Chapter 34: Pericles

TW: Mentions of Animal sacrifice

It was only the 4th day of the Month of Darkness, yet the Outsider could no longer count the number of times he heard that Void-damned song on his hands.

"Born in the Month of Darkness indeed," he grumbled. "Can you imagine it Pericles?

The fish, of course did not respond. It watched him with its tiny eyes and pronounced frown.

"No, that is a fair point; I could very well have been born in the Month of Darkness, or whatever that equivalent was. Now, be a good lad for Emily and the rest, will you?"

He reached into the tank and gave Pericles a pat, and left for an obscure shrine up river. It was the best place to perform the rite of protection.

Greta came to a stop when she entered the main hall of Dunwall Tower. There was a new addition to the décor, sticking out quite a bit. It was a goodly sized fish tank, taking up most of the far wall. Its inhabitant was a pink blob of a fish, with the face of a toothless old man with a big nose. She giggled upon looking at it as it puttered about the bottom of the tank.

"A delightfully ugly critter innit?" said one of the guards, a young woman with a missing tooth and a wide grin. "Apparently it was Mr. Pharmakós' birthday recently, and that was one of his gifts. Awful proud of the critter he is."

"Oh really?" Greta raised her eyebrows at that statement. "What's its name?"

The guard shrugged. "He wrote down the name on that paper there but I can't for the life of me understand what that means."

She looked up to see a piece of paper taped up on the corner of the tank, and saw that the guard was not illiterate as Greta originally suspected, but that the name was written in an entirely different alphabet. Emily probably knew what the blobfish's name was. But Greta was struck with a sudden bout of petty mischief. She took out her pencil, and wrote underneath the strange letters "Blobert".

"It took me a bit, but I am pretty certain it transliterates to that," she tapped the paper with the butt of her pencil, a smile on her face.

The guard walked over and peered at the paper before giving a laugh. "Blobert! What a delightful name! Hey, Michelle!"

A maid crossing the hall halted. "Yes Jane?"

"The fishy's name is Blobert!" cried the guard, brimming with glee.

There was a beat of silence before Michelle began to laugh hard, cackling and slapping her knee. "Splendid! What a wonderful name! Oh I have got to tell Olivier!"

Greta grinned and headed upstairs to meet with Emily, her work done for the day.

The cavern under the wooded hill smelt faintly of rotting leaves when he arrived, though the cold of the air numbed his nose. Now there was the tang of blood in the air, which was to be expected as the lifeblood of three animals soaked into the loam. The Outsider lifted the blade of the blood-soaked knife, and anointed his forehead with the red drops. With a forced laugh he spread his hands wide, palms up.

"Oh Lupercus, I beseech thee! Grant your protection over the city of Dunwall and its citizens, may no beast or foul spirit hunt within its bounds."

He lowered his hands, rite completed. There was a hush within the dark earth, and the Outsider reached for a cloth to clean his knife.

It is granted

The two slaughtered goats suddenly burst into flame, the small puppy getting to its feet before dissolving into nothing. The Outsider stumbled back and gave a cry of shock.

"This cannot be!" He was frozen by the mouth of the cavern, unsure what to do. Then, he felt the Void, beckoning him back to his shrine.

Bowing low, the Outsider backed out of the cave then ran towards the shrine, hidden in the basement of an abandoned house. He jumped down the ladder back into the familiar purple-blue light. Much to his shock, he saw himself waiting for him, floating above the shrine.

"What do you think you are doing?" the Void hissed, black eyes narrowed as it leaned down.

"Enacting a rite of protection," the Outsider replied softly, confused and bit frightened. "What is wrong with that?" The being wearing his appearance suddenly put its face inches from his, causing him to yelp and stumble back.

"Do not do that," the Void jabbed an elongated finger into his chest. "The next time you need to enact a protective rite, come to me and we will make one. Got it?"

He nodded dumbly, not entirely sure what he did wrong. Looking satisfied, the Void coiled up, looking down its nose at the Outsider.

