1.10 In Which the Dark Lord Immediately Unmakes a Friend

1.10 In Which the Dark Lord Immediately Unmakes a Friend

My new asshole friend Lord Arider of Clan Olumnach, whom I had no immediate plans to betray but had a feeling that was where this relationship would end up, took a step to the side and paced around the end of the ramp. Beckoning me with a courteous gesture, he proceeded into the space alongside it, which I now saw formed an alleyway between the side of the ramp and the arch of the city wall. Up ahead, the alley turned into a tunnel as it passed beneath the much larger ramp of the main road, directly below the gates.

I fell into step alongside him, keeping up my insouciant swagger and noting that he moved with a similar gait. Apparently there was some overlap between the mannerisms of aristocrats and rock stars, an observation which I didnt particularly enjoy. Ariders bodyguard came up behind usuncomfortably close, actually, to the point I almost imagined I could feel his breath. Right; Id stepped into what had been his position at his masters side. I started to say something, but caught Arider glancing at me sidelong with a faint yet distinctly smug little smirk pulling at the corner of his mouth, and immediately decided not to give him the satisfaction. Or any satisfaction, ever. Aster and Donon trailed along behind, so I held my peace, reasoning that if Muscle Man tried anything shed see and take him out.

The tunnel loomed ahead, and I found, to my own displeased surprise, that I felt awkward with this silence. How exactly did you make small talk with a nobleman? On Earth those dont even exist anymore, except in a couple of European backwaters, and it wasnt as if I spent any time around modern rich people. In my short time on Ephemera Id only had to deal with people who were either trying to kill me or under my command. But I had to say something; Arider was glancing at me again, that little smirk was increasing one tiny fraction at a time, and I was getting the impression he was testing me in some way.

This was confirmed when I opened my mouth to finally speak, and that was when he quickly interjected, like an asshole. What country did you say you were from, Lord Seiji?

The sudden switch caused me to hesitate. Ah Japan.

Oh? Did you forget, for a moment? The smirk widened.

I naturally wanted to punch it off his face, but that was clearly the reaction he was digging for, so instead I gave him a cocky grin.

We call it Nihon, but Japan is theinternational name. I thought it might be more familiar to you. I may not have been as skilled at conversational chess as an actual aristocrat, but I can definitely load my tone with a back-breaking weight of polite condescension.

Arider was too good at this game to react overtly, though his smirk went rigid on his face. Ah? I cant say Ive heard of either name, and I have had the benefit of a proper education. How far is this country?

Fortunately Id gone over this in my head during the day-long walk to Gwyllthean. I had to tell people something, and despite my many excellent qualities I have always been an abysmally bad liar. Aside from the natural tendency of my actual opinions to tumble out of my mouth (which is even less appreciated in Japan than most places), regularly lying to people requires keeping track of what youve said to whom, and frankly, I cant be arsed. Thus, Id decided to be as straightforward as possible while avoiding the topic of goddesses and Dark Lords, which should be doable and raised the added prospect that if I met someone who has heard of Japan or Earth that might lead to something I could use in my quest to stick it to Virya.

To be quite honest, I have no idea of either distance or direction. My arrival here Well, it came at a convenient time for me to get out of the country, though this was not at all the method I would have chosen. Not a lie, Id been saving up for my move to the States for seven years years. I encountered a, shall we say, magical mishap of a nature I could not have predicted.

The plan here was to then play coy and try to leverage my vague hint to build mystery and interest, but Arider immediately nodded as if he knew exactly what I was talking about.

Ah, yes, several of my Clan have had that happen when giving unwise answers to the Spirit on our estatemostly of the older generations, but one of my cousins got himself disappeared messing about with the wretched thing, as if he didnt know better. My great-uncle is the only one to have made it back, years after the fact, and let us know the damned Spirit was sending people who annoyed it to the far end of the archipelago. Youre fortunate, Seiji; you might have ended up disintegrated instead of translocated. Spirits are not to be taken lightly.

Indeed, the goddess was watching over me, I said solemnly, filing away this information. Biribo had mentioned Spirits, too. I didnt know what that was, but stories about mischievous yokai or fae or whatever exist in most cultures; apparently on Ephemera they were a bit more literal. Id have to ask my familiar once we could safely speak.

Well, we shall soon see, he replied, again putting on that knowing little smirk. Still in active performance mode, I didnt tense up or make a face in reply, though my sense of danger heightened. Arider was obviously testing mewhich wasnt unreasonable in his positionbut I was increasingly getting the impression he hoped I would fail whatever little trails he had coming up. So the nobleman with criminal connections turned out to be a dick, whod have thought? In fact, if youll indulge me, why not a little test of your vaunted abilities right now?

At that moment, we passed into the darkness of the tunnel.

