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Chapter 5: The Offer

"Well, well, well. What do we have here?" A deep voice speaks out a few meters behind him. Eirlet freezes for a split second before alarms blare loudly in his head, reacting on instinct he leaps to the side, right when -Thunk- a knife would have buried itself in his leg.

Turning mid-roll he raises to a low stance, quickly unsheathing his knife with his right hand and bringing it in front of him, body tense and ready to move away from any more projectiles.

Ba-bum Ba-bum

Eirlet hears his heart beating heavily, reverberating throughout his body as he prepares himself for battle, slightly shaken by how close the assailