together so ferociously—the sound alone made the gent cower backward in regret.

HILROY

Mantis!

Mantis laughed and shook the frightened gent by his shoulder.

MANTIS

I'm just kidding! Relax!

We lined up to get our payment from the stable owner sitting at a finely crafted table, a gent seemingly in his sixties with long waist-length brown and red hair. His upper eyelids were definitely stricken with some kind of disease, making them puffy—

MANTIS

See,

Mantis whispered into my ears.

MANTIS

That's gonna be you if you don't stop touching your eyes.

I pursed my lips to hold my laugh as we moved forward.

STABLE OWNER

Ah, Mister Hilroy,

He croaked.

STABLE KEEP

Ah, yes, you came in for three hours... fifteen puries...

He scribbled it within his ledger before reaching down below his desk and retrieving fifteen puries from a fat leather purse. I took my pay, hurried through the stable, nodded at the keeper's wife—who was tending to horses with other stable keepers, and pushed my way out the double wooden doors onto a paved road free of shitty-smelling air.

Mantis came out after me and took a deep breath,

MANTIS

Oh yeah, that's the stuff.

I started off going north up the road,

MANTIS

The inn's this way?

HILROY

We should stop by the eatery and see how Panuka is doing.

MANTIS

Oh, you want to meet your lady while smelling like manure.

I stopped in my tracks as Mantis continued to tease me,

MANTIS

If it were me and my ladies, never. I like to smell clean for my ladies.

Fucking Mantis—

MANTIS

But hey, Hilly here believes the delicate sting of a horse's bowels is the perfect smell—

HILROY

I get it!

Mantis smirked as I hurried past him down the road.

A few hours later, I was drying myself off in the washroom of the gent's bathhouse. It was big enough to fit just two gents and had two sinks and mirrors on opposite ends. The mirror before me was cracked, but I could still see my pale white skin blotted with tiny brown arrow patterns. My hazel eyes glistened with Petty Night Vision—the damn washroom was almost as dark as night.

MANTIS

Did anyone steal my stuff?

He asked as he entered from the shower room and peeked his head out the other exit leading into the dressing room where he left his items and clothing.

HILROY

Why didn't you just hand it to the servant?

Mantis pushed against me as he checked his teeth in the mirror,

MANTIS

She's creepy—didn't trust her.

I scoffed and exited into the public dresser—murky with low candles lighting a musty stone and marble room filled with rows of benches. I never knew I'd miss Petty Lighting Crystals so damn much. Dagon City didn't have a Cleric or something?

Mantis bumped into me,

MANTIS

Sorry!

I shook my head, wrapped my towel, and continued towards the lady who sat around the angled wall near the entrance. I had to admit, her wide-eyed stare was indeed creepy, but besides that, she was an attractive black and gray-skinned lady with short white hair.

She smiled at me before disappearing into a walk-in closet behind her. She returned with my belongings and gave me a soft smile and bow.

HILROY

Thank you.

She simply nodded again—yeah, she was pretty creepy.

I joined Mantis to dress within the privacy of the public dresser. After reassuring my belongings, I checked myself in the mirror; I wore a marauder's red tailcoat with yellow trimmings, a white long-sleeved shirt, black leather pants, and studded high boots. Studded bracers protected my forearms, and my gloves were reinforced with tiny steel beads. Along with my belt and supplies, a sheathe was tied around my waist, harboring my expensive Steel Sword +1.

Once done, we made our way out of the inn and headed north along the cobbled road.

MANTIS

You need to stop beating yourself up.

We were talking about it again—my mishap.

HILROY

But it's my fault...

MANTIS

It would've been no difference if I was holding onto the pass. The damned bastard was a thief, and none of us knew.

I shook my head and pointed out,

HILROY

You have Lesser Danger Sense.

But he scoffed,

MANTIS

Yeah, for danger, not for petty thievery. Despite what you think, it would've been better if he was aiming for our throats—my Lesser Danger Sense would've kicked in.

HILROY

We still need to find a way to get back.

I eyed the commoners and their drab outfits.

HILROY

Adventurers here stick out like a frozenheart in the summer. That is the only reason Drake targeted us in the first place. Now I wonder how many other people he stole from.

MANTIS

Or how many other thieves are lurking within the shadows.

We turned right onto a paved road that curved up a steady slope. To the right of the road was a black brick restaurant—Corotho's Eatery.

HILROY

Though, at least Dagon City allows ladies to work, right?

I mumbled softly, and Mantis grinned widely at me.

MANTIS

Yeah, she only got hired because of her bosoms—beauty.

I shot him a look, and he snorted.

