Chapter 23
The next morning
Daily Quest complete! 3 skill points awarded!
You have 7 unspent points!
I let out a sigh as I finished the last set of push ups, having saved them for last.
Now that I’d finally finished up the morning routine, I walked over and picked up my jacket, as it was the only thing I wasn’t wearing. As I put it on I stepped out of my room and walked down the hall and into the living room.
“We’re just now getting a final count on the number of victims from last night's gruesome attacks,” a female reporter said from the radio across the room. “Seventy three… yes, it is confirmed that seventy three Kejtdra were found dead inside Hailmon Park this morning, all with various wounds. Authorities on scene believe it was done by some kind of feral animal, or possibly a Rust. But we are here to assure you that there are NO Rust inside the city. This is the work of a rogue animal, as the wounds are a clear indicator of that.”
“This place sure is dangerous it seems,” I said aloud as I walked past the radio and out the front door, the sun beaming down on me. Looking around, I saw that the streets were mostly empty, but there were still plenty of people walking around, probably going to work or something. I don’t know what people do here.
I shoved my hands into my pockets as I strolled down the street, with everyone just ignoring me. Which is good, that means I’m blending in. My legs may be backwards in comparison to theirs, but apparently that’s only noticeable if you’re paying attention.
So I don’t actually have a real plan. I’m just going to head to the downtown section of this city and see what I can figure out. Got to start somewhere, right?
Checking my pockets real quick, I confirmed I still had the money Liles and Liz gave me. Apparently enough to get by out here, but I don’t understand the currency that well yet.
“I do, it’s pretty simple, Shayla,” Rosemary said as she laid on a trashcan up ahead. “I’ll tell you if you’re being dumb with money.”
“Thanks,” I said as I rolled my eyes. I’m not smart, but I’m not that dumb.
She didn’t answer as she rolled off the trashcan and disappeared from sight.
Continuing down the street, I took notice of a few stores that appeared to actually be open and running. There were not many, as every building I passed was mostly just run down and abandoned looking.
“A Rust in the city?” she heard someone say as she walked past a building with a few open windows.
“It’s clearly a new kind of monster, you hear about the range of wounds?”
I didn’t stop to listen to them as I continued down the street. Clearly what I heard on the radio is not normal for this place.
Keeping my head up and on a swivel, as I did not trust anyone here, I continued down the street, following the few signs I could see that guided me towards downtown.
After what felt like an hour of walking, I found myself in a part of the city that actually looked alive, with every building looking to be occupied and open, and crowds of Kejtdra walking around.
Okay, now what?
“Try there,” Rosemary said, pointing over to a sign, then fading away as she appeared under it.
Moving closer, I saw she was looking at a sign that read ‘Big Olives Auction: Rare and unique items for sale! Right near the Social District, all welcome!’
“Why an auction? We do not have the money for something like that,” I questioned, raising an eyebrow.
“Rare and unique items attract some very interesting people,” she said with a smile. “We could potentially find someone who can guide us to gaining access to the Social District.”
“Good point,” I said with a nod, turning to follow the sign. At least it was a start.
ooo000<^>000ooo
Domitor woke up with a start, looking around in a slight panic as he had forgotten where he was. But it didn’t take him long to remember he was in Floria’s apartment, and not back home.
Looking to the couch, he saw that she was still there, snoring loudly. How had he slept through that?
Grunting a bit, he climbed out of the bed and walked for the door, but tripped over some trash and fell face first onto the ground. Pushing himself back up, now with a sore snout, he glanced at her, seeing she’d slept through all the noise.
“Huh,” he muttered, stepping through the door and into the living room.
“Hey, bud,” Lenrick said from the couch.
Domitor smiled as he turned to him, but the scowl on the other man's face confused him. “What’s wrong?”
“What do you think of Floria?” he asked suddenly, arms crossed.
“She’s weird and messy, and possibly a psychopath,” Domitor said, not sure where this was going. “But she’s honestly not a bad person from what I can tell, she’s just got issues.”
