The next week, John was finally given a day to himself. He scoured the city for Nem but had no luck finding him. He went to all the popular entertainment venues, hoping to see Nem there. Even during war people still performed. Just as John was about to give up he heard a song. It was coming from a nearby restaurant. The lyrics of the song had his name in it. The voice was very familiar to John. It was Nem! John took a seat in the restaurant and listened. Nem sang of John’s deeds in the mine, killing the spider, breaking free from the mine and finally heading to the city where he killed the God King. The song’s lyrics were a little exaggerated, harping on John’s courage and strength. John tapped his leg to the music and grinned like a mad man. Three people, who John assumed to be Nem’s family, played along with various musical instruments. The father played a stringed instrument that looked like a guitar, the mother a handheld drum, and the sister a flute. John smiled as he listened to the wonderful contrapuntal song. Nem noticed John in the audience and grinned.

The song soon ended. The audience burst into applause. Nem and his family bowed and headed in John’s direction.

“John,” Nem said excitedly, “meet my parents and sister.” Each bowed in turn. John bowed back. They took a seat in the restaurant, and Nem’s father ordered a variety of dishes. “What brings you here?” asked Nem. “Eat as much as you like. Everything’s free today. You wouldn’t think there was a war going on, with all this delicious food here.” John had wondered about that, seeing all the food on the tables. It looked like the elves had done a good job keeping everything running as normal.

“I came to check up on you. I was worried.”

“Oh, I tell you John, it was a close thing. That night,” Nem shuddered, the chicken leg in his hand quivering, “it was horrible.”

John grabbed some food and put it in his plate. It had been a long time since he’d eaten meat. He didn’t care about catching viruses or diseases. His stomach craved meat and he would have it no matter the consequences. “What happened?”

“I guided the elves to the law enforcement stations as I said I would. They killed everyone inside and stole their weapons. It was a horrible sight, blood and pieces of flesh everywhere. I’ve often sung about the stink of battle, but I never knew how true it was until that night. Blood really has a smell.”

John nodded. He had been to many battlefields since that night. He had killed hundreds with his fire. Some sort of mental block seemed to have lifted from his mind. He did not enjoy killing, like some crazy mass murderer, but he could handle it.

Nem continued, “After raiding five stations the elf Karamen kept his promise. He sent one of his men to accompany me in finding my family. I think he treats everything as a joke as a form of escapism.”

“You’d make a good psychologist.”

“What’s that?”

“You don’t have psychologists on this planet?” John asked aghast. “They’re mind doctors. I think Karamen is more homesick than anything else.” Karamen kept sighing wistfully when the other elves talked of home.

“That might be true too,” Nem nodded. “Anyway, after that we went to my family’s friends houses where my family might have stayed in hiding. Some refused to open the door. The elf had to kick it open and threaten them to come out. And that’s when the fires started.”

“I saw the flames from my vantage point,” John said. “It didn’t seem that big of a deal.” The fires had seemed small and spread about.

“Oh, but it was if you were standing close by. They might have only set a few law stations and public offices alight, but the fire quickly spread. The fire engines didn’t come. Perhaps the firemen were killed too, I don’t know. Anyone in a uniform was at risk that night.” That night had been chaos.

“If it was so bad why is everyone celebrating here today?”

“The people here are mostly freedmen. The citizens hate the elves for the most part.”

“What happened next?”

“Next, we finally made it to a family friend’s house. The house was a raging inferno. People were out on the street, breaking hydrants and directing the water spray with makeshift hoses. I could hear the screams of my family from within. That is when the elf proved his usefulness. He disappeared from my sight, and in a few minutes led my family and their friends out the door.”

“It was a close thing,” the father said, and a few tears dripped down the cheeks of the sister.

“The elf then left,” continued Nem. “If he had stayed he’d probably have gotten lynched as soon as people noticed him. We stayed on the street the whole night helping with dousing the fires. We weren’t scared of being captured. After seeing how the elves handled things I had faith in you. The God King was as good as dead.” Nem’s confidence was a little misplaced. It had been a very close thing.

“That was quite a night,” John said, not really knowing what else to say. Even in his previous life he’d been a social recluse. The eight years of isolation in this life had not made things any better.

“Do the citizens really hate the elves?”

“How can they not? You invaded the planet and set fire to the capital city. You killed the God King. He may have been a tyrant but many people still liked him. He brought peace and safety to the planet and prosperity to the capital. And now, there’s war. There are refugees flocking to the cities. Citizens are now unsure of their livelihoods. I have seen people who have lost everything they’ve owned. Sure, things might have been better with someone other than the God King in charge, but people don’t see that far. On the other hand, the freedmen love you.” John thought the elves had done a pretty good job maintaining law and order in the city. It seemed that things weren’t as simple as he’d thought.

“If we are so hated by the citizens of this city then how can you sing our praises in public?”

“I was singing your praises, a human child who triumphed over the great slave master. We know our audience and what they like to hear. The citizens are mostly keeping indoors. It’s only the freedmen who are out and about. The new order will benefit them the most.”

“We’ll be leaving the planet soon. Do you want to come with us? You’ll be able to sing your songs across the universe.” John was eager to have another friend aboard the Swift Retribution. Someone who didn’t call him Wild Child or Jehun.

“Across the universe,” Nem laughed. “That sounds like a good title for a song.” Nem pondered for a while and then shook his head, “we can’t come with you. This is our home and all we know.”

The father grunted in agreement.

“Don’t you crave adventure, to write new songs?” John asked.

“Adventure only in moderation. And there’s so much that is going on here. Journeying through space sounds exciting but it’s not for the likes of us.”

After chatting about smaller and more pleasant things John waved goodbye. Nem’s parents and sister bowed deeply. “Thank you for taking care of Nem and setting us free,” the father bowed deeply.

“No need to thank me. Nem was a big help to us,” John said. He returned to the palace and urgently sought out Sor Al.

“Do you think what we’re doing here is right?” he asked her.

“Of course it is. If not for us those poor wretches would still be wearing chains,” Sor Al answered sharply. “As a realm master you will be expected to go through wars far worse than this. What’s made you doubt our cause?”

“It’s nothing,” John said. He went to bed, thinking deeply about what Nem and Sor Al had said.