Outside Corotho's Eatery, eating underneath the covered sitting area, were other adventurers and wealthy citizens dressed in jewelry-embedded clothing. We moved past them through the wooden oak doors. The buzz of chattering boomed as we looked around for Panuka.

Unlike many other places in this damn city, this place had Petty Lighting Crystals—glowing prisms of orange light bolted to the pillars and hanging from the ceiling. There were still a few lanterns and metal braziers near the edges of the restaurant.

I scanned the quick-moving female servants throughout the eatery but did not spot Panuka among them. Sitting before us was a guard next to the fat clerk, Madula, who stood behind a podium bearing a seating chart.

MADULA

Hilroy! Mantis! A pleasure to see you two again!

I nodded a greeting—quickly shuffling aside as consumers from outside loudly made their way toward the bar at the far back of the eatery.

MANTIS

As beautiful as ever, Madula.

I squinted at the back of Mantis' head before Panuka, entering from the kitchen in the back right corner, caught my attention. Her bright red skin with light blue diamond patches was easy to spot. She looked over at us with a smile, and I smiled back.

Undoing the oversized apron off her green shirt and leather pants, she quickly placed it upon the pegs near the kitchen door and materialized her dark green marauder tailcoat. She then bounced over to us—her short purple hair bouncing with her.

Mantis broke away from his flirting with Madula,

MANTIS

You got your pay this time?

Panic took her,

PANUKA

Oh, dammit!

And she rushed back into the kitchen to retrieve it. Mantis snapped his fingers in my face, and I glared at him.

HILROY

Stop that!

MANTIS

Bouncy, wasn't it.

He grinned.

MADULA

Bouncy?

She asked dumbfoundedly.

MANTIS

Uh, no—uh, ignore that.

I shook my head at him as something caught my ear,

GENT

—a new guild office. Right next to the Chieftains' estate.

I looked over at two round tables to my right and spotted a party of male adventurers. The leader, I assumed, was informing another group of male adventurers about a new guild office opening up.

GENT

The number of adventurers showing up possibly changed the Chief's mind. Most of them are scavengers, but who would know.

Scavengers? He had an Earth Kingdom accent and was dressed in a mixture of leather and chain armor, with a sword at his waist and a buckler on his left forearm.

GENT

Quite dumb not to have a guild office here.

The gent's bald head, an array of black, blue, and red rigid designs, snapped towards me. His rainbow-colored eyes glared at me.

GENT

What ya staring at ya bastard!?

I looked away and caught Mantis looking at me, his lips pursed to hold back a grin.

GENT

Want to take me out on a day?

He continued to complain.

GENT

Fucking aye.

I rolled my eyes at Mantis as the gent returned to discussing the guild office with the other gents in a lower voice. Mantis lost hold, and his body shook with muffled laughter.

HILROY

You're an asshole.

I mumbled.

HILROY

But you heard right.

Mantis collected himself and nodded.

MANTIS

Sure did. Things are looking up.

I spotted Panuka rushing back out.

HILROY

We'll check it out after visiting with the justice.

Panuka bounced her way toward us.

HILROY

Ready?

I asked her, and she nodded firmly.

We were back on the road. I strolled slightly behind Panuka and Mantis, talking as if I were invisible.

PANUKA

Doesn't matter what you say, Mantis, he'll keep pounding his chest.

She had materialized her long bow and was inspecting the strings and looking for any damage.

MANTIS

I told him it would've been no different if I had been holding the pass.

PANUKA

Ha! If I had been carrying it, it sure would've been different.

She touted proudly as she Stashed her bow and materialized her quiver of steel arrows.

PANUKA

Because I have Inventory.

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She counted her arrows and then looked back at me with a wry smile.

PANUKA

I need more arrows.

I raised my hands up and mockingly said,

HILROY

Oh! Now you noticed me.

She Stashed her quiver and ran up to embrace me.

PANUKA

Pwease!

She sang with a whiney, annoying voice.

HILROY

Stop that.

I pushed away, and she laughed.

PANUKA

You don't like my whiney voice!

HILROY

See, Mantis,

I started, avoiding Panuka's attempts to stick her scrunched-up face at me.

HILROY

This is the shit I have to deal with.

Mantis stomped down the hill as he led us around the Chief's estate to the courts.

MANTIS

Yeah, and I have to deal with the two of you.

Panuka quickly fixed her face and scoffed,

PANUKA

Oh, you're one to talk. Feeding you is like taking care of a horse. Let me guess, you're hungry right now.

MANTIS

Always.

We continued to tease each other as we made our way up the flight of stairs and through the doors leading into the courts. The servant at the front quickly recognized us and disappeared through a hall to inform the justice in charge of our complaint.

