Aaron sits in the horse stable with a simple piece of bread in his hand. He rips a chunk off of the bread and groans from the pure bland taste of the poorly made bread.
Better than nothing I guess.
Aaron continues to chew on the tasteless bread, but he stops mid chew on the last bite of bread. His ears pick up the sounds of footsteps heading towards his illegally gained home.
One set of footsteps is heavy and seems to be wearing heaving armor from the sounds of metal clanking coming from each step. The other pair of footsteps is light yet diligent as each step seems to be exactly the same time apart as the last.
A sense of danger spreads its way throughout Aaron's scalp, leading all the way down his body. He decides hiding is the best option and uses Blend in to hide behind some large stacks of hay meant for horses.
The two footsteps make it to the entrance of the door stable and the front doors to the large stable are flung open. Aaron covers his mouth and slows his breathing so as to not give the intruders an inkling of his presence. He also stays crouched behind the haystack and does not peek out, lest he want to get caught.
The two footsteps stop for about 10 seconds before they seem to split up. Unfortunately for Aaron, the two footsteps seem to have a way of tracking Aaron and do not hesitate in approaching him, with the heavy set to his left and the light sight to his right.
Even with the chance that someone is trying to assassinate him, Aaron is able to control his breathing and heart rate, hoping that it is just a coincidence that they are coming straight towards.
Deciding that if they did find him and decide to kill him, Aaron puts his deck of cards into Attack Mode and draws a card. Getting a quick peek at the card, Aaron sees it as the 3 of hearts. He doesn’t know if this is good or not, but that doesn’t matter right now. He palms the card and is ready to activate if this really does turn into a fight.
The footsteps keep getting louder and louder as they approach the haystack in which Aaron is hiding behind until they stop completely. A dignified voice comes out from the light footsteps.
“Sir, we do not wish to harm you, we simply wish to have a talk with you.”
Aaron’s mind processes at a million miles a minute as he tries to decide on what to do. He has no one that will back him up if he gets into a fight, hell, he doesn’t even have many people who will notice if he were to die. What he does have is plenty of people in the village that aren’t exactly happy with him for some unknown reason.
Aaron also remembers that he pulled the Reverse Fool tarot card and can not be careless so he does not meet his demise. Taking about 4 seconds to think of a plan, Aaron stands up from behind the haystack.
He is met with the view of two people. One is a lanky old man dressed up in a butler’s uniform whose sharp eyes seem to pierce directly into Aaron’s soul. The old man is pale and looks like he might fall over and die at any time, but the look in his eyes is lively and seems to tell that the man is in his prime.
The other person is a woman wearing heavy metal armor. The woman has a massive scar going horizontal across her face, yet she is fairly decent looking. Her hair is put up in a ponytail and her tan skin suggests she is outside a lot. Her eyes are full of craze and bloodlust, yet she is trying her best to try and hide it.
As Aaron takes in the sight of these two, the woman seems to be getting impatient.
“Get out here already damnit! If not I will come behind there and get you myself!”
Aaron raises an eyebrow as the woman acts like she cannot see him, yet seems to track him to his exact position. The old man also raises an eyebrow and looks over at the woman.
“Have you gone blind Cali? He is already standing out in the open. It seems he wishes to talk.”
The warrior woman squints at Aaron’s position yet seems to not see him at all. Her head snaps towards the old man and she raises a fist.
“Don’t fuck with me old man! My senses are pretty keen yet I see no one where you said he was, let alone out in the open!”
The old man ignores the screaming woman and strokes his chin while looking at Aaron, who is just standing there frozen in confusion. It takes the old man no more than seven seconds before he understands what is happening.
“I see. You must have a stealth skill then. Could you please deactivate it so we can have a proper discussion.”
Aaron thinks about what to do for a second before he obliges to the old man’s decision. Aaron realizes that this old man seems to have some kind of tracking skill and it is currently useless for him to try to hide from it.
However, this also gives Aaron his first target.
Deactivating the skill, the woman’s eyes go wide in surprise when she realizes Aaron was just standing there the whole time. She blinks a few times before her face displays one of anger and embarrassment. She clearly has something to say yet is holding it in for the time being. The old man takes initiative to start the conversation.
“This lowly one’s name is Beckham, and this is my colleague Cali, may I know your name?”
Beckham talks with such humility and diligence that it is hard to deny his request.
“My name is Aaron.”
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“It is a pleasure to meet you Aaron.”
We don’t know about that yet. Let’s see what you’re truly after, old man.
“Why did you come and find me? I am but a simple hobo.”
The old man hesitates for a second when hearing that Aaron is a hobo. The reason is because the old man’s eyes tell him that Aaron is not lying. Beckham has a special skill that involves his eyes, in which they give him abundant amounts of info. That info can range from use of Magic within the nearby area, and if someone is telling the truth or not. However, the old man’s eyes could surely be tricked if a strong enough opponent appears.
“We come with an offer. You are someone with a special ability and the government wishes to utilize your talents.”
“And if I decline?”
Though working for the government sounds good and all, Aaron wishes to feel out his opponents before he accepts anything too hastily. Also the Reverse Fool card still haunts Aaron’s mind.
“You do not have a choice.”
