“We’re here live, at City Hall where Elder Todd appears to be engaging in a shouting match with city councilmen. Sources indicate that he’s requested food and supplies for a humanitarian mission within the old city. Let’s get back to the action.

“So you see Elder Todd, the city just can’t support delinquent…”

“THEY’RE… CHILDREN…”

“Yes but…”

“SHAME!!”

“There’s no need for name calling…”

“SHAME!!!!!!”

--Incursion City News: Live Broadcast. AC 1750.

“Yea… and then he jus’ kept shoutin’ “SHAME!” at them until they gave him what he wanted. Wild ain’t it?”

My head spins with the bizarre story being told. Trying to parse through One-Eye’s disjointed dialect doesn’t help either, but I was able to get the gist of it. It seemed like Todd was working to help and teach some kids. Classic Todd.

The black sled zooms through the city and my stalks are constantly spinning, trying to keep everything within view. Finally, the vehicle begins to slow down, and I notice we’re getting to an older part of the city. Crumbled edifices and pockmarked structures are the main sights to see, but there is evidence of new repairs here and there. Earth filling cracks to stabilize a structure, mana lights hung to scare away the shadows. We land in an open plaza and see Todd’s place.

It has the straight lines and compressed stone look from skill usage and I take a look at the sign above the door. Engraved it says,

“Elder Todd’s Dojo.”

And right beside it, there’s a painted sign written with an unskilled hand. It reads,

“Skool for kids who can’t fight good.”

Right below that is another sign, with shaky lettering in green. The handwriting on the sign is the same and reads,

“And who wanna learn to do other stuff good too.”

The plaza is suspiciously empty, and the doors to the building are closed. One-Eye bellows,

“Don’t worry! These are ol’ friends of Elder-T!”

And the kids come out of the stonework. The doors open and Todd’s friend Arthur bustles out. He starts quickly talking,

“Come-in, come-in! Todd here has done great things with this place, and we’re excited to have you here! So excited!”

I can tell the old fish is tired, but he seems to have an energy to his motions which I hadn’t seen before. Right below him is a small orange fish with a deformed fin. She can’t swim well, but she goes up to Todd and says with the cutest voice,

“Elda-T! See the sign I made!”

She gestures grandly at the paint next to the engraving. Todd replies,

“GOOD… JOB…”

The girl beams and then says,

“I uzed my skillz likes you said!”

A single spike detaches from Todd and floats over to the girl. With the pointed end facing away, Todd pats her on the head. Arthur goes over to the girl,

“Okay Nema! Head back on in! I think an arts and craft class is coming up!”

At that, the girl perks up and cries,

“Oh noes! I didna wants to miss it! Bye Elder-T! Bye new people!”

She jerkily swam back into the building as Arthur sighs. He whispers to us,

“Her mom passed away at birth and her dad was lost at the front lines. She didn’t have anyone to take her in and somehow ended up here. Todd has done brilliant work this last month trying to get services and help setup for all of them.”

He sedately begins swimming forward as Luna asks him,

“Why did it take so long for this to happen at all? I would think a problem like this would be a priority to fix?”

Arthur hangs his head a little lower as he explains,

“We’ve tried. Wisdom knows we tried. But many of these kids were hurt by the social system to begin with. Each time efforts were made to come in and provide help, the workers were hid from or attacked.”

He looks to Todd with pride.

“It took Todd here to start building inroads. He’s not forcing anyone to come, and he’s an Elder… so some of the kids trust him. With the Dojo he set up here, the kids receive food and classes in combat, school, and crafting. It’s all voluntary, so it doesn’t put any pressure on the children that would scare them away. We’ve even started counseling services and we hope to see a few of the older ones get jobs soon.”

We pass through the entrance into a hive of activity. Off to the left, a bunch of little kids are reading off a board, tiny tablets in their hands. It looks like they’re doing basic math. To the right, some older kids are huddled around what looks to be a drawing table, while what appears to be a construction worker is giving them a lesson. In the center, more than twenty kids are sparring, with healers and instructors butting in to provide insight and guidance. All the teachers are old and wizened. I think they might be formerly retired and Arthur confirms my suspicions.

“Todd’s… confrontation with the city councilman was broadcast on the news. His calls for aid was answered by many of the older folks in the city. It appears to be working so far, and they’re both getting a lot of enjoyment out of learning and teaching.”

In a corner off to the side I see a young, scarred walrus. He’s leaning in close to a grey cuttlefish and as I filter out the noise and strain my hearing, I can catch what he’s saying,

“Listen kid. Doesn’t matter if yer class is a [Thief Boss], ya hear? It’s what you do with yer class that counts. Ya think the streets round ‘ere are tough? Try the undercity round the entertainment district. You’ll never be more than a small time tough if you don’t get yer act straight. Take care of yer people. Take from the wicked, give to the poor. That’s how you become a [Thief Lord]. Otherwise, you’ll meet a sharp dagger when yer not ready fer it. Got that?”

