Chapter 7: Chapter: 7 Crimson Guard

The city celebrated Samhain with bonfires, dressing up in disguises and with lots of drinking and feasting.

Vendors crowed the streets clamoring for our attention. Merchants shouted out the names of their wares and clanged pots and tossed foods into the air in an acrobatic display. Bonfires burned, children ran in the streets and women smiled at me as we passed them by. It was the first party I’d ever been to and I was already regretting ever leaving my bedroom.

Ahri had gone into a food coma. She hardly spoke, she just stared longingly at every food stall. She’d spent half of our money on food already but she was somehow still hungry. It was almost impressive.

The crowds swelled as we got further into the city. It was chaotic. People ate and drank too much and laughed merrily. A woman bumped into me, her drink fell from her hand and crashed to the ground. Before I could say anything her husband swiped a hand at my face. I dodged too late and the man slapped me in the face.

“Sorry,” I mumbled.

I really didn't want to fight for all I knew this guy could be some mystic warrior that could peel off my skin with a toothpick and block of cheese. No, until I learnt more about this world I was going to play it really safe.

I knew I would be replaying that memory for the rest of the night and each time I played it back I would imagine kicking his ass and having his hot wife thank me in an intimate way.

The couple turned their backs on me and while they were looking away a boy dressed as a pirate slipped in behind them. The boy’s hand shot out and a blade appeared from up his sleeve. With a well practiced motion the boy sliced through the man’s coat pocket and his left hand caught the coin purse that fell from it.

I grabbed Ahri’s hand and slipped into a side alley.

“What’s wrong?” she asked.

“Let's find an Inn,” I said. “We can go out again later if you want.”

“Sure, I'm tired of looking at food I can't afford in anycase.”

---

We took a shortcut down the side alley. Broken glass littered the floor and the air was heavy with the smell of sweat and excrement. I already regretted not taking the long way.

Something crunched underfoot and I looked down to see a copper penny lying on the ground. Before I could react a dirty hand shot out of the shadow and grabbed the penny then disappeared again.

“This place is creepy,” said Ahri.

“Hold my hand,” I said.

“That would be creepier.”

A young girl stumbled out in front of us. She was clutching a bottle of ale and swaying slowly as she looked around. She took a drink from the bottle and then her eyes widened in shock when she realized I was in front of her.

“Are you lost?” she asked in a slurred voice.

She tilted her head as if she were hearing voices no one else could hear.

“We are looking for an Inn,” I said.

“There is no Inn here,” said the girl. “Only the damned stay in this place.”

The girl held a finger over her lips.

“Shhh,” she said. She tilted her head again and her eyes went wide.

“What?” asked Ahri.

“You should leave,” she breathed. “They’re coming.”

“Whose they?” I asked, but the girl was already running down the passage.

Ahri gripped my hand and held it tight.

“Don't say anything,” she said between gritted teeth.

As we continued hand in hand I caught the odd glimpses of terrified faces peeking out of deep shadows watching us and I heard someone whistling. The sound echoed along the alley walls, it sounded like a lullaby parents sang to their children before bed.

I found myself walking towards the music.

“Don't walk away from me,” said Ahri.

“Do you hear music?” I asked.

Ahri shook her head.

“You don't hear that?” I asked.

“Even in this world hearing music no one else does is a bad sign,” said Ahri.

Am I losing my mind?”

A man with wild matted hair passed behind me.

Holy crap where did he just come from.

I was getting jumpy as hell.

The whistling grew louder as we headed towards it.

“You really can't hear this?” I said.

Ahri shook her head.

Oh shit I'm really losing it. It must be that damn mindworm.

Ahri started laughing.

“What’s so funny?” I asked. “I'm freaking out here.”

“I'm just screwing with you, Talasin.”

“What?”

“Of course I can hear the creepy music.”

“Why would you do that to me?”

She smiled.

“It releases tension.”

“Do me a favor Ahri and leave my tension alone. I don't like people screwing with my tension.”

---

The sound was coming from a wooden shack at the end of the alleyway.

We reached it and I peered inside and saw an old woman sitting in the shack deep within the shadows.

“Come closer young man,” said the old woman. “I sense greatness in you son.”

I looked at Ahri and she shrugged indifferently.

My eyes adjusted to the darkness and I saw the old woman was wearing a crown of rat bones atop her head and her eyes were as black as a crow’s wings.

“Don't fear Mother Bones,” said the hag. “I mean you no harm.”

The woman's lips split into a grin, revealing a set of yellow teeth and a face crisscrossed with scars.

“There’s a great destiny inside of you. Great and terrible. You will change much.”

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“I told you,” said Ahri.

“Shh, I'm listening,” I said. “What will I do?”

The woman coughed into a rag and then she wiped her mouth and put the rag back into her pocket.

“For a silver coin I could get a better read.”

“You’ll listen to a hag,” said Ahri. “And not me?”

“I don't have any money,” I said ignoring Ahri.