“You got that right, she has issues,” he grumbled. “She came out here last night to get some food, in her underwear, that’s clearly a sign asking for sex, right?”
“No?” Domitor said slowly, raising an eyebrow.
“It is,” he assured him, throwing his arms out wide. “And when I tried to come onto her, she laughed and went back to bed. If it wasn’t for you being in there, she’d regret that shit.”
This did not sit well with Domitor at all, as he felt there was something implied here, something he did not like to think about. “But, you’re just venting right now, right? You wouldn’t actually do something like that to her, right?”
Lenrick looked at him, frowning, “kid, its best we change the subject. How’d you sleep? Good?”
“I…” he started, blinking at his friend in confusion and worry. “... Yeah, I slept good.”
“Awesome, at least one of us did,” he said, getting up and revealing he was nude. “I’m going back to that club.”
“You are?” Domitor asked with an upset look on his face. “But what about me?”
“I don’t know, figure something out,” he said as he pulled on his pants. But when he looked at Domitor and saw his sad face, he sighed and pulled out a device for him. “Here, press this and I’ll come running, okay?”
“Okay,” Domitor muttered, taking the device. “Please don’t stay there long. I want to explore some more with you today.”
Lenrick sighed, then raised his hand, giving the stallion a thumbs up, “for you, kid, I’ll do a quickie. I just gotta relieve this fucking tension that little bitch in there created.”
“Please don’t call her a bitch,” Domitor asked, causing the man to roll his eyes.
“Fine. I hope you get something out of her at least,” he said, moving for the front door as he pulled on his jacket.
Domitor didn’t say anything as the man walked out the door and slammed it shut behind him.
With a conflicted feeling deep inside of him, he sat down on the couch and stared at the floor.
“The guys an asshole, don’t let him get to you,” Floria said from her doorway, fully dressed.
“He’s just…” he began, then sighed. “I don’t know.”
She looked at him, a frown on her face, “are you okay?”
“I will be,” he answered solemnly.
A smile broke across her face as she dashed forward and grabbed his hoof, hauling him up, “you need to cheer up and get your mind in a happier place. And I know just how to do that! Come on!”
He groaned as she pulled him through her apartment and out into the hallway.
“Where are we going?” he asked as she locked the door behind her.
“A place,” she answered cryptically, winking at him.
“Is it going to annoy me?” he asked with a frown.
“I dunno, guess we’ll find out!” she giggled, putting her key away and grabbing his hoof again. With a squeal of delight she pulled him down the hallway, heading in the opposite direction Lenrick would have gone.
As they walked out the back door, Floria came to a halt, causing Domitor to run into her back.
Before he could ask why, he heard someone chuckle.
“Trying to sneak out the back?” A man asked.
Floria grunted, letting go of Domitor’s hoof and crossing her arms, “not trying to avoid you or any of his guys. Just didn’t want to deal with someone else.”
“Sure,” the large Kejtdra replied as he pushed himself off of the wall he was leaning on and stepped up to her, towering above her. “He needs to see you.”
“Tell him I’ll be there in a few hours,” she said with a sneer.
“He’s not happy about you not stopping by to drop off your haul,” the Kejtdra said with a smirk. “It’s almost like you were trying to steal it.”
“Obviously not, I’m not dumb,” she said. “Now move, I have somewhere to be.”
He just laughed, reaching out and grabbing her by the coat. “No, you’re coming with me and talking to the boss.” With a hard yank, he jerked her towards him.
With a whoosh, Domitor zipped next to them and slammed a hoof right into the arm of the man, causing him to yelp in shock and pain as his arm was forced away from Floria.
“She said she’ll come by later,” he said forcibly, squaring up with the man as he held his arm.
“Domitor, no,” Floria said, stepping between him and the large man.
“I should kill that thing!” the Kejtdra roared, his arm very obviously broken as he stood up holding it.
“No, you’re not,” she said with a glare. “I’m going to see your boss, and I’m bringing him with me. Why don’t you go get that arm checked out.”
