Holy shit, three reviews, all within the same hour, and all several days after I updated. Anyone else think this was the work of some organized group or something? Still giddy, of course. I'll try to keep this short now...
Guest: I will keep on keeping on!
The lastreviewer: Um... Excuse me? You lost me halfway through that. Gives me an idea for an all new story, though...
TheLastTwoReview: Yes. Just... yes, I guess.
Now for something IMPORTANT SO YOU WON'T BE CONFUSED IN THE NEXT FIVE SECONDS, if you will noticed the (Day...) just below, you will see a three, unless you're missing your reading glasses, at which point, how are you reading this?
This is so I and you, for the sake of convenience when in some later chapters characters are split up and I want to space out the events happening to each person, can understand when each is taking place. I have gone back to Shorts 3 and 8 and have added their days as well. If there is not a day at the beginning of a chapter, then it is the same day as the previous one, once again for convenience. Day 1 begins on the day after his incident, meaning I'm not counting the half-day or whatever when he messed up.
Short 11
(Day 3)
Plague Knight walked blankly through the halls, wondering vaguely how he was going to fill the large amount of time for the next stupid, decently magic-filled adventurer to turn up. He paused and then smacked his forehead as he realized that nothing was stopping him from continuing to work on his alchemy.
"Hey! Pl-er… Adam!" Mona called out, walking towards him, barely catching herself before calling him the preferred term in the presence of their crew.
Plague Knight turned his head to look at her, slowing his pace until she caught up. "What's up?" He asked.
"We-uh… kinda still need bread," she admitted sheepishly.
Plague Knight raised an eyebrow, all the while being reminded of his stale breakfast. "Meaning…?"
"Can I convince you to go get it?" She gave him a look that somewhat resembled puppy dog eyes. She was not exactly skilled in the art, but it hardly mattered to the man-turned-child whom merely saw the one he loved making a request and giving him incentive through pitiful looks.
Plague Knight tried to resist, but ultimately caved in no more than a couple seconds. "I guess… But I don't know where to go, though. And why can't you do it? Or one of the minions, for that matter?"
"It's good for your cover," she answered smoothly. It was clear that she had prepared the answer beforehand.
"But I've only been up there twice!"
"It's got a big sign saying 'Fresh Baked Bread!' and is five feet from the ladder. I don't think you'll get lost."
Plague Knight heaved a sigh in defeat. "Fine, you got me."
"Good," Mona nodded happily, placing 12 coins in his hands. "I figured you had nothing better to do with your time, anyway."
"What gave it away?"
"The hopeless look on your face as you wandered aimlessly."
"Ah," Plague Knight muttered, sheepishly rubbing the back of his head.
After Plague Knight pocketed the coins, the alchemists started the trek towards the torque lifts so they could access the village. On the way, Mona made another request. "While you're up there, do you mind doing another thing for me?"
"Depends, what is it?"
"In the store next to the bread shop, there's an old man who sells herbs. He's a stingy bastard, but I'll admit that he can gather a shit ton of herbs in no time flat, and for dirt cheap. I get a weekly supply from him of various assorted plants because a lot of them work wonders on the wounds you inflict on your minions on a regular basis, and the rest we can put into our potions."
"So you need me to get the supply?" Plague Knight guessed.
Mona nodded. "Correct."
"I was wondering why you gave me 12 coins. I almost asked just how badly the economy tanked while I wasn't paying attention!"
This brought a small smile to Mona's face. "Yes. He shouldn't charge you more than 8 coins, though, so watch out. More than once, he's tried to double the price on me after he raised the regular price for most of his plants by a single coin."
"Wait, hang on, you're losing me," Plague Knight informed her, not quite following.
"Oh yeah, I don't gripe to you about this on a daily basis, I forgot," Mona said in realization. In his head, Plague Knight briefly wondered who she constantly complained to about the situation. "Basically, because I'm the only stable buyer from him other than the not exactly consistent visits from the Magicist, he lowers the price a bit than what he would normally request for a bag of random herbs."
Plague Knight raised his hand to ensure he got her attention before speaking. "Has he ever asked what they're for?"
Mona nodded. "I told him that they're for a cousin who lives with me, but has absolutely no immune system, and so is constantly sick. He seemed to buy it pretty easily since he never pays any attention to what's going on in the village. It's not like anyone knows if that's the truth or not anyway, since they believe the only one I interact with these days is you."
Plague Knight nodded. "Fair enough. I'll try to do that, then."