"Was that actually Lupercus?" the Outsider asked quietly, unable to restrain his curiosity. The look of horror and ire that took over his mirror's face was almost amusing, until it invaded his personal space once more.

"Do not play with rites that summon beyond what is known!" bellowed the Void. "Stick with you innate magic, do not rely on what you do not understand. Have I made myself clear?"

The Outsider frowned. He understood the gods he grew up around just fine, thank you very much. But they never did answer any of his prayers (any of the important ones anyway) and it turned out the only god that did exist was himself, and perhaps the stars, if he must count them. Very well, better to heed the warning now than pay for it later. That way the Void would not have an excuse relocate him to the swamplands of Lvste Owv where he would be praying to be disincarnated as he died a death of a thousand insect bites.

"You have made yourself clear."

It smiled a cold smile, dissolving into pieces of black then reforming again into a rat, floating between the rotting planks that jutted into the ceiling.

"Remember my warning, remember your duties," the Void murmured tonelessly. "One mistake can be forgiven, two can be justified, three can be fatal. Four thousand years you have served me well, do not let this year be the exception."

The Outsider rolled his eyes and nodded. Pleasing the Void was incidental to his desires, but it certainly would be wise for him to remember that it was only a matter of time before he was back in its embrace. Keep it happy and the suffering would be minimal. Well, with his task accomplished he might as well return to Dunwall.

He materialized by the makeshift shrine he erected in the safe room. It felt odd to make a shrine for himself, but it made travel so much easier. With a blink he shifted his vision, looking for Emily. To his surprise he found her, and most of her Cabinet, moving from the main hall to one of the rooms upstairs. They clearly had been looking at Pericles.

Concern beginning to nag at him, the Outsider willed himself to a dim corner the main hall before moving over to check on the fish. Pericles looked fine, pink and fat as ever. The nametag, however, had an addition in pencil below his carefully inked letters. Letters, he recalled to his horror, nobody could read.

"I smell ambergris~."

The Outsider whirled over to glare at Greta, who stared just past him with a cheeky grin and a knowing glint in her eyes.

"Please do not tell me people are calling him Blobert," he hissed, knowing that she could hear him.

"I may or may not have introduced him as such to the Cabinet and half the household staff," Greta replied airily. "Emily tried correcting them but it seems to have caught on."

Deeply vexed and aware of his current appearance, the Outsider made himself visible so he could level the full strength of his angry glare at the Sister. The smile was immediately wiped off her face, replaced with a contrite and fearful look.

"I am sorry if I insulted you, I only meant it as a joke," promptly apologized Greta, her eyes flicking up to look at the purple cloth he wore as a mantle. "May I as why your face is covered in blood and you are wearing a veil?"

"I was conducting a ritual. And his name was already a joke," the Outsider replied shortly, folding his arms. "Pericles is my pet, and I get to name him. I do not appreciate you overriding my choice of name, thus disrespecting it and me."

Greta bit her lip and nodded, clearly understanding she had overstepped in her jest. He heaved a sigh, turning his gaze towards Pericles, who stared placidly back at him.

"What is done is done, he has two names now," he grumbled. "I would prefer if you used Pericles from now on."

"Alright," Greta also looked into the tank. "I did not realize that your birthday happened."

The Outsider snorted. "I do not have a birthday, but I suppose this forsaken month is the closest I will get to a birthday. Emily was rather persuasive about that."

They watched Pericles in silence for a bit. The quiet spell was broken by the sound of quick footsteps down the stairs and across the stone floor.

"Greta, you are supposed to join the rest of us." It was Billie, who seemed surprised and pleased to see him. "Oh good, you are here too. You might want to wipe the blood off your face before the rest of the Cabinet sees you."

"I'm sorry?" the Outsider blinked in confusion. Greta gave him a look, telling him that he did not mishear.

"The ministers of the Isles as well as the minister of Defense want to hear what you know about the Beast," Greta explained. "Once Emily let it slip that you were the one who knew how to save her they were not satisfied with just me."

