Vitmori POV

Today was a very productive day, to say the least. After being robbed of my rope and knives, I had just gone back to my errands and purchased all the blankets and materials for creature comforts I had originally planned on getting, spending nineteen gold pieces and some change as I had previously estimated.

The shopping trip left me with only nine gold pieces and change, though with that in mind, it was like saying I only had several hundred dollars left after spending over twice that much. It was still a considerable chunk of change and I could do quite a lot with what I had left. Though what I was going to do with the money, I wasn't too sure since I didn't outright need anything for myself here and now.

What I ended up doing with my time was just exploring the town; taking to the rooftops and just people-watching to my heart's content. It was nice... Seeing all these people go about their days, their thoughts opened for me to see as I occasionally fixated on various passers-by every now and then. Some people wondered what they would have for dinner, and others were eagerly rushing home to see their children's faces. There was one who wondered if the waitress at a certain restaurant truly meant what she said about liking his new shirt, while another internally grumbled about a rude person who ruined their day after some slight grievance.

The minutes turned to hours as I free-ran from rooftop to rooftop at a fairly leisurely pace, just exploring the town without having to deal with any kind of crowds. I was vaguely reminded of my youth, specifically when I would parkour around the compound or run certain courses that were built out of abandoned warehouse districts.

Before long, I found myself in the merchant's quarter again where I decided to stake out the pawnshop. From across the street I watched as the attendant from earlier, a goatkin man, was performing his various duties around the shop until he finally left for the day and made his way up the road.

It wasn't long until he turned down an alleyway and I stumbled upon a meeting between the thieves that owed me a new bag and the goatkin. Suffice it to say, that once the meeting had reached its conclusion, the goatkin would not be going back to work tomorrow morning, to say the least.

As for the three thieves, who I now know are Krys, Sera, and Zax; I saw some potential in them and decided to make them an offer that was hard to refuse.

For Krys, I told him that I would heal his little sister. From the sound of it, she was apparently born with a weak constitution and struggled to live as most kids do. Despite being a thief, most of his funds go to making sure she lives comfortably enough with monthly visits from a decent doctor and weekly visits from a local tutor to help her get a better education than he ever got. His sister means the world to him, and she is the only family he has left.

In regards to Zax, I told him that I would give him the location of the goatkin's stash of coin and that he would be free to use the coin to clear the debt his parents had saddled him with. The circumstances for the debt were rather tragic, as they had initially taken on a loan from the Bank of Time for a business venture of sorts. They had used the bank's money to fund an expedition deeper into the local mines so they could explore the underground biomes to bring back some kind of flora and fauna to sell to some researchers from the capital. The only thing is that they never came back and were presumed dead. Thus the debts for their loan defaulted to Zax as the only living member of the family that was left. So far, he's managed to barely stay ahead of the monthly payments and even the interest on his family debt, but it would still take him a long while to pay off the remaining debt... That is unless he takes my deal.

As for Sera... Well, there wasn't much that I could actually offer her in particular, but ultimately I didn't need to offer her anything as the fact that I would help her friends seemed to be enough to have her on board.

In the end, I let them go after telling them where to find the goatkin's savings. I didn't make them swear their loyalty to me or anything like that, I didn't need to. Between the fear that I happened to instill in them after my display of power moments earlier and the idea of being able to use said power to heal Krys' sister; I was more than confident that I would see them again tomorrow morning at the Inn like I instructed.

After all that business was settled and after I had cleaned up my mess with the walls, I took to the rooftops again to put some distance between myself and the alleyway before making my way to the Miner's Guild for the smelting work Tilzim wanted me to do.

There were still a few hours of daylight left, so the Guild was still fairly busy compared to my last visit. People of all sorts milled about, talking to receptionists or amongst each other as business was done and deals were being made for all kinds of things.

Being mindful of appearances and the fact that I was now missing an arm, I decided to keep my hood off this time and shrugged my cloak over to my left side to better conceal the missing limb for now.