What did you have in mind, Arider? I kept my tone as light as my gait, but couldnt shake the feeling he saw through my performance. People of his class lived by projecting carefully crafted impressions; he wasnt going to be as easy to take in as the girls who hung around the rock venues Id played.

As your retainers informed you, this area of the Gutters caters to those on discreet business.

I did note the odd lack of warm bodies about on the street.

Mm, yes. A mix of factors; most business done here is held well after dark, and those I am out to visit encourage the locals to give usprivacy. For our advantage, and their own. But no one rules absolutely, least of all the elite among the scum. There are always dissident factions, and hidden motives.

Im not sure what youre asking of me, Arider. I think I mentioned Im new here; Im the last person who would know about the local factions.

He stopped; I stopped. The bodyguard finally gave us a bit of space. Arider turned to look at me directly, the light from the tunnels entrance casting half his face in dramatic shadow. I didnt dare take my eyes off him beyond shifting enough to keep his escort within my peripheral vision; only the shuffling of their footsteps reassured me that Aster and Donon were still at hand.

What do you think of the architecture?

It was dim, not dark. This tunnel was narrow enough to feel cramped with all of us in it, but it wasnt long. The light in the Gutters beyond was low, thanks to the overhanging walls, but it was enough to reveal the path, if only just. Still, there were shadows, deep and nearly black ones, cast by the pillars and buttresses of carved akorthist holding up the weight of the main road over our heads.

What little I can see of it? I took my eyes off him to glance pointedly around the tunnel. Seems to provide, shall we say, plenty of opportunity. I probably wouldnt step foot in here without the escort of someone who knows the area, and my armed backup.

You have sharp eyes, and wits! But we already established that. His smirk was an unsettling carnival mask in the half-lit dimness. Let us say I amcurious. You are a man of unusual talents; do they include the ability to spot a foe in the darkness?

I studied his eyes for a moment. They glinted amid the shadows, knowing and predatory. Then I took one deliberate step back from him, which almost put me against the wall of the tunnelexcept that it didnt. What I had taken for a wall was an alcove, black as outer space, between two support pillars. I finally tore my eyes off Ariders and panned them around the tunnel, what I could see of it from this angle. Those pillars were closer together than it seemed like they should be, plus longer than they were wide, creating oddly deep gaps between them. At head height, just below where the tunnels ceiling began to arch, they were carved into moldings that formed a lip just barely wide enough for someone to brace a foot on, though the space above wasnt big enough for a person to crouch there.

Looks to me like anything could be hidden in here, I said at last, glancing past Ariders bodyguard to my own. Aster had one hand over her shoulder, clutching the handle of her greatsword, though she hadnt drawn it yet. That huge thing would put her at a serious disadvantage in these tight quarters. So would Ariders rapier, though the bodyguards cudgel and short sword were well-served by the space. Franklyyou would have to tell me. It all comes down to who you expect might be lurking in here.

True enough, if elementary. Ah, wellpray dont feel bad, Lord Seiji. It doesnt reflect poorly upon you. One would need to be a goblin to spot anything hidden in this darkness, said his words while his tone and expression mocked my inability. And as you said! It all become so much more clear when one knows what to expect!

Arider whipped around so fast I didnt even realize what he was doing until there came a shrill cry from the darkness ahead, followed by a rustling thump, and the aristocrat was standing there holding out one arm and sneering victoriously.

I half-stepped forward, leaning around the pillar to look where he was pointing. A shape was curled up piteously on the ground, and I experienced the sickening realization of what Id missed. An adult couldnt hide in the shadows above the alcoves, but a child? There was room for that. And now, a child lay on the ground, curled around his midsection, having fallen facing us so that I could see what happened.

The handle of a knife stuck out of his belly. Arider had thrown a knife. Hed spotted the watcher, drawn and hurled the weapon with pinpoint accuracy in the dimness at an almost fully concealed target. There was enough light streaming in from the far exit of the tunnel to glint on the pool of blood spreading across the ground.

Hed knifed a child. The kid couldnt have been ten years old, if that. He hadnt even blinked; it had been faster than my eyes could follow.

My decision to fuck around with this guy might have been in error.

Nightlady take me, Donon whispered, the hoarse oath echoing in the tunnel.

Now theres a bit of local trivia itll behoove you to learn, Lord Seiji, Arider drawled, casually as if he were chatting about fashion or his favorite food. Here in the Gutters, the Gutter rats are always watching. Local orphans and castoffs, gathered up and put to work doing this and that. The man they answer to ostensibly works forwell, youll come to know her in time. But he is not above peddling information to other interested parties. They know every hiding place and bolt-hole; its all but impossible to evade their sneaking little eyes. And so, one must manage them.

I realized belatedly that Id let shock crack my facade, and Ariders sneer was as much for my lack of composure as the great victory hed just achieved by knifing a child. The boys raspy breathing filled my ears, far louder than it actually was, punctuated by whimpers of pain and terror.

