Kael swiftly chased after the perpetrator, Edric, though not as fast as Edric. The perpetrator, upon closer inspection, was small like a pre-adolescent child.
The perpetrator wore clothes that blended with the environment, with the added difficulty of it being dark. They ran in a zigzag motion, hopping from tree to tree to reach the dense forest. But when Kael almost made it, he used his staff to launch a gust of wind and launched himself forward like a torpedo. He was almost there-
*BOOM*
The perpetrator threw a blinding smoke bomb, “Cough Cough.” Kael coughed, rubbed his eyes uncontrollably, “Damn it”. The perpetrator was nowhere in Kael’s line of sight; fortunately, Edric wasn’t caught in the smoke. He saw the perpetrator's trajectory and followed suit.
“Our there,” Edric yelled at Kael, pointing in the direction of the perpetrator.
This guy clearly knows his stuff. It won’t be safe to get near him. But my gun would be too loud though… puzzled Edric got a solution.
While the thief was still in front of him, Edric reached under his robe. He grabbed the wrapped dagger in one hand, and he focused his vision, activating his marksmanship skill. Time felt slow, calm, peaceful, with only the thief in his view.
He threw his dagger, the dagger curved around a tree, hit a rock on its blunt side, and deflected in the direction of the thief.
*THUD*
The dagger grabbed the cloth of the thief and stuck them to a tree. Edric was amazed by his skill. He caught up to him, panting and freezing. The thief tried to escape, but the dagger was too deep, and the cloth was oddly durable. Kael finally caught up with Edric. Jumped forward towards the thief.
“You dirty little thief. This is what you get:” Kael raced his staff, pulls in a swinging motion, and swings at the thief to give them a lesson– but Edric caught it before it lands.
Kael said, “What gives, Ed!”
“Sheesh, look!” Edric grabs the cloth covering the thief's face and rips it off. Our thief was a girl not more than 12-13 years of age.
“A girl, Yo brat hasn’t your mother taught not to steal?” Kael said, his face closing in on the little girl.
“You dumb fuck, what do you know. My Mommy will die if I don’t return… You dumb fuck.. Fuck.” The girl swore like a sailor with decades of experience. Kael stood there flabbergasted. Probably the first time someone swore like that at him.
Kael fuming, rolling his sleeve to hit her, and the girl wasn’t much help either with her tongue. Edric, in between, bonked their heads in unison.
“OW, how dare you hit a child?” The child said loud and clear.
“Quite down, or do you want the guards to hear? “ The girls quieten down when Edric uttered his sentence. “Now tell me your entire story, and we will try to help.”
“How can I trust you?” The girl muttered in a low voice.
Edric got on one knee, took the dagger off, and sat down to match the girl's gaze. “Just believe in me,” Edric grabs the girl's hand. “Now, what is your name, and what do you mean about your mother?”
The girl calmed down, and she sat leaning against the tree. Kael joined them, albeit reluctantly.
“My name's Sasha. My family is from the slums. My mom got sick recently, and we can’t afford any medicine. Even if we save money, those greedy merchants don’t sell to the poor.” Tears started dripping from Sasaha’s face, and her breath started to hitch. “Stealing is the only way to get these herbs”.
“Geez, you could have just asked,” Kael said, trying to lighten up her mood.
If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.
Edric grabs the dropped bag of herbs and hands it to Sasha,” Hey, take the herbs.”
She looked up with her watery eyes.“Really mister”
“Ya, but can you take us to your home? Maybe we can help with something,” Edric's voice is low and warm.
Sasha seemed to take a liking for Edric, not so much for Kael, but she ignored him. Edric and Kael followed her as she retraced her path. They followed her down a valley, which led to a sewer system.
“EWW, why here ?” Kael took a deep breath and held his nose.
“This is the shortest way, almost everyone has to come to the main district from here,” Sasha says nonchalantly, almost as if she’s done it every day. Which she most likely has, given the fact that she hasn’t covered her nose and walked with practiced ease.
Poor girl Edric couldn’t help but pity her situation.
They went through the sewer system for about ten minutes and then went through a broken gate to the outside.
Kael couldn’t help but feel relieved .” Ah freedom.. Wait,” Kael sniffed, “What’s that smell?”
Kael gazed forward to the Sasha home; it was a dirty slum. The air smelled like dead rats and feces. It looked worse than the slum Edric saw earlier. Again, Sasha didn’t care for the smell, to think she was born here.
Sasha didn’t wait; she hurried down the road. After about five minutes, they reach her house. It was a wooden shack half the size of the warehouse they guarded. With broken walls and roof– even a small rain could cause a flood.
