Chapter 181 - Leavetaking

Zeke strode through the street, armored and carrying his mace. After his previous battle – if it could even be called that – he’d only taken a few minutes to recover from his usage of [Heart of the Berserker]. So, he was at full-strength. More, he was furious, as angry as he’d been in quite some time.

Behind him, Abby followed. Armed with her bow and armored in brand-new leather armor, her eyes darted from one building to the next, looking for threats. Meanwhile, Pudge brought of the rear, breathing smoke with waves of heat radiating from his massive form.

Suddenly, Talia was beside him. Without glancing her way, Zeke used [Mark of Companionship] and [Avatar of the Beast], enhancing her stats.

“What happened?” she asked.

“Assassins,” Zeke growled. “Waiting for us outside the tower. They were inept and doomed to failure, but I can’t let it slide.”

“Nor should you,” Talia stated.

On that, she and Abby were in agreement. Directly after the fight, Zeke had been more than willing to simply pack things up and flee the area. However, the more he thought about it, the more furious he became. And rightly so, considering that he and his friends had saved the city and many of its inhabitants. The citizens of Jariq should have thrown them a parade, but instead, they’d sent assassins. It was galling.

Certainly, Zeke understood their reasoning. He was dangerous, and he’d refused their peaceful overtures for an alliance. That made him their enemy. Now, he was being forced to show them just what having him for an enemy entailed.

“Where’s Carlos?” he asked, glancing from one shadow to the next.

“Sitting this one out,” she answered, matching his pace. In her hooded cloak – which was necessary around so many people who might draw the wrong conclusions from her appearance – she looked like a wraith. “He will help if necessary, but for now, he thinks it is better if they think he is still one of theirs.”

“Is he?” asked Zeke. He wanted to trust Carlos’s intentions, but reason suggested that the man wouldn’t discard his loyalties so easily. Abby had advised him to kill the man, and he’d been sorely tempted to follow that advice. However, he wasn’t sure he was ready to take that step yet. There was a long way between fighting a battle and committing preemptive murder, and even if it was probably the right choice, he couldn’t bring himself to bridge the gulf between the two.

“I do not know.”

“And if he is?” was Zeke’s next question.

“He will not be a problem,” she responded, her rough voice as emotionless as ever.

The feelings she harbored for the shadowy assassin were no secret, but Zeke had no doubts that Talia would do whatever proved necessary.

“If it comes to a fight, I want you flanking,” he said. “Try to get in behind them and hit soft targets. I’ll charge straight in. Pudge will come from the side. Abby will do her ranged thing. Got it?”

“I understand.”

After spending a month in the city, Zeke knew precisely where he was going. And even if he hadn’t, he could have just followed the widest and best maintained streets to his destination. As he and his party marched through the streets, the sea of pedestrians parted. All it would take was one inspection-type skill to tell anyone who cared to look that they were not to be impeded. Add Zeke’s imposing armor, a monstrous infernal bear, and a pale-skinned woman whose every step looked like barely contained speed, and people couldn’t scramble out of the way quickly enough.

Abby, by comparison, was mostly ignored; she didn’t look particularly dangerous, which Zeke knew was fine by her. She liked staying in the background – all the easier for her to pepper her enemies with arrows.

For some time, she’d been troubled by her comparative lack of firepower. Even after the quest with the thunderbirds, she had been the weakest member of the group, and she knew it. However, after learning to control her skill a little better during the fight against the huge demon who had been the guardian of the portal, she had settled into her own power – and it wasn’t difficult to see why. Sure, [Thunder Strike] required some build-up, but it was capable of packing quite a punch. Zeke was glad she was on his side, because he had no desire to be on the receiving end of such an attack.

Gradually, they made their way to the center of the city where they found the palace of the Sultinate. Unlike most of the buildings in Jariq, its style was elaborate to the point of pomposity. Every surface was constructed of marble, gold, or studded with enormous and glittering jewels. The main structure was topped by a huge domed roof, and it was surrounded by lesser versions of the same. A set of broad steps led to the building itself.

At the top of those steps was a group of people.