“Bitch,” he growled, seeming to be held back by something else other than himself as he turned and walked away.
Once he was gone, she turned to Domitor with a sad smile on her face. “Thanks for that, Dom. But please, don’t interfere in my business again. Okay?”
This confused him, as he thought he was helping, but her words and the look on her face said otherwise. So he gave a nod, “okay. I’m sorry.”
She gave a nod and turned, putting her hands in her pockets. “Come on, guess we should make a pit stop before I take you to my special place.”
“Are you in danger?” he asked as he followed her.
“Everyone is in some kind of danger in this city,” she said with a forced laugh.
ooo000<^>000ooo
“This next item up for bid is a lovely vase from the-”
“This is boring as fuck,” I groaned from my seat in the back of the room. We’d been here an hour, and nothing interesting had happened, and I’ve seen no one who looked even remotely like they could help me. Just a bunch of poor and dirty Kejtdra. Definitely not anyone who could show me how to get a VIP access card.
“Looks can be deceiving, Shayla,” Rosemary said from in front of me where she sat on top of some large guy's head. “There are seven Kejtdra in here that I can see who might be able to help you. You just have to look past their outward appearance and watch their actions.”
‘Watch their actions? Now you’re sounding like my mother,’ I thought with a frown, but I decided to listen to her as I scanned the room yet again. Just like the last few times, I didn’t see anyone who stuck out.
As I watched everyone, I saw at least one person do something odd. A Kejtdra in a messy suit in the back was giving nods and little hand gestures to no one around him.
“Good, Shayla,” Rosemary said with a smile. “Keep going.”
Following his motions and occasional gaze, I saw another Kejtdra across the room who was watching him, giving small nods as well. That Kejtdra was then looking elsewhere and making a few gestures.
‘What are they doing?’ I asked, confused by what I was seeing. Rosemary didn’t offer me any help, just smiled at me.
“You got this, just focus,” she said, looking a bit proud.
Sighing, I moved my gaze to follow the second guy's motions, but whoever he was looking at was behind the stage.
Seeing Rosemary’s expectant stare, I rolled my eyes and casually got up and walked along the seated Kejtdra in the row I was currently in. Once I was at the end of the row, I could now see who the Kejtdra was gesturing to. Almost hidden behind the stage, and only noticeable if you were looking for them, was a Kejtdra who was looking out at the crowd and the Auctioneer.
They weren’t doing much, other than watching the one Kejtdra giving him hand signals, and it looked like he was talking to someone.
I moved closer, acting as casual as I could as I kept my eyes on the stage and the Kejtdra who was hidden behind it. Carefully, I walked past the Kejtdra who was giving the hand signals. He stopped when I approached, acting like he wasn’t watching me as I stepped past him.
Doing my best to ignore him, I walked over to a trash can and acted like I threw something into it, then just leaned against the wall.
“You need to work on your subterfuge, Shayla,” Rosemary warned with a shake of her head. “You’re being obvious.”
‘I’m fine,’ I assured her, seeing that the Kejtdra had gone back to making hand signals to the man behind the stage.
From my new spot I could see a shadow moving around in the back, touching items and causing them to disappear as a jelly-like substance covered them. Then my eyes landed on four prone Kejtdra that looked like guards.
Ah, think I just stumbled upon some kind of criminal activity.
“Don’t move, don’t react, just take four steps to your left,” a voice suddenly said from next to me on my right.
Glancing over, I saw a new Kejtdra was next to me, his suit cleaner than the other ones.
“Or what?” I asked with a smirk.
“Or this,” he said as grabbed my arm suddenly, causing my entire body to seize up for a second as a strong electrical force shot through me. It wasn’t enough to drop me, but it was definitely enough to get my attention. “Now move.”
Reluctantly I side stepped to my left and was pushed by the man through a door, now no longer in the crowded room. We were now in a side hallway it seems.
