Chapter 214: Stryg, I Need Your Help

Sophi walked down the streets of the Commoner District on a cold afternoon. More specifically, Sophi was carried on Mel’s back as he walked down the streets. The wind was chilly and the sun was obscured by grey clouds, but none of this stopped Sophi from singing a happy tune that her older sister, Karen, had taught her.

Sophi’s cheerful attitude was infectious. Mel soon found himself whistling along, the other orphan goblins walking behind him quickly joined in the song, adding their clapping, whistles, voices, and any other noise they could come up with.

Witt watched the children sing and couldn’t help but smile. Today was turning out better than he had ever hoped for. The temple’s head priest, Elm, had recently promoted Karen to chief acolyte, which had come with several new responsibilities. One was to manage the food supply of the temple. And thanks to the large donations of an anonymous blue goblin, that also included feeding the orphans.

Since Witt was by far the best cook at the temple, Karen had placed him in charge of acquiring whatever ingredients he needed from the Trade District’s markets. Fortunately, Mel and the other orphans had volunteered to help carry the sacks of food back to the temple. Unfortunately, Karen didn’t trust Witt to do any job right besides cooking, so she had sent Sophi to supervise Witt’s spending.

Sophi may have only been 10 years old, but she was sharper than most. She’d notice if Witt would spend any of the temple’s money wastefully and she wouldn’t hesitate to tell Karen. Witt didn’t mind too much, he enjoyed spending time with the children, even if it meant not being able to get a drink at a nearby tavern.

As they made their way to the Trade District, Witt noticed a familiar face standing at the end of the street.

He frowned, “Hey, Mel, isn’t that one of those guys from the other day?”

Mel stiffened and stopped in his tracks, “The Rat Snake gang…”

“Who’s that?” Sophi asked.

Mel glanced back, another four drows, each with the gang’s tattoo, stood at the other end of the street.

“We’re blocked off,” Mel muttered.

“Um, maybe we can negotiate with them?” Witt voiced hopefully. “I sort of forgot my dagger at home…”

Mel gently lowered Sophi off his back and turned to the other orphans, “This is it, everyone.”

“No, Mel, please, no!” one of the younger orphan boys cried.

“It’s okay. You know what you have to do,” Mel forced a brave smile.

“What’s going on?” Sophi asked, worried.

“Yeah, what’s the plan exactly?” Witt swallowed, “How are we getting out of this?”

“You and I aren’t, Witt,” Mel said.

“I’m sorry, what?” he blinked.

Mel ignored the human and grabbed Sophi’s shoulders, “When I give the signal Witt and I will charge the four gangsters behind us. There’s only one gangster in front of us. The rest of you will run at him, most of you should get away. Don’t worry, the others will make sure to keep you safe, Sophi. Once you're past the gangster, they’ll take you back to the temple.”

“We know all the streets and shortcuts around here,” one of the orphan girls patted Sophi’s back. “You can count on us.”

“B-but, what will happen to you two?” Sophi trembled.

“Yeah, please explain that part,” Witt said anxiously.

Mel glanced at the second eldest orphan, a 15-year-old girl, “Take Sophi and get ready to run, don’t look back no matter what.”

“No, wait! Why are you doing this?” Sophi cried.

Mel took a deep breath and straightened his back, “We are Lunisian, we protect our own. A lone goblin will be picked off by the wolf packs-”

“But a pack of goblins can slay a dire bear,” the orphans finished the Sylvan saying.

“Um, I still don’t have a dagger,” Witt said.

Mel pulled out a small dagger from his pocket and handed it to Witt, “Take mine.”

“Huh? But what about you?” he frowned.

“I don’t need one.”

Mel stared at his fingers. He had stopped filing his nails down and had let his natural claws grow out. The other orphans had done the same. Stryg had told them to never be ashamed of who they were.

Mel bent his legs, ready to sprint, “Remember this moment, everyone. This is the moment the Lunisians of the Southside Temple stood up for themselves.”

The orphans swallowed nervously and nodded in agreement.

“I always wanted to die a hero,” Witt grinned shakily.

“They probably won’t kill us,” Mel said.

“Oh thank the gods, that’s a relief.”