“Halt!” screamed the one in the center. He was tall, thin, and wore voluminous, white robes. Atop his head was an elaborate hat that reminded Zeke of something the Pope might have worn. He held a curved staff with some sort of carving at the top.

Zeke ignored the man’s order, instead mounting the steps at a steady pace. Finally, despite the shrieked protests of the men and women flanking the tall man, Zeke stopped a few steps below the group.

“You made a big mistake,” Zeke said, his voice slightly muffled by his helmet. “I came to you in peace –”

“Peace?! The citizens of the Sea would disagree!” screamed the leader. Zeke focused on him, and for once, he remembered to use [Inspect].

Desmond White – Level 25

“So, the Sultan himself, huh?” Zeke said. “You’ll do.”

Zeke had heard of the man, but his power was something of a mystery. The rest of the Sultinate – the people flanking Desmond White, he presumed – were an eclectic group of men and women with a wide variety of skills. White’s abilities were mostly mysterious, though. The only thing anyone knew for sure was that he was a mage-type who focused on ranged skills and mental statistics. That suited Zeke just fine.

He hefted his mace in one hand, pointing it at the man. “I offered you no hostility,” he said. “You returned that by sending assassins to my tower. If you persist, I will be forced to respond in kind. You don’t want that.”

“Is that a threat, Mr. Blackwood?” demanded White.

“Just cause and effect. Nothing more. Continue to attack me, and I’ll hit back. And if I’m pushed into it, I won’t stop until I get to the root.”

“The root?”

“You.”

The crowd of sycophants gasped, but thankfully, no one took it upon themselves to attack. Despite Zeke’s harsh words, he didn’t want a fight. Not because he didn’t want to punish the Sultinate for sending assassins after him; he did. But if it came down to a battle, he would be forced to kill at least a dozen people. More, if they had guards. And he didn’t even want to think about any innocents that might find themselves in between the two groups.

“What do you want?” asked White, probably thinking along the same lines as Zeke.

“Peace,” Zeke stated. “I’m leaving. I don’t intend to ever return. But if you continue to send people after me, I will return. And what I did to the Sea will be the least of your worries.”

Zeke saw the man’s knuckles whiten around his staff. He was probably used to being the most powerful person in any situation, and he didn’t like being threatened. But Zeke was banking on the man caring about his people at least enough to agree to Zeke’s minimal demands.

“I don’t think –”

Suddenly, Zeke felt a rush of air. It took him a moment to realize that Talia had moved, and by the time his mind caught up to the situation, a man was sprawled on the steps. A dagger fell from his loose fingers even as blood spurted from his ruined throat, pooling beneath him. It spread, dripping down one step. Then another. And another after that. Talia stood over the prone form, her green-tinged claws dripping red. She was entirely unmoving, and because her hood had fallen, her pale, green-veined complexion was on full display.

“He was not acting on my orders!” White crowed, holding up his hands. His staff fell to the marble steps. “I swear it!”

Despite it being what he wanted to hear – after all, it was clear that the Sultan wanted no part of a fight – Zeke couldn’t help but feel a bit of irritation. He’d come to the palace geared up for a battle, and now, it looked like he wasn’t going to get one.

“Talia,” Zeke said.

“Yes?”

“If any of them step out of line, stop holding back,” Zeke ordered.

Talia smiled, and it was just as unsettling as Zeke could have hoped. On the surface, Talia was very pretty. However, the combination of her pale visage, the green veins that suffused her skin, and her propensity for standing as still as a statue rendered the expression unnerving.

She croaked, “I will do so.”

Zeke tried not to sigh. Whatever Talia’s exterior, there was still a human being lurking beneath the surface. And that human was having fun playing up the danger and her monstrous appearance.

“One second,” Zeke said, holding up a finger. Then, he turned to walk back down the steps. Once he reached the bottom, he leaned close to Abby, who still had an arrow nocked, and whispered, “Would it be horrible if I still went on a rampage?”

“What? Of course it would be!” she responded, her eyes widening. “This is exactly what we wanted!”

“I know, but…”

“But you really, really want to fight, don’t you?” she asked.

“Talia got to.”

