The World Which Is

The armor fits, as I return from the ‘back room,’ although the pieces are mismatched. Entire armors can rarely be salvaged, and re-sizing isn’t something they do here. Brandon lets out a wolf-whistle that has Silver and Helen, along with everyone else in the dining room looking at him, then me.

Of course my ears burn.

There’s no reason for it. For one thing, it wasn’t Malcolm who handled it, but Francis, the club’s quartermaster. For another, I didn’t have to get naked. Just wear the set of underclothes that anyone who wears armor seriously owns. I bought two more off the club because traveling doesn’t lend itself to washing those.

“How did it go?” Brandon asks as I sit at the table. How he can make that sound suggestive is beyond me.

“It went without trouble.”

“So,” Silver asks. “What are we doing, now that we’re here?”

“Me and Dennis are heading to the library,” he replies between bites. “I’d strongly advise both of you to stay in your room, but I know my sister, so whatever you do, do it carefully. I’m not going to be around to pull you out of whatever trouble she lands you in.”

“I don’t cause trouble,” she replies, offended.

“Back home you don’t, because you know how things work, and people know you. Here, you aren’t just an unknown, you’re a mark.”

“I can take care of myself, Bran.”

“Oh, I’m not worried about you. I’m worried about Silver getting caught in the crossfire between you and whoever your ‘I’m better than everyone’ attitude pisses off.”

“I’m not defenseless, Brandon.”

“With all due respect, Silver. You aren’t ready for anything this city is going to throw at you. No one who comes here for the first time is. However bad you imagine the city to be, you aren’t even scratching the surface. The simple fact you think you’re ready means you shouldn’t step out of your room unless you can get Malcolm to recommend at least one of the people in here to act as your escort. But that isn’t going to be free.”

She looks around. “How much would one of them charge to…I don’t know. Give me a tour?”

He shrugs, downing his coffee. “You have to ask Malcolm, but word of warning. They won’t all take money as payment.”

I join Silver in staring at him. “Sex?” she asks in dismay.

“Some, sure. But for other it’ll be an exchange of services, depending on what you’re can do. So make sure you know what you get yourself into. Mal’s not going to let someone nasty get close to you, but he doesn’t know every detail about the people in here. One of them might want you to use your illusion magic to let them break into a building or something. The people who come here regularly tend to be comfortable with the kind of city Detroit is.”

“Aren’t here regularly?” Helen asks.

Brandon grins. “Thank you for making my point for me, oh sister mine. Big difference is I’m on your team. None of them are.”

“So, just stick to someone who’ll take money?” Silver asks tentatively.

“Ask Mal. He’s the authority on the people here, not me. There might actually be a good one among the bunch.” He looks at me. “You’re not having anything?”

“I ate before getting the armor.” And whatever appetite I had left is gone after listening to his ‘refreshing’ talk.

“Good. Then we’re off. Remember, you two aren’t ready for this city. Wander at your own risk.”

He pulls the hood over my head before we step outside, and I feel eyes on us before we cross the first road heading north.

“I really hoped we’d get there without trouble,” Brandon grumbles.

“Can we lose them?”

“Maybe, but then there’s going to be some other gang ready to take their place.”

“You make it sound like it’s going to be a gauntlet to get there.”

“If we stay on this road, probably. I’m going to have to talk to Mal about it, if they’re getting this close to the club. Last time I was here, they wouldn’t dare get within three blocks.”

I glance left and right, but the hood blocks nearly all my peripheral vision. “Didn’t you say we’d have to deal with attacks after attacks if we stayed on this road?” I ask after we cross the second intersection.

“Yeah.”

“Doesn’t that mean we should get off it?”

He looks at me, surprised, then around. I do the same, but don’t see anyone.

“I guess we should.”

“You were looking forward to fighting them, weren’t you?”

He shrugs as he starts walking again. “Not forward to it. I just take it as fact I’m going to get jumped anytime I walk these streets and deal with it when it happens.” He chuckles. “I’ve never been the ‘avoid trouble’ type. We’re going to take the next right. It’s going to take us to Ward. It the main road from the tunnel, so it’s busy with people shopping. Being mugged’s less likely there. But they’re going to know what we’re planning as soon as we turn, so I don’t think there’s any avoiding this fight.”

I shrug. “I do my best to avoid trouble, but you’ve seen I’m willing to deal with whatever comes my way. Any idea what we’re going to face?”