“They’ll probably capture us, bring us to their boss, torture us, and then kill us,” Mel finished.

“A-awesome,” Witt’s voice cracked.

“On my count, you all run,” Mel whispered.

The orphans nodded.

“We’ll go get help, I promise,” Sophi clenched her small hands tight.

Mel licked his lips, “3, 2, 1… NOW!”

~~~

Callum glanced up at Sylvie’s lovely face and tried not to stare. Callum was a Veres; he had grown up around beautiful women, from pretty maids to elegant aristocrats. His older sister, Elise, had trained him how to stay calm in high-stakes situations, even when it meant his life was in danger. Callum had even experienced a close encounter with death only a few months back. Yet, nothing could prepare him for the feelings that welled up inside him whenever Sylvie entered the room.

She was different than anyone he had ever known. Sure, she was drop-dead gorgeous, with a tall curvaceous body that would even put Lady Helene to shame, but Sylvie was so much more than her beauty.

So it came as a shock when Sylvie looked him in the eyes and said, “Do you want to sleep with me?”

He hadn’t expected such a direct approach. His tongue felt dry and too large for his mouth.

“Uhhh, I’m, um, I’m sorry, can you repeat the question?” he asked.

Sylvie glanced out the window, storm clouds were beginning to form, it was going to rain soon.

“I hate the rain,” she muttered. “It’s cold and you always end up soaked, one way or another.”

“Um, yes, rain can be bothersome… What was that last part? Before your thoughts on the weather?”

Sylvie looked back at him, “Are we only friends because you want to sleep with me? If it’s true, that’s fine, I’m not angry. I just want to know where we stand.”

Callum looked around the restaurant, he had gotten a private table at one of the nicest places in the Night District. Luckily there was no one in earshot.

“Is it because of the restaurant? Am I making you feel uncomfortable? I’m sorry,” Callum spoke quickly, his nervousness seeped into his voice at full throttle.

“No, this place looks nice,” she shook her head. “It’s just that it’s the first time you invited me out to eat, just the two of us. This is a date, right?”

Gods I hope so, he thought. “Do you want it to be?”

Sylvie sipped her wine and looked up in thought, “I don’t know.”

“Then why did you accept?” he asked softly. Callum winced, he regretted the words the moment they came out.

Sylvie shrugged, “Honestly? I don’t know. I was curious, I guess. I’ve never been on a date before.”

“...Right,” Callum mumbled.

He remembered Sylvie’s parents had kept her sheltered for a long time. Her nonchalant attitude probably stemmed from her curiosity.

I should have expected this, Callum thought. He needed to play this with a calm approach; try to diffuse the mountingly awkward situation.

And yet the questions stirring inside him bubbled forth. “So you didn’t come because you were interested in me?”

Sylvie took another sip of her wine, “I like you as a person, you’re always so charming with everyone. But romantically? I don’t know. Sure, you’re cute, but so are a lot of guys.”

And no one is as beautiful as you, he thought. How could I ever hope to be your partner?

“You know, growing up I had a lot of people who were really nice to me,” she smiled softly. “They always cared about what I said and they always wanted me to be happy. Then one day I realized the difference between us. They were servants and I was their young mistress. We weren’t friends. They didn’t like me, they were just afraid for their lives, that if I wasn’t happy, my parents would order their deaths.”

She chuckled ruefully, “It was at that moment I realized I didn’t have any friends. It’s strange, isn’t it? To be surrounded by people waiting on you hand and foot, yet to feel so remarkably alone? You must find it ridiculous.”

...No, I don’t, he thought.

“Which is why I want to know why we’re here,” she said. “Do you just want to sleep with me?.”

So you can know if we’re actually friends, Callum thought bitterly.

He sighed, “I’d be lying if I said I don’t think you’re the most lovely being I have ever laid eyes on. Do I want to spend the night with you? One hundred times yes. But do I want to spend the rest of my life with you? To walk down the street, arm in arm with you on a cold rainy night? I’d give anything for just a chance.”

Sylvie laughed, “What a weird thing to say.”

“You’re wrong.”

“Hm?”

“I don’t find it ridiculous. To feel so alone, even when you’re surrounded by so many others.”