MANTIS

After this, and after meeting the guild office, we should head back to Corotho's.

He mentioned as we waited.

PANUKA

Corotho will soon catch on to your eating habits and revoke my discount.

Coming out from the left were well-dressed commoners in fur-trimmed coats and boldly wearing precious jewelry on their fingers and wrists.

I took my eyes off them, hearing them gripe about Fire Kingdom soldiers disturbing the peace in the markets. Hell, I nearly forgot about those bastards. But luck was on our side as we never had a bad day with any of them.

Justice Gallito appeared from out of the right hall and grabbed our attention.

JUSTICE GALLITO

I'm ready.

He stated firmly, his voice traveling a distance. A short, tired-looking gent with an uneven black bowl cut. His skin was a dirty red with dark spot patterns that resembled mold. His dark violet eyes darted across us.

JUSTICE GALLITO

Come.

He whipped back around, and we quickly followed him into the first room on the left.

The small room had a simple bookshelf behind a polished wooden desk and a black leather-bound chair. There were two cushioned seats for the guests, so I remained standing as Gallito sat behind his desk and explained.

JUSTICE GALLITO

According to our guard's records, Drake is no longer in this city. He left weeks ago and never returned.

He dug through the drawers of his desk as he spoke.

JUSTICE GALLITO

Along with him were two adventurers from the Earth Kingdom named Claire and John.

He paused and eyed us briefly,

JUSTICE GALLITO

I shouldn't be telling you this. I see no harm in doing so, but dozens of cases regarding Drake came just moments before he left the city. Judge Chambers has already created a wanted poster for this gent.

From a drawer, he retrieved a stack of wanted posters,

JUSTICE GALLITO

One or three?

HILROY

Um, just one.

Gallito returned the rest back into the drawer.

JUSTICE GALLITO

We are posting these posters to the board near the new Guild Office.

HILROY

Is there anything you can do?

I asked sincerely.

HILROY

That border pass is worth at least fifty thousand puries.

JUSTICE GALLITO

Sorry to hear that.

He stated bluntly. Not a hint of care painted his tired face.

JUSTICE GALLITO

But we will do everything we can to help you all out.

So, basically nothing but a poster.

HILROY

Great.

I sighed.

HILROY

That's good to hear.

We left the courts and were back on the city roads. Panuka and Mantis did their best to distract me as we walked, but I stared at the bounty with growing frustration despite their efforts. Drake's brown and black raccoon-like pattern face and white eyes stared back at me. His white hair was partially hidden by the hood he wore, and his brow was furled up in annoyance.

MANTIS

Wow.

I tore my gaze off the poster, and my jaw dropped at the sight of a long line snaking out of a small doll-house-style stone home.

HILROY

What the hell?

The line snaked away from us, and we strode down the road to find the end.

PANUKA

Not only adventurers in line.

She mumbled, and I noticed she was right. Commoners likely waiting to make requests were in line as well. After securing our place in line, I folded the bounty and stashed it in my inner tailcoat pockets.

PANUKA

So,

She started, her arms folded as she faced me.

PANUKA

Are we going after the bastard?

I shook my head slowly as I combed my hand through my hair.

HILROY

No idea. Hell, we wouldn't even catch up to him.

MANTIS

Why not stay here?

Panuka and I looked back at him.

PANUKA

Ew. No. This place is filthy.

MANTIS

Why not? This place is still new, a settlement, it will grow, new quests—a massive wilderness to the south.

He added proudly. He did have a point, but I didn't become an adventurer to sit in one place. That was the antithesis of an adventurer. Lost in my train of thought, Mantis continued,

MANTIS

Or we can stay here and do as many quests as possible.

I felt eyes tingle down my back but refused to turn as I replied.

HILROY

No, one quest at a time. This is the wilds, remember.

Telling him that only made him grin in excitement.

GENT

Fucking aye?

I reluctantly turned at the sound of a familiar voice and spotted the bald gent from Corotho's Eatery about four spots ahead of us in line.

GENT

I knew I heard a child's voice.

He stepped out of line and cracked a smile with a few of his fellow gents, each well-armored and geared. One remained in line—he wore black robes and carried an old beat-up oak staff with a wand stashed snuggly in his black waistband.

GENT

Children, the three of them, I told ya. Look at what they wear!

He taunted loudly, grabbing the attention of people in line. I could feel Mantis losing his cool.

GENT

Did ya rich daddy and ma buy you those?

Predictably, Mantis lurched forward—

MANTIS

I took off ya mother's corpse after I—

—I grabbed his arm and pulled him back.

HILROY

Don't!

