“What do you make of this, then?”
Arthur ignored the sun that beat down overhead as he looked at Pydes and held out the purple dragon scale. It had a rough texture to it, and upon closer examination, he could see a small crack running around the edge.
Pydes didn’t answer as he looked at the piece in his hand. He’d done that a lot, saying not so much as a word as Arthur explained his dream. His tail flicked once or twice, but otherwise, he reminded Arthur of the statue he’d once been.
“It’s a dragon scale,” Pydes said in a careful tone. “One that you shouldn’t have. Put it away. Bury it. Don’t show anyone else.”
“Why not?”
The dragon shifted, and the small elementals drifted away. Fear clear on their small faces. “Because this is not a good way to draw Mother’s attention. You need to put it away. I’ll dig into it, I promise. Please. Please put it away.”
“What is it?” Arthur demanded. “Where did I go?”
“You were in the head office building. In a room that Mother had sealed. If she knows you got in, she won’t be happy. Put. It. Away.” Pydes’ tail lashed out, and a few of the elementals squeaked in fear.
He resisted the urge to grunt in annoyance, but barely, as he placed it into his pocket. It could go into the box at a later date.
“Fine. So you can’t tell me anything?”
“I can tell you that if what you’re saying is true, we’re in bigger trouble than we thought.” Pydes shook his head. “This isn’t the time or the place. However, you need to defeat the demons here. Soon. They’re a bigger problem than they’ve ever been.”
Arthur frowned. “What do you mean?”
“We’ve seen them before. Multiverse, remember? Not in this quantity, though, and not this organized. This is new, which is why I want this to end quickly. Work it out.” There was an edge to his voice now, one of desperation and annoyance.
Before Arthur could respond, he turned away. “Go and talk to Nyssa. Get your ads, get your people. Make your money. Do not forget about the grove or what you need to do. Get out.”
“Pydes.”
“Go. I can’t help you with this. Not without permission. This is above my pay grade.”
“Alright,” Arthur said as he backed up. “Thanks anyway.”
“Go.”
Hurt seeped from the words, and Arthur didn’t question it. He simply turned and walked away. Pydes was right; he did still need to talk to Nyssa about the designs and how best to spread them.
That should keep him occupied. Plus, he needed to finish hiring people for the counter. An hour’s worth of work as he rounded people up. Afterward? He wasn’t sure. The Hero still wasn’t back yet, and so he didn’t want to gallivant off to the farms. As much as he wanted to talk with Charleston and the rest about finding Dr. Lisa Moore.
“Why the long face?” Nyssa asked as he stepped inside.
She was sitting at her easel once again. Splotch sat on her shoulder as she painted a scene he recognized—Rab and Augustus fighting in the ring of bones. Both combatants looked determined, even in their sketchy states.
“I talked with Pydes, and it was unhelpful. How’s the advertisements coming along?”
Nyssa smiled and nodded to where she’d propped up several large pieces of cardboard against the wall. He recognized them as pieces he’d traded from Bumarthian for another Slagsoul Jar.
“I finished all the stencils for the design I showed you earlier. All I need to do is get spray paint from somewhere, and I can start getting them done. How many of our external security can I take with me?”
“Theobold will drive, so however many extra can you fit in the Rickshaw with all your stuff?”
“I’m taking the rickshaw?” She asked, a frown creasing her brow.
Arthur nodded. “Yeah. You’re advertising for us, right? May as well take the moveable one. It’s not like we need to go anyway, and if we do, we can take the scooters. I’m not sure where to get you spray paint, though.”
“Right, you can’t exactly go back to the mall for a little while.”
“Yeah,” He said with a shrug. “Sorry. You can’t do it with what you have? It worked on our walls.”
The look she gave him was as if he’d asked why you got wet when it rained. Before she could lecture him, a knock sounded at the door. Arthur took the lifeline, spinning around and smiling.
“Welcome...” he trailed off as he saw The Explorer standing there carrying a sack.
From behind the man, he could see Carla looking at him. A faint blush in her cheeks. For a moment, no one moved, then Arthur beckoned them both inside.
“Come in. How can I help Carla?”
Carla blushed harder and then gave him a timid smile. “I was wondering if you’d decided about the job yet?”
“Actually, yes.” Arthur nodded. “You’re hired.”
“How does that suit you?” he asked, as the Explorer dropped his clanking burden to the floor. “Same deal as the others on food as well. Free while you work for me, so you won’t need to spend on that.”
“That works. Yes. Wow.” She nodded. “Um. When do I start?”
“Right,” Arthur said with a click of his fingers. “No clock. Why not now, and we’ll figure it out later?”
“Ok!”
Her response was exuberant as she hurried to sit behind the desk. With a shake of his head, he turned to The Explorer. “And how can we help you?”
“Oh, I’m here to drop these off courtesy of The Artist. He’s been excited for it ever since The Sage let it slip about your little art project. Wants to make sure she’s all trained up. But that’s not for me to tell. He said you’d need gray and green? Is that right?”
Nyssa nodded and plucked one can from the bag. She gave it a shake and a small squeeze directed at the cardboard. It worked perfectly. From his place on her shoulder, Splotch leaned in and sniffed at the can.