"Thank you," Mona said as she activated the lift. "Remember, don't die, and don't kill anyone."
"Yeah, yeah. I got it," Plague Knight told her with an uncaring wave of the hand, though he feared one of the two, or both, would happen.
He paused as something came to mind and looked to his side, seeing Xenon stopping in turn and looking up to him. Picking up the kitten, he returned to Mona and held her out. Mona took the cat, but looked at Plague Knight with confusion.
"She can't climb ladders," he explained, gaining a nod of understanding and a pitiful meow. Plague Knight reached upwards and gently rubbed Xenon's head, telling, "Oh, stop that. It's not my fault you lack thumbs."
With that taken care of, Plague Knight turned and took his leave, having to ignore a number of wails that made his heart ache to be leaving his kitten. He ignored the stares of the people around him, all of whom were seemingly interested in his journey. The only upside to the looks was that no one could kidnap him while he was in a populated area. Of course, he wasn't exactly worried about that happening anyway, he could save himself, thank you very much!
He popped up from the ladder and looked about the area, spotting the bread shop with ease, and beside it, the small herb store. With a content nod, Plague Knight strolled into the bread shop, picking up a loaf of fresh baked bread.
"You know you need to pay for that, right?" The disinterested teenage employee asked. She, despite having a bored expression on her face that seemed to indicate that she wanted nothing more than to sleep, was watching him like a hawk to ensure that he wasn't going to dash off with the merchandise.
"You know you need to keep your attitude in check, right?" Plague Knight asked with a snarky tone of voice, forgetting momentarily that he wasn't supposed to act in such a way. He pulled out the required 4 coins from his pocket and tossed them to her. Surprisingly, she managed to catch them all before they landed on the counter.
Plague Knight let out a low whistle to show that he was impressed.
"I have no idea how I did that," she admitted.
Immediately losing all gained respect for the girl, Plague Knight turned and left.
Once out of there, he made a quick 90 degree turn to the right, moving into the old man's herb shop.
And man, was he old.
He was at least 70 years old (basically ancient, at least when the life expectancy is probably cut in half compared to today's standards), and had a scowl on his face as he laid eyes on Plague Knight.
"Who're you?" He growled.
Plague Knight calmly walked up to the counter. "I'm Mona's proxy for the evening."
The man's scowl remained. "Well, you can tell her to fuck off, I don't have her herbs!"
"What?" Plague Knight asked, appalled. He swung around and gestured to the plants on display. "So what do you call these?"
"Those are for normal customers."
Plague Knight laughed hysterically for a single second before cutting it off and swinging back around, pointing at the man. "Excuse you? I don't think you have 'normal customers.' She's informed me that she's the one stable customer you have, so why are you trying to terminate your business with her?"
The man growled. "I don't like her. Green skin, acts like she knows everything… Point is, she's annoying, and so are you!"
"News flash, buddy!" Plague Knight snapped. "You got to put up with people you don't like in just about any business! I'm here for some assorted herbs, and you'd better believe I'm getting them!"
The man narrowed his eyes. "You're going to dare steal?"
"Maybe," Plague Knight threatened with an innocent tone of voice. "What are you going to do, old man? Chuck plants at my retreating back? Oh, I'm so scared."
"I could call the guards on you. Or…" The man fell silent for a moment before launching himself over the counter far faster than a 70 year old geezer should have been able. He grabbed Plague Knight by the throat and lifted him with a single hand. He brought the struggling boy closer and whispered menacingly, "I could beat you into submission with both hands tied behind my back."
"I don't doubt it," Plague Knight wheezed, squirming desperately to get the hand holding him to allow him some breathing room.
"Drop the boy," growled a deep, threatening voice from behind.
The old man narrowed his eyes and leaned to the side, looking past his captive. His eyes widened and his hand released instantly.
Plague Knight landed with a thud and coughed, rubbing his throat as he sat there. He dared to look behind him and squeaked upon seeing two burly white dudes standing in the doorway, hands resting on the hilts of the matching swords they wore at their waists. They were nothing short of identical, down to the exact same facial hair and eye color, the only difference being that one wore a blue tunic over his armor, and the other had merely a layer of chainmail. They were both so thick that it was a surprise they had managed to fit through the doorframe.
The old man backed away, ducking behind his counter when he neared it. "I was going to release him, I swear!"
"I'm sure, sir," one in blue replied. "However, I'm also sure that you've harmed him, and could report you to the guards. So I suggest that you provide him what he requested, else you get arrested."
