Chapter 80 - Day CCXLII, Part I

My home. My little temple where I could feel safe with all the barriers surrounding it. Especially now with Blue lurking in the shadows, for sure waiting for an opportunity to strike. I just knew it. Guys like him are patient. They don't do anything that's reckless. And when they finally strike, they strike hard.

I was lying in the bed. With what happened yesterday I was really worried about stuff he is gonna come back with. Who knew what the device had for him? It could be something completely different from what I had.

My imagination went wild. I kept thinking of scenarios when he showed up with abilities to control minds or raise dead. Change memories or even control time. Those thoughts were pointless, but I just couldn't get rid of them.

Yet again, I was overthinking. It was pointless. Harmful even, but my mind just wouldn't stop. Sometimes I thought that my brain was my worst enemy. The enemy I couldn't beat, kill, or run away from. The only option was to ignore, but it wasn't an easy task to perform.

I slowly rolled out of the bed. My clothes were ripped to shreds. I needed new ones, and a shower or a bath, cause the smell was just disgusting. So I went to the city center, looking for hatta, to ask if I could maybe use their baths.

He was pretty easy to find, and actually wanted to have a longer conversation with me, but when I told him about the purpose of my visit, he just told me to clean up first, and then return. So I went to buy some clothes, and then to wash.

It's really surprising and incredible how a little bit of water can change a man. I felt like a new person after finishing the bath. Then I put on the new clothes. The armor was in such a terrible state, it only belonged to the trash bin. I needed a new one, but right now it was not the most important thing to take care of.

I went back to Hatta, but he was gone. His men directed me to the underground office previously occupied by Blue.

It looked mostly the same, just without all the guards. The furniture didn't change at all. Maybe some minor details did, but I barely knew the place and was unable to tell.

- I'm back.

- You look... fresh? But what's more important, you dint stink like a sewer.

I just smiled wryly as a reply.

- Sit. Let's talk.

I sat on the chair on the opposite side of his desk.

- Did you hear about the assassination attempt on me?

- Yeah. Aisha told me.

- We are currently looking for that bastard. He is weak. Barely have any supporters. Few survivors of what was left of Blood Brothers. But they still are annoying. I knew for a fact they try to recruit more, but I keep my eye on their moves. I want to grab him and give him a proper trial.

- Wouldnt it be better to just get rid of him? The last time when you tried this whole fair judgment experiment, he escaped.

- We can no longer resolve everything with violence. We are better than that.

- You will do what you want - I rose both hands slightly in the gesture of surrender. - But I can't promise you the same when he will come after me.

- I'm not gonna force you to. Just promise me one thing. If it will be possible, capture him alive.

- Sure, but I doubt that.

- With Mark, you could. You were way stronger than him.

- No. I wasn't. I just had more experience. Blue is not gonna come at me unprepared. He will not repeat the mistakes of other people.

- Maybe he won't, maybe he will. Let's not argue.

- I'm not arguing. Just saying.

Hatta smiled.

- I like how down-to-earth you are, but sometimes it's worth aspiring for something more, you know?

- I just don't want you to die. By the way, I'm gonna hang around for some time, so just tell me if you find him, ok?

- I was planning to inform you. We for sure will need your help.

I just nodded.

- If that's all, I need to have another important conversation - I said, thinking about Will.

- Me too. Aisha wants to talk with me about something.

- Oh. I know what that's about.

- Yeah? Tell me then...

- It's about me. I'll just stay in the city today, so find me if you want to talk after.

- Ok.

He was a bit worried. It showed on his face. We didn't need any arguments among us right now. He understood it just as well as I did, or maybe even better.

I stood up, and left, heading straight to Will. Few people hang around the city center. Some were crafted on the side, others just simply talking. It was nice to see them living a slow and simple life. With nothing forcing them to run. They could choose their own paths, or at least that was what I believed.

I wanted to grab a beer for the talk with Will and some food for breakfast. I still had that class point from yesterday, so I figured that I might as well spend it now. Quick browse thru the names allowed me to find something unusual. Something entirely new. Something that wasn't there before. A new class. "Shadow walker" was its name, and it immediately brought an image of a disappearing rat boss in my mind. I wanted to buy it on impulse, but I couldn't. The price was different. Ten class points instead of one.

That skill was tempting, but was it worth ten points? It was hard to tell since I had no idea how it really worked, and there was no other way of checking than simply using it.

And then I thought about that manual. That manual I forgot about because of its ridiculous price. A price I could afford now with a bit of effort.

Without spending that class point, I went to Will's place. Fek knocks on the door, and he opened it.

- You are late. I was waiting for you - he said, and I got a bit anxious. - Come on in.

- Why were you waiting for me?

- To talk about yesterday. If I wasn't so tired, I would grab you last night and pull you to the side. You made a mess. A lot of mess.

- I realize it now.

- Aisha is pissed. She really wants to know, and we don't want her as our enemy. She's been thru a lot, and it's obvious she has trust issues, so you shouldn't give her that shit right now, when she is building herself up, back to normal.

- Fine, just nag me. I deserve it - was my response.

Then I sat on the chair, leaving the beer and food on the table.

- I don't want to nag you, ok? Just tell you that it was a mistake.

- No shit! Do you think I'm some kind of omnipotent guy? Do you think I have all the answers? No, I don't.

- Well... Sometimes it does look like you do. You just grab whatever that sword on a stick is called, and go fixing with a blank expression, like you already know the outcome.

- I was lucky, ok? Things just worked out. Do you think I wasn't scared? I was! It's all a lot of fucking effort, and a bit of luck. You know how I hunt. You have seen it! Does anybody here do the same? No. They don't. They want to sleep in a nice bed, inside the walls. I was fucking stripped of that and kicked out by Nacho. Maybe not directly, but that's how it ended, and now here we are.

- Ok. Maybe it's my fault. Just... You need to understand that right now you are the figure that everybody looks at. Maybe not the newcomers, because they don't know you, but the rest of us does. You got the two main players in one day. One is dead, the other is hiding.

- I never wanted that. I'm the same me that was bullied right in front of you. The only difference is, back then I couldn't do shit, but now I can.

- Maybe. Sometimes it's hard to say... My point is, you should tell Aisha. She is an ally. We need her here.

- Will.. I know that, but I can't tell her. You saw how greedy she is? She picked that boss crystal without a second thought.

- That's not greed, Peter. That's fear. She doesn't want to repeat the history. She wants to feel safe.

- Maybe? - I just shrugged. - How the hell would I know. My point is, she is gonna do something stupid if I tell her. She is not fucking redy.

- Then we will have a problem.

- We already have. The information that I know powers nobody else does will spread. Maybe it already did. And it's not fucking rocket science, people will eventually figure it out by themselves. We need to be prepared. Especially for Blue.

- Then what do we do?

- First of all, I'm gonna keep close to the city. No orcs for a while. Second of all, I'm gonna tell you how it works, but first... I need you to help me with something.

- With what? If it's nothing ridiculous, then sure. I'll help.

- Sit, grab a beer.. It will be a long conversation.