“But you actually have siblings, four of them right?” she furrowed her brow. “I didn’t have any, brother or sister.”

“You’re right, I have a brother and three sisters. And each and every one of them is vying for my father’s throne. Some of them aren’t even afraid to use violence. By the time my father passes away, there will probably be one or two of us left at best.”

“That’s horrible!” she gasped.

Callum tried to steady his trembling hands, “I hated growing up in that big mansion. I… I couldn’t read properly when I was young, I still can’t if we’re being honest. Most people gave up on me, even the servants didn’t very much care about what I thought. No one thought I could be the Veres heir, after all, I’m half-human… I felt so small, so unseen among my ‘perfect’ vampire family.”

Callum smiled wryly, “Then my older half-sister, Elise, dragged me away from all the instructors who had given up on my studies. She sat me down next to a book and didn’t let me go until I read her one single sentence right.”

“Your sister sounds mean,” Sylvie said.

“On the contrary, I loved her all the more for it. Elise was the only one who believed I could do it. The only one who thought I could actually read, that I wasn’t just some imbecile. I read a whole sentence for the first time that day, all thanks to her. Elise meant the whole world to me...”

“Meant? Did she?”

“No, she’s alive and well, and she still dotes on me whenever she can,” Callum smiled half-heartedly. “But now she wants me to help her with my House’s succession. Sometimes I wonder if the only reason she helped me when I was a child was because she wanted to use me as a weapon for her plans.”

Sylvie bit her lip.

Callum cleared his throat, “So yeah, I know what it’s like to feel alone even when people around say they care. When I first saw you, I was stunned, your beauty, your smile. But when I heard you talk about yourself, that’s when it happened. I felt seen, I felt like, here’s a person who actually understands me.”

Sylvie smiled to herself, “Stryg was wrong.”

“Huh?”

“He said you were only my friend because you wanted to sleep with me.”

I guess I deserve that, Callum thought. “For any other girl he might have been right,” he admitted.

“So I’m different?” she smirked.

“Are you just realizing that now? I’ve never met anyone like you.”

She leaned in with a grin, “And what’s so different about me?”

“Besides being a dire vampire-human hybrid prodigy mage?”

“Besides that.”

He smiled, “For starters, you’re so… free. It’s like nothing fazes you. I could never be like that.”

Sylvie laughed, “I guess that makes me the opposite of your friend, Stryg. It seems like everything pisses him off.”

Callum shook his head, “Don’t underestimate Stryg. He’s a good friend and he doesn’t deserve to be mocked. He is the bravest among us. When he puts his mind to something, there’s nothing that can stop him.”

Sylvie tilted her head, “Why is it that Stryg acts like a complete ass to everyone, but you all seem to respect him more than anyone in class? What did he ever do to deserve that kind of treatment?”

Callum closed his eyes. He could still hear the screaming as Kithina cried. The smell of blood in the air. His own beating heart pumping frantically as he ran away like a coward. The sight of Stryg and Clypeus’ back as they faced off against Dusk Valley’s most dangerous warlord. Everything was still crystal clear in Callum’s mind.

“I’ll tell you some other time,” he whispered.

“...Okay,” Sylvie nodded carefully. “So, don’t mess with Stryg, huh?”

“Yeah,” he smiled wryly. “That’s some solid advice.”

~~~

Stryg sat in an overly large velvet chair in a private room in the library, courtesy of Lord Elzri Noir. He held two books, one in each hand, the first depicted detailed observations and explanations of Orange’s agility spells, while the second was a series of long essays regarding Brown’s vigor spells. He glanced between the two books while frequently taking notes.

A knock rang on the door.

Stryg looked up, his focus disrupted.

“Come in,” he called out.

The door creaked open, the front desk’s secretary poked her head out from the doorway.

She bowed, “I’m sorry for the intrusion. You have a guest. She says she knows you and that she needs to talk with you. It's of the utmost importance, she says.”

Karen pushed past the secretary and rushed inside. She was covered in sweat and her breathing was heavy.

“Stryg, I need your help!” Karen gasped between breaths.

He nodded, “Okay.” Stryg pushed the books aside, and stood up. “Who do we need to kill?”