Chapter 23: Chapter 23 – Supplies

Grayson was feeling rather pleased with himself. He had accomplished most of what he wanted to get done in Southport, and he had managed to stick it to the church at the same time. He knew how to return to Silmia, and he had acquired the resources to do so. Considering the heft of the six bags of coins in his hands, Grayson had the feeling he had managed to steal a significant sum for himself.

Seeing a completely deserted alley, Grayson paused to inspect his spoils. Looking at the tags on the pouches, he found that each was labeled with the number and type of each coin in the bags. There were two bags of copper coins, two of silver, and two of gold. Each type of coin had a larger and smaller variation.

Thinking over how much he wanted to give the girl, Grayson quickly decided on a sixth of what he had stolen. At first, he was going to give her one eighth, but after remembering her ragged clothes, he decided to give her a larger cut. That, and her distraction had proven to be remarkably effective.

He counted out the correct amount for her share and set those coins aside before placing all gold coins in the same pouch, doing the same for the silver and copper coins. After he was done, he was left with three bags of coins, and three empty bags.

He split the girl's share in half, placing each half in two of the empty pouches, and then withdrew several of each kind of coin and placed it in the final empty pouch. Nodding in satisfaction, Grayson started towards the docks once more, arriving faster than he was expecting. It appeared that the fire had drawn the attention of most people on the eastern side of Southport, so Grayson didn’t have to dodge around so many people as he walked.

After reaching the docks, he began searching for the girl, hoping he would be able to find her quickly. He had made a promise, and he didn’t want to break it, but if he wasn’t able to find her within a few hours, he would call it quits.

He was unsurprised when he started hearing footsteps following him after a few minutes of searching the area around the docks.

“How do you keep on sneaking up on me?” Grayson asked as he turned.

The girl just gave him a cheeky smile, and Grayson sighed.

“Alright, I’ll give you your cut. Here’s half of it.” He said, handing her a pouch. She looked at him confused, but opened up the bag to look inside.

“Gold?” she asked almost reverently, looking at him in wonder. “Who did you steal from to get gold?”

“The church.” Grayson said, his eyebrows raising when a look of horror crossed over the girl's face.

“Are you insane?” she asked, looking at the bag she was holding like it had suddenly turned into something venomous.

“Oh please, you burned down a building to make a distraction, and you’re calling me insane. Who did you think I was going to steal from?”

“I’m not just a girl,” she said glaring at him, “My name is Clara, and I don’t know what I was thinking. I guess I thought you were going to pickpocket some of the churchgoers, or perhaps steal from one of the houses on the other end of the plaza. I didn’t think you were crazy enough to rob the church. Velos will lay a curse on you for sure.”

Grayson laughed at that, but it came out bitter. “He has already cursed me plenty. There isn’t much more he could do. Look, if you don’t want the money, I’ll be happy to take it back.” He held out a hand to take the pouch, but she drew it to her chest protectively.

“What about the other half?” she asked, looking at the other pouches greedily.

“I’ll give it to you after you do me a favor.”

“What kind of favor?”

Grayson lifted the pouch with an assortment of coins he had prepared and tossed it to the girl.

“I need you to buy some supplies for me. After you have acquired what I need, I’ll give you the rest of your share.”

She nodded reluctantly at that, and Grayson listed off what he needed. Soon enough she ran off, Grayson following right behind her.

This was important enough that he wanted to ensure that the girl actually bought his supplies. He spent quite some time following Clara as she made his purchases.

Many of the shop owners didn’t seem pleased to be selling to her, considering how she was dressed, but ultimately, they weren’t going to refuse money. Grayson was still sure she got a better reception than he would.

Eventually, everything he needed was bought, and Clara came over to him, handing over what was left of the money he had given her to buy his supplies.

“Thanks,” He said, handing her the other half of her payment, before he started sorting through his new possessions. He frowned though, when he noticed Clara was still standing close by, shifting from foot to foot anxiously.

“You’re leaving the city, aren’t you?” She said, though the way she spoke made it more of a statement than a question.

Grayson would have lied, but after having the girl buy him a travelling pack, rations, and some water skins, he didn’t think it was worth trying. Instead, he continued sorting through his supplies, placing the rations and some other assorted goods in the travel pack.

“Take me with you.” Clara blurted out, looking at him with pleading eyes.

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Grayson paused what he was doing and sighed. He had been afraid of this. He was about to look at her in the eyes to get his point across, but he stopped short, realizing that would ruin his disguise. Instead, he channeled as much sternness into his voice as he could.

“Look, I promise that you don’t want to come with me.”

“Yes I do.” Clara said, defiantly.

