Chương 41: Spilling The Beans

To qualify all those who worship demons as evil would be a grave mistake. Certainly, the vast majority of them are scum. However, some are simply misguided, and they can be brought to the light. It's to my greatest regret that my colleagues do not share that belief. Excerpt from Demonology, by Alfred Dumries, Keeper of the Iron Ink.

"You mishandled both the harvest and transportation, this severely impacts how much I can give you for the paralytic agent," Maret argued, his frown deepening as he examined the substance. Alexandra shook her head.

"So you say, but I claim the contrary." The alchemist looked at her, and pointed at the gourd.

"Water contamination, traces of destructive magic, and the glands themselves are nowhere to be seen." He scoffed.

"I'm a professional. Don't insult my intelligence." She didn't relent.

"Fine, it's not perfect. But who else is selling Gallowbloom agent? Nobody. So if you want it, you have to pay the price."

"Yet, you are the one in need of money, and you don't know how to use the agent. How about we compromise on fifty silver, and I'll give you the herbicide for free." Alexandra frowned.

"That's a great deal for you," Maret added.

"I won't pay more." She gritted her teeth.

"Fine." He handed her the money and returned his attention to the gourd.

"Now go, I have work to do." Louis and Alexandra left Maret's lab, their heads down.

"I know we technically made a profit, but I can't help but feel like I've been scammed," Alexandra said. Louis sighed.

"It's always like that with Maret. Let's move, we don't want to hang around this area more than we need." They walked in silence for the first minute. Alexandra and Louis looked at the street ahead. A cart crossed their path. They stopped to let it pass and then kept walking.

"So," Alexandra said.

"Yes," Louis said. Silence. The street opened into a small square with a dry fountain at its center, the basin cracked and stained green where the waterline used to be. Above the door of the building facing them, carved into the lintel, an open eye looked out over the square.

"Does Maret always negotiate like that?" she asked.

"Sometimes it's worse. He seemed curious about you."

"My hair." He sighed.

"Has to be." They took a left down a narrower street. Laundry hung between the upper floors, fluttering in the wind. A group of men stood outside a tavern ahead, not quite blocking the road. Louis' pace shifted, a slight adjustment, steering them toward the opposite side without breaking stride. She matched it without asking. One of the men watched them pass. Above the tavern door, an iron bracket held a sign: the Wardens' eye.

"They're everywhere," she said, before she could stop herself.

"Yes."

"All of this is Merinus?" Louis was quiet for a moment.

"Pretty much. Over the years, he consolidated most of the city under his control." It didn't take long for them to return to Louis' hideout. He sat on his bed while Alexandra took a chair. She broke the silence first.

"So, you're a thief?"

"That's your take away from all this?" She shrugged.

"Gotta start somewhere."

"I guess the cat's out of the bag. Yes, I'm a thief. That's even been part of my class since I reached Bronze. Happy?" Alexandra gestured at the room around them.

"Hardly a surprise. I mean, look at how you live." He smiled.

"I'm still broke." She nodded.

"What did you mean about your class? Did it change when you reached bronze?" Louis raised his eyebrows.

"You know, I may be a thief, but you're extremely ignorant." Alexandra stared at him. It took a good minute for her to speak up again.

"I'm not sure if I should be telling you this." She paused.

"I might as well," she whispered.

"You don't have to." A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. She shook her head.

"Shut up and listen. I'm not from this world. I've been summoned. I know nothing of how things work around here. Please help me." He blinked.

"What?" Louis asked, mouth agape.

"You heard me." He stood up, put his hands on the table, and stood there with his back to her. She watched him, her heart tightening slightly. Was it a mistake?

"Louis? Hello?" He turned around.

"Okay, okay, slow it down. You've been summoned? When?" Alexandra called her journal, and waved it at him.

"Twelve days ago." He took a deep breath.

"So… If what you say is true, you've only been training for that long? And you plan to take down the Yshant?" It was her turn to be surprised.

"That's your first question?" Louis grabbed his cheek with both his palms.

"Right, sorry. There's something more important… Are you a hero?"

"What if I am?" Louis bit his lips.

"My relationship to heroes is complicated."

"Tell me about it." Alexandra said. Seeing as he wasn't answering, she insisted.

"I'm not going to smite you or whatever you're thinking about." He sighed again, resting his elbows on his knees.

"I doubt you could. Not yet, at least." He chuckled under his breath.

"Man, why do these things always happen to me?"

"What do you mean?"

"I saw a hero. For anyone else, it would have been the greatest honor. For me, it was the worst day of my life. Do you know how the Architects operate?" She shook her head.

