Shinra shrugged Dave off, but Dave didn't really notice. He had gone from full on murderer to young child seeking approval in the span of a moment.Captain Spars was a big man, not strong like Wintersbane, big like a bureaucrat. Big like a mage. He rarely saw the deputies because, as far as they knew, he was in his office all night. He took his job very seriously, he’d been a captain for 80 years, and a sheriff for well over 100.Dave thought the man just lacked ambition. As a captain of the police, he could surely have used his influence to progress politically and be appointed to a better role somewhere. But he had stayed in the Sheriff's office, slowly growing older. Chump. Dave wouldn't be here long, and this commendation was just the first step.‘Why I might even become a Sheriff right n
Wintersbane had mixed feelings about Shinra being promoted to Deputy level 2, which was a constable, 4th class. For one thing, it meant that he was officially on track to become an actual Sheriff. This opened up serious and awkward questions for Wintersbane, not the least of which was that he had brought him in as a murderer and instead entered into the deputy program.The Deputy program was designed as a place for families to put their kids who didn’t have other promising opportunities, so there were nearly no entry requirements. What no one told these pups, was that the barrier to become a regular Constable was likely insurmountable for most of them. It took effort and luck.‘Damn this Zombie, he’s just made me more complicit in covering up his potential crimes,’ Wintersbane thought. He still needed him to get the jum
Shinra was a little intimidated. He wouldn't admit it, but he was shocked at Wintersbane's martial arts display. In a world of unstoppable magic, even the strongest 'knights' only practised with swords.Shinra's father had told him that martial arts were the domain of the oppressed. He never said it could overcome magic, but he felt it was shameful to stay weak. The unspoken assumption Shinra had was that mages didn’t need martial arts, so they didn’t use them. ‘What was the point of all that training if mages could be this good at Martial Arts too?’Shinra had been trained by his father for as long as he could remember, and he continued his practice even after his father was killed. He wasn't sure he could do what Wintersbane had done so easily though. Not that he was admitting he was better.“I didn't think mages knew how to sully their hands like that. What would your friends think if they saw you fighting without using any magic?”“Haha, well I'm sure they would laugh. That
‘Death Walker?’ He’d almost forgotten about the title the System had given him. He assumed it was related to nearly dying. Did it give him any special abilities, or buffs? So far, he hadn't noticed anything.Not that Shinra had time to think about a meaningless title, as a kick whistled towards his head. He didn’t dodge so much as fall backwards. The wind from its passage pressed against his face with a force he could feel. ‘That would have killed me. I’m a Zombie, I don’t have physical wards.’‘If the System is here, I can use my skills!’ The thought energised him, and he almost started to Fade out of sight, but stopped. Wintersbane was right there. Somehow Wintersbane tolerated him as a suspected murderer, but a Zombie wi
‘Critical Strike level 2…. Wasn’t the skill called Targeted Strike before?’ Shinra wondered. He would need to query the System later, there were a lot of new things he’d noticed since the System returned to him today.Hard to believe he’d almost died a few hours ago, and now he was about to die again.‘By a damned doll!’[Upgrade to Critical Strike 2 commencing. Rapid integration unlocked. Prepare, Death Walker.]Shinra wasn’t sure what ‘prepare’ meant. Skills and upgrades all seemed to affect him differently, but they always hurt. Fade 2 had knocked him unconscious. ‘At least if I pass out, Wintersbane might stop the fight without me …’ was as far as
Shinra was alone in his small room. He was stuffed from the meal he’d had with WIntersbane, but was glad to be home. Wintersbane and the Sheriff's office had pulled some strings to get him into the Officer’s Barracks, which was a fancy term for ‘crumbling, old, dormitory’. The room was much smaller than his hovel in the Zombie village, but it had everything he needed: a bed, small bookcase, night table, and a writing desk. The furniture was all old and used, but he didn’t mind. He even had a window! Though it looked out to the bricks of the next building, 4 stories up.‘I went from murder suspect to Deputy Sheriff pretty fast. I’m not in jail, but I’m still surrounded by law enforcement… and I sleep in a tiny room.’ He smiled. The irony wasn’t lost on him, but he also viewed it as an opportunity. ‘I can learn about the worst mages in the city doing this job, and the ones who get away with their crimes.’Not to mention, he might even learn the layouts of their homes, and their
“RRRargh”, the roar echoed across the cobblestoned chamber, shaking the crowd where they watched from the grandstands.The Demi-Orc rushed forward swinging a club larger than a man towards the knight in gleaming armour in the centre of the ring.Demi-Orcs sometimes appear in the wild, as they are able to cross breed with many magical creatures. This one was likely created in a magic lab though, as its shiny chitinous armour adorned with wicked barbs seemed too perfect for the gladiator hall in Tardel City. Even its head and face were mostly covered in the oily black shell, leaving only the mottled grey skin around the mouth exposed, hinting at its Orc heritage.The knight facing the armoured monster was a third its size, but stood calmly in armour that was so pretty it seemed ceremonial, a th
The streets of Tardel in the late evening gloom were filled with the types of mages you didn't notice during the daylight hours. Men and women in tattered robes, carrying all their belongings wrapped up in sacks, singing bawdy songs at the top of their lungs, and begging for change or asking for food. It was a reminder that even with overwhelming gifts, humans could all fall. Except for their robes and magical auras, they would be mistaken for the most wretched of Zombies.Tardel was a harsh Empire, and the Capital city was harsher yet, Shinra knew that it was a dangerous time to be out on the streets without magic. The veneer of civilization that mages pretended to have could drop away quickly in the anonymity of the darkened streets. As a Deputy 1st Class, Shinra shouldn’t be worried as he navigated the streets, but he’d left his badge, and any other identifying items, behin