“You’re from one of those big cities?” Jason asked.
“That’s right,” Gary said. “Vitesse.”
“The City of Flowers,” Farrah added.
“That’s weird,” Jason said. “There’s a language in my world where Vitesse means speed.”
“Not how it works in our city,” Gary said.
“Vitesse is as leisurely as any place you’ll find,” Farrah explained. “Culture, cuisine. Lots of money floating around, even at the low end. A labourer in Vitesse can make as much as a craftsman here.”
“Not a good craftsman,” Gary said, “but still…”
“What does any of this have to do with Rufus being angry?” Jason asked.
“Well,” Gary said, “around here an iron rank adventurer can wander about in relative safety. If some monsters show up then an iron rank adventurer can go after them on their own, or with a small team.”
“But around Vitesse,” Farrah said, “that’s just asking for death. Even bronze rankers go out with a silver ranked escort. Coming here was our big chance to strike out on our own.”
“Prove ourselves,” Gary said.
“And then you went and got captured,” Jason said. “Rufus is in charge, so he blames himself.”
“Exactly,” Farrah said, “but you don’t understand the level of pressure on him. His family operates the Remore Academy, which is a big deal everywhere, not just Vitesse.”
“Let me guess,” Jason said. “Rufus is the living paragon of this academy’s teaching methods, so when he fails it’s a black mark on his family’s reputation.”
“His family isn’t like that,” Gary said. “They understand better than most that failure is a valuable lesson. Rufus is the one putting pressure on himself.”
“More than anything, he blames himself for putting us in danger,” Farrah said. “He takes responsibility seriously and he thinks he let us down.”
“The reason he was obsessed with catching the guy,” Farrah said, “was so he could find out what he did wrong. Rufus works harder than anyone to avoid making a mistake once, let alone twice. In his eyes, Anisa took away his chance to understand what he did wrong. As far as Rufus is concerned, what Anisa did was the same as putting the team in danger.”
“Is anyone else getting a shady feeling from Anisa?” Jason asked. “Like she’s quietly on the shonk?”
“I think that’s going a bit far,” Gary said.
“Probably,” Jason said. “I’m definitely biased, but think about it. She brought this job to you from her church, right? Then the guy supposedly working for her church sets you up?”
“The shonk?” Farrah asked.
“Anisa was in a cage like the rest of us,” Gary said.
“Sure,” Jason said, “but she didn’t go to the ritual chamber, did she? Who’s to say that if I hadn’t shown up there wouldn’t be some other excuse to leave her behind. Then she breaks out all by herself?”
“So did you.”
“They underestimated me backwards and forwards,” Jason said, “and even then I was lucky. Do you think a blood cult is going to underestimate a priestess of Purity?”
“She had a collar like the rest of us,” Gary said. “They might have thought she couldn’t do anything.”
“Sure,” Jason said. “But did you notice that her escape took just long enough that if she rushed to save us she would have been tragically late?”
“That’s thin,” Farrah said.
“So we busted ourselves out,” Jason continued, “leaving you free to find and question the guy who might have answers. Except he gets silenced before you even start with the questions.”
“I’m not convinced,” Farrah said. “You’re jumping a lot of gaps there.”
“I’m not saying anything definitive,” Jason said. “Like I said, I know I’m biased enough to not see things objectively. But a lot of things are coming up funky on the smell test, so maybe keep your eyes open.”
“Always do,” Gary said.
“You were blind-sided and handed over to a blood cult,” Jason said.
“This is really good,” Farrah said after emptying her glass of fruit punch, veering off topic.
“I know, right?” Jason said, refilling her glass. “I’ll have to ask what’s in it. Most of the local ingredients I’ve never even heard of. Bought a notebook last night at the market to jot down recipes.”
They heard the front door of the inn slam open again.
“That door’s going to get ruined,” Jason said.
Anisa strode out into the courtyard, storming up to Jason.
“Why is everyone talking about you like you’re the town hero?” she asked. Her face filled with fury when she spotted the leech on Jason’s shoulder. “What is that thing?”
“That’s Colin,” Jason said. “I’ve decided to call him Colin. And his friends. Team Colin.”
Anisa’s hand flashed towards it, her bronze-rank reflexes too fast for Jason to react. Not too fast for Gary, however, who clamped her wrist in his huge, hairy hand. Anisa glared at Gary as she tugged at her arm, but his grip didn’t budge.
“Not happening,” Gary said.
“That thing is obviously evil,” Anisa said.
“It doesn’t matter what it is,” Rufus said, striding into the courtyard. While the others turned to look, Jason pulled a knife and pricked his finger, letting Colin the apocalypse leech melt back into his bloodstream. He’d bought a small, sharp knife for the purpose after accidentally poisoning himself with the snake-tooth dagger. Looking up after putting the knife away he saw Anisa and Rufus squaring off.
“You knew he had that thing,” Anisa accused.
“I did,” Rufus said calmly.
“He’s tainted,” she said. “We need to burn him.”
“You don’t get a say in what we do anymore, Anisa. Especially when it comes to killing people. You’re out.”
“What are you talking about?”
“This was always a temporary collaboration,” Rufus said. “The collaboration ends here.”
“Over him?” she asked, gesturing at Jason.
“No, Anisa, over you,” Rufus said. “You decide for yourself when to listen and when to do whatever you like. You’re willing to place even your slightest ideal over the wellbeing of this team and that is unacceptable. The most important thing in a team is trust, and I don’t trust you.”
“Humans,” Anisa said, spitting out the word like a curse. “You’re all filth.”
She turned, marched away, and they heard the door slam as she departed the inn. Rufus was stewing on the spot, Jason, Farrah and Gary sharing wary looks.
“I think we may be paying for a new door,” Gary said.
31
Taming the Beast
“Mr Mayor,” Rufus said, “are you certain you don’t want us to investigate the astral space?”
“We considered it,” the mayor said, “but we are only one of many places with an aperture leading to that astral space. We have no idea if the other locations are having similar issues and the cost of a mistake could be critical.”
“I respect your prudence, Mr Mayor,” Rufus said. “As promised, I’ll deliver your letters to the Adventure Society and the Magic Society when we reach Greenstone.”
“Thank you.”
The mayor had met them at the inn as they were readying to go. They were travelling on foot as Anisa had claimed the wagon and its animals for her church, which Rufus didn’t bother to argue. Hiram stood alongside the mayor.
“Farewell, adventurers,” the mayor said, “and thanks again to you, Jason. I don’t like to think what would happen if those creatures had entered the village.”
“No worries, Greg,” Jason said, shaking the mayor’s hand, then Hiram’s.
“If there’s anything I can ever do for you,” Hiram said.
“Well, if you find another essence…” Jason said. “I looted all those monsters and you got the only one.”
“Stuff that,” Hiram, said. “If I find another essence, I’m keeping it. I have more than one grandchild, you know.”