Welcome to Gwyllthean, boss, my familiar said. Hope you enjoy your fuckin stay.

I inhaled slowly, just to be sure I could do it smoothly. Yep, minimal trembling and no sign of any damage. To me, anyway. God, this whole place stank of blood now.

IIhewe were fightin them, Donon stammered. Itsmlord, I didnthe was gonna kill a kid. For fun! Even Rocco didnt do shit like that, and, and, you dont wanna know what Rocco

Donon. I made my voice even, projecting from the diaphragm. It echoed powerfully in the tunnel, cutting him off. Thanks for having my back. Good work. Biribo, are we I mean, were there any other witnesses?

Ymean, other than the one you let get away? Biribos wings buzzed and he departed my shoulder to hover around as usual. Nope, we got privacy. I wouldnt expect to have it long, so might I suggest not standing around over the two freshly-murdered corpses any longer than necessary?

Uh huh, so, youve got pretty keen senses, then? Youre sure?

He flicked out his tongue at me in annoyance. Im a familiar, boss. Information gathering is what I do. Its what I am.

And are there ways to interfere with yourability?

WellI mean, there are artifacts and spells that can mess with familiars senses, and Void magic is That is, Id be really surprised to find anybody with skills like that skulking around the slums of a mid-sized border town, boss. Were as clear as we can reasonably expect to be. For now.

I nodded, taking another steadying breath. Through my mouth, trying to ignore the stink of blood. Right. Well. Yep, this turned into a grand champion fuckup.

Lord Seiji, you walked up to a rich criminal and asked to be recruited, Aster said in exasperation. The surprising part is not that the whole thing went tits up in the weeds, its that for a couple minutes there it was working.

I just nodded again, not trusting my voice. The revelation that she was right had shaken me more than I wanted to reveal. This, I could not deny, had been an unnecessary disaster caused by me recklessly trying to seize what I thought might be an opportunity, with no plan and zero knowledge of the situation. I went off half-cocked, and now two people were dead.

Next time, it might be my people.

Or me.

Hells revels, Donon exclaimed. I turned to find him holding a hefty sack, which I assumed had been previously hidden inside the loose cut of Lord Ariders coat, based on the fact that said coat was now spread open and half-pulled off him.

Christ on a bike, man, are you looting the bodies?!

He may as well, Biribo opined. If you leave em lyin in a place like this theyll be stripped bare in minutes anyway. Might as well be by us, since we actually did the killing.

We? Aster muttered.

Lord Seiji, you really should see this. Donon held up the sack, opening its top. This, uh This is a lot of money.

I stepped over, craning my neck to look. Then frowned, reached forward, and grabbed a few coins.

The sack was full of coins. It was bulging, and bigger than a grapefruit. For the moment, though, I didnt think about their value, or how the hell Arider had been concealing this so well I hadnt noticed the bulge in his coat I held up the coins to the light, studying them.

They were gleaming and glossy as if freshly minted. Their weight suggested metal, but the color All of them, in different denominations, were made of at least two metals fused together. Some pale material like platinum seemed to predominate, but there were outer rims and inlaid patterns of crimson, gold, white, and even blue. They had neatly ridged edges, intricate cutouts, highly detailed engravings, and all of them were utterly flawless, not even dingy from use.

Are thesenormal coins, here? I asked.

Those are all higher-value denominations, Aster replied, her own eyes practically bulging. Hells revels, Ive never actually seen a white halo in person. Lord Seiji, this isthis is a lot of money.

But theyre normal coins?

Normal? I mean, theyre coins. Im not sure what youre asking.

No, she wouldnt be. But I was standing here, in a medieval society which appeared not to have indoor plumbing and which built its buildings out of shells and didnt even use metal for weapons, looking at an example of metallurgy so sophisticated I was pretty sure the national treasuries of twenty-first century Earth could not have produced anything this elaborate and flawless.

Every new thing I learned about Ephemera was either grotesquely fucked up or just plain weird. Why couldnt I have landed in one of those bog standard quasi-European fantasy isekai Yoshi probably liked? Id have had a better idea what to do with that, at least. Why did it all have to be so fucking weird?

I cleared my throat. As someone whos new here and has no mental frame of reference for the value of coinage How much money are we looking at here? Put it in context for me.

Aster and Donon shared a loaded look, apparently lost for words. It was Biribo who answered.

For this? On the Fflyr mainland you could buy a comfortable manor in the countryside with enough grounds to be self-sustaining, furnish it, and pay a staff to work the fields until the harvests came in and it could support itself.

My two henchpeople nodded gravely, still apparently tongue-tied by the wealth on display before them.

And this, I said slowly, was being carried by a noblemanon a mysterious errandto the criminal district of town.

They nodded again.

I took another long look at the bodies wed left lying in the Gutters.

I think we should get the fuck outta here.

Biribo buzzed his wings furiously. Oh, do ya think so?