The carriage jostled as it made its way through the winding roads of London. With every shift, bump, and jostle my grip on the balance strap built into the carriage roof tightened further. Each motion let new and interesting pain wrack through my body, and by that point, I had damn near chewed through the side of my cheek to mask any cries of pain. I had insisted on taking a carriage to Wellbrook’s estate, and by the time I had been loaded into the back of the carriage the lethargy and medicine hiding my pain had washed away completely.

I was. To put it bluntly. Not a well man. But then, I would probably never be again either with the way things had been going for me. I leaned my head back against the cushioned seat as the carriage trundled along, idly turning my head to see Beithir shifting in the cage behind it. I watched her for a time, the wyvern unable to find a comfortable position as the carriage moved along. Well, that, and she insisted on looking at everything as we passed through the boroughs of northern London, her natural curiosity at odds with her desire to simply lay down in order to avoid being jostled like a leaf in a windstorm. Watching her paws… claws, whatever you wanted to call them move about the cage to find some form of purchase did bring a smile on my face, something that lasted until I turned back around to look at Morrigan sitting at the other side of the carriage.

She was still glaring at me, and I couldn’t say I blamed her. I couldn’t say I cared much either. She was still dressed in that same getup she wore in the hospital, while I was dressed in the same clothing I had that night I was injured. It was brought with me, and beyond some bloodstains, it was still wearable. Perhaps not sanitary… but only so much could be done on such short notice. The doctors were just as against me leaving as Morrigan, but they could not keep me there and I was a desperately stubborn man when I wanted to be. It was, generally, genuinely, and lately as a matter of fact, to my detriment. But at this point I simply wanted… I didn’t know what I wanted anymore. My head turned more to the side to look out the window, people stopped to stare at the carriage carrying the beautiful wyvern as it went past, and I could make out a few children calling out ‘Beithir’. She was as much of a celebrity as ‘I’ was, a peasant who managed to make a small name for himself.

Of course, the cost of my ‘status’ was having an arm shattered, then being defenestrated, and prior to that losing my home, any friends I still had, and… well. I supposed there weren't many great parts of my move to London in general. I closed my eyes, lolling my head back as I did so. I was a broken, tired man, and I can’t help but wonder what my parents would think if they could see me now. I wonder if the farm is even still there? A rancher could have easily just ‘claimed’ it when nobody was paying attention. Could always set him on fire I supposed, Beithir was good at that.

I could hear a voice calling out my name from outside the carriage, another child. Likely excited to peek at a genuine wyvern-rider in the flesh. I lurched forward, ignoring the… fascinating taste in my mouth that sprung up as I did that and turned towards the window. A cheer rose out from the child… a whole gaggle of them actually, and a few adults as well were seemingly glad at my apparent miraculous recovery.

“You managed to become popular quickly, Arthur.” Morrigan said, and I looked over at her.

She was still glaring at me, but she was also smiling. I wasn’t sure if that was a good or bad thing. Likely both at the same time I supposed. “People like the underdog.” I replied, laying back against my seat once more.

“You have gained a reputation for coming out of nowhere, yes,” Morrigan admitted. “But you efforts with such things as rescuing that family from the Channel made the rounds as well. Along with your relatively humble personality.”

“Ah wasn’t aware my rescue had made the rounds, and haven't done any interviews either.” I replied.

“I’ve done what I can to help you, Arthur.” Morrigan replied curtly.

I grunted, then let out a groan of pain as the carriage hit a bump. Morrigan’s glare dropped instantly, a look of worry coming over her face. “Ah… know ya have.” I replied. “Just wish things ‘ad worked out better.”

“It still could.” Morrigan replied. “You have enough in donations to simply buy Beithir entirely.”

“Aye.” I said. “But then what? Can’t farm, can’t really race. An’ it’s been made perfectly clear that ah’m hardly welcome.”

“The people seem to be welcoming you plenty.” Morrigan replied.

“Aye. But they aren’t the ones controlling the system. Or tossin’ me out of buildings. I just… want to ask Wellbrook why. Ah honestly fail to see what made him do it. Might kill ‘im. But talk first.”

Then, there was nothing but silence between the two of us as I closed my eyes once more, trying to ignore the pain as the carriage made its way out of the city. It took longer than I would have liked, but then, by the time the carriage actually came to a stop I was blurring in and out of consciousness. They opened slowly as the door to the carriage opened, and I found Morrigan stepping outside. By the time I even started to move she was already on the ground and had turned around to face me. “You don’t have to do this Arthur.”

“Ah’m fully aware.” I said, gingerly lowering myself to the ground on unsteady legs. My hand shot out to grab onto the side of the carriage as needle-like pains ran up my body, legs shaking under my own weight. I held onto it, then forced my body to turn around with a wild motion, I didn’t so much walk as stumbled like a drunk as I made my way to the back of the carriage and towards Beithir’s cage. The wyvern stood up as I approached, stretching her wings as much as she could in the tight confines before leaning forward to press her snout against the metal bars. I leaned against the cage, raising my arm to rub against her snout, the wyvern letting out soft trills as I did so.

“Ah’ll be back in just a bit girl, then we’ll figure somethin’ out.” If perhaps, things went perfectly and it turned out Wellbrook was innocent I could buy her… then figure something else. If Wellbrook did do it, well, I supposed I knew things would end rather poorly.

Turning back around I found Morrigan staring at me with a rather complicated expression, and I gave her a crooked smile before hobbling past her. At least, that was the plan. She grabbed my arm and looped hers through it, serving as a point of balance as we made our way up to the estate. “At the very least you won’t be stupid alone.”