The warrior woman starts to crack her knuckles after hearing that there is a thought of not accepting from Aaron. Aaron can now sense a heavy bloodlust and anticipation coming from the warrior woman. The aura makes her look like a lioness that is about to pounce on its prey. Beckham coughs loudly before she can do so though.
“Though I regret my colleague’s way of phrasing that, she is not wrong. As long as you live in Lokia, you are under the jurisdiction of Mayor Samuel. We promise not to harm you, only we ask that you work with us. We need as many possible people with skills now more than ever. We plan on making a kingdom together.”
Aaron contemplates these words as he watches Beckham’s facial expression. The old man has yet to even show a change in emotion, showing that he is a professional at controlling what information he gives out through body language.
Though the Mayor seems like a competent leader, I do not plan to stay here for long. Not only am I hated by everyone around, but I have a feeling that something big is about to happen and I don’t want to be a part of it. But the question is, how do I get out of this?
The two let Aaron think for about 50 seconds before Cali starts to get impatient. It is currently just a stare down between Aaron and Beckham, one waiting for the other one to reveal any hints of nervousness or weakness. Curious as to what they will do if he says no, Aaron creates a plan.
“No, I am not going to join you.”
Saying this aloud, Aaron notices Cali tense up and prepares to attack. Beckham seems to have anticipated this and sends out a final plea before Cali can attack Aaron.
“Are you sure you want to do this?”
Beckham’s voice gets a little lower in deepness, as if he is threatening Aaron. He looks back at Cali and she nods at Beckham, seemingly understanding something.
Watching how they are acting, Aaron notices something that he doesn’t like about the two.
They are not on guard, so they must think I cannot harm them. They even seem to be looking down on me as the warrior woman believes she can just rush in and take care of me and the old man believes he can just look away from me at any time. Using violence and indirectly threatening people to join you with a beating is not something I want to become a part of. Let’s do one final test to see if I should really join them.
One thing Aaron has always liked to do is to test people and decide how to deal with them from there. When he used the card trick to figure out how smart the kids are is an example. Now it’s these two's turn.
“How about this? I am a gambling man at heart, and wish to challenge you to a bet Mr. Beckham.”
The old man is caught off guard for a moment but quickly regains his composure.
“What kind of bet?”
Aaron pulls out the card that he had been palming this whole time and shows it to the two.
“It’s simple. If I can throw this card from here and get it past Beckham, then I win and you two must leave me alone. However, if Beckham can stop the card from getting past him without using his arms, I will gladly come with you.”
After saying the bet terms, Aaron flashes a confident look across his face, hoping that the old man will take his bait. The old man’s keen eyes pick up on this and figures that Aaron has some trick in which he can get the card past Beckham.
Even knowing this, the old man would rather not have any blood spilled today and will gladly take the bet.
“If you are so confident in your abilities, then I must see them. I accept your bet.”
Aaron made sure that the cards were still set to Attack Mode to make sure that this wouldn’t activate Gamble Mode for a couple of reasons. One, so when he loses this bet he doesn’t have to keep it. Two, so he can turn the card into a weapon whenever he wishes.
Aaron pulls his hand back and sends the card flying forward. He does so while watching the old man’s eyes.
The old man watches closely as the card flies forward at tremendous speeds, but not at speeds in which Beckham couldn’t handle. Beckham figures that Aaron has some ability in which he can make the card move in midair as that is the only way this card is getting past him. Aaron threw it straight at the old man’s chest, so unless he wanted to lose on purpose this is the only way in which Aaron could win.
Aaron watches as the old man’s eyes dart around for a split second, as if the old man was calculating every single path the card could take at mid air. Noticing this, Aaron smiles widely.
You are a smart old man, but you are too confident in your ability to read people. This is the last time you’ll see me again.
Aaron activates Blend in as the old man now watches as the card flies closer and closer to his chest. About 1 foot away from hitting the old man, the card morphs into a new shape. It takes on the shape of a red dagger that flies forward with the same velocity as before.
Beckham’s eyes go wild in horror as he has not expected Aaron to take a shot as his life! The old man is unable to react quickly enough and the dagger plunges deep into the old man’s chest.
Blood splurts out from the open wound in Beckham’s chest and causes him to fall backwards. Luckily, Cali catches the old man before he fully falls to the ground. She becomes furious at this chain of events and she looks around to find where Aaron went, however she is unable to find him due to his Blend in skill.
As Aaron makes it to the nearby woods, he can hear a roar of anger and then a loud crash at the horse stable he had just left. A feeling of relief washes over him as he has basically escaped being enslaved by the local mayor.
Though he had to injure someone to escape, Aaron made sure to aim right in between Beckham’s heart and lungs, just barely missing them by a few millimeters, only gravely injuring the old man instead of killing him outright.
Aaron looks down at his card deck as he continues his way through the forest and soon it turns a bright white before turning back to normal a second later. It now has one more card than before, with the card Aaron threw at Beckham returning with the deck's mysterious powers.
As Aaron is about to truly celebrate his victory, a voice of a young man pierces his ears.
“You didn’t think you could just harm a fellow colleague of yours and just get away right.”
Aaron looks around to see nine people surrounding him, and one of them is letting out a bone chilling vibe. Aaron lets out a defeated sigh when noticing that he somehow had walked straight into a trap even when using Blend in.
I guess I truly am the Fool in the end huh?