“Normally I’d say a bunch of kids looking for easy experience, but they were watching the club. So, they might be tougher.”

“You think they were waiting for me?”

“That is a strong possibility. We adventurers aren’t really the ‘hide our faces’ kind of people. I might have made you stand out the hood as much as if you didn’t have it to anyone actively hunting for you.”

“I’m going to keep it on.” As irrational as it is. It makes me feel better to hide my face.

“If there’s people on the street, we might get lucky. A lot of these gangs don’t like being seen.”

We make the turn to a deserted street.

“Looks like we aren’t lucky,” I say.

“I never am,” he replies, although he doesn’t sound particularly bothered by it. “Be ready. I doubt we make it halfway to the Ward before they step out of the alleys.”

We don’t even make it a quarter of the way.

Eight of them step out of the alleys like they own the street, blocking the way forward and back. They aren’t impressive. Their clothing are mostly rags, wooden clubs and metal bars for weapons. It doesn’t mean they aren’t dangerous, but how high level can they be and still dress that way?

One looks directly at me. “That’s him.”

“And now we know,” Brandon says, stepping forward and punching the closest one.

I equip my shield as I raise my hand to block, and it takes the blow. I step aside the coming pipe and slap its holder on the side of the head with the flat of my blade, hard. The goal is knocking him out, and he drops so fast I’m stunned. I see he’d breathing by the time the club slams into my stomach and I barely feel it. My health bar doesn’t even flash.

Brandon’s heading for me, five already unconscious.

“Let me deal with this,” I tell him and unequip my shield and sword. Not jerking away as the metal bar comes for my jaw is lot tougher than I expect. The impact stings and my head moves in response, but again, no health loss. I move my jaw to see if there’s any lingering pain, and only noticed the surprised, and slightly scared expression, on the guy in front of me once I’ve done that…. oh, does that feel nice.

This time, I don’t have a temptation to move. I tense so that when the bar hits my head. I don’t react. The smile forms without me thinking about it, and his eyes grow wide. Then my fist hits between them and he staggers back. He looks at me and we’re probably both just as surprised he’s still conscious.

When the club shatters against my head, it actually hurts, and my health bar flashed. I can’t see the sliver of health I lost, but I glare at him and the fear in his eyes makes me smile again.

Is this what every fight feels like for Brandon? He’s so built towards taking hits that he barely feels them? I punch him, and a second time. He’s still standing, so I punch him again, then he falls and crawls away.

I look for the other one, and all I see is his back vanishing into an alley. Not chasing him takes as much effort as not flinching from that previous hit.

I’m surprised at how serious Brandon is as I grin at him. “I could get used to this.” Shit, if I dump all my points into Taking it on the Nose, I can probably take on anyone and not lose any—

“Don’t. Dennis, don’t get used to this. Don’t get addicted to that feeling.”

“Why not? It feels good.”

“Because that’s how you become me.”

That’s…sobering.

I mean, he’s a nice guy and all that, but I definitely don’t want to be like him. I have a town to go back to, Josie, my friends. And now that I’m thinking clearer, dumping all my points in one ability is stupid; even if it’s a good one. I doubt he’s got all of his in one.

“How do I go about not feeling like this?”

“The first thing is you remember these idiots were way under leveled for you. They aren’t going to be the norm. Getting your ass handed to you is going to be it for a good while. Unless, you know. You waste your time punching kids until you’re the terror of the neighborhood and no one dares get close to you. You do that and then you venture out thinking you’re unbeatable. You get lucky and those first few monsters don’t kill you. Then you end up in a city and it chews you up so badly that if not for the intervention of one stupid man, you’ll be dead.”

For a second I think he’d referring to how we met in Toronto, then I realize what he’s talking about.

“Malcolm.”

“Look, Dennis. I’m not a good guy. Me helping you doesn’t make me one. If it helps, think of it as me paying off an obligation. You know, that you save someone’s life and your become responsible for it, bullshit.”

“I don’t think you’re giving yourself enough credit.”

He chuckles. “My credibility ran out years ago.”

“Okay.”

He stares at me.

“You’re not a good guy. I get it.”

He narrows his eyes.

“But you’re still my friend. So I’m going to keep thinking good of you, even if you can’t seem to manage it anymore.”

“Dennis,” he says in exasperation. But I’m already walking again.