“Appreciated.” I replied, then looked up at the building itself. It was, as I might have expected, a rather grandiose structure, three stories and set in the hills of the country outside of London. The grounds were covered in all manner of trees and statues of men I didn’t recognize, and two beautiful marble fountains sat to frame a large staircase that led up to the main entrance. I stared at the steps with more than a little worry but moved ahead regardless.

No point stopping now.

---

The parlor I was led into by the butler upon entering was nice, but then, I hadn’t expected much else. I had been in more ‘nice’ places in the last few months than I could have reasonably expected in my entire lifetime. Past a certain point, they all started to blend together. Beautiful polished floors, good furniture, rooms too large to be actually practical, statues and busts of men I had never heard of… and a fireplace for every room inexplicably. The butler backed out as we entered the parlor, and I found myself standing in the room with naught for company but Morrigan, myself… and Wellbrook sitting on one of the red and golden couches that were placed around the unlit fireplace. The man was looking remarkably relaxed, and was smoking idly at a pipe.

His attention turned to the two of us as we entered, and when it did he placed the pipe onto the table beside him with a dull clink before beckoning us forward. The scent of tobacco filled the air as I approached, and with all the grace of a drunken cow I sat on the couch opposite of the man, Morrigan taking the spot to my immediate right.

“I’m glad to see you moving about Arthur.” Wellbrook said, moving his hands to place them in his lap as he focused on me. As he said this doors on the far side of the room opened, and in walked… men not too dissimilar to those who accosted me on the street a short few nights prior. Which answers a question I had I supposed.

“Thank ya fer thinkin’ of me.” I replied. “I see ya’ve brought some friends around.”

Wellbrook smiled, slightly. “Never hurts to be careful. It’s hardly polite to arrive unannounced.”

“Aye. Much the same how it isn’t polite to toss a man over a railing. Don’t suppose ya would admit that was yer doin’?”

The man shook his head. “I’m afraid I simply can’t, as I did nothing of the sort.”

I opened my mouth to retort, but before I could he spoke again.

“My men did, and I am sorry that it came to that.” Wellbrook admitted.

I froze, staring at the man as his thugs spread out around the room, with a pair of them moving behind the couch myself and Morrigan were sitting out. “Why would ye admit to that?”

“You asked.” Wellbrook responded, reaching down to pick up his pipe again. He fiddles it in his hands as he stares at me, tapping his fingers lightly against the wood. “If it is any consolation you were supposed to die. You’ve become something of a rather annoying sensation, and while you would be a martyr… for a short amount of time, the masses would quickly forget about your existence with your death. So yes. My apologies for the maiming.”

I felt a stabbing pain in my hand, and I looked down at it to see Morrigan was gripping it so hard that her knuckles were turning white.

“And it doesn’t matter that I do tell you. It would never be tied to me anyway.” Wellbrook admitted, shrugging his shoulders before stuffing his pipe back into his mouth. “You see my good man, you are… well, I wouldn’t say nothing. But you are worth very little. No land, no possessions beyond my wyvern. Even the clothes on your back belong to a disgraced member of the landed gentry.”

“True Wellbrook.” Morrigan replied icily. “But I am still powerful enough to cause you problems if you try anything.”

A pair of hands clapped onto my shoulders, and I jerked my head back to see one of the thugs pressing me down into the couch. Another has done the same for Morrigan, and I turned my head back to look at Wellbrook as the man let out a sigh. “I do think you are a good man Arthur, genuinely. But you’ve managed a bit too much and have become rather obnoxious, and have become a rather annoying threat in the process.”

“What do ya intend to do about it, kill me?” I asked. Feeling like I knew the answer to that question already.

“Not a second time, no.” Wellbrook said, “what I have done is called the constabulary. For the crime of stealing private property along with breaking and entering, specifically the theft of my wyvern months ago in the colosseum.”

Morrigan moved to say something, shock clear as day on her face, but Wellbrook continued. “You think I didn’t know who freed her? A red-headed woman in the dead of night? Use a little sense. No. I was hoping this folly with Arthur would lead you to your own destruction without me needing to involve a messy affair with the constabulary. But… I suppose things got rather complicated, didn’t they? As it did land on his property I have pointed out Arthur as the co-conspirator, so if it is any consolation you two shall be arrested together.”

“I…” I started, but didn’t find what to say.

Wellbrook stood, removing the pipe from his mouth and tapping it against his palm, allowing the ashes to fall to the floor as he walked over to me. He stopped a good six feet away, staring down at me with a smug expression. “With the two of you arrested the beast will fall under my purview, and I suppose I’ll just throw it in the wyvern fights to get rid of it. A shame to waste the time and effort someone else paid to train her, but she is just about as popular as you turned out to be.”

The arms pressed further down against my shoulders. But it did little to distract from the roar I felt in my ears. I was in a terrific amount of pain, and the hands pressing down against me were strong. But at the moment all I could focus on was the man standing in front of me. I lunged forward, ducking so that the hands gripping me lost their clutch. My body fell forward towards the floor, and my good arm, my only arm, the only arm I had due to this man latched around his leg and yanked.

With a yelp Wellbrook fell to the floor, the pipe clattering against the floor and spilling embers across the carpet as Wellbrook landed. I leapt from my prone position, falling on top of the man and slamming my fist into his jaw with all the force I could feasibly muster. There was a loud crack, and I felt a sharp pain in my fist.

A moment later I was dogpiled by five men.

Wellbrook’s head lolled to the side to look at me as I was pressed against the ground, men stomping on me and attempting further injury.

I kept staring at him.

Wellbrook simply drooled with a vacant, unblinking stare.

I smiled, and I kept smiling until someone pulled a bag over my head.