GENT

Oh! That one there has the spirit!

He bellowed with a wide grin. His robed counterpart turned with an air of annoyance,

FELLOW GENT

Mokoto. Stop it.

Mokoto's grin faded for a moment as he considered obeying.

MOKOTO

Fucking aye, Farengar, I'm just saying.

He smirked and looked back at us.

MOKOTO

Hey, ya keep ya hands off the hunting and slaying quests. Don't need a bunch of fake adventurers hogging quests just to be killed off and eaten by a griffin. I feel sorry for their mothers to raise such—

Mantis bolted off—

HILROY

Mantis!

—and struck his fist into Mokoto's quickly raised buckler. The blow slid him back a few feet, and he lowered the buckler with a huge grin.

MOKOTO

The bastard got some power.

He went for his sword, and the people in the line nearly dispersed.

GUARD

Enough!

We and everyone in the line snapped our heads towards a guard flanking the entrance to the guild office.

MOKOTO

You saw him attack me. Didn't ya?

GUARD

Maybe if you kept your mouth shut, nobody would want to attack you. But, if you want, let us take the matter to the courts.

Mokoto stood up straight and took his hand off his sword.

MOKOTO

No need,

He laughed. Just then, I noticed his fellow gents completely ignored him as they snuck ahead in line when nobody was watching.

MOKOTO

I was just testing the bastard's spirit.

He approached the fuming Mantis, whose fists were still clenched tightly.

MOKOTO

My apologies,

He held out his hand, but Mantis glared back into his eyes.

MOKOTO

Ya a gent who will defend his mother's honor,

Mantis still refused to acknowledge his hand, and Mokoto eventually lowered it.

MOKOTO

Unlike the rest of ya party.

Mokoto shrugged and repositioned himself back in line. His fellow gents began to softly berate his actions, but he ignored them with laughter and a smile.

Mantis pulled himself from his spot and joined us.

MANTIS

Sorry about that,

He mumbled, his anger still painted on his face. Panuka rubbed his back as I thought about Mantis' family. His father was imprisoned for murder after losing his temper, and his older brother left to join Sante June's royal army. His younger brother stayed home to tend to their mother, who was bedridden with a potent disease obtained from mining in contagious mines, rock-blight, that caused extreme fatigue and a heavy body. His reaction was understandable.

We finally made it inside the guild office, a small home furnished with sofas and tables. Just before the wooden stairs to the upper level was an official sitting behind a polished oak desk flanked by city guards.

Mokoto glided to the bulletin board in the far right corner of the home.

MOKOTO

Hunting blacats for their paws good? Or blindinus for their fur?

He asked his party, and they settled on blacats.

After Mokoto accepted his quest and the few before us requested to speak with the assessors, we finally approached the guild official. I glanced at his red and pink colored skin that flowed down his face like water.

GUILD OFFICIAL

Insignias, please.

Panuka materialized our adventurer insignias, octagon-shaped badges made of copper puries with our rank letter carved into them.

GUILD OFFICIAL

Rank D...

He mumbled and scribbled down in the tome before him. Then, he asked for our names, and we responded promptly.

His face perked up,

GUILD OFFICIAL

Just the three of you?

He blurted with confusion. That was a reaction we were used to getting back in North Star, a kingdom past the mountains north of here.

HILROY

Yes, just us three.

He smiled and shook his head.

GUILD OFFICIAL

Smallest party so far. But,

He nodded to a board that stood to the far right corner blotted with brown parchments tacked to the front of it—quests.

GUILD OFFICIAL

Have at it.

I nodded and strode over to the board to pick out a quest. Staring at the parchments, the most notable thing was a fat red letter at the top that explained the recommended adventure rank. Of course, my party and I were restricted to rank D or less to deter weaklings from dying in the plains.

A sudden commotion erupted outside the guild office, and Mokoto's incoherent angry bellow reached my ears. As one of the nearby guards hurried outside, I wondered sarcastically, Who's spirit is Mokoto testing now?

Ignoring the commotion, I spotted the only D rank quest—my face scrunched up in disgust—an escort quest, and the pay was a bit low. I hated escort quests— everyone hated escort quests. We are to protect our quest giver, and depending on who they are, the quest can become a hassle.

I sighed and snatched the quest off the board.

HILROY

Sorry guys, there's only one D rank, and it's an escort quest.

Mantis let out an exaggerated groan, but Panuka saw the bright side of it,

PANUKA

We at least get to meet some of the city people... it is some, not just a single person, I hope.

With Mokoto's loud screaming reaching my ears, I figured he and his party must have been C rank. Was he that strong? I didn't think to count how many he had in his party or to take a good look at their insignias.