Great, wonderful, just what he needed today. He took a handful of water from Pericles' tank and soaked his face, rubbing the blood off with the mantle, Billie watching him with a curious look in her eyes. She lifted up her hand, pointing at the cloth.

"Did you take that from one of your shrines?" she asked.

He nodded, and wrapped it around his neck. "We should not keep the lot of them waiting."

Billie shared a look with Greta, who shrugged back at her. "Well, he has a point. We should get going."

Emily could not help but smile when she saw Billie return with Greta and the Outsider. She could see their nerves clearly on their face as they lingered by the door. As Billie took her seat Emily caught the Outsider's black eyes, beckoning them over with a nod. He came to a stop by her right, and she could feel anxiety coming off him in waves. Emily tried to project confidence and soothe the poor man, absently petting the dozing Eulalia as she perched on her shoulder.

"So are these our monster experts?" asked Sinjean DeLuc with a twinkle in his eye. "One from the stars, one from the Void."

In the corner of her eye she could see the Outsider stiffen. She turned and much to her dismay saw that he was beyond anxious and genuinely panicked. Subtly Emily reached out and took his hand; he grasped it tightly.

"I think we should reassure Mr. Pharmakós that he is among friends," added Admiral Haddock kindly. "The poor man looks ready to flee."

"Relax Owen, nobody here is out to kill you," Corvo said kindly but firmly. "In fact we are in your debt, and wish to thank you."

"In my debt?" the Outsider sounded utterly bewildered. He loosened his grip on her hand, and she let go, placing her hand on the table before her.

"Why for killing the beast of course!" answered Mrs. Virtanen, pushing her spectacles up her nose. "Of course, there are many more beasts to kill, and you are the only one who knows how."

He regarded the Tyvian minister somewhat dumbly for a moment, before looking around the rest of the table.

"Well, you are certainly right that I know how to kill the Áneukhrmato, but that is no reason to be in my debt. I was just doing what anyone else would have done if they were in my position."

Elys Cassidy hummed, raising her eyebrows. "In any case, there are many more of those creatures out there. I have received reports of at least three on Morley. My fellow ministers of Tyvia and Serkonos have also gotten word of those same beasts wandering about their isles. Mr. Baldwin, you have yet to share your reports."

"Oh I have not received any," the cheery man replied. "They are all going to the office of the High Overseer rather than mine."

"We have only heard of one beast near Poolwick," Greta interjected politely. "Mr. Pharmakós told me that we can kill them with the horn of a narwhal."

There was a noise of interest from pretty much everyone at the table. The Outsider cleared his throat, sounding somewhat sheepish.

"Tusk, Sister Manderly," he corrected quietly. "It is a tusk, not a horn."

"Tusk, horn, whatever it is, we need a lot of them," declared Admiral Haddock. "Were do you find them?"

"Nowhere near the Isles," Marius Silva answered, his grey eyes keenly regarding the Outsider. "Narwhal have not been seen around Tyvia since 1250."

DeLuc shifted in his chair, giving Silva a sly look. "You seem to know a lot about an animal no one has heard of for thousands of years."

Silva smirked at his rival. "You know very well that I have a fondness for archaic creatures."

If Emily did not know any better she would have thought they were flirting. The Outsider watched them with fascination for a moment, before turning to the four ministers of the Isles.

"Just roughly, how many tusks are you going to need?" he asked.

The four looked at each other, and Mr. Garcia of Serkonos responded:

"Well, would it be possible to provide ten for each Island?"

The Outsider winced. "Ten for each island? The most I can get within this week would be five total, at that is if the natives of the area had a fruitful hunt."

That brought out many frowns and curious looks.

"Natives?" asked Ms. Ogland, shuffling her ledgers. "Could you not get the tusks yourself?"

"I do not kill whales," he replied firmly with a touch of chill in his voice.

Marcell Blinker stared at him, flabbergasted. "Then how…?"

"He used the whole whale against the beast," Emily replied. "However I do not think most people in the isles are capable of throwing a small whale at anything, let alone a creature such as the Áneukhrmato."

There was a beat of silence, then several ministers began snickering, and Secretary Purcell began full on laughing. The Outsider sighed, and glanced over to Ms. Ogland, who remained straight faced.