“You a cop? Special Unit? Royal Guard?” someone asked as the man behind me blocked the doorway.
Looking to my right I saw four well dressed Kejtdra standing there, all looking very intimidating.
“Uh, no to all that,” I said, squaring up with them and side stepping away from the man.
“Then why are you watching us so closely?” the main Kejtdra asked.
Rosemary appeared before us, frowning. “Be honest, this isn’t ideal, but it’s what we were looking for.”
“I need help getting a VIP access card, and I had a feeling someone doing criminal activity of any kind might know something,” I said bluntly, getting a few eye raises.
“You’re just some kid, why do you need a VIP access card?” he asked, crossing his arms.
“I’m not a fucking kid,” I snapped, getting a few snickers in response. “Can you all help, or have I wasted my time?”
“You’re acting like you’re the one in charge here, or that you have a say in any of this,” the man said with a chuckle. “You’re the one who’s snooping around our business, and you have the balls to ask us for something?”
“Yeah,” I said as I glared at all of them. “So we doing this? Or am I out of here?”
He stared at me, seeming to weigh his options. “You know what, kid, I like you. Got guts. So here’s what we’ll do; I’ll ask the boss if he wants to see you, and if so then we’ll do a meeting. But if you end up being a cop or a Gloomer…” he let that hang in the air.
“The fuck is a Gloomer?” I asked despite myself.
The man just smiled at me, “exactly what a cop would ask. Gloomer, the hired muscles of the rich pricks from above.”
“I ain’t that either then,” I replied evenly.
“We’ll see,” he said, nodding to the man next to me.
He reached for me but time seemed to slow as I dodged his hand, slamming my own closed fist into his throat. With a yelp he collapsed onto the ground, coughing as he held his throat.
“Bad move, kid,” the guy said, shaking his head. “You want our help, and you attack us?”
“I’m not playing this your way,” I said back to him, squaring up with the four Kejtdra. “I’m not here to fight, so let’s just keep this civil.”
“You want something from us? Then you play by our rules,” he said with a smile.
I looked between them and then down to the still coughing man next to me. “Fine. But I’m not being restrained if that’s what you were trying to do.”
The man just shrugged, waving the coughing Kejtdra next to me off. “Okay, missy. Follow my man here, he’ll take you to a meeting spot. The boss will decide if he’ll do business with you or not from there.”
“Works for me,” I said, watching as one of them walked towards me and carefully walked around me, waving for me to follow.
I gave the others a quick glare before following after the Kejtdra.
“Keep your guard up, Shayla, I don’t trust them,” Rosemary warned.
‘I don’t trust them either,’ I thought to her, giving her a nod.
We walked outside the building and the man began walking down the street, heading away from the auction house and away from the gates of the Social District.
New Quest! ‘Rank E: Meet the Boss!’
ooo000<^>000ooo
“That’s the new plan?” the Pegasus asked with a frown as he looked up at Champion as he floated above them. “But this is not the plan Lilith came up with.”
“Lilith is not the boss here,” Champion said in a cold voice. “That would be me. She gave me the idea, but she is not the one in charge here. Her plan is simple minded.”
“Are you sure of this?” the tall stallion asked, a sly grin on his face. “I’m all for this new plan. The old one was… boring.”
“This is how things will go, and you all will do as you’re told. Any problems with that?” Champion asked, eyeing each one of them.
“None at all,” the stallion said with a bow.
“This new plan is more up my alley, so I am ready for it,” the griffon laughed, not bowing as he smirked at his grandson.
“I guess as long as I get to have some fun, I’m down for it,” the Pegasus conceded, bowing as well.
The final one laughed loudly, standing tall as he refused to bow as well, “you are nothing like your father. You are better fit to rule than he ever was.”
“I know,” Champion agreed, smirking at them. “Everyone clear on this plan?”
They all give a nod.
“Perfection,” he said, pointing to the two towns in the distance. “Then go.”
As they all began to walk forward, a sinister smile appeared on his face.
“And remember, no one is off limits.”