The walrus nods along with the lecture. He has a small gang of subordinates around him and they appear to be hanging onto every word from the cuttlefish. I raise a questioning look at Arthur as he noticed the direction of my attention. He leans in close and whispers,

“I don’t like it, but there’s always a need for shady types. It’s better to have them trying to do some good rather than murdering and looting. Strength knows there’s some corrupt people that need stealing from.”

The entire enterprise around me stuns me with the new ideas they represent. Todd has turned his retirement into a full-fledged educational empire. I look at Todd and he’s off to the side, showing an angler fish how to compress an earthen block so that it’s stable. He seems at peace and I’m happy that he’s found something worthwhile to accomplish.

As my squad stands there awkwardly One-Eye leans in and addresses us.

“Don’t be shy! Get in there!”

With nods all around, we split up, joining the various classes underway. Before we depart One-Eye calls out,

“Oh! And there’ll be a party later on! Classes end in a couple hours, don’t worry!”

And so… in a surprising turn of events, we spend the days helping the kids. I even learn a few things myself, the knowledgeable instructors able to answer any questions I have. As the day ends, we move outside to the plaza. Todd summons tables from the ground and myself and a few others help with the endeavor. Bright lights illuminate the area, and some more kids appear at the outskirts, nervously looking in. I whisper to Arnold,

“How many of them are there?”

He replies,

“We’re not really sure. The old city actually goes down several levels. For how rough it is up here, I’m told it’s worse down below. Like Todd says though, we can only help those who want to be helped.”

Everyone floats or takes seats and with a wave of his spikes, food appears. Simple but hearty fare is placed in front of everyone. As we dig in, I hear friendly chattering and laughter amidst the tables. I can practically feel the camaraderie and warmth in my belly. Up to this point, I was training to fight for a purpose. I wanted to escape this place and get back to the coast. It was thin motivation that got me through some of the difficulties I had. But as I look at the people around me, joined in fellowship, I know… I know I’ve found an additional reason. That whatever Todd is building here, that these kids are worth fighting for.

That Evening, after everyone goes home.

Arthur says, “Alright Todd, I’m heading on back. Do you mind traveling with me?”

Todd looks at us and we wave him onward, “Go ahead, we’ll see you in a bit.”

One-Eye speaks up, “Don’t worry Elder-T! I’ll take care of them until you get back.”

“SEE… YOU… COUPLE… HOURS…”

One-Eye accompanies them to the door and then closes it behind them. He turns to us and says,

“Alright, let me show you where you’ll be sleeping.”

He takes us to a corner of the building and lifts a trap door. Underneath is a stairway leading down and we follow him into a large open space. Doors circle the area, and a quick mana pulse reveals rooms to sleep in. Before I go to investigate however, One-Eye says,

“Alright! Now that the kids are gone and the ol’ fogeys are away, time to have some fun!”

I’m confused by his proclamation. I have been having fun all day.

A flash of mana and One-Eye has several bottles with straws coming out of the top of them. He removed them from his spatial storage, and I can see a clear liquid inside. The liquid looks like water? Why would he have bottled water? He sends one of them to each of us and lifts one of his own above his head. He declares “Bottoms-Up!” and takes a big *slurp* on his straw.

I look at the others and we all shrug. Go with the flow, I guess? I take a deep draw on the straw and swallow. It’s not water. In fact, it tastes and feels like liquid fire. I bend over, coughing and sputtering from the harsh liquid. As I’m wheezing, I glance around and realize I’m not the only one. The system chimes at me,

‘ding

You have been poisoned!

You are currently suffering from:

Debuff: Intoxication.

Duration: 1 hour*

*Continued drinking will extend the duration.

Warning: Too Much Drinking may kill you.

As I stare blearily at the system screen, the otter is rolling and laughing at our sudden predicament. Wilhelm suddenly yells,

“TREACHERY!!”

And begins to turn red.

For some reason this is the funniest thing I’ve seen for a while, and I begin giggling. I’m joined by Luna and soon we’re rolling on the floor laughing. One-Eye rushes to explain that as long as we don’t drink too much, we’ll be fine. Wilhelm calms down and then begins giggling himself.

And so, the fun begins.

Sometime later, the trapdoor opens just enough for Todd to peak down at us. At this point, the Billy brothers are banging on their shells in an uneven rhythm to make drums and Mina and Luna are engaged in a duet. Wilhelm and One-Eye are swaying along and I am bobbing my head to the music. I catch Todd shake his spikes in bemusement and then silently close the trap door. Seems like he doesn’t want to come down.

As we party long into the night, we tell stories that make us laugh and stories that make us cry. I don’t remember the exact sequence of events but eventually we pass out in a heap.

We never make it to our rooms.