Wanted Dead

I don’t think I’ve ever woken up as fresh as I did an hour later. There wasn’t the smell of breakfast, but it wasn’t like I was coming out of a normal 8 hours anyway. I felt warmth surrounding me, snuggly tucked into blankets in one of the shelter beds the temple had.

I tilted my head, I saw a sight for sore eyes.

Goblins don’t just fuck in piles, they sleep in them too. Jill was splayed fully on top of me, still in the clothes she’d been wearing all night, stinking of goblin and sewer and a bit of blood and ash. Her full weight sat atop the twice donated blankets, all atop the stiff and sterile bed I’d been shoved in.

It was the most comfortable I had felt in days.

I began stroking my hand from Jill’s forehead down to her shoulders, petting her slowly and calmly as I let consciousness ruin everything I had going for me. At some point, I began to hear chatting.

The room was free of any other homeless, at least today. It was likely they had better places to be. There were two other occupants though. Mittens and Serene. I eavesdropped on the surprisingly plot relevant conversation.

“No. I don’t think so.” Mittens said in her usual flat manner, “I’ve looked over the book and I don’t think there’s anything left for me. It would be much better to leave it here.”

“I won’t insist you take it.” Serene responded, “It is a demonic artifact, but I wouldn’t insist I keep it either. The mother doesn’t need to know about most of last night, after all.”

I think Mother is something of a higher priestess… yeah, right. It went Daughter, Sister, Mother, Grandmother, and then I think Archshian, who was like, the King of Shians. Queen. Whatever.

“That… is understandable...” Mittens responded. “Perhaps I can find a way to destroy it through arcane means. Or perhaps keep it for the demon itself, I may be able to find a use for them…”

“You talking about me?” I asked.

The two turned to look at me, and Serene stood up quickly. She was clothed, which was a damn shame.

“Callum! How are you feeling?” She said as she tapped her way over.

“Mlugh…” Jill mumbled, pushing her face into my chest and attempting to stave off the waking world.

“Well, I’m not dead.” I said, “That’s a pretty damn good outcome, all things considered.”

“Truly Aude has guided us this night. I have some spare clothing for you, let me just…” She muttered as she walked off, leaving the room momentarily.

Mittens stood beside the bed, “I will be taking the necklace. Any latent power of either will likely sublimate into the leylines long before I find a use for them, and I know exactly what not to do with them now, so I imagine neither will pose much issue. The box may be useful, even if the necklace is mostly a curio.”

“Sounds good.” I said, not really listening.

“The interaction of the two artifacts was interesting. I wonder what takes priority in collecting the infernal power, how one can use it without wearing it and being bonded to the demon, or if you can even do so.” Mittens went on, “I may learn more later, but… who can say.”

“Why’d you want it, anyway?” I asked, my hand once again going back and forth across my fiancee’s head.

“Demonology is a small passion of mine, and I was aware Everwrought was a bastard who likely intended something awful with it.” She shrugged, “I was correct.”

“I know.”

“I am often correct.”

“I know.”

“After Auday Prayer, Adequate Climates Upon The Arrival Of Serene Seasons will be calling upon the Watch to arrest Everwrought. He has likely returned home. I will provide witness where I can.”

“And me? I’m not about to stick around for that…”

“We’ll return to my cottage, of course. I’ll give you your reward, and you can leave.”

“Just like that… y’think Adequate Climates Upon The Arrival Of Serene Seasons still wants me to pay most of it to the church?”

“Dat bird bitch better not! And quit whistlin’.” Jill snapped, trying to get comfortable again after being forced into the unfortunate waking world by our morning birdsong.

“Ahem.” Serene intoned, glaring at the group of us.

“Uh.” Jill started, “Not that I’d mind doin a lil’… donation to da church. A lil one. Y’know.”

Serene took a deep breath in, and then out, she laid the clothing out on the bed, “You may donate as much as you’d like to the temple, Callum. Perhaps… next time you’re in town, though.”

“Oooh…” Jill smiled, “Clingy…” She wiggled her eyebrows suggestively in a way that pissed me off just a bit.

“Ngh!” Serene grimaced and then sneered (as best as one can with half of their face covered) at my fiancee. It’d taken a lot of effort, but I think I nailed down then exactly how to tell Serene was pissed just by looking at her mouth.

“Callum promised you money?” Mittens turned to face Serene, “Did he not tell you that he isn’t being paid in money, but in medicines? I’m a witch. I don’t deal in money.”

Serene turned to look at me.

I put on my best smile.

“He didn’t.” Serene stated.

The bells were ringing. I could hear them bouncing down through the temple, the shaking fist of gods from on high to get everyone off their asses and onto their knees.

