Chapter 35: Chapter 35: Felony Self-Defense

We quickly remembered why it was that shopping was so difficult as we sought a respite to sleep. The city was packed.

I had no clever solution to this and neither did Justice, when we finally slowed down, confident our escape was sufficiently distant from the clouds of hazy smoke over the long avenues of multi storied condominiums in this part of town. 

 But we needed to rest, especially since we planned to spend the night disrupting a coup. 

We found a square not completely full of busy people. I hunched down comfortably while Justice sat at the edge of a planter not so much well cared for as barely not abandoned. 

“We might as well eat our food now, since we cannot store it in my cold box.”

Justice blinked, then nodded, “Right, yeah.” She pulled her bag forward and began pulling out the sandwiches and the flasks of flavored water from her satchel. The city had put a fine on the use of bottling to strictly liquors to reduce the amount of glass in the streets, ostensibly, but it did have the effect of making other drinks more expensive. Leather flasks were far less reusable and tended to retain the flavors of the previous contents, for those not wealthy enough to pay the fine. 

“So, what now?”

“I’m at as much a loss as you, Justice.”

“Where are we? This metropolis is extensive.” 

“In other news, one or both of those people were servants of the state. I am now attuned to the blade.”

“What?! Are you okay?”

“So far-” I paused momentarily.

*What are your pronouns, and do you have a name?*

“Oh, Child, please tell me you can read your Guidance. The blade *is* called Katarachin’s Victory. I use he/him pronouns.”

“So far, he has been restrained, if a little condescending. I’ll tell you if he gets pushy.”

“Right, so do you know who those two were? You said they worked for the state?”

“Yeah, my guess is inquisitors attached to the crown. They are… sort of like royal guards but more for hunting enemy actors or unruly merchants than policing civilians.”

“I am not being condescending, kid, I am just stating facts.”

*Names and facts change, Katarachin. It has been a millennium since you were even in recent memory, and artifacts do not always retain their names of origin. My name is Scaleen, and presently I use he/him, but that will change.*

“I… see.”

*We are in Sumar City, the greater metropolitan area that encompasses two and a half million people.*

“Oh, like the Seeayeh or Efbeyi, got it. So, uh, will we need to worry about what happened then?”

“Absolutely. We will need to seek a pardon if we survive past tomorrow or the guard prison will seem like a Tamaran resort.”

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“Well that so fuckin sucks. We really need a place to lay low in. I wish it were as easy as in the game, but everything here is, you know, realistic. I guess that’s why they have you arrive the morning of the coronation, too busy to get into this kind of trouble.”

“How does a city that large sustain itself. Where does all the bodily waste go? Where do they get water?”

*Developments in magic have made localized non-living teleportation very convenient. Water is siphoned via spells from the river, and waste is sent to a reservoir some distance away.*

“I have been away for a long time. The simple Fatchet board has grown many layers.”

*I hadn’t realized Fatchet was that old. Perhaps we can play when we have more… time…*

“I have an idea, Justice… Remember when we talked about choose-your-adventure games?”

—

The streets were busy, filled with impromptu stages and unlicensed carts, and people trying to enjoy all the wonders of a city experiencing a celebration of a lifetime. It was a day to be out, or at least enjoying the rousing, frenetic energy in most of the bars across town. 

Some might retreat into the dark simple room for an adventure among friends, but when there were city squares of fantastic stories being told with illusions and trained bards, why miss that chance? That was my logic, at least.

The signs to the game center directed us downstairs into the first underfloor. I felt a sudden relief as we got out from the crowds of the streets and into the building until I saw the person at the counter. She was another human, but she had earrings with the marker of a prominent, specific polity.

“Justice, you should arrange the room.”

“I, what?”

She glanced at me, “Wha- why?”

“Does the Hammer and Chain order mean anything to you?”

Justice sighed, now seeing the earrings. “Yeah. Okay.”

She walked up and I followed as nonchalantly as I could manage. 

“Who are the Hammer and Chain order?”

*It's an entire political faction here in Sumar. They believe many things, but an issue at hand is that they are trying to introduce interest rates for indentureship contracts to help ‘mitigate’ care and health costs. They also tend to believe certain races are better qualified to, hm, serve out those contracts. Orcs are among them, but Kobolds are very high on the list. Humans and Dwarves are not.*

“Ah, so something else for us to seize and remake in our image, Scaleen. What are the major players in this world?”

While I explained the basics of geopolitics to Katarachin, Justice spoke to the person at the counter. She got agitated and the woman at the counter stared at me skeptically. Finally, we were given a key, and I followed Justice to a room, as she muttered, “I may not have a good grasp of money here, but this place is highway robbery. We could have stayed for a night somewhere for the cost of each hour.”

“Why does Justice keep speaking as if she is a foreigner?”

*That is a very weird story. I’ll tell you as we get ready to sleep.*

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