Chapter 21: Chapter 21 – Southport

As Grayson sped off with his new gloves, he couldn’t help but feel guilty. He had never stolen anything in his life, discounting an unfortunate incident when he was a child, for which he was sternly reprimanded by his parents, and forced to return the candy he had taken in embarrassing fashion.

He had learned his lesson well, and now he couldn’t help but feel for the man he had stolen from. Because while this world hadn’t treated him fairly, the fisherman didn’t have anything to do with it.

When Grayson had put sufficient distance between himself and the docks, he stopped and sighed. He didn’t like that he needed to steal the gloves, but it was necessary, and he steeled himself for the future. It was becoming increasingly clear that if he wanted to survive, he was going to need to do a lot more of the same. He just had to be careful that he didn't become too reliant on using necessity as a justification for his actions. It seemed like a dangerous path to walk.

Grayson put on the gloves, and his disguise was complete. He spent the rest of the night hunkered down and avoiding frequent guard patrols. It wasn’t too difficult, as he was coming to realize all of his senses seemed to be sharper than ever before. He could hear the distinct sound of several feet walking in step before they came close, and he could pick out their torchlight from far in the distance. He was quite pleased with his improved senses, except with smell, as he didn’t appreciate the enhanced odor of the blanket covering his nose.

Avoiding the guards kept him from going to sleep, but it didn’t seem to be a problem. Despite being awake for nearly twenty-four hours, he hardly felt the need for rest. He had a feeling it was because of his newfound powers. The pearl of ascension wasn’t called that for nothing it appeared. Almost everything about him seemed to be better or stronger, including reducing the need for sleep. In fact, he wasn't feeling too hungry or thirsty either, even though he hadn't had anything to eat or drink for quite some time.

As the sun started to rise, more people appeared walking through the streets, and Grayson found a barrel full of water that he used as a mirror in the growing light. He wanted to make sure that his disguise didn’t have any obvious holes or giveaways. The sight that greeted him had him shaking his head.

Murder hobo seemed like an apt way to describe himself at the moment. Between the too-tight shirt and the dirty blanket covering his face, he definitely looked and smelled terrible. The blanket over his head didn’t look quite as ridiculous as he had imagined, but it wasn’t doing him any favors. He adjusted it to better cover his face as there were a few places he could see through, until there wasn’t a single piece of skin showing.

The blanket and the shirt weren’t his only problems. He knew the jeans he had been wearing since arriving on Selenya weren’t doing him any favors either. They were dirty and bloodstained, and the fabric was so worn in some places that holes were starting to appear. That was all without even mentioning he hadn’t bathed in several weeks.

He didn’t spend long looking at himself in the water before moving on. It would be best to get what he needed to be done as early as possible and get out of the city as quickly as he could.

He moved purposefully down the street, looking for someone that wouldn’t be too startled by his appearance. The last thing he wanted to do was scare someone enough that they called the guards on him.

It took a while before he found the person he thought would be least likely to call the guards. The man was tall for this world, he might have even been a few inches taller than Grayson. He was busy setting up what appeared to be a blacksmith shop and from his well-defined muscles, it appeared he was no stranger to the craft.

“Excuse me,” Grayson said as he neared the shop. “Do you mind answering a few questions for me?”

The blacksmith gave him a guarded look before nodding his head.

“How do I get to Silmia from here?”

“Silmia is the closest of the great cities.” The man said, raising both eyebrows. “All you need to do is follow the northern highway. It will take you straight there.”

Grayson nodded at that. It seemed to match up with what he remembered from his journey here, but he wanted to be sure.

“Do you know of any ways I could make some quick money around here?”

The blacksmith snorted at the question. “If I knew how to make quick money, I would be out there getting it for myself, wouldn’t I?”

“I suppose.” Grayson said, “What about jobs that might be more dangerous or unpleasant that I might be able to pick up?”

“I wouldn’t know, stranger. But I would be surprised if there were anything. Coin has been scarce since the start of the war. There’s plenty of desperate folk around these days.”

Grayson sighed. He hadn’t thought there would be anything, but he needed to try. He stopped talking to the blacksmith, and turned around to see a squad of guards speaking with a woman at a stall in the distance, who was pointing in his direction. Over his conversation with the blacksmith, and the other sounds of vendors setting up their stalls, he hadn’t noticed them arrive.

Why can’t you just leave me alone? He thought, clenching his fist in frustration. He had tried his best to avoid notice, but in the end, hiding your face with a blanket just isn’t inconspicuous. It was better than showing his face in public, but not much better. Grayson had no idea why someone would point him out to the guards, but at this point it didn’t matter, he just needed to get away.