“No, you don’t.” He replied. “I’m not a thief, and I can’t teach you to be one. You have a good amount of money now. Use it to do something productive instead. I can assure you that you will be in far greater danger with me than just about anywhere else.”

He wasn’t actually sure how much the money she had was worth, but based on her reaction to having gold, he had the feeling she was well off.

She looked conflicted for a moment, but eventually a look of resolve crossed her face.

“You’re clearly a thief.” She said, gesturing to the two coin pouches she was holding. “And I don’t care about the danger. I can help you. You saw how good of a distraction I was able to make.”

Grayson lowered his head and massaged his temples. He wasn’t going to bother debating her on whether arson was a good distraction, and he allowed the conversation to lapse into silence as he tried to think of something to say.

“I can’t take you with me. I just can’t. Please leave it at that.” He finally said, letting a note of finality enter into his voice.

She looked at him defiantly, and he knew she was going to try to follow him again, which was somewhat frustrating. The sun was still high in the sky, but he was going to leave Southport that night. He needed to use his powers to leave, and if she was following him, that would be inconvenient.

Choosing to ignore that for now, Grayson continued sorting through the supplies. He wanted to put on his new shirt, but didn’t dare while Clara was still standing nearby. Instead, he packed it into his bag with the rations for now.

He did the same with the cloak he had bought deciding that he would change after he left the city. There was no point in risking someone coming across him while he was changing. He had bought several sets of clothing, and he was happy he would be able to wear something clean soon. It was unsettling how accustomed he had become to the grime encrusted garments he was wearing. Grayson tied the sleeping roll to the bottom of the pack, and he was pleased with the result. With that, he was ready for his trip to Silmia.

“I don’t suppose you know a way to get out of Southport without the guards knowing?” He asked Clara, who was still standing awkwardly nearby.

She shook her head, and Grayson sighed before throwing the pack over his shoulders.

He spent the rest of the day simply avoiding the guards, and fending off attempts by Clara to convince him to let her come with him. He felt bad for the girl, and would have been tempted to let her come with him if he didn’t need to keep his secrets. Although she seemed bright and cheery, he was sure the moment she knew what he looked like, that would change.

When it was finally dark enough for him to leave Southport, Grayson dashed away from Clara, and even with the added weight of the pack on his back, he was able to outpace her quickly. He felt a twinge of guilt for leaving her, but in the end she would be far better off without him. Hopefully, she would use the money wisely.

He went to the darkest place he could find before removing the blanket from his head. He had grown accustomed to the smell, but he was happy to take the thing off. Using it to block out the light of his halo, Grayson started using his jumping trick.

Fortunately, the guards posted on the wall were looking outward, so even though Grayson was fairly close, none of them noticed. Soon he was far above them, and he ran through the sky until he was far away from Southport.

After setting down out of the city, Grayson simply chucked the ratty blanket as far as he could, before changing his clothes. Everything he put on was new, including his shoes, because while the pair he had brought with him from earth were still serviceable, he wanted to be able to blend in, at least a little. He wrapped a clean cloth around his lower face, and the cloak went over it all.

After moving in his new clothes, he was happy with the results. He had been concerned about how well they would fit, simply asking Clara to buy the largest sizes they had, but that seemed to do the trick. He had also asked for the best quality Clara could find, and what he was wearing now was surprisingly comfortable, especially the shirt, which was far better than the replacement he had been wearing.

With that completed, Grayson set off, looking for a good place to rest. It had been far too long since he had slept. While his bond with the pearl of ascension seemed to reduce his need for sleep, he still felt exhausted.

Eventually, he found a nice flat area, sheltered by a tree, where he set up the tiny tent he had bought before dozing off on his new sleeping roll.

The next few days were the best he had spent on Selenya so far. The feeling of freedom was almost intoxicating, and he reveled in it. He traveled on the highway, practicing with his new powers as he walked, trying to grow a kind of muscle memory for their use. He would switch from the sword, to pressurized water, to jumping off a platform, to creating a protective barrier as quickly as he could, switching up the sequence every once in a while to ensure he could switch between any two constructs easily.

Occasionally, he was forced to stop when travelers heading toward Southport came into view, but he was able to get a great deal of practice in while making his way to Silmia.

The only point on his journey that really bothered him was when a group of guards escorting men in caged wagons passed by, obviously heading for the Proving Grounds.

He agonized over whether to help them or not before eventually deciding not to do so. Trying to save those poor souls most likely meant killing at least some of the guards, and driving off the others. Anyone searching for him would have a much better idea where to look for him, and would have more of a reason to track him down.

That didn't stop him from feeling incredibly guilty for not saving the prisoners when he had the power to do so.

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