The brother laughed. "Hey, that rhymed!"
The man gulped and dashed into the back of the shop.
Plague Knight looked up to the men. "Thank you," he said with a small nod. "Why did you help?"
The one with the chainmail replied, "We were not about to leave an innocent boy to be harmed."
Plague Knight wanted to scoff, as he was certainly not 'innocent.' But they didn't need to know that.
Then it hit him.
They had the exact same voice!
After a moment of hesitating, he finally asked, "How do people tell you apart?"
The men looked to each other and let out hardy chuckles, and, to Plague Knight's horror, they had the same laughs, too!
"They don't," answered the one with the blue tunic.
"Unless we don't have our clothes, at which point you can tell from the scars," the other added.
His brother laughed. "Yeah, and the size of our-" He was cut off, however, by an enraged shout from his sibling.
"Didn't need to know that… At least there's some differentiation," Plague Knight breathed, still confused at how anyone could be that identical.
"H-here," the old man yelled, appearing from nowhere, tossing a bag to Plague Knight.
In response, the boy tossed 6 coins on the counter. The man did not tell him whether or not this was the correct payment, and merely said, "Now leave, and take your brawny friends with you! They're scaring away business!"
Plague Knight rolled his eyes, well aware that their presence was not affecting anything, but nevertheless stood and moved to the door, waiting for the men to stop blocking the way with their meaty thighs. They wised up quickly and scooted to either side, allowing him passage.
As he walked to the ladder, he was stopped by the men, the one with the tunic being the one to speak first. "Do you know of a boy named 'Adam'?"
"Uh, yeah," Plague Knight responded. "Why?"
"We are looking for him. Do you know where he is?"
"Why do you need him?" Plague Knight asked, immediately defensive.
"That is not of your concern."
"Yes, it is."
Finally, the brother piped up, saying, "Unless you're Adam, it does not."
"Yeah, it does involve me, because I'm Adam!" Plague Knight yelled before pausing and having to fight back the urge to swear as he realized that he just admitted it without finding out the reason for the men wanting to find him.
They brightened. "We have been looking everywhere for you!" They yelled at the same time, pulling him into a bone crushing group hug.
After eventually managing to push himself away from them and regaining some air in his crushed lungs, he put a couple feet in between them and him.
"Who are you?" He growled.
"It's not a surprise you don't remember us, Adam. Last we saw you, you were a baby," the one with the tunic told him.
"Excuse you?" Plague Knight asked. "Seriously, who are you?"
"We are your family's bodyguards," the one in blue answered. "I'm Peter, and my brother is Thomas."
Plague Knight raised his eyebrow. "No, you got the wrong Adam. My family's dead."
"That's the thing!" Thomas yelled excitedly. "Your parents were being threatened, so they sent you to a foster home! When we heard they died, we went searching for you immediately!"
"How did they die?" Plague Knight questioned without delay.
"A house fire," Thomas answered just as quickly.
Swearing under his breath, he said, "My parents were abusive, they never let me out the house and verbally abused me every day. I doubt that you would willingly send me there."
The men cringed. "We merely sent you without a background check, and for that, we apologize, but we needed to get you out of the house as soon as possible."
"Where's your proof?" Plague Knight asked. "Just because my parents died by the same thing as the foster parents of the one you're searching for does not mean that I'm that person."
Out of his pocket, Peter pulled out a painting. He handed it to Plague Knight, who looked at it curiously.
"This is a painting we had commissioned so your parents would not forget your face."
Plague Knight frowned when it appeared vaguely like his current face. He looked at the picture, searching every detail for an inconsistency. Finally, he saw one and said smugly, "Ha! It can't be me! My eyes aren't…" he paused, the smile on his face slowly melting into a look of horror as he finished the sentence with, "blue."
There was silence for a moment. The men stared at him, confused.
Finally, he managed to yell, "My eyes are not blue, I swear! There was a-a…" he stumbled over his words, trying to explain. "A mishap. Yeah, with magic, you see. They're the color of amber, really!"
The men exchanged confused glances, and Plague Knight took the opportunity to bolt, dropping the picture as he did so, though he managed to hang onto the bread and bag. He decided to forgo using the ladder, merely jumping down the hole to the bar and nearly breaking his ankles upon landing. He slipped into the room where Mona waited, going over formulas while Xenon annoyed her, wanting Plague Knight's company more than hers.
Upon hearing footsteps, both looked up and stood.
