Two days later, Arthur smiled from his place behind the counter, putting down the pieces of crocodile hide Nyssa had been using to create their new menus.
Augustus had been using a torn bit of metal from the mutagenic tank to rip them into squares. Once he finished, she took to painting the items and prices on the non-scaled side.
She claimed it gave them a textured feeling, and he couldn’t help but agree. Even if it reminded him of those child-friendly-themed restaurants from back home. He wondered if they should try to do something about the tablecloths as well. At the moment, their fancy feel was at odds with the more feral lamps and menus.
Before he could raise this point, a figure he didn’t recognize arrived at the door.
The first thing about the newcomer that caught his attention was the glowing sword hilt poking over his shoulder. It glowed a blue, the same shade, he noticed, as the moss. It caused his white, full-body spandex suit to take on a blue hue.
A black and white facemask covered the man’s face, and when he raised a hand to show off the burlap sack he carried, it became apparent how tight the suit actually was. As he lowered the bag, it let out a slight jangle of metal.
It took a moment for Arthur to pull his gaze away from the bag and toward the mask. "Welcome to Apocalypse Assortments. How can we help you today?"
"Arthur!" Their voice boomed, reminding him of Rab, though this one held a more manic edge to it. "I’m Captain Swordsman! A pleasure!" His head twitched left and right as he spoke, as though looking for something.
The hand that wasn’t holding the bag twitched, as though ready to lash out at any moment.
Arthur did his best to give his most comforting smile as he gestured to the counter. From her spot by the window, Nyssa was tensed. A stack of hides sat beside her as she watched the man walk in. From the door, Augustus was blatantly staring, rebar in hand.
"Nice to meet you, too. I take it those are the supplies? Lady Pigeonette mentioned you might drop by."
Captain Swordsman laughed, deep and rumbling. "Aha! I am! It’s all here. Nimble wanted to come, but he drew the short straw for patrol."
With a lazy toss, he let the sack hit the counter. Items spilled out with a clatter, and the sheer variety took his breath away. Tools, a crumpled shirt, and what looked like a small boot knife all sat in a small pile.
However, one item above the rest caught his attention. Its golden gleam putting it at odds with the duller metal around it. Inside his chest, he could feel heat bloom. With a shaking hand, he reached out to pick up the small locket.
As he held it in his hands, he thought back to his mother. She’d worn something similar to this almost every day. A plain locket his father had gifted her for an anniversary. She’d kept a family photo in there of them on his fourth birthday.
Tears welled up in his eyes as he rubbed a thumb over the surface. With a click, it opened. Inside was nothing but a simple, small, empty space. He closed it and hung it around his neck.
Where it touched his skin at the base of his throat, it felt warm. The heat bloomed, turning into a ball of flame that flowed up through him to sit behind it. It was strangely comforting.
"Will other gold do this?" He thought as he looked through the spilled contents of the sack. "I never really noticed how cold it was before."
Arthur felt a shiver when he couldn’t find more of it, and he resisted the urge to delve into the supplies. With sheer force of will, he turned to Captain Swordsman, hoping his smile hadn’t wavered.
"I appreciate the gift, and I know the others will as well. What did you want for all of this?"
"No cost!" Captain Swordsman said. "Apart from what you promised before, that you’ll make it available to those who need it?"
He laughed as he finished that before he slapped his hand hard onto the counter. As the items rattled, he saw Nyssa flinch and Augustus shift as though he were about to move inside. Arthur did his best to flash a reassuring smile at both.
As odd as the man’s behavior was, he didn’t think they were in any real danger. At least, not as long as they did nothing stupid like try to fight The Assembly.
"Not that there is much chance of you returning it to those we took it from! From what Lady Pigeonette told us, you sent them packing when they tried last time."
"We did," Arthur agreed. "I take it that’s not a problem?"
Captain Swordsman shrugged. "Not for us!"
"Excellent," he said as an idea came to mind.
"Speaking of the attack, we need to make sure that doesn’t happen again." The heat from the locket grew as he looked over at Nyssa. At the mention of the attack, her shoulders slumped, and her eyes fell to the floor. "The easiest way of doing that is to have more people here. It might be time to make another allegiance a bit more public. Besides, having more around to guard the hoard, I mean stock, can’t hurt."
With one hand, he grabbed a menu from the stack, one whose paint he knew had long since dried. "Here. Please, take one."
"What’s this?" Captain Swordsman stared down at the paper. "We don’t carry your coin, Arthur."
"Oh, I know. But we would be grateful to have such fine protectors as yourself visit us. I think we can comp you all a meal or two." His smile grew as he gestured towards the alleyway. "We have a few kids who I’m sure would be grateful to meet a real-life superhero."
Captain Swordsman straightened up at that. "We are always happy to assist the youth! Perhaps we can chaperone a few more lost souls in your direction."
"All are welcome," Arthur said.
With that, Captain Swordsman said his goodbyes, leaving Arthur with a sack and two concerned employees.
"Do we really want them hanging around?" Nyssa asked as she stared at the door. "They might bring more trouble than they’re worth."
"Maybe," Arthur said, and then shrugged. "But I’d rather have more fighters on hand than less. Want to help me go through all this? See if there’s anything we want to keep."
Nyssa smiled and got to her feet. "Sure. Should be fun."
Arthur grinned, and together they delved into the bag.
***
Billy and Theobold were patrolling the tables as Arthur sat behind the counter, arguing with Jeff.
"You can’t be serious," Jeff said as he gestured to a rather long, sheathed knife. "Thirty Golden Pennies is too much."
"For a weapon of this quality? Where else are you going to go? Plus, it’s rare. I can’t make more of them." Arthur scoffed.
"At least not yet," He thought.
"Right, but that’s what? Five adult crocodiles worth? That’s huge. What about fifteen?"
At first, he didn’t want to bargain. However, when he put the weapons into the box, most of them came up as rare or uncommon, with prices to match. A few were cheaper, and those had sold out quickly. Sewer Dwellers moving off with small knives, dented bats, and rusted swords.
It felt good to be equipping them properly, but that didn’t mean he wanted to give it away. The more he sold, the more experience he gained. Arthur wanted thirty, even if it meant some things might stay on the metaphorical shelf a little longer.
"Half off?" Arthur pretended to think about it. "I could do twenty because you’re one of my original customers."
Jeff grumbled, but it was good-humored as he handed over the coins.
"Thank you!" Arthur said as he stepped away from the counter, allowing the next person to join the queue.
Beside him, Thomas was pulling meals from the box in between handing out counters to anyone who asked. The younger boy was smiling as people thanked him, and he took the occasional tip.
He’d made almost three coins already and had excitedly told Arthur about what he wanted to buy. A small toy horse that had come in with Captain Swordsman. He would have given it to him, but it was clear the boy wanted to do it himself.
Arthur wouldn’t take that away from him.
Lucy traveled in and out of the store, grabbing the plates and moving back to the tables. Everyone gave her some space after a man almost knocked her over. Augustus had growled until he moved to the back of the queue.
Now people have automatically cleared a space for her to go.
Nyssa was helping with the line as well, moving through and pulling out anyone who needed healing. She’d take their money and usher them to the side to wait for those in the basement to finish up.
Arthur couldn’t help but smile, even as his locket burned each time a completed quest forced him to give away coins. To his surprise, the small signet ring he wore didn’t have the same effect, and neither did the small golden circle pinned to his hat.
They were the smallest things he found. Though he appreciated the golden candlestick crafted to look like it was melting.
"How are we going?" Nyssa asked him when she’d grabbed everyone for the box.
"About halfway, people are spending tonight."
"That’s what you get for having new stock."
He couldn’t help but agree. Almost all the clothes were gone. Jemima picked up a suit and a crowbar almost as soon as they opened. It was a shame, but none of the suits Captain Swordsman dropped off would have fit him.
He was about to finish up when he heard a commotion. Someone was yelling in rage, and others joined in with their own panicked screaming. People were on their feet, and he rose to his. Through the door, he saw Theobold push Billy behind him.
"Stop!" Theobold’s voice was commanding. "Stop right now."
From the way people backed up, it was clear whoever he was yelling at wasn’t stopping. The words sounded enraged and spiteful. Vicious insults that didn’t appear aimed at anyone in particular.
"Leo!"
Arthur jumped as Theobold yelled out the name, shooting a look at Nyssa, who appeared as confused as he did. All around him, people started to whisper and clutch weapons. It was a name they were all familiar with.
"Leo?" He thought as he stepped around the counter, cane in hand. "Ok, this is ridiculous. First one of Riccardo’s lieutenants arrived, and now his personal bodyguard? What are they trying to pull?"
Billy was clutching a small knife as Theobold moved forward. Sword raised to block the bar of metal that Leo swung at his head. The bald man bellowed, and anger radiated off him in almost visible waves.
Theobold didn’t look concerned as he flicked the bar off to the side and punched Leo firmly in the stomach. There was a grunt, and Augustus shoved Arthur to the side on his way outside.
Leo wasn’t down for the count, and he swung his weapon up to catch Theobold in the side. That was when Billy ducked in, trying the same deflecting trick Theobold had earlier. Arthur looked on, terrified, but at the last second, Theobold grabbed Billy and shoved him to the side.
This meant the pole cracked against his arm, causing him to drop his sword. Thankfully, that was when Augustus arrived at the scene. Before Leo could swing again, a solid amount of angry rat hit him like a truck from behind.
"Don’t kill him!" Arthur cried out as Augustus raised his rebar high.
That got him confused glances from the others, but he ignored them. He only had eyes for Augustus, who looked like he was about to stab him, anyway.
"Augustus. No. Theobold, Billy, are you hurt?"
"Bruised, boss." Theobold called back.
Billy simply sniffled from his spot on the ground; he no longer had his knife.
"Right."
Before he said anything else, he looked around. Up and down the street were both clear, though he knew that might not matter. If the cult had sent demons along with their distraction, he wouldn’t see them until it was too late.
From his spot underneath Augustus, Leo snarled. With effort, he raised his eyes, and Arthur stared into them. They were almost blank with rage; however, he could see tears there as well.
"Augustus, Theobold. Bring him inside; there’s something else going on."
He knew that to be true, though he couldn’t figure out what the plan was. This was dumb. Between his security and the sewer dwellers, one man wouldn’t do much.
Leo struggled but couldn’t get away. Behind them, he saw Jemima comforting Billy, who had gotten to his feet. Arthur sighed. He’d need to talk to the boy. That train of thought collapsed as they pulled Leo under the light.
Alarms went off, and he winced even as he stared at the outline of the Imp that was clutching onto Leo’s head.187Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡA90ZY14KZg