"Would it be possible for me to have some sheets of metal, a few arrowheads, and a couple crates of apples?" he asked. "I would need them to trade for the tusks."

"Of course," she placidly replied, writing it down. "Expect them the day after next."

There was a sudden sharp squawk that immediately seized everyone's attention; it came from Dr. Bonnefoy, whose mirth was previously silent.

"He threw a narwhal!" she exclaimed breathlessly, before dissolving into wheezing laughter.

The Outsider turned to face Emily, clearly done with dealing with her cabinet. "May I be excused? Greta should be sufficiently briefed on any other creatures, and I doubt you need me around to discuss the King and Queen of Morley's official visit."

"You may go," it felt so strange to be giving him permission to leave. She could not help the small smile on her face. He smiled back, and with a brief bow, quickly exited the room.

"That is the ugliest critter I ever did see."

The Outsider tore his eyes away from the whaling ships to see Todd and Roger peering into the small fish tank in the wheelbarrow beside him. Pericles peered back, unblinking. A moment later Fergus appeared, carrying his rucksack. The sailor caught his gaze, a smile appearing on his face.

"Owen! Long time no see," he greeted.

The Outsider smiled back and turned himself to properly face his friend, leaning on his wheelbarrow. "Fergus! How was the wedding?"

The big man blushed. "It went well. Moira looked radiant, I miss her already," a sudden confounded frown appeared on his face. "Not that it isn't good to see you Owen, but what in the blue blazes are you doing with a fish in a wheelbarrow?"

Roger finally looked up from the fish, surprised. "This is a fish?"

"Of course it is a fish you dolt," replied Todd with an eye roll. He then paused, and slowly turned his head to stare at the Outsider, uncomprehending. "Why do you have a fish in a wheelbarrow?"

The Outsider shrugged, and gave Pericles a pat. "Well, as of late I have been caring too much about what people think of me, so I decided to do something that is rather ridiculous but also fun."

The three men stared at him blankly. Fergus at least tried to look somewhat supportive, but apparently the appeal of the whole thing was lost on him.

"What's fun about lugging a weird fish around Dunwall?" asked Todd. "Something better would be maybe… walking everywhere on your hands."

"Or perhaps dressing strangely," offered Fergus with a smile.

"Or robbing a bank!" added Roger. Todd and Fergus slowly turned to stare at the gleeful Roger. The Outsider laughed.

"I think I will stick to the first two ideas thank you very much," he replied, his gaze drifting back to the small fish tank. The small, empty, fish tank.

The three men followed his gaze and peering into the empty water.

"Say, where did your blob go?" Roger asked, glancing up at the Outsider.

Before he could even shift his vision to look for Pericles, a bloodcurdling scream from the docks below told him exactly where the blobfish was. Without thinking deeply, he vaulted over the wall, dropping down onto some stacked crates. A few feet away was a stall, stacked high with fresh fish and shellfish, and two women cowering; one behind the stall, the other behind a coil of rope. And there was Pericles, halfway through trying to fit a tuna into his mouth, perched atop a pair of blobby legs.

The Outsider sighed in frustration and leapt down. "Pericles!" he called out in his cradle tongue. "Put that down!"

He came to a stop in front of the pink fish, placing his hands on his hips as he glared at his pet. Pericles looked up at him, tiny eyes unblinking, and mouth full of tuna. Behind him the Outsider could hear Todd and Fergus following him, and Roger causing the stack of crates to fall over with him. The woman behind the stall looked at him, whimpering.

"Please don't hurt me," she whispered. The Outsider rolled his eyes privately.

"Neither I nor Pericles are going to hurt you," he assured her somewhat testily. Switching his attention back to his pet, the Outsider saw the fish attempt to swallow more of the tuna.

"Ea, ea, no!" he pulled on the tail, causing Pericles to refuse to release it, sucking on the tuna. "Drop it now!"