We were escorted to the exit, Serene following behind us. I scratched at the hand-me-sideways clothing. It didn’t quite fit, but I was sure there was some stuff left in-

“Hey, where’d our satchel go?” I asked Jill.

“I just dumped da crap into Mittens bag so we could get in da Hideout.”

“That bag cost me like… two masques!”

“We can get anudder! Prolly still in da alleyway I left it…”

I asked for Mittens bag and began pulling some of my things out of it, pocketing what could fit in the trashy trousers, but leaving the rest. I was upset I’d lost my lockpicks to the Coin, but at least I didn’t lose my favorite tools.

There were shians milling about. I lowered my head. I decided then I ought to come back into town, and make sure to drop some clean cash into the donations bowl, regardless of what Serene said.

The porter watched me intently as I got through the front doors, which were being propped open as we made our exit.

Dawn was beginning to spread its fingers over the ocean, everything was lost in a blueish orange haze which mixed into pink in the sky. The cascade of clouds spread high above, and an all too humid chill spread down across my body. I took a deep breath of it, salty air reeking of muck, grime, and city life, and it was glorious.

“Well!” Serene said, standing at the mouth of the doorway between the temple and the entire rest of the world. She stood on the precipice as though looking over a cliff, staring into some other land she simply wasn’t a part of, wasn’t intended to be a part of.

I looked back at her. “Well.”

I imagine I stood there, a few steps below her, as a man stands on the prow of a ship watching the land drift away behind him. The horizon was slowly coming, rising up and devouring this last moment. Like the final bit of green and gray of a distant coast that slips away beneath the waves.

“It was a pleasure, Callum. Some of it, at least. And the same to you Auntie Mittens… and Jill.” The last bit came out a bit staler.

“Yea.” Jill said. “Whudever.”

“See you around, Adequate Climates Upon The Arrival Of Serene Seasons.” I said.

“And the same to you.” Serene smiled.

She turned, and walked inside, a bit faster than I expected her to. I stared at the doorway.

“Get over it.” Jill elbowed me in the knee, “We’ll pop by to visit, no prob. We still gotta plan our honeymoon anyways.”

“Yeah. Right.” I shrugged.

Jill pouted at me, but it shifted slowly to a frown. She was seeing something I wasn’t, I think I realize that now.

Auntie Mittens was a way down the stairs, and I caught up, tapping my feet down the steps. I was more than ready to get out of the city, to finally put this whole damn night behind me. There were good memories, but they sort of paled in comparison to the whole ‘getting tortured in the sewers’ bit. Okay, well, some of it was really good.

As I walked at the side of the two girls, some asshole shoulder-checked me and kept walking. The smarmy bastard’s placid attitude and little smile sent a rush of fury up my body. I expected it to come with that somehow familiar warmth, that need to enact pain… but it didn’t. I got over it, nearly instantly. It felt amazing.

“What a prick.” Jill said.

“Who cares.” I said, shrugging. I had a grin on my face that definitely didn’t deserve to be there.

“Well, look who’s back tah normal! I kinda liked big bad bossy boy, y’know… shootin’ fire ‘n stuff.”

“This is what you’ve got, Jill. Just regular old Callum.” I spread my arms then let them fall to my sides. I’d lost myself a lot tonight, I’d lost myself in pain and pleasure and rage. Whether or not it was all me, or just partly me and partly that necklace, I wasn’t entirely sure. It was nice to let loose but I didn’t think I’d look back fondly on the violence. When it comes to things I don’t want to do in my line of work, immolation is pretty high on the list.

A quick blackjack over the head? Sure. A smokebomb to the face? Sure. A goblin to the groin? Well, I can’t stop Jill under any interpretation of that sentence. But the rest, you could take it.

We reached the bottom of the stairs, and I stopped. I took another deep breath, smelling the air as it passed over my tongue. But, something felt off.

Then I squinted, looking into the middle distance. Jill and Mittens were already walking off, and it was a few seconds before Jill turned back to look at me.

Smarmy bastard… and… his face.

“Goatee.” I said. Blood fled from my face. I felt a chill rush my veins, as though ice ran through them.

“Whuh?” Jill said.

I turned, looking back up the stairs, paradise lost. My eyes were wide, my throat caught. I knew that smarmy shoulder-checking asshole.

“Everwrought!” I shouted.

I wasn’t halfway up the stairs when the first screams came out of the doors. When there were sounds of arcane fire exploding, when spells were flung. I heard the house of divinity suddenly in an infernal uproar. A blast of hot air shot me back a few paces down the steps when I reached the doorway, but I pushed against it, and threw myself through the temple doors.

“Jill, c’mon!” I shouted, throwing myself into the temple with reckless abandon.

“Ugh. And dis is da guy I’m marryin’.” Jill said to Mittens.

“You must admit, it’s gallant.” Mittens commented, following the two of us.