“She killed one guy,” Abby said. “That’s not even a fight.”

“Yeah, but –”

“No. No killing unless they attack,” she said. “That was our plan.”

“Most of our plans end up being more like guidelines,” Zeke said. “I mean, I’m not saying I want to kill them all…”

“But you want to kill them all.”

He glanced up at the gathered Sultinate. They were so pathetic. And everything he’d heard told him that none of them were especially good people. They had a bad habit of looking the other way anytime the gangs that really ran the city stepped out of line, regardless of how many people ended up being victimized.

“I kind of want to kill them all,” he admitted.

“Well, you can’t.”

“What if I just let Pudge do it?” Zeke asked. “He’s a monster. Monsters kill people all the time, and nobody judges them for it.”

As if to punctuate his agreement, the infernal bear huffed, and a small ball of fire erupted from his mouth. It hit the marble steps, melting a hole through the rock.

“See? He’s on board.”

“No,” Abby said. Then, she looked at Pudge. “You either. I can’t believe we’re having this conversation. What happened to the guy who risked his life to save an evil alchemist?”

“Tucker wasn’t evil,” Zeke stated. “You know that.”

“Sure, but –”

“This is different,” Zeke interrupted, the playfulness gone from his voice. “They’re bad people, Abby. They exploit and oppress. And they sent assassins after us. They’ll probably send more, too. You know they will.”

“I don’t know that for sure. That’s what this is about. Intimidating them into leaving us alone,” Abby said. “And even if they don’t leave us alone, we’ll just deal with it. We can’t just preemptively kill anyone who might threaten us. It’s wrong.”

Zeke sighed. “I know,” he said. “But just to be clear, it wouldn’t be preemptive. They struck first. But fine, though. Whatever. They get to live.”

“Very magnanimous of you,” Abby said, not bothering to hide her sarcasm.

It never even entered Zeke’s mind that he might not be able to deal with the gathered so-called elites. With his new armor, his high stats, and his unique skills, he knew that the people who could really challenge him were few and far between. His armor had gone a long way toward shoring up his most glaring weaknesses, and if he was honest, part of his eagerness was because he wanted to test himself. That he wouldn’t get that chance was more than a little disappointing.

Either way, he knew he couldn’t just attack them. If he did, and for no more real reason than because he was spoiling for a fight, he would never forgive himself. He wasn’t nearly as hard-hearted as he wanted to pretend to be, and unnecessarily murdering a dozen people would definitely affect his psyche.

So, he mounted the steps and joined Talia, who still hadn’t moved. Then, he raised his voice, saying, “Listen up. I don’t want to have to say this again. I’m leaving. If anyone from Jariq comes after me, they’d better not miss. Because if I survive – and I’m pretty damned good at that – I’ll come back. And when I do, I’m cleaning house. I will kill this guy first,” he said, pointing to the Sultan. “Then, I’ll work my way down. And just so we’re clear, I’ll go after the gangs, too. You’ve all seen what I can do. Don’t make me do it again.”

With that, he turned on his heel and marched down the steps. Calling over his shoulder, he said, “C’mon Talia. Let’s go.”

With that, Talia became a blur. In the blink of an eye, she was complete out of sight. Zeke thought he might be able to move almost as quickly, but he couldn’t do it nearly as gracefully as the revenant girl. He wasn’t sure why – his raw agility and dexterity wasn’t that far off of Talia’s enhanced stats. But after sparring with her so many times, he knew it to be true.

Finally, Zeke reached the bottom of the steps, and as he passed Abby and Pudge, he said, “Anything else we need to do before we leave?”

“No,” Abby said, falling in beside him. “That just about covers it.”

“Good.” Zeke said. “I think we’ve worn out our welcome.”

“Speak for yourself,” Abby said. “People love me. It’s you they hate.”

Zeke sighed. “You’re not wrong,” was his response. Then, he said, “Talia, gather Carlos and meet us to the west of the city.”

She didn’t respond, but Zeke caught sight of a blur in one of the alleys, so he assumed Talia was following his order. And with that, their time in Jariq was over.

“One day, I’m going to visit a city without pissing everyone off,” he mumbled.