The guild official took the quests, placed his thumb on the soul stamp at the bottom right, and then handed it back to us for our thumbprints on the soul stamp. A sensation ran down my spine as my thumb pressed against the soul stamp.

Quest Accepted:

Objective: Escort Biggs, Wedge, and their students to the western ruins. Protect these two for the duration of four hours as they collect and/or mine stones. Escort Biggs and Wedge back to Dagon City.

Compensation: 340p

Since this was an escort quest, we were granted knowledge of Biggs and Wedge's current locations.

PANUKA

All set.

I nodded, rolled the quest parchment, and gave it to Panuka to Stash. As we headed out, my stomach churned, and I realized I hadn't eaten all day.

HILROY

Want to go back to Corotho's—

BLASTER

You are just a goddamned bastard!

A bellowing voice interrupted me as we walked out into the city, and my eyes fell on a Blaster, one of Fire Kingdom's warriors, jabbing his finger into the chest of Mokoto. I quickly glanced at his Salvo fitted tightly in a holster around his waist. Rumors say those things could burn through lines of houses with one blast.

BLASTER

So when I say, get out of my damned way, you get the hell out of my way.

GENT

By the gods!

I glanced at the shouting gent—he was stout, and the portable coin counter at his waist and the travel bag upon his back informed me he was a trader. With sweaty strands of green hair stuck to his face, his familiar accent told me he was from Sante June.

STOUT TRADER

Why are you and your gang always causing problems?

He asked boldly as he wobbled by to get into line.

STOUT TRADER

Is your life wroth with such unpleasantries that you must take it out on us?

BLASTER

Shut your mouth, bug. You do not know a damned thing about us.

Mokoto took a step closer,

MOKOTO

Well, you ain't too hard to figure out. It's because you're weak. A cocky little bastard whose mommy was a fucking shite and your daddy was never home, forcing you to look for validation in the embrace of authority.

Mokoto ranted with a stern expression. The Blaster did nothing but glare back into Mokoto's eyes with a hint of shame.

MOKOTO

True, isn't it?

The Blaster swiftly pulled out his Salvo—

GUARD

Hey!

Mokoto's sword came out in a flash of blinding metal and golden Willpower as it sliced cleanly through the Blaster's wrist, causing him to drop the Salvo. An invisible magical ward around the Blaster seemed to have failed as it appeared briefly before vanishing.

A blood-curdling scream cried out from the Blaster's throat before his other hand jutted out the cast Fire. Mokoto sidestepped and ended his scream with his blade, beheading the head of the Blaster. I watched, horrified and stunned, as the Blaster's body fell to the ground in a splat of blood.

The city guards, summoned by the shrills and cries of onlookers, surrounded Mokoto's party. Despite the bickering and berating I saw between the party earlier, they now stood with their backs together in solidarity.

The city guards drew their swords and barked conflicting orders at Mokoto and his party. The two guards who saw everything attempted to calm their counterparts, but their voices were drowned out. To my utmost surprise, Mantis joined in to defend Mokoto,

MANTIS

Hey! This gent here is innocent!

He yelled.

MANTIS

We saw the whole thing! Right, Hilly!

Hiding my confusion, I nodded as a sea of mumbling voices around us agreed. The stout trader, stunned by what had just happened, found his voice and chimed in,

STOUT TRADER

Y-Yea! That bastard was about to shoot him with that damned thing! They've been—these Fire Kingdom bastards been nothing but—

One of the two guards raised his voice,

GUARD

Yes! Yes—yes! We saw it too! But it doesn't matter!

He nodded at Mokoto's party as the noise softened.

GUARD

You will have to come with us to the courts. Those of you who wish to vouch for him, come along.

Mokoto materialized a white cloth and whipped the blood off his sword. He gave Mantis a smile as he slid it back into its sheath.

MOKOTO

I knew you had honor.

The stout trader and a few others accompanied my party to vouch for Mokoto. I hung back and tugged Mantis to hang back with me.

HILROY

What the hell was that all about?

I whispered, but Mantis shrugged before he responded.

MANTIS

Panuka was right. We need to meet with the city people, but we should also do our best to make friends with other adventurers.

I winced, remembering how we cozied up to Drake and his party.

HILROY

Are you already forgetting Drake—

He was already shaking his head,

MANTIS

Not this time,

He whispered with an air of confidence.

MANTIS

We just have to learn from our mistakes. We can't make one mistake and shy away from it forever.

I was taken aback slightly because he was right. We do need to learn. He suddenly grinned, and I rolled my eyes.

MANTIS

I make sense, don't I?

I chuckled,

HILROY

Fucking Mantis...