After a beat, the blobfish seemed to give up and spat out the tuna. It was a little crushed on the head and very slimy, but otherwise intact. But not intact enough to simply return without pay. Fergus, Todd, and bruised Roger finally joined him, their eyes fastened on Pericles.

"Is it just me, or does your fish have legs?" asked Fergus, hesitant.

"And is, ya know, breathing air?" Todd added, sounding somewhat nervous.

Roger reached out, and poked Pericles gently on the nose. "Maybe our little buddy here absorbed some of that magic the Beast was giving off last week?"

The Outsider ignored what they were saying as he dug through his pockets, hoping to find some spare change. The shopkeeper regarded him fearfully as he finally found a couple coins, and held his hand out.

"I am sorry for the damage my pet did to your goods. I hope this will cover the cost of the fish."

Clearly surprised, she offered her open palm and he dropped the money in it. She counted it and nodded. "Just get that thing out of here!"

The Outsider nodded, and held up the tuna in Pericles' line of sight.

"You want this Pericles?" he crooned in his cradle tongue. The fish tilted its body, much like how a hound would tilt its head. "Get down from there, and sit."

"What gibberish are ya saying Owen?" asked Todd, nerves still present. "Is it fish speak?"

"No, it is the language I was raised in," he replied as Pericles jumped off the table and looked up at him, large mouth open. "Animals tend to respond to it better than the common tongue here." Rewarding his pet, he dropped the tuna in the blobfish's mouth, and then picked him up as Pericles worked on eating it. His three companions just gaped at him, and the woman hiding behind the coils of rope slowly stood up, looking at the lot of the quizzically.

"Your fish grew legs, and can breathe air, and you ain't reacting," Roger declared, crossing his arms. "Does this, like, happen to you all the time?"

"No, but he is not hurting anybody, and he can't hurt anybody," the Outsider replied as Pericles shifted in his grasp, using his shoulder to push the tuna further into his mouth. "So why worry about how he got legs?"

Fergus shook his head, a small smile on his face. "You are a very strange person Owen."

"Excuse me?" It was the woman by the ropes, dressed in a cheap but snappy suit and wearing a warm hat and gloves, clutching the strap of a bag. "You would not happen to be Owen Pharmakós, would you?"

A wary feeling took over the Outsider. Should he be honest, or cautious? Well, might as well be honest, after all he was trying not to care what people thought of him.

"I am, but who are you?"

The woman's face lit up, and she thrust out her hand. "Josie O'Keefe, reporter for the Dunwall Sun." When he did not shake her hand, she immediately took it back and began to rifle through her bag. "I would like to ask you a few questions if that would be alright?"

He found himself glancing at his friends, who went from surprised to encouraging, all grins and eager nods. The Outsider turned back at the woman, who had removed a pencil and a notepad.

"Uh, what sort of questions?" he asked nervously.

"Just a bit about where you are from, how you came to work for the Empress, and how you were able to kill the Beast," she replied eagerly. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Fergus' jaw drop, and Todd gape in shock. He swallowed, giving a nod.

"Well, I am from Serkonos and I came to work for Empress Emily when she was in exile during the coup," he said shortly. "As for how I killed the beast, I did so by putting a narwhal tusk through its neck."

O'Keefe wrote fast, looking a little put out with his brief answers. "What is a narwhal tusk?"

"It is the long tooth of a small whale that lives in icy northern waters," The Outsider shifted a bit, and noted that Pericles was finished eating the tuna, and actively looking around the docks. The reporter nodded, and seemed to draw a line on her notepad.

"Thank you very much Mr. Pharmakós," she said cheerily. "Now, would you be open to commenting on your romance with our Empress?"

Oh no. This was what he was afraid of.

"YOU'RE FUCKING THE EMPRESS?!" yelled Roger in shock. A hush went over the busy docks. Many pairs of eyes were looking in their direction.

"Please, yell that again, I do not think the people in Wei Gon heard you," the Outsider snarked.

Todd looked at him, a hurt look on his face. "Why didn't you tell us your gal was Empress Emily?"

"Well that is not something you just tell people," the Outsider replied. "Would you have believed me when I first went to you three and Louie for advice?"