"I don't even know what the Architects are. A divine order similar to the Wardens, I suppose?"

"Yes, they are the agents of Peshan, the goddess of Civilization." Louis' voice was low, his pace deliberate.

"They ensure that humanity is, well, civilized. To their standards, of course. Maybe you can connect the dots." She winced.

"I'm afraid I can." Louis' eyes glazed, staring at nothing.

"She arrived at my village on the eve of my twelfth birthday. We didn't make the cut." He shook his head.

"I won't get into details."

"She?"

"Her name must not be spoken." Lila. Alexandra had trouble imagining her old guild leader being the same person Louis was talking about. Maybe she wasn't. Then again, everything pointed in that direction.

"I'm sorry." She ran her hand over her face. He nodded.

"I'm not her." Another nod. She clicked her tongue.

"I know them. The heroes. At least, I think I do." He tilted his head.

"They've been here for a century, but back in my world, only a decade has passed. We were friends, or used to be."

"Give me a good reason not to walk away." She smiled.

"We're literally in your home." He didn't.

"No, seriously. She and I are not the same person, and I won't let you blame me for her actions. We're also working toward the same goals." He sighed.

"You're right. I'm sorry. I'm not being fair. But my goals don't stop at Esmera."

"You want revenge." She stared into his eyes. He didn't answer.

"I'm not going to stop you," She added. He shifted on his bed, leaning back and supporting himself with his arms. Silence settled.

"Do you want to go back? To your world, I mean."

"I…" she started. I didn't think about that. She'd gotten sucked into the daily grind that she hadn't even considered the possibility. Even if she wanted to, it wasn't like it would be easy. Where was earth in relation to Laika? Different planet? Galaxy? Universe?

"You know, if time moves faster by a factor of ten here, it means that ten days on Laika is just a day in your world," Louis pointed out.

"Even if it takes years to find a way back, you will not have missed much." She nodded. She missed her parents, and her apartment, even the shitty pizzeria she used to work at, though not the pizza themselves, those were nasty. With twelve days spent on Laika it meant she'd… Yeah, it was too late for her streak. Worse, returning would mean giving her the new streak she'd painstakingly accumulated. And all the benefits that came with it.

She didn't know what bothered her the most: that she was weighing her family against a quest streak, or that the streak was winning. But she couldn't give everything up. Not again. She shook her head.

"I'll think about it. Does that mean we're good?"

"We're good. For now. But keep in mind that I'll go against your friends in the future." She sighed.

"From what I heard, I don't know how they'll react to my presence here. Especially her. The Hands, too, were cagey about her name." He nodded.

"You've asked about class change, didn't you?" Alexandra twitched.

"Erm, yes, I did."

"When I reached level five and upgraded my first class perk to bronze, I was given the option to evolve my class. It can happen at every rank, though it's not a guarantee." Louis smiled.

"I assume you have a divine class, so I doubt it will happen to you anytime soon."

"Bummer." Louis rolled his eyes.

"Evolving a class makes it more aligned with who you are. The changes are slow and gradual, and mainly reflected in the class art. I kept all my perks from the rogue class I had in Iron." Alexandra laughed.

"Way to tell on yourself. A true criminal at heart." He blinked.

"What's your class, anyway? I told you mine."

"Yeah, well, I told you something about myself too." He met her gaze. She bent.

"Fine. I'm the Heroine of Quests."

"Corny."

"Tell me about it, thief. Anyway, this is actually relevant to our collaboration, so listen up. I get quests to complete everyday, and I will not compromise on that." Louis smiled.

"We all have a class art that we want to make use of. It's a good thing you're so passionate about it."

"It's all in there!" Alexandra said, holding her journal to his face. She completely agreed. Her class fit her like a glove, and it would be a shame not to take advantage of it. She flipped her journal open.

"I also want to kill the Yshant for a quest. Let's see." Turning the page to her event quests, she froze.

"What is it?" Louis asked. She winced.

"Maret's going to be happy." New Event Quest: Esmera's Wardens: End Lucius Merinus' grip on Esmera (0/1) Reward: uncommon skill. Failure condition: Lucius Merinus dies or loses power without your intervention.

"A quest to kill Merinus? And the reward isn't specified?" Louis asked.

"Is that normal?" She shrugged.

"I've been here for twelve days. The hell do I know?"

"It doesn't seem worth it." Louis scratched his chin.

"I think you should skip this one." Alexandra stood up, and looked down at her friend.

"Skip a quest? Are you insane?"

"Yeah, about that…"