As I walked through the Guild's main lobby, I was lucky enough to come across the squirrelkin receptionist from before as she carried a small stack of folders and rolls of parchment. She spotted me first, immediately recognizing me and even flashing me a small smile as she stopped to greet me. "Good evening Mister Vito, it's good to see you again. How are... Are... Is that blood on your face?" She asked, suddenly sounding rather concerned and a little worried, though not afraid this time.

Oh damn, I hadn't realized I still had blood on my face from when that goatkin spat on me. Whoops... I just make a show of looking momentarily surprised before touching my face a little. "Ah, don't worry about it, it isn't mine."

"Then... Whose is it?" She asked, now more confused than concerned as she looked me over. From what I can tell, she heard good things about me from Tilzim earlier today and doesn't see any reason to actually be afraid of me, which was a relief in itself.

Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

I just offered her a little smile as I conjured a ball of water in the palm of my hand. "Some thugs tried to rob me on my way over here, but don't worry, I'm fine." I vaguely explained before bringing the orb to my face and swirling it around a little.

"Oh my, do you need me to fetch the guards?" She asked curiously, her fluffy tail now flicking with distress as she looked me over again as if to check for injuries.

Pulling the orb of water away from my face and stashing it into my storage instead of dispelling it, I simply shake my head in response before meeting her gaze. "No need, it's been handled." I mentioned before gesturing to my face. "How do I look? Did I miss a spot?" I ask while flashing another smile.

The receptionist just smiled in response as she shook her head. "You look good Mister Vito, how may I help you today? Do you have business with the Guild?" She asked as she adjusted her grip on the small stack of folders and scrolls in her arms.

I bobbed my head once. "Yes, Tilzim is expecting me to come in today, he had some work for me, though I may be a little earlier than expected." I explained before looking around the Guild lobby.

The receptionist looked as if she had suddenly remembered something before smiling again. "Ah, that's right! You're doing some smelting for us, yes? Of course!" She enthused excitedly before lowering her voice again when she realized she got a little too excited. "Come along Mister Vito, I'll take you to the waiting room and notify Guildmaster Tilzim of your arrival." She explained cheerfully enough before turning on her heel as she led me further into the Guild.

Back in the waiting room from before, I was only left alone for a few minutes when Tilzim made his way into the room, looking as if he dropped everything the moment he heard I was there. "Vito! A pleasure to see you again." He enthused cheerfully as he made his way over. "How was your day today?" He asked while holding his hand out in greeting.

"Well, aside from an attempted robbery, I had a pretty good day today. Got some shopping done and passed my time with some people watching." I explained while meeting his hand and giving it a firm shake before pulling back.

"I have no doubts a mage like yourself was able to handle things without issue." He mused with a warm smile before gesturing for me to follow. "If you'll follow me, our facilities for processing the ore are in the outer ring of town." Before long, we were back on the main street, heading for the gates once more as we walked side by side. "He woke up earlier today." Tilzim mentioned as he glanced over at me.

I smiled a bit at that before returning Tilzim's look. "Oh really? Glad to hear it."

Tilzim bobbed his head as he looked ahead again. "He mentioned that despite how exhausted he was, he felt ten years younger. He kept talking about how old aches and pains he's developed over the years just felt as if they never existed in the first place." He explained, just oozing with delight despite trying his best to maintain his composure. It was funny to see what was normally a very serious and professional man just look so happy after so much grief and stress.

I just chuckled softly at that as I rubbed the back of my head. "Ah yes, that seems to be a bad habit of mine... I had done some rooting around after I removed the foul growth and did my best to fortify his body after all the damage he suffered."

Tilzim just seemed to watch me as we walked and smiled a little more. "So that was you as well? I'm glad to hear it..." He said, looking a little somber now as he looked ahead again. "You know, we dwarves are slow to make friends... But when we do, we forge friendships that last for centuries... I was friends with his grandfather, and since his passing, I've maintained a close relationship with his bloodline; they're practically my family in every respect, save for blood." He then looked back up at me as we crossed the gates, making our way into the outer ring. "You can ask me for anything, and I'll do my best to do it for you. We dwarves never forget those who helped us as much as we never forget those who wronged us."

