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There was still one thing that Alexei wanted to take care of before he and Neave called it a day. It was clear that his planned life as a water salesman out in the sticks of the kingdom had been dashed, or at the very least were on hold. If he was going to be engaging in dangerous activities, such as taking on slave traders and discovering who sent a pair of deadly assassins after him then he was going to need a bit more than a couple of exploding pots to see him and Neave through. They were going to need weapons, proper weapons, that would allow them to hold their own against some of the threats that came their way. They wouldn’t be able to rely on dumb luck and the element of surprise forever, after all. It had also gone past noon, and so Alexei was starting to get a little bit hungry. Neave likely was too, not that he expected the girl to admit it. From her malnourished appearance, he was willing to bet that she hadn’t exactly been leaving off three square meals a day whil
Alexei was back out in the city again. This time he had left Neave with Lyla. The girl hadn’t been too happy about being left behind, but after her experience with the woman in the tea shop, he didn’t want her to go through anything else that day. Not only that, he could tell she was getting tired, no matter what the defiant look on her face said. Besides, a black market weapon shop wasn’t the sort of place he wanted to take a child. Alexei’s plans had changed rapidly. He had started the day with a plan to become a water seller, using his abilities to sell water to places that were in drought or had poor irrigation. The attack by the assassins had made him start to rethink that. Being asked to take out the slavers in Alandria by Christopher had made rethinking it a certainty. But to fight against slavers and assassins and who knew what else he was going to need more than ceramic pots filled with explosive compounds and some fancy low-level enchantments. They were go
The graveyard had been warm, just like the rest of the city. The interior of the mausoleum was decidedly not warm at all. The air was cold and damp and seemed to cling to every inch of Alexei’s skin. He was nervous for a moment that the cloyingly cold humidity might cause his remaining explosive to misfire, but fortunately, the ceramic container was sealed well enough that no water was able to penetrate. As he found a flight of stairs that seemed to lead down into the depths of the Earth, lit only by sparsely located flickering torches, Alexei couldn’t help but feel like he was being watched. In fact, he was almost sure that he saw the skulls that lined the walls of the mausoleum turn very slightly to follow his movements as he began to make his way down the stairs. He swallowed thickly, his mouth dry, and decided to ignore the potentially necromantic goings on around him. He was entering a location called the black market, after all, he had to expect that there would be
Alexei wasn’t sure what his power had latched onto when he had touched the staff. Was it the living core? The concept of magic itself? Wood?Surely it wasn’t wood. What could you even combine with wood?“I know that look,” The old man said knowingly. It snapped Alexei out of his thoughts, “Sorry?” He said, “I zoned out there for a minute.” “That’s the look of a man who has found the foci for him, there’s no doubt about it,” The old man said, closing the case once more, “The only question is, does the man have the coin to pay for it.” Alexei rolled his eyes, the shopkeeper may have been old but it was clear that he still had the instincts of a businessman. “How much would you be willing to sell it for, then, I don’t see any prices,” Alexei said. His coin bag was about half way empty now, but he was sure that he had enough cash to pay for the staff. The old man sighed, patted the box, and said, “I’ll part with it for a single gold coin.” “I’m sorry, what?” Alexei all but choked
Alexei continued to watch the battle raging below. The bigger of the two men darted forward, his body shimmering with the telltale orange glow of an enhanced agility enchantment, and slammed his fist straight into the stomach of the smaller man. But despite the agility enchantment speeding the bigger of the two up, his speed was no match for the smaller. Somehow the smaller of the two seemed to bend around the larger’s fist, moving like he was made of water. With a swift upward motion the smaller man lashed out at the larger’s elbow with a strike that was infused with golden energy. The elbow inverted with a sickening crunch that could be heard as far away as the crowds were standing. The smaller man wasn’t done yet, either. He took a step forward, moving closer to the larger man’s chest and struck with a mighty two fisted blow that was launched so fast it seemed to scorch the air around it in a small halo of fire. The larger of the two men shot away as if he had been launched
Leaving the black market was a lot easier than getting in. While Alexei had been cautious and nervous about getting into the underground shopping district, in fear of someone recognising him and doing something unspeakable, all he wanted to do now was get out. He had a feeling that, if a few more seconds had passed, the creature that had been masquerading as a child running a weapon stall would have had its evil way with him. He could still feel its gaze on him as he began to ascend the stairs to the graveyard. He felt it as he made his way through the graves with his hood pulled up and his staff box clasped firmly in his hand. It lingered even up to the moment he walked through the door of the Trout’s Gills, the light of the moon on his back and Garrick the Gnome smiling at him from behind the bar. That smile fell flat quickly as Garrick noticed how pale Alexei had become. “Bloody ‘ell, man, what’s wrong with yah?” Garrick asked as Alexei sat down on one of the stools and rest
Alexei woke with a start. The smell of rust and smoke assaulted his senses, dragging him out of his slumber and back into reality. His eyes opened with a snap, what he saw made his stomach lurch in disgust and horror. The walls were painted red with blood, and at the foot of his bed was the dripping red decapitated head of Neave. Bodyparts littered the room, scattered like the forgotten toys of a child. “N-N-Neave…” Alexei managed to choke out, barely able to keep himself from throwing up at the sight before him. He didn’t understand what had happened, how it had happened, or even why it had happened. The assassins shouldn’t have sent anyone new out yet. He hadn’t begun his attack on the slave markets of Alandria. The prickle at the back of his neck intensified. “The nilbog,” He seethed under his breath, “The nilbog did this.” A peal of phantom laughter cackled from nowhere and everywhere at once, floating around the room, as disembodied as the head of his ward before him.
He wouldn’t sleep again until the Nilbog had been dealt with. That was Alexei’s plan, anyway. Clearly, the creature had some power over dreams, and Alexei had the sneaking suspicion that if it had managed to do away with him during the brief fight they’d had within his own dreamscape then he may not have woken up from the encounter. He had to focus on the positives, though. Neave was alive. The Trout’s Gills was not burning down. It had all been an illusion, a nightmare, designed to take him down. Now he knew that he could begin to work against it. Alexei took a deep breath and let it out slowly. His heartbeat was finally starting to get back to normal. He rose from bed, careful not to wake Neave up, and snuck out of the room with his day clothes in his hand and made his way back to the communal showers. It was still early in the day, morning sun barely peeked over the top of the many buildings of Alandria, so he wasn’t surprised to find the showers empty. It didn’t take l