An Unlikely Ally

9-9-2997

There is something pleasant about the quiet of night. Granted the soft snores of Markum, and the muffled merriment in the common room of the Inn, disrupt what could be perfect silence- but I won’t let that spoil my moment. Rather I will take pleasure with the pen in my hand, letting my eyes get lost in the ink as it scrolls across the page.

It is strange to use the boy so. His hands are bigger than my own, but I suppose that’s to be expected. Men usually were larger than myself. However I will stop before I go on wallowing. No one likes reading about that- yet do I really want people reading this? Ha! That would be amusing! To think this farm boy could write or think eloquently enough to state his desires. He can barely maintain his own convictions! He’s nothing more than a loyal pup.

I must not make fun of him though. Gale really is a good boy. I can see the goodness in his heart and really need him as an ally. Just maybe I will be able to persuade him to fully embrace how I see things. For now, I will exercise my patience and allow the ‘mundane’ evils to continue about me. It’s rather hard I must say. I don’t understand how it is he can allow such misfortune happen. Just this afternoon he let an opportunity to vanquish such vileness slip through his hands.

Gale and Markum had arrived in this bustling city, secured a room, and began to search for work. As they headed to find the Captain of the Guards, the two found themselves amidst a crowd when a fire broke out. Gale, being chivalrous and all, helped a little girl up, the poor sickly thing. By the time he was ready to be a hero, the fire was out and stood around watching the girl, her brother (whom I’m suspicious about), a halfling, and this other woman converse.

The woman’s name is Yulia. I only note her because she moseyed on up to Gale, hand out for him to kiss, and introduced herself.

“I don’t like her,” I told Gale.

“She seems nice,” He told me, though his head was all sorts of flushed.

“Don’t forget which head you’re thinking with,” I warned. The human got quiet with embarrassment. Besides, Markum is cuter.

I had little patience to let Gale stand around idle. Nothing was coming of the conversation with the group, so I reminded Gale we had better things to go about. The human dismissed himself by telling the crowd that he and Markum were needing to go. Low and behold, the brother and sister duo were on assignment from the Guard as it were. They were looking into a series of murders that stemmed from the fighting arena they had underground.

After a quick visit to the Guard Captain, ditching Yulia behind, and making sure the lot of us would be hired, Gale and Markum showed the duo and Halfling to the Inn for lunch.

“Lunch? Really?” I sighed.

“Unless you want my body to wither away, I must provide sustenance for it,” Gale reminded me.

“Just eat extra tonight. We need to find the murderers! We can’t let them remain at large.

“Patience you. There might be bigger things at work you know. For example, a Guard Captain allowing a fighting ring? I thought that would have been a red flag for you.”

“Yes, but I’m trying to prioritize what I will and won’t destroy. According to your ‘great wisdom’, taking out an entire fighting club operation isn’t a simple as killing a few murderers.”

Gale went about eating, ignoring me.

Once the meal finished, I was more than eager to get my human going. We made our way over to the market, the fighting ring taking place in the sewers, and began looking for signs of the club’s entrance. As we sleuthed about, that was when we came across some slavers! I grinned wildly, Gale reminding me, “We are not to kill them.”

I laughed as the brother sent a fireball at the six men. Even Markum and the Halfling were eager to spill the blood of the fiendish traders! And so I demanded action. Gale fought against me, stating we ought to protect the boy (he having been hit hard by one of the slavers) but my determination won for a moment.

Quickly I found my bearings, and pulled myself to the ready. I urged the long legs forward and slashed a decent strike across the man’s chest. The feel of blood cascading over me is a sensation I’ll relish.

“No!” Gale shouted at me. I could feel his surprise. I urged him to continue our attack, but he simply stood his ground, protecting the boy (Ausar if I remember correctly). He then had the gall to demand a surrender. “Surrender now and you’ll be treated more favorably than death,” Gale said. I rolled over in agony at the boy’s naivety. “Surrender!? You gave them the OPTION to SURRENDER!!!?” I cried, “Those vile things deserve nothing less than a sword in the back!”