The woman’s eyes hardened.

“A few coppers then.”

“Sorry. I'm broke.”

The woman’s smile disappeared and was replaced with a sneer.

“You come to take wisdom from Mother Bones and give nothing in return.”

“What about my destiny?” I asked. “It sounds important. What must I do?”

The woman laughed and the sound echoed off the narrow walls.

“You arrogant child, you think you’re special, you're just another deadman walking.”

The roof above us creaked and debris fell down on our heads.

“What the fuck?” said Ahri. “Let's get out of here, this place is too damned creepy.”

A steel crossbow bolt flew inches above our heads and shattered a tiled wall behind us.

“Tax collectors,” howled the hag.

She shot to her feet and held up a golden card. Green light exploded out of the card and a thick, oily smoke burst out around her.

The green mist rolled across the ground crashing against the sides of buildings like waves against the rocks.

Crossbow bolts streaked over our heads and the hag screamed.

“Stay down,” said Ahri. “They aren’t after us?”

“How do you know?”

“Cause we’re still alive.”

Loose tiles slid off the roof and crashed on the floor around us as people cloaked in red ran along the rooftops leaping from one building to the other.

“Crimson Guard,” said Ahri.

“What do they want?” I asked.

“She owes taxes.”

A female crimson guard leapt from the rooftop and descended from the air in slow motion.

That's why you get featherfall.

Her purple hair flew in the wind and she radiated light like an angel of wrath. A spell card disintegrated in her hand and two orbs of dark magic formed in her palms. They crackled and sparked golden light. She shouted and the orbs arced towards the hag like black lightning.

“Get down,” shouted Ahri.

Ahri’s dress transformed and rose like a wave and covered us as the earth shattered beneath us and cobblestone fragments scattered in all directions.

The crimson guard strode up to the hag with the arrogance of someone that knew she’d already won.

“I am Lady Matilda Fannen,” she said. “You are the hag known as Milasant Trell? You owe the crown three binding cards in back taxes.”

The old woman drew a card but she was too slow. The guard kneed her in the face, blood spurted out and she fell back splayed on the hard ground.

The guard placed a card on the hags forehead and the spell took effect, the old woman’s skin turned gray and her body went rigid.

Holy shit she just used Stone Curse.

I recognized the spell from Hero Seeker.

The guard looked at Ahri and I lying on the ground, covered in debris.

“Leave,” she said.

---

An hour later we arrived at the Crooked Cane Inn. Our fear had slowly turned to anger and at that point we were swearing at any one that looked like they were in authority.

“And I thought taxmen were bad on Earth,” I said.

“Fuck those fuckers,” said Ahri. “We need to get strong enough to kick their asses. How dare they take the god's’ gifts from these poor innocent people.”

I didn't bother mentioning that she had been bad mouthing the hag before the guards had dragged her away.

Ahri went down to the dinner to eat, she said it helped with the stress and I took a long bath in a bathtub so large that I could do laps in it.

The bath was the first good experience I’d had in the new world. I didn't want to get out. I wallowed in the water till my hands turned wrinkly and Ahri pounded on the door for me to hurry the hell up so she could bath.

---

We shared a room at the Inn which sounded sexy but ended up with me lying on the floor and Ahri stretched across the bed.

As much as I tried I couldn't fall asleep. I laid awake and even as Ahri snored lightly on the bed above me I kept staring up at the roof and trying to plan my next move.

I got up around midnight and walked to the bathroom. On the way back I saw Ahri fast asleep spread across the bed. She was clutching two brand-new binding cards and sucking on the end of them like a teething toddler.

She was really cute when she was asleep. I watched her for a moment and then I realized just how creepy I was being. I took the cards from her and put them in my spellbag.

I was so wide awake that I didn't even bother trying to go to sleep. So I climbed out of the window and sat on the roof and watched the city.

It was dark outside and the streets were lit with orange oil lamps. A procession of people dressed in black robes walked the streets. They paused in front of each oil lamp then reached up with a long handled ladle and filled the lamps.

I looked up at the stars. I wasn't one of those boyscout kids that could name constellations but I knew the two big ones, the moon and the sun. The moon was definitely different in this world. It was much larger. It felt like I was sitting too close to my tv screen.

I wonder if they’ve had a funeral for me, or did I just vanish from the train. Maybe there’s a missing person sign with my mugshot on it stuck to a lamp in my old neighborhood?

As I thought about it I realized that I could no longer remember what my mother’s face looked like. She’d died years ago but I’d kept a photo of her on my phone.

How long before I forget that I ever had a mother.

I needed to get back home as fast as possible before my life slipped away. The only way I knew how to do that was to play along with Ahri's mad idea. She’d asked me to kill a god but I wasn't going to do that. Death was too final, I’d learnt that the hard way.

A red light streaked through the sky and the air filled with a crackling sound. A falling star was heading towards the city and I had two binding cards in my spellbag and nothing to lose. I stood up and jumped off the side of the roof.

---

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