Risen Chapter 27: Guard Detail

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I was surprised - and more than a little concerned - to see that Roy was going to join us in the High Market guard detail. I supposed that it shouldn’t have been entirely startling; he was, after all, now a member of Katrina’s Killers - and it was Katrina’s Killers that held the contract to guard the High Market for the next short while.

Despite that, I still felt like it was a bit too early. I knew that the mercenaries knew what they were doing; they had already shown a higher degree of competence than I had anticipated. They were strong, experienced individuals.

I supposed Roy was, too. He had, after all, been performing far more dangerous acts in the time before I knew him. Thieving, even through the safe disconnect of a Risen minion, was an inherently dangerous job. Had I been someone else, he might have found himself lucky to get off with a mere beating.

I had a feeling that it was my run-in with the Gray Woman that made me shy against the idea. To an extent, I still felt as if Roy was my responsibility. I had foisted off the majority of his training onto the others, but that didn’t mean I wasn’t ultimately culpable if something bad happened.

And I had a feeling that something would.

It was a feeling that arose from deep within me; it felt like a fire in my gut, boiling the waters of my anxiety until they were near overflowing. Something was going to happen soon.

I had explained to the mercenaries what I had discovered the previous night and early morning; there was little use in keeping secrets of that nature, and doing so might have led to one of them coming to harm. They had taken the information regarding the Gray Woman with a sort of grim acceptance, hardly seeming surprised by the reveal.

When I asked about their reaction, they simply told me that they were used to difficult contracts; they would have been more worried had they started the job without discovering some increase in threat or danger. Now that they knew, they could prepare.

And prepare, they did.

We stepped into the High Market with a keen sort of alertness, the kind that came when you knew that you stood upon a razor wire, with no safe way off. Perhaps it was overkill, for a job like this, but I appreciated the seriousness with which the mercenaries treated my warnings.

The Gray Woman was a supervillain, through and through. She was not to be treated lightly.

The High Market held a different sort of atmosphere than the Low Market did. While the Low Market was akin to a bazaar, full of eclectic colors, boisterous sounds, and teeming humanity, the High Market was far more austere. From my crow-self’s place on a nearby rooftop, I could see how it boasted elegant designs, high-topped buildings, and expensive finery. The citizens that walked its streets positively dripped with wealth, sporting none of the desperation of the Low Market. At the same time, they lacked their liveliness, too.

Yet, despite those differences, the sight of the High Market brought about an important realization.

It reminded me of something that I had missed, distracted by all of the other revelations of the morning.

Alex’s punishment had started eleven days ago as the result of a Stone being stolen by a boy. A boy that they had never been able to find.

It was achingly familiar - because I knew that boy. In a way, I was that boy.

It was horrifyingly familiar - because I knew that Stone. I had given it to Gil and, not knowing the danger involved, he was displaying it in his shop.

I held my position as Markus, but my crow-self was already gone. I flapped furiously, flying across the city towards the Low Market. I didn’t know that anything would happen; I could very well be making incorrect assumptions. I hoped that I was.

Yet I couldn’t forgive myself if I didn’t at least make sure.

I arrived at the Bone Garden’s rooftop with a speed borne of flight, desperation, and limitless stamina - though I was sure that I had lost quite a few feathers on my way. My concern calmed somewhat upon seeing a decided lack of...what, I wasn’t sure. Burning buildings, blood in the streets, men with gray-tinged skin. Something that made it clear that the Gray Woman knew about the Stone.

Instead, it was quiet. Oh, not truly quiet; the Low Market could never be that. But it was peaceful, in the bustling way that a populated market could be.

I swooped down low, alighting upon the bone thoroughfare. Some passerby startled at my sudden approach, but most treated it as if it were one of the least interesting things they had seen that day.

For most, it probably was.

I commanded one of the Risen fleas that were my perpetual passengers to descend from my crow-self’s feathers. Immediately after it was free and clear, I activated [Swap]. The world shifted, and I then had another version of myself within the Low Market. Markus, this time.

I walked into Bone Garden, pushing past the crowd that flowed around me. I needed to be quick; I had to return to the High Market as soon as possible.

