Downtown Druid

Dantes didn’t make his former collared friends wait in a pit of dwarven corpses and vermin for long. He shifted back to himself and leaned against the wall behind him, coughing lightly into his fist to get their attention.

They turned and looked at him, and Dantes waved. It was a risk, but they were still collared, and that meant any contest of strength was dramatically in his favor, especially while they were all still surrounded by the vermin he’d summoned.

“Dantes!” said Wane stepping toward him with an empty palm raised.

“Wane!” responded Dantes and the clapped hands together before drawing one another into a brief half-hug. “It’s good to see you alive.” Dantes looked at Orebus and Merle. “All three of you.”

“You as well,” said Merle gesturing at the corpses being eaten. “Though our concerns seem to be unwarranted.”

Dantes nodded. “We shouldn’t stay here long.” He moved over and began looting the corpses, grabbing guns, bullets, gunpowder, a few coin purses, and a dwarven signet ring off of Iron’s hand. Toward the end of it, his bag was getting heavy.

“You want some guns?” he asked.

Orebus and Wane both nodded, and began looking through the bodies for one.

Merle abstained.

“I suppose you already have two, huh?” said Dantes, eliciting a chuckle from the three of them.

From there, Dantes led them through a number of back alleys and isolated streets until they reached his main garden. What had been a patch of dirt covered in the debris of a collapsed building, had changed significantly since he’d begun improving it. The majority of the ground was covered in clover, strawberries, and moss. Two fruit trees stood tall on either end of it, and a small pool of water with low plants sat near the edge, pigeons and rats sipping from it as other vermin wove their way around. The partially collapsed building in the corner was filled with bats starting to stir as the sun set.

Dantes set down his pack that was now full of an odd combination of guns and herbs, and pulled the plants that were still living, as well as the seeds, and began finding places for them. Listening to the plants input as he gently placed each of them in their own separate places, working to force his mind to remember what each of the plants did as he placed them there.

Merle, Wane, and Orebus stood at the edge of the garden, anxiety clear on their faces.

Dantes took several candles and lit them using Tel’s finger, then gestured for them to come further into the garden. “Don’t worry, no blood in this garden.”

They still hesitated, but then Dantes saw a twinkle in Merle’s eye.

“That finger. Where did you get it?”

Dantes held it in the palm of his hand for a moment. “It was Tel’s. I wanted to make sure his last request was granted.”

Merle stepped into the garden. “I didn’t think you were the sentimental type.”

Dantes shrugged. “Only when it comes to death and revenge.”

Wane and Orebus followed Merle and they all sat in a small square near Dantes’s bedroll. He hadn’t exactly expected guests, and wasn’t about to haul furniture into his garden on the off chance he had them.

“So, how did you find me?” asked Dantes after a few moments of silence.

“We didn’t", said Wane, smiling through his tusks. “Iron did. We just followed him.”

“You knew he’d come after me?” asked Dantes.

Merle nodded this time. “Yes, he’d made that very clear before we broke out.”

“But you three didn’t share his goal?”

They exchanged glances. “Many of the Collared did, but we saw more nuance in the situation,” said Merle, flexing his powerful hands as he spoke. “We didn’t believe that you knew what would happen to your garden when you left it to us.”

Dantes nodded solemnly. “I didn’t, no.”

“One policy of the Academy’s, and of Rendhold itself, that I’ve always disagreed with is that anyone who awakens into their mage abilities should be punished for what he does before he is aware of them. I’ve seen young men and women hung for making a person's heart stop, or starting a fire when they had no true awareness of what they were doing. I’d be a hypocrite to come after you for that.”

“Whether I knew or not, I am sorry. I’ll do what I can to repay what I did.”

Merle nodded, and pointed at his collar. “This is what we need the most right now. We need to get these removed.”

“You don’t have any contacts that can take care of that for you?”

“No. The Academy has threatened the Pit or death for any that encounter a Collared and do not immediately go to the authorities. Aside from that, unlike the other prisoners that escaped, we are easily marked for what we are. That makes it harder for us to move freely.”

“I assume it’s not just you three that need it?”

“We have a dozen men hiding in a warehouse,” said Orebus.

“Only a dozen…”

“Some died in the Pit, some were killed or captured trying to escape it, more made a run for the docks or the gates. From what we can tell, almost no gang stayed intact after escaping. We were bound by the need for survival in the Pit. There was nothing else keeping them together.”

Dantes nodded along as Merle spoke. He could hardly blame anyone for leaving the city after escaping the Pit. That was almost certainly the smart thing to do.

“I’m guessing not just any mage would do?”

Merle shook his head. “No, it would need to be an incredible healer, or someone very well equipped to deal with breaking enchantments. I’ve been studying our collars for a long time, and it would take a specialist to get us out. There was no back door purposefully created to allow their removal. We were expected to die wearing them.”

“Also means we can’t just kidnap a random mage off the street,” Dantes muttered, removing the easiest option from his train of thought. “I have a man, who owes me quite a lot. I think I can get him to help us. I already have a meeting later in the week where he’s meant to give me a few items made for breaking enchantments.”

“What’s his name?” asked Merle, stroking his beard.

“Felix.”

All three of them raised eyebrows, as if surprised at the name.

“Do you know him?”

Orebus nodded, “I taught him for a number of years. Incredibly adept at binding, breaking, and enchantments, and terrible at everything else.” He tapped his collar. “He could be the perfect person for it.”

Merle shook his head. “No, he was far too straight laced and by the book. He wouldn’t even share a drink with the other young professors, too busy working toward tenure.”

Wane let out a hearty belly laugh. “When I was in the academy, he was one of my professors and he was one of the most ignoble rakes I’ve ever had the privilege of studying under. He would show up to teach hungover frequently, encourage students to gamble, and frequently accepted female student’s trades of favors for better marks. I guess he was saving all of his degeneracy for after he received tenure, eh?”

Dantes listened as they spoke, only just realizing that Orebus may in fact be older than Merle. Sometimes that was an easy thing to forget when talking with the elf-blooded. He noticed Merle’s expression darkening as he listened to Wane speak.

“The Academy System is broken beyond repair,” he muttered darkly, flexing muscles that Dantes didn’t even know existed. Merle let out a long breath. “He seems like our best option. Dantes, you’re certain you can bring him to us?”

“He owes me quite a lot of money, and more than a few favors. He also already left his fingerprints all over a key that can break the vermin-resistance enchantments. I’m assuming that’s something that could get him in serious trouble with the Academy.”

Merle nodded. “He could lose his tenure for that. The enchantments on buildings provided by the academy are a large part of its revenue. The Academy doesn’t want their money fucked with. It’s their highest priority.”

Dantes nodded. “I figured as much. My plan was to get his fingerprints onto more and more until he was fully under my control, but if we get him to remove your collars I’d say that just speeds things up.”

Merle chuckled. “I’m grateful we’re on your side.”

“Well, I may need a favor or two after you get those collars off.”

“Of course, though our priorities may be a bit different from yours.” Merle looked around. “You wouldn’t happen to have any excess food? My men are having difficulty maintaining their mass.”

Dantes smiled. “I have another garden that produces a bit more food than this one. They’re welcome to their fill.” He moved over to an extra pack he had by his bedroll and pulled out a small sack that he tossed to Merle. “You’re also welcome to that.”

Merle opened the sack, and brought it to his nose, inhaling deeply and smiling. He scooped some of the fine powder out and put the dry powder straight into his mouth. “Whey. Gods I’ve missed it.”