"Well, yes!" replied Todd. "You work at the tower and everyone knows that Kaldwins seem to have a taste for their staff."

"Saying "a taste for their staff" makes them sound like cannibals Todd," commented Fergus quietly.

"Is she making ya feel ashamed of your low birth?" Todd pressed. "Is that why ya don't want to talk about it?"

"What, no!" the Outsider cried. He tried to say more but Roger cut him off.

"You are more than a scandalous piece of fuckable meat!" he cried. "She should be proud to have you!"

"Er, thanks Roger," the Outsider replied. Pericles began to squirm in his arms; thoughtlessly, he put the fish down. "But that is not a problem."

"Ah, so is it a simple dalliance?" posed the reporter, a keen look in her eyes.

He whirled to face her, eyes boring deep into her paling face. "I would die for her. And while she might not want to do the same for me, she would see me safe and well. I could want no more from a woman."

There was a beat of quiet as Josie O'Keefe took her notes, her face bloodless. "I see," she squeaked. "Thank you, I must get going."

She scurried off, looking somewhat frightened. The Outsider felt a twinge of guilt in his gut for scaring the poor woman; when he faced his friends he could see they were rather scared too. Well, only Fergus and Todd that was Roger was nowhere to be seen.

"Say, where is Roger?"

As the Outsider looked around for Roger, Todd in the background yelling for his friend to get "his butt back over here", he noted that Pericles was also nowhere to be found.

"Fergus," he called over the sailor who was kindly plying a longshoreman for information. The sailor turned to him.

"The fellow just told me that he did see someone who looked like Roger running past here a moment ago," Fergus said. "Did you learn anything?"

The Outsider shoved his hands into his pockets. "Pericles is also missing."

"Pericles?"

"My fish," he clarified. "Roger was rather fascinated with him, so it would not surprise me that Pericles ran off and Roger ran after him."

"Oh dear," Fergus frowned. "Do you know where your fish could have gone?"

The Outsider shifted his vision while sighing, trying to make it look like he was deep in thought. He found Pericles rather easily- the blobfish was making a beeline for the fashionable sweetshops along the canals of Draper's Ward, and Roger was in hot pursuit. The two of them were only a few blocks away.

"Pericles does also have a taste for pastries," he lied. "Considering that we are nearby the boutiques of Draper's Ward, that is probably where he is headed."

Fergus nodded, and called Todd over from the sewer grate he was yelling into. The skinny Hatter joined them, looking rather frazzled.

"It is not like Roger to up and disappear like this," Todd said, worried. "Do you both have any idea where he went?"

"Owen said that he is likely following his pet fish," explained Fergus soothingly. "And said pet is likely headed into Draper's Ward towards the sweetshops."

Todd folded his arms across his bright blue coat. "Likely?"

"It is better than the nothing we have right now," the Outsider pushed back. "In any case, Draper's Ward is your turf right? We can take a shortcut to the main sweet shops and ask people to keep an eye out for Roger and Pericles."

Todd grumbled for a moment before nodding. "I know a shortcut from here to the main streets, follow me."

It turned out that Todd's shortcut was through a textile factory, one where the machines were curiously silent. Todd frowned at the building, and his frown only increased as they crept through the empty floor.

"Where are the workers?" ask Fergus quietly, clearly overcome with curiosity.

"I don't know," Todd replied. "It is the middle of the day, and the middle of the week. The floor should be hopping and the machines humming."

"Perhaps it is closed for some reason," Fergus suggested. The Outsider shook his head, shifting his vision to look around the building, searching for people. There was no way this factory was simply closed.

"No, Fred would rather skin a whale than miss a productive day," Todd answered as they moved toward the exit. "It has to be something else…"

"STOP!"

The three of them froze, completely exposed in the open hall between the rows of machines. There at the end of the hall, just outside the door that leads into the factory yard, stood four men. Well, that explained why he could not find anyone inside the factory; looking now, they were all outside.

"Outsiders balls," muttered Todd under his breath. "It's the fucking union."