"There you are," Mona said, seemingly relieved, though whether it was because he was breaking up the monotony or because she was worried something had happened to him since he was taking so long was unclear. She picked up the cat off her desk and handed her to Plague Knight, silently saying 'She's really obnoxious, you know that?' Once the kitten was curled up in his arms, she took the items and coins that he somehow managed to hang onto during the transfer.
Plague Knight fidgeted nervously, saying, "Alright, let's go."
"What's wrong?" Mona asked, watching him carefully.
"Some men are here. They're looking for an Adam whom they sent away to a foster home when his parents were threatened. Foster parents died in a fire, and the face in the picture of the Adam they're looking for when he was a baby is shockingly close to the one I wear now. Even down to the eye color."
"You do realize that if we run away now, they'll just hang around the village until they find you again," Mona said. "Come on, let's go find them and sort this mess out."
Plague Knight frowned as he watched her place down the items she held. Looking down at the animal in his arms, he asked, "You agree with me, right? This is stupid?" Xenon meowed. Though this could mean literally anything, he still looked up to Mona and said, "See, Xenon agrees with me!"
"I don't even think she understands what the hell you just said," she responded.
"Damn," Plague Knight muttered as though he had honestly expected that to work.
The two started walking, and Plague Knight hugged Xenon tight to his chest as he asked, "You won't let them take me away, right?"
Mona chuckled and placed her hand on his head in a reassuring way. "Not a chance. Now where are they?"
Plague Knight raised a hand silently, pointing to the two men who just finished climbing the ladder in a surprisingly unconcerned manner before chatting it up with some random drunk guy. Mona's expression, which was previously Plague Knight's definition of confidence, changed to shocked horror.
"OK, they may be able to take you," she conceded.
"Yeah, did I forget to mention they're two identical men, who are the meatiest creatures this world has ever seen? My bad."
Mona found herself unable to respond, as she was busy staring at the two bodyguards, wondering how they got their hands on enough steroids to allow them to bulk up to that level.
"U-um… Mona?" Plague Knight asked, lightly poking her hand, successfully snapping her out of her thoughts. Upon seeing her turn to him with a questioning gaze, he whispered a question, which was almost lost in the noise of the rest of the area despite it being fairly quiet. "You won't leave me now, will you?"
Mona rolled her eyes at his insecurity. Then, she responded in a very clear sarcastic tone, "Totally. I'm just going to walk off."
Plague Knight turned slightly pink out of embarrassment as he realized his reasoning for questioning her devotion was unfounded. Averting his gaze, he murmured, "R-right, stupid question."
Lightly placing a hand on his head, Mona told him gently, trying to not hurt his feelings, "Remind me tomorrow to work on your insecurity."
Plague Knight, after shifting Xenon so he could cradle her with one arm, pulled her hand away, opting to hold onto it tightly before walking forward where the two men waited patiently.
Looking up, Thomas asked, "Done running away, Adam?"
"I will not leave with you," Plague Knight firmly stated.
"Adam," Peter said softly.
Plague Knight's already firm grip on Mona's hand tightened farther. "I've made my decision. Now leave!"
The men were silent for a moment. Then, "Alright." The two said it at the same time, with no real malice or anger present in their voices. They seemed perfectly accepting.
The duo stood from their chair and started walking. Thomas started up the ladder first, making it halfway before Peter started. He paused and looked to Plague Knight. "We'll be back. Your father will be with us, too. Maybe he'll be able to talk sense into you."
With that, he too took his leave.
Plague Knight waited until they were out of sight before allowing himself to let out a frightened squeak.
Beside him, Mona let a satisfied smile slide onto her face. "So you didn't need me after all. Figures. Though it is worrying that they'll be back…"
"They're gone, though. That's what's important, right? Let's go before anymore stupid shit happens. By the way, I hope you realize that I am never going out there without you ever again."
Mona nodded and turned, not really feeling surprised by the outcome. As they began the short trek back, she noted that he had yet to release her hand. Smiling to herself, she wondered if he even noticed that he was doing it.
And the saga-thing begins!
I will love you forever if you understand why I call them 'burly white dudes'. No, seriously. Here's some hints in case there are a lot of people calling them that, who I'm unaware of. 'Video games critic, Windows Movie Maker, and a seriously strange but devilishly creative sense of humor.' Got it now? No? What is wrong with you!?
By the way, I am, not shitting you here, on Short 18 now. I mean, they aren't that long, but eep, I have no clue how I did that in less than a week.