The little earth elemental sneezed so hard that he tumbled to the floor. Nyssa plucked him up and placed him in her lap.
“When can Theobold be ready to leave?” She asked as she soothed the small dragon.
“I’m ready now,” Theobold called from his post outside. “If that’s ok with you, boss?”
Arthur waved him away.
“Get on then. I have more hiring to do, anyway. But before we do,” He turned to The Explorer. “May we have a quick chat in my office? I have some questions.”
***
The Explorer didn’t sit, instead choosing to lean against the chair as Arthur explained what he needed. His idea was to get The Explorer to take him into the area of Diaboli Theatrum that held the Orchard. It would solve most of his problems and allow him to get in whenever he wanted.
“So, can you do it?” He asked, the coin flicking in the air.
The Explorer sighed. “No, and before you ask for one big reason. You said you needed to take those elementals with you, correct? The ones like Splotch?”
“Yes.”
“I can’t do that. Not if they’re as fragile as you claim.” The Explorer shrugged and tapped his fingers against the whip handle at his waist. “Where I go won’t be good for them. Sorry.”
“Oh, of course.” Arthur sighed as he tapped the coin against the desk.
“Chin up. I’m sure you’ll think of something. You have The Hero helping you, you know. What else do you need?” The man’s grin was wide, but it faltered as Arthur ticked things off his fingers.
“I need to know where Dr. Lisa Moore is. Fuel for the scooters. For the attacks to stop. Hire the rest of my staff. Have Nyssa be safe while she does the advertisements. Less weird dreams. More books. Break into a rival store and destroy their counterfeit money generator. Sleep more probably?”
“That’s quite a list.” The Explorer tipped his hat. “You’ll need to get working on that.”
“I’m trying,” Arthur admitted.
The Explorer’s voice turned gentle as he spoke. “We can all see who you are. You’ve done a lot of good. Keep doing that; keep helping people. You’ll find what you need to know. I’ll check in with Charleston and The Farmers today and see what they say. Keep your chin up, Arthur.”
“I’ll do my best,” he smiled as The Explorer left.
“He’s right,” Arthur thought as he watched the security cameras showing Nyssa chatting to both Carla and The Explorer as she gathered her tools. “I am helping people. Plus, I can knock off most of my list today. All I need to do is talk to some people, and then I’ll never need to work the desk again.”
A laugh escaped him at that thought, and he kicked back to place his feet on the desk. He continued to watch the monitor as Theobold came in, followed by Mike and, to his surprise, Jemima.
As he watched on the monitor, they all left together. Though when The Explorer went through the door, he didn’t reappear on the other side. With a sigh, Arthur stood and stretched. It was time to go tell his new hires the good news and then try to cull the list.
It appeared to be time to make some more quests. After that, he made his house calls.
***
“You're hired.”
Chris, the second person he’d interviewed, stood in the doorway to one of the company houses. He wore casual clothes—jeans and a t-shirt—the same as the two men behind him. His housemates sat in the small living room on a couch that looked like they found it on the side of the road.
They even had some chairs and a small dining table. All appeared second-hand but sturdy. A mild annoyance filled Arthur when he saw it.
“She didn’t give me any furniture when I started,” He thought as he waited for the man’s answer.
It came in the form of a small nod and a thumbs-up.
“Cool. When do I start? When do I get paid?”
“When Carla’s shift ends, I have Adam and Lydia working overnights. Pay comes in at the end of the month. But all your meals are free.”
“Nice. Thanks, man. You won’t regret it.”
“Sure. Oh, and if you’re looking for something to do in the meantime, I need people out scavenging. More fuel for the scooters would be great, or scavenged goods from around the city.”
Each of them accepted the quest, and as he turned away, he heard them discussing the best places to search. They weren’t the only ones. Small groups of people had already wandered a little way away to see what they could find.
Most had taken one or two of the external security members with them. A decision he agreed wholeheartedly with. The last thing he wanted was for people to be unprotected.
For the rest of the day, he moved about, finally untethered from the counter. Though he never went far. People came over, and he spoke and talked with those he could. Most wanted to know if he could get a particular item in. Some creature comfort or new clothes.
Arthur did his best to assure them he would try his best without making promises. Without knowing when it would be safe to head back to the mall, it was hard. He knew he could technically go back. However, if Zerreon found him once, he’d do it again, and he didn’t know if he’d get lucky a second time.
That wasn’t a risk he wanted to take. It wasn’t hard to imagine him languishing in a cell while the demons overran his store.
Some requests he could make good on. People wanted entertainment and things to read. Books were a simple thing to get, and he promised to get as many duplicates of his stash as he could. Provided the Slagsouls didn’t run out, he figured Bumarthian would be agreeable.
It’d started getting dark when he returned to the store. There was still no sign of Nyssa, and he didn’t like the way the clouds were roiling over his head. Arthur grabbed the box, happy to let the rain once again fix any water issues they might have.
As the rain came down, he looked up into the sky. Lightning cracked, and several people jumped as thunder boomed over their heads. Arthur shook his head and moved into the store.
While he helped Chris with the customers, a single thought flittered across his mind.
“I really hope Nyssa and the rest are okay.”193Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZMrsNc4Oi1