"What is wrong with the union?" asked Fergus, deeply confused.

"They're a bunch of preachy, self-righteous bastards that's what," Todd hissed as the four men approached them. "Hopefully they will just let us go rather than pressing us to attend one of their little labor rallies."

"Todd Haricort, spying for the Big Man are you?" sneered a burly man, crossing his arms. "Looks like you brought friends."

Todd plastered a smile on his face and approached the group. "William! I assure you, I am not here on Fred's behalf. My friend Owen here lost his pet, and we are simply looking in all possible places in the area to find it."

William grunted, and four pairs of eyes shifted to look at him. The Outsider chose to stare back at William, assessing what sort of man he was. Well, he was an irritable husband and not the best of fathers, but he had a strong belief in duty and the rights of the working man.

"Wait, isn't that Owen Pharmakós?" said a slight, balding man.

William turned to look at his companion, surprised. "As in the Empress' lover and the slayer of that Beast?"

"The very same!" declared Todd with excessive good humor, darting back to pull him forward. Fergus followed them, rather confused.

"I must have missed quite a lot while I was away," he murmured to the Outsider, who only nodded in agreement.

William faced the lot of them, a grave look on his face. "Now, what is the Empress' pet doing here, slumming it with the common folk?"

The Outsider swallowed the insult, though he rather wanted to ask if the man thought he was Eulalia. "As Todd told you, looking for my pet animal. He ran through the area and we saw him come into here. Since he is not here, we will take our leave and trouble you not."

Just as he thought, William and his posse were not satisfied. Todd was brushed away from him as an enormous arm was draped over his shoulders. Immediately he tensed, and resisted the urge to get out of the grip.

"I think your pet can survive a few minutes, Pharmakós," William said airily. "Since you and your friends decided it would be a good idea to trespass, you certainly would not mind offering your esteemed opinion to the rest of the Union."

"You have fifteen minutes," the Outsider replied coldly. "and Fergus and Todd are allowed to go."

"Twenty and they can go," William replied.

"Deal," he agreed, then turned to Todd and Fergus, who were staring at him with concern. "I'll find you two later, just go and try to find Pericles and Roger."

Todd nodded, taking a step back. "Stay safe Owen."

Fergus simply saluted him and ran off with Todd. Once more he was alone, and not with a friendly crowd.

The Outsider was herded into the factory yard and behind a makeshift stage. A charismatic youth was giving a speech about limiting the working hours of each factory, and compensation for injuries suffered on the job. In the dim light behind the tall crates of wool, William brought him up to a slim pair of older women.

"Boss, look who we found creeping around!" he declared with glee.

One of the women immediately turned her head to regard him with keen eyes. She was graying at her temples and her face was lined with age and stress. After a long minute, she turned to William, leveling a sharp glare at the big man.

"Any particular reason as to why you have accosted a member of the Imperial household?"

William lost his eager, gleeful look. His arm dropped off the Outsider's shoulders (much to his relief) and he began to stutter.

"Well, we… he agreed to talk!"

She held up a hand, prompting William to shut up. "Mr. Pharmakós, do you know who we are and what we do?"

Well, he did actually. It did not take much to shift his vision and thoughts, and learn the history and purpose behind this gathering and group. If he focused more he could even gather the secrets of every person here. But really, he only cared enough so he could say whatever necessary to get out of the place as quickly as possible.

"I know you are a labor union, and are also advocating for universal suffrage, and before you ask I am not against those things," he answered. "I am not a public speaker, and honestly I would rather leave since I was brought here under duress."

"Come now," said the other woman, her hair a dark blonde and tucked under a men's hat. "You are the Empress' paramour; would it not be good to know the views of someone who is influencing the decisions of our Empress?"

"I am not giving a speech," he replied flatly.

In a moment of irritation and curiosity, he shifted his vision to see if Todd and Fergus had found Roger and Pericles yet. Much to his horror, it turned out that they had, and they were currently trying to keep Pericles from eating literally every pastry in a store to little success. It was only a matter of time before the City Watch arrived.