Grayson turned, and started moving quickly away from the guards, but he heard a shout from behind him.

“You there! Stop where you are!”

Grayson just started running in response. He quickly outpaced the guards and lost himself in the city, but he wasn’t sure what to do now. The city watch would likely spread the word to keep an eye out for him, and it seemed that the regular people would only call attention to him.

He was thinking over the problem when he realized someone was following him. They were trying to be sneaky, but with his enhanced hearing, he heard a small scuff from behind, and when he turned to see what the sound had been, he caught some movement out of the corner of his eye.

Grayson stopped and turned around, waiting to see if the person following him would confront him, and he was surprised when a small head popped around the corner. A teenage girl looked to be the one trailing him, and when she saw he had noticed, her shoulders slumped, but she walked out into the open, revealing that she was wearing tattered clothes. In fact, she didn’t look to be doing much better than him, and that was saying something.

“Why were you running from the guards?” She called out, looking at him curiously.

“I don’t think they agreed with my fashion choices.” Grayson said dryly.

The girl scrunched up her nose at that. “Yeah, I can see why.”

Grayson furrowed his brow, but ignored the insult to ask a question of his own. “Do you know why a street vendor would point me out to the guards?”

“Sure. Anyone that aids in the arrest of a criminal is given a reward.”

Giving the girl a suspicious look, he asked the obvious follow up question. “Why were you following me?”

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“No reason.” She said quickly, taking a step back as she spoke.

Grayson rolled his eyes at that, but decided not to push. This was as good an opportunity to get some answers as he was going to get.

“You wouldn’t happen to know how I could make some money quickly, do you?” Grayson asked, not expecting much.

She shrugged. “What will you give me for the information?”

Grayson just groaned and turned to leave.

“Wait!” The girl called out. “Just give me a cut of whatever you make.”

“Alright,” Grayson said, turning back. “I’m listening.”

The girl looked at him suspiciously, but spoke a moment later. “You could always try stealing from one of the mansions in the Flinders.”

Grayson was about to ask why she would assume he wanted to steal, but didn’t bother. Between being dressed like he was, and the guards chasing him, it was probably fair to assume he was some kind of criminal.

“And what is the Flinders?” He asked.

“It’s a neighborhood on the eastern side of the city,” the girl said, gesturing vaguely in that direction. “You can find it easily by looking for Velos’s temple.”

Grayson perked up at the mention of a temple to Velos. That sounded promising. The church certainly seemed to do well for itself, and he would feel much better about stealing from the church than stealing from some random mansion.

Before moving on, he decided there was something else he should probably ask. “Do you know if there are any wavelords in the city.”

“A wavelord?” She asked, giving him a confused look. “Why would there be a wavelord in Southport? There wasn’t a wavelord here even before the war began.”

Grayson outwardly shrugged, but he was pleased. While it was certainly a possibility that the girl wasn’t aware of a wavelord here, he felt much more comfortable using his powers in the city if he needed to.

He turned to move off, and was surprised when a voice rang out behind him, tinged with desperation.

“You said you would give me a cut, right?”

Grayson flinched at that. He honestly hadn’t been expecting to get any good information out of the girl, so he had simply agreed to the request without thinking about it too much, but he had indeed said he would give her a cut.

Sighing, he turned back to her. “Where can I find you after it’s done?”

“Just take me with you.” She said brightly.

“No.” He couldn’t afford to let someone know exactly where he was while trying to rob the place. There was far too much that could go wrong already, and that was without adding a wildcard into the mix.

She wilted a little after that, but still looked determined. “I can help you. I’m small and quick.”

“No.” He said again, turning to leave. “Wait for me on the easternmost dock of the port. I’ll give you your cut there.

As he walked, he noticed she was following him, still looking determined.

“You can’t come with me.” He said, trying to act as stern as possible.

“Can’t you teach me?” She asked, “I want to learn.”

“Learn what?”

“Learn to be a thief.” She said, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

“I’m afraid I wouldn’t be a good teacher.” He said, “Just wait at the dock, and I’ll bring you your cut.”

This time, he took off running, leaving her behind in moments. He was almost certain he would need to use his powers to pull this off, and there was no way he was going to let the girl follow him, for both his and her safety.

A few minutes later, once he was sure the girl was no longer following him, he stopped running and made his way more carefully through the streets, trying to remain unnoticed as much as possible. Sure enough, steeple came into view now that he was looking toward the east.

Soon, the temple was a block away, and he couldn’t help but smile. While he still had no idea how he was going to rob the place, he felt like he was going to enjoy the process.

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