“That isn’t our job,” he chided me, “We were told to find murderers. No one gave us the right to kill in this town.” I hope he felt the eye roll I gave him.

Well just as I suspected, the two men still standing high tailed it away. Markum asked Gale what his problem was. The boy repeated what he told me only to be met with similar opinions to my own. I was starting to like the group. They all seem to understand the urgency to eliminate the unkind.

Gale did regain some favor of mine. After managing to secure one of the slavers for interrogating, the group was more concerned about healing Ausar. Let alone the slaver was unconscious, and so the little girl, Umbrie, took us to her healer friend while Yulia (yes, she came back...) babysat.

As we walked through the market, I spotted a store that could supply the journal I desired. I pestered Gale once more, stating it was the least bit of decency he could give for all the bloodshed he prevented me from. And so, he made mention to the group he would catch up.

Markum chose to come with and spared the boy from stumbling over his words as he asked for supplies. I offered to lead saying, “Let me take over. I’ll order what I need and will give you your leadership back afterwards.” A firm ‘no’ I was met with and so endured the first minute of him stating he needed things to write letters with. Markum, noticing Gale’s floundering, stepped up and made the order clear to the shopkeep.

Then surprise, surprise, Ausar showed up. The young man paid for the material. Wouldn’t know why, but then again, who can refuse an act of kindness?

Right. With Ausar healed, we all regrouped with Yulia. Once the captive was tied to a chair in an empty warehouse, the vile woman began to entertain the man. The poor boy was confused by Yulia’s tactics, but enjoyed the spectacle silently from the others. That was until she began to torture the man! Sure the slaver deserved it, but torture is an unkind death.

Gale strived to reason with her, explaining that there were better ways to extract information. When she refused to listen, I insisted on using my method of persuasion. For a moment, I thought the boy was going to act! he whipped me out and held me taunt to the woman’s throat, Markum crossing me! Gale kept me to Yulia’s neck, her pulse dancing along my body. Still the woman refused to stop!

“Let me kill her!” I demanded. Gale then got hung up on the woman’s sob story as she undid the top of her dress. I don’t know why the boy got so distracted. Yulia hardly had a chest to show, but Gale grew reluctant.

The cries grew louder from the slaver, Umbrie trying to question him, and my rage building. Then the boy did something I didn’t expect. He let me take charge!

“I don’t know Kindness... Just make her stop.”

Without another word, I thrusted myself at Yulia. Unfortunately Markum intervened and thwarted my killing blow! I couldn’t condemn his kind gesture for the vile filth, but I marched up to the fighter as he guarded my target.

“You were far more attractive when you weren’t defending that evil thing,” I spoke, running a hand under his chin.

“Our fight is with the slaver, not the woman Gale!” Markum barked.

“Oh he’ll get what’s coming for him too!” I promised. And at that moment, fire engulfed us.

Unfortunately Gale took back the lead. How shaken he was by the scene, his own guilt for allowing me to act playing out. He held no ill will toward anyone. As he put it, “Things clearly got out of hand.” He then renewed his focus to investigate the fighting ring further.

Once outside, he tended to his burns, soaking some cloth in water and dabbing at the raw skin. He waited for the others, apologizing to Markum for fighting against him.

Then Yulia came out and said some curious words. She looked Gale squarely in the eyes and explained how she was a useful tool for him. He may not like her methods, but she could do the dirty work he wasn’t willing to do. The boy is conflicted. He’s too good to full heartedly accept what she said. I, however, saw an opportunity. Keep her close... indeed let her do the dirty work, and hopefully when she least expects it, I will be able to kill her in the end for all the evil she commits. I’m not entirely sure which one is playing with fire, but I have a feeling it will be Yulia who gets burned in the end for trying to work with me.

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