"Look, I have to go," the Outsider insisted, cutting off one of the women midsentence. "If you still want to interview me or something, just send a letter and we will discuss it."

Without waiting for a response he made a break for a dark corner of the yard and when certain nobody's eyes were on him, disappeared to meet up with his friends.

He should have sucked it up and gave a terrible speech to the union. At least then he would not have people literally watching out windows as he single-handedly chased Pericles along the canal.

The Outsider had absolutely no idea what happened, but when he arrived the shop was covered in whale oil, Todd and Fergus were out cold, and Roger was in the process of being arrested as Pericles went to town on a plate of macaroons.

"Ea, Pericles!" the Outsider cried, distracting the two city guards and Roger. Pericles looked up, his ridiculous face covered in frosting and bits of sweets.

"Owen! Thank goodness you are here!" cried Roger. "These guys think I set Blobert here loose!"

"Ouaí, not you too," he could not help but groan. Roger went from relieved to mildly betrayed, the guards looked at each other, bemused.

"Sir, what did you mean by that?" asked the woman guard.

"The fish's name is Pericles, not Blobert," the Outsider corrected them. "And Roger has been trying to stop him from causing trouble, not sic'ing him on others. Please let him go, and I'll deal with the fish."

As if on cue Pericles leapt down from the counter and immediately darted through his legs causing Roger to yelp in surprise, and the Outsider to give a growl of frustration before chasing after the damn fish.

So here he was, shoving people to the side, vaulting over boxes, all to chase after a little shit of a fish.

"PERICLES YOU LITTLE BASTARD YOU GET YOUR BUTT BACK HERE AND EXPLAIN YOURSELF!" the Outsider found himself yelling in his cradle tongue as he slid under a table then vaulted down to the docks. He kept running at full speed as the fish's blobby legs carried him towards the Wrenhaven. But at his words, Pericles finally stopped by the dockside, looking at him in bemusement. Still running, the Outsider closed the distance and snatched up Pericles. A giddy feeling overwhelmed him, and he cackled as he held the blobfish aloft.

Then he slipped and fell off the dock into the water below.

Sensing an opportunity, Pericles wriggled out of his grasp, and bowed at him before taking off towards the ocean. The Outsider was running much too low on air to catch him, and the chill of the water was far too much for him. With a gasp he rose to the surface, only to see half of Drapers Ward, the union he ran away from, and some of the City Watch looking at him. It was too late to swim away.

"Did you get rid of the little beast!?" cried round little man dressed in white.

"Yes?" he replied in confusion.

The crowd let up a cheer. Shivering mightily, the Outsider pulled himself out of the water, and ran off to a dark spot. He needed to get back to the Tower and hide for a few days as he nursed his dignity back to health.

Emily took another look at the clock; the Outsider was late. She never knew him to miss lunch, no matter what he was doing. It felt odd to start without him, so much so that she was tempted to summon him just to see if he was alright. He had been rather jumpy and taciturn as of late, on top of being very affectionate and unbelievably protective in the days following the attack. He did not leave her side at all the first two days, the following days she was showered with bonecharms and runes, which she happily accepted. One morning she woke up to him burning some plant while chanting in his language, his head covered with a cloth. A week later, things seemed to get back to normal for pretty much everything. Well, except the fact that some days all but the blandest of foods were at all edible. But she was not starving and thanks to the little bonecharm doing just fine, so why visit the doctor?

Emily was snapped out of her thoughts by the Outsider's arrival.

"My, you are late…" she trailed off, taking in his appearance before jumping to her feet and rushing over to him. "Oh gosh are you alright?!"

He was soaking wet and shivering, his shoes and the hem of his coat covered in whale oil, slime all over his hands, arms and chest.

"Expect a news story about Pericles tomorrow," he replied faintly. "If you do not mind, I am going to take a warm bath and try to regain some semblance of dignity."

"Alright, but I am going to start eating without you," she warned with a small grin.

The Outsider cracked a smile, then disappeared off to the bathroom, leaving Emily to help herself to the boiled carrots and wonder what on earth Pericles did.