Inside lay Sasha’s mom on the bed– her skin was vomit yellow, her body odor smelled like a dead person. The only other person there was an old woman. Edric and Kael stood frozen at the door; they couldn’t handle it. How can a poor girl live like this? They thought.
“Mom, I got you medicine.” Sasha smiled as she gave the medicine bag to the old woman. The old woman took some herbs in a pot and boiled them with some other herbs. She poured some into a cup to drink, and the rest was made into a paste.
“What is that paste for?” Kael asked the old woman eagerly, but she didn’t reply.
“I need to rub the paste on mommy’s chest to remove the virus,” Sasha replied as she helped her mother drink the cup.
“Sasha, since when was your mother sick, and was this place always like this?” Edric asked
“About 1 year ago, this place was fine…. Compared to now, it is at least more livable. But then the officers stopped coming here, and some prisoners were tossed in the garbage dump. Since then, this place started to get worse.” Sasha lays the cup down. “My mom got sick all of a sudden, and there's no hospital here.”
Sasha continued her story– about 1 year ago, she saw some officials and merchants start throwing waste here. The waste, according to her little brain, felt od:d some liquid substance, corpse of a prisoner, and other stuff she described. Edric concluded that it contaminated the air and water. Leading to this situation.
I need to help her, but how…
Edic nudged Kael, “Hey, Kael, I got an id.ea”
“What is it?”
“You know how the crates got damaged?” Kael nodded as he leaned closer. “well if we just remove bits in each crate, tell the client that the loss in weight was from fighting, he might let us go.”
Kael met his gaze, his expression serious without the enthusiasm as before.“Ed, you're new here. Those guys are picky.”
“That's where you come in. Quick question, can you use wind to judge the weight of an object?”
“Somewhat, why?”
“Simple, you're our scale. Using your ability we can deduct some herbs from each chest. Maybe add fake damage to the crates and take more.” Edric suggested.
Kael cocked his head, rubbed his chin.“That could work.”
“Wait, there’s more. Tomorrow morning you use that mouth of yours and ask for extra pay”
“Extra, those bastards would rather die then give extra money” he scoffed.
“Just listen, you ask for money but you make them compromise and ask for a bag of herbs”
Kael thought for a good second on the plan before agreeing to it. They told Sasha what they would do and proceeded back to the warehouse.
At the warehouse, Edric and Kael worked together to take as little as possible from all the crates. They sealed up the hole, added some damage marks and Kael used his magic to judge the weight roughly. Now all they can do is wait.
Dawn had arrived and not long after, the client came. The client wore a fancy shirt and pants that screamed rich. Edric internally cursed at him, not showing in his expression. The client told his men to check the cargo.
“Sir, there seems to be damage to the crates.” One of the handlers told the client
The client stared daggers at Kael and Edric.
“Listen, there were more trouble on the road than expected. Some damages here and there are warranted.” Kael said, keeping his cool and sarcastic tone. The client was almost about to burst, but Kael didn’t stop talking.
“In fact you need to pay extra or else I will file a complaint in the guild.”
“What extra? I didn’t bring extra.”
“Well, that’s alright then, why don’t you give some herbs to us”
“Do you know how expensive–” The client stopped mid-sentence, thinking it’s easiest to shut Kael up, then bothering to negotiate.
Reluctantly, he tossed two bags each at Kael and Edric, one with coins and another with herbs , and left them off.
“What, not even a goodbye. HEHE. Your plan worked Ed,” Kael nudged Ed.
“Not yet, lets go meet Sasha.”
Edric and Kael reached Sasha's home, and Sasha was overjoyed, jumping up and down when she was handed the bag of Herbs. One small bag containing the stuff they took out, and another from the merchant.
Kael and Edric looked at each other, nodding. “Take this, too,” they tossed the bag of coins.
“But this is too much,” Sasha hesitates. Reached out to give it back.
“You deserve it, kid,” Kael refuted, clutching her hands .”Your mother would be proud.” His voice is soft and mellow.
“Use this money to move somewhere better,” Edric added. They didn’t stick for too long, as it looked like she was about to cry. Sasha bowed in gratitude as they left.
Seeing the little girl smile once more left a feeling inside Edric. He knew he wasn’t some superhero who could solve anything. Heck he wasn’t sure if that money and herbs helped it curing her or just prolonging the inevitable.
With a brief look back at the slums. He and Kael made their way back together. His first job was completed successfully and he would say goodbye to Kael. For now at least…
? Phoenix Flight [Lite LitRPG - Dungeon Diving - Slow Romance] ?
by RainyLiquid
Weak to Strong, gathering of powers, skills, and spells.