Immediately, my eyes were drawn to the Stone displayed at the back of the shop. Even had I not been looking for it, I wouldn’t have been able to miss it. I felt the same sort of formless apprehension that it had always given me. Before, I had related it to my feelings regarding its previous owner’s demise; now, I knew that it might have come from another source.

The Stone was not natural. It was created with someone’s power.

It was a bit of an assumption, but it was one that I was willing to make. It made sense. The Gray Woman had referred to someone as the Stonemaker, saying that the small black Stone had been their most important creation. That, coupled with how Gil had mentioned Victor’s belief that the Stone would allow him to bring his father back, made it almost certain.

No, I was certain.

As much as it pained me, I couldn’t allow Gil to hold onto it. While I had no interest in the Stone myself, especially given my burgeoning suspicions that it had been involved in Victor’s passing, I couldn’t just leave it in the Bone Garden. Eventually, someone would recognize it. Trouble would come to the little shop and, as trouble was wont to do, it wouldn’t care about the casualties it created.

The Stone had changed from a means of remembering a lost family member to something far more sinister and dangerous.

As I pulled my gaze away from the Stone, I noted that Gil was alone in the shop. Unharmed. I smiled at that, feeling a bit of the weight pressing upon me lift away.

I wasn’t too late.

Gil smiled. I could tell that he was trying hard to be strong, to ignore the memories that pressed against the surface. I knew what that was like. I knew how fragile it could be.

“Markus. It looks good there, doesn’t it? Really draws the eye. I already had someone just a bit ago who couldn’t take his eyes off the thing!” he announced, noticing my interest in the Stone.

The weight came back.

“Gil, we need to talk,” I said somberly.

His expression drooped at that; he could probably read the severity of my expression. I was sure that, to him, I was the epitome of the ‘bearer of bad news’. He wouldn’t be wrong to have that impression of me.

“What is it?” he asked.

“It’s the Stone. It needs to go. I just found out that Victor stole it from some very dangerous people. More importantly, I just found out that they’re still looking for it. He might have been wrong with his idea of using it to bring back his father, but I don’t think he was completely wrong to think that there was something special about it.”

I let that thought percolate for a moment before continuing. I hoped that he would believe me.

“I think...I think that it was made by a Corrupted.”

Gil started at that. Just as I thought, natural superhumans had become a bit of a bogeyman among the general populace. They were something that were rarely heard about outside of stories, let alone something that would be personally seen - almost as if they were hardly real.

I knew, however, that they were all too real.

“Are you sure about that?” he asked.

“As sure as I can be. I didn’t see the Corrupted that made it, but I have seen the last Corrupted to be in possession of it. They call her the Gray Woman. I have seen her kill a man. Just drop him off the top of a building, as easily as you or I might drop trash into a bin.”

“That’s...we need to contact the Spectral Guard, right? Th-they’ll know what to do.”

I nodded. I wasn’t filled with eagerness at the thought, but Gil’s safety was more important than my troubles - especially if the man from earlier had truly recognized what the Stone was. For all I knew, the Gray Woman had already sent men to collect it. I had planned to keep watch over him as best I could, but the Guard would likely be more effective. Though I could be in two places at once, I couldn’t do so with perfect effectiveness, and I still had to keep watch over the High Market and investigate the Gray Woman’s organization.

“You should go now. Close the shop for now. A Risen Crow will be waiting outside for you; it’s mine. I have to leave for now, but I will make sure you make it there safely through its eyes.”

The shopkeeper nodded, still a little overwhelmed by the stress and tension. He opened his mouth, closing it again after a few moments. After that, he opened it again. This time, he spoke.

“Why...why do you care so much? You didn’t even really know me not even two weeks ago.”

It hadn’t been a question that I was expecting. Why did I care so much? Was it because it was the right thing to do? Was it because I still felt guilty in some way about Victor’s death? Was it because I wanted to spite the Gray Woman?

In the end, it didn’t really matter all that much. In the end, I liked to think that I would care enough to act for anyone who was in trouble. After all: “Shouldn’t anyone be willing to care this much?”

He didn’t answer.

After a few moments, I nodded to him, bidding my goodbye. I activated [Swap], spiriting myself away. The High Market appeared within my view.

Despite my worries, he made it to the HQ without trouble.

Despite my worries, the High Market remained calm throughout the day.

For both of us, the chaos came later.