I could feel the utter sincerity of his words with every syllable, and I could sense a presence in the air among us. It was some kind of diety, but it wasn't here for me or using my mind to observe us, interestingly enough. Looking at Tilzim, I meet his gaze and while I don't say anything at first, I can't help but speak the next question that comes to mind. "Will you be my ally? I need support in the coming days, and while you likely won't be able to help much, I need anything you can reasonably give me."

I could sense that he was momentarily taken aback and perhaps a little offended by my comment, but I could feel him resolve himself in mere moments as something in the air shifted. "I will be your ally, Vito. What is it that you need?" He asked as we stopped walking, though he looked around for a moment before leading us into an alleyway so we could get out of the way of the other people who were still coming and going. He then looked up at me, meeting my gaze as he waited for my request.

I return his look, staring deeply into his eyes as I do my best to focus on his thoughts. "First... I need to see what you know about the slave trafficking that's been going on between the Hegemony and the Theocracy, as well as the enslavement of the Hegemony's own people within its borders."

His first thoughts are of confusion, as if he wasn't sure what I just said. Though as I spoke I could feel strong disgust and rage building in the pit of his stomach as he furrowed his brows. He was furious, not at me, but at my words and what they entailed. "What?"

I simply nodded before continuing. "In the last several months, numerous beastkin have been disappearing from the Theocracy capital and surrounding communities. With some investigation, I've discovered that anywhere between seventy to eighty people have been smuggled right through this town, only to end up somewhere in the capital of the Hegemony. They take anyone, the old, the young, the sick, and the healthy... Children from orphanages." I explained while holding eye contact with Tilzim.

I could feel the bile rising in his throat, the rage fully roiling in his stomach now as he took in my words. But most importantly of all, I see the despair in his eyes as he realizes the cruelty that has been taking place right under his nose without him even knowing about it. "What can I do? What do you intend on doing about it?" He asked in a soft voice, looking at me as if I were the only other person in the world right now.

"I'll be making my way to the capital starting tomorrow, and I'll be tracking down the group receiving those who have been enslaved, and I'll be killing as many of them as I can while liberating as many people as possible." I say simply before reaching out and gently patting his shoulder. "I need your help, as someone with authority, to do whatever you can to make it as easy for me to do what I need to do." I then pulled away as I held his gaze. "Aside from that, I want you to do nothing... Don't say anything to anyone or involve yourself in any way. For all intents and purposes, everything is normal and content in the world and this is just another day in your life... Do you understand?"

Tilzim opened and closed his mouth a few times, not sure what to say or if he even had any words he could say in the face of everything I just put down before him. "W-what you're saying is preposterous... Full blown slave trade in the Hegemony of The Blue Sun? In the capital of all places? With people from that life-loving religious country selling their own people into said slavery? All that is ridiculous, unbelievable even... But why do I believe you?" He sighed before running his fingers through his beard rather thoughtfully. "I can tell you are strong, Vito... But are you strong enough to put a stop to this? What about everything happening at the Theocracy? Are you alone in this or are you affiliated with anyone?"

I just smiled a little before stepping back and leaning against a wall. "I am strong, but you're right, I likely can't do everything by myself... That's why I need allies." I then tilt my head a little, going side to side as I consider what else to tell him. "I'm not affiliated with anyone, you could say I lead my own independent faction, though I am allied with a third party who is interested in seeing the trafficking put to a stop." I then met his gaze again. "I already have agents working in the Theocracy, and I'm meeting my right hand at the Hegemony Capital."

Tilzim nodded intently, still stroking his beard as he calmed his thoughts and centered himself, I could feel him planning, but he wasn't sure where to start. Ultimately, he just sighed and shook his head. "I'll see what I can do, but you can count on me Vito." He said as he held his hand out.

I nod intently before reaching out and gripping his hand, giving it a firm shake. "Thank you Tilzim... I appreciate it."

He then pulls away before stroking his beard once more. "Well, conspiracies and secrets aside, we still have business to attend to, yes?" He mused, doing his best to wave the heavy mood now in the air as he began heading out of the alleyway again.

I just flashed a smile, patting his shoulder as we started walking down the street again. "Yeah, let's get to it."