Alyssa was out of her seat in an instant.
“Report!”
One knight saluted, her voice shaking as she spoke. “Ma’am. There is a report of violence in the prison again. The prisoner is also demanding to speak with you. She claims she has more information about additional caches.”
“I said we should have killed her,” Hulvin grumbled.
Cyrus stood, staff in hand, as he moved towards the door. “Oh, shut up, Hulvin. You know she’s been more valuable alive.”
Kourtney followed suit, as Alyssa took up the rear. Only Hulvin remained in the room with them. When Arthur moved to follow, Hulvin stood and glared.
“Where do you think you’re going?”
“To see what the problem is?” Arthur said with a shrug. “Theobold, put the corpse away.”
Hulvin’s chair slammed against the ground as he pointed a finger at him. “No. You’ll be leaving. Sienna!”
“Y-yes sir?” she squeaked.
“Escort them to the front gate. Make sure they leave. Tell Peter and his group to join you.”
Theorisa smiled at that, a cold expression that made Arthur move closer to her son. Jonathan did the same, no longer even trying to play cool for Sienna’s benefit.
“I believe I shall look, actually.”
“No.” Hulvin bared his teeth as he gripped the table.
“No? And what right do you have to stop me?”
“You’re not on the council, Theorisa. If it wasn’t for Alyssa…” He trailed off and looked towards Theobold.
Theorisa frowned and sighed.
“Are you going to make an issue out of it?”
“I am.” The words were determined, with no hint of fear in them.
“Fine, in that case. Arthur, it appears I am not wanted. Would I be able to trouble you for a tour of your store? I’d love to see my son’s workplace.” There were no more signs of the cold in her smile now, though Arthur still wouldn’t have refused without excellent reason.
“Of course, we’d be happy to. Are you ready to leave now?”
“Oh, I think so. Sienna?”
“Yes, ma’am!” The girl said while hurrying them out of the room.
Knight Peter and the rest were tense as they escorted them back to the walls. As they walked, Arthur noticed the near-deserted streets. What few people he noticed were all unarmed and looked nervous.
At one point, he thought he saw a haze next to a building. Theobold looked over, and suddenly it vanished. None of the knights responded when he mentioned it. Each simply gripped their weapons tighter.
As soon as they were through the portcullis, Arthur felt his entire body relax. He’d not noticed it before, however, now the tension was gone. He almost laughed. That single step felt like the weight of the world had lifted from his shoulders.
Everyone else appeared to be in the same good spirits as well. Even Johnathan laughed along when Theorisa told stories about Theobold and her late husband.
“So he joined from outside the organization?” Jonathan asked her.
“Oh yes,” Theorisa nodded. “We recruit people where we can. Though most see the tough training we use and flee.”
Arthur smiled but said nothing. He imagined the reason people ran was more because of the beatings for failing to live up to standards than any training they might do. They continued talking until they reached the store, and as Theobold parked the rickshaw, he heard raised voices coming from inside.
He jumped out of the cart as Theobold grabbed the chain with Theorisa and Johnathan on his heels. One voice he recognized as Jemima’s, but he didn’t know the others.
“We told you not to go down!” She yelled, even as her voice choked up. It sounded to him like she was crying or had only recently stopped. “We told you to leave it until Arthur could check.”
“And I told you I saw a pit fiend!” This came from a gruff male voice.
With hurried steps, Arthur moved to the door and looked inside. It was clear at a glance that almost everyone standing there were brandishing weapons.
Nyssa and Augustus were by the counter. Over his employee’s shoulders, he could see Lucy, Billy, and Lucy’s brother all huddled together. Lucy clutched what appeared to be a jar of green liquid, even as she held her brother’s hand.
Billy looked annoyed at the knight, though he kept his mouth shut.
Jemima stood to his right, nearest the mural, red-faced and shaking. To his left stood a knight in full armor, his sword looking strangely polished.
As soon as they saw him, Lucy grinned and held the jar towards him.
“Arthur. We found some new stock to sell you!”
***
It took five minutes to get the entire story, most of which consisted of him making people tea.
Once everyone had somewhat calmed down, he leaned on the counter and let them talk. Lucy stood nearby with Nyssa, proudly showing her glowing jar to Theobold, who nodded as she spoke.
“So,” he started. “You found the entrance to the next level down?”
That was the sole thing they both agreed on. From what he understood, Jemima and Charleston’s groups had been hunting a walker. They closed in when something under the water grabbed it. Unable to stop it, they watched it drag the corpse down a nearby tunnel.
They followed it the best they could and found a ramp leading down to what they assumed was the next level.
This was where their stories diverged.
Jemima claimed the knights had recklessly charged down to fight the new threat. There were almost no lights past the ramps, making it impossible to see anything about the new location. Even though she made the point of not knowing what dangers awaited them and that they needed to wait.
Charleston maintained that he’d taken a cautious approach, and the creature dropped and ambushed him on the ramp. He argued they needed to know what it was, and waiting around would simply let it hide and hunt without fear.
Arthur said nothing, but he agreed with Charleston. However, he could see the way Jemima looked over at the children. This was less about the knight’s recklessness and more about her own fear. Which made him more curious about what they’d found.
“So, what was it?” He’d asked.
Lucy joined the conversation again at that point, one hand gesturing with the jar. “A Slagsoul!”
When he looked at Charleston, the knight nodded in confirmation.
“Pile of semi-sentient chemical waste. Eats flesh from the bone but does a good job cleaning up spills. We’ve got it in the jar.”
“Where did you get a jar?”
“Dr. Kunibert,” Billy said matter-of-factly.
Nyssa visibly tensed at the name and looked away. Arthur coughed and nodded.
“I see.”
“Where did you go, anyway?” Jemima asked with curiosity. “We really could have done with you here.”
“I was at the knight’s compound,” he said slowly, watching Theorisa to see if she would contradict him. Though, from what he could see, she was too busy talking with the children. “We went to the farmers this morning and found they would trade us food in exchange for using the box and money.”
“So, we’re getting more things like before?”
He almost jumped at Billy’s voice, the child having snuck up on him.
“Yes. The problem is that they’ve been having trouble with monsters, including some from The Pit. Jonathan here told Alyssa that they’d been attacking during the evenings. My idea was to have the knights patrol out that way and help keep the roads clear. Farmers did supply runs. I distribute and create more potatoes, and whatever else they need. Everyone wins.”
“So, what’s the problem?”
“The Knight-Captain refused you.” Charleston rested a hand on the counter. It wasn’t a question.
“She said she couldn’t spare anyone from the compound.”
His eyes moved to Charleston. He still remembered Jemima talking about disputes over kills. This might be his chance to kill two birds with one stone.
“Tell me,” he asked in the most professional tone he could muster. “How likely is it that something will crawl up again? And how quickly could you get the other knights in here?”
“Not very. It was more likely that it got there by luck than by skill. No eyes or senses to speak of,” Charleston said. “And maybe ten minutes? Most should be heading back by now, anyway.”
While he waited for Charleston to get the rest of his people, he bought Lucy’s jar.
Fifteen coins rattled onto the counter as he touched the jar and watched it form into blue cubes.
The fact it gave him whatever it’d last dissolved interested him almost as much as the radiation crystal. Rank D was the highest yet, and he wondered how long it would power the generator.
Though, in a way, that felt like a waste. There had to be something else he could do with these.
“Thank you, Lucy,” he said, though she was too busy showing her new haul off to her brother.
His attention turned to the door as the knights walked in. There were ten of them in all, some armored and others not, though they were mostly squires.
“You wanted to see us?” A knight with armor covered with purple circles asked.
“I did. There is another quest up for grabs. From what I’ve been hearing, the sewers are getting a little cramped. How would you like to go help under the sky instead?”
As he spoke, he generated and pushed out the quest.
***
He felt good about the prices, especially when he wasn’t the one paying them.
“So, what do you think?”
“Did The Knight-Captain agree?” The knight with the circles turned to Charleston.
“In a sense. Tilly.” He looked apprehensive before he turned to Arthur. “How much trouble are they in?”
“We have a dead Multipup in the rickshaw if you want to see it.”
That seemed to cinch it, and messages saying they’d agreed to the quest rolled in.
“Knight Tilly!” Charleston barked. “Get everyone ready to ride. You, Jonathan!”
At the sound of his name, the teen jumped. “Yes?”
“How many should we expect to face?”
“Depends. It’s never the same.”
“Shall we go as well, son?” Theorisa asked, placing an arm on Theobold’s shoulder. “I’m sure Arthur could spare you for an evening.”
A part of him wondered if he should ride out to battle, but the thought of his last one made him dismiss the notion. They didn’t need him there. Any deals were done already. This was simply the transaction being completed.
When Theobold looked at him with excitement in his eyes, he shrugged.
“Go. You were there when we made the deal. Theorisa, are you sure you wouldn’t rather stay here? I’m sure we can make you comfortable for at least one night.”
She shook her head. “No. I think I’d rather get away from the compound for a bit. A trip to see the outskirts would be a pleasant change.”
“If you’re sure, I’ll see you soon then.”
With that, he watched them leave. Jemima and the children waved them off as Theobold and the others rode to a potential battle. He leaned against the counter, grateful that this situation didn’t require his direct attention.
However, something soon did.
“Arthur?” Lucy asked.
“Yes?”
“Do you have any more of that food you bought the other day?”
He looked at Nyssa, who nodded, and then he checked the box. Inside were several apples. When he pulled some of them out, Lucy slapped four coins on the counter before he could protest.
As he gathered the coins, the sound of a dragon roaring filled the room. His eyes widened as he read the new pop-up that formed in front of his face.
“Ahh,” Arthur thought as he put the coins into the box with trembling hands. “This is going to make things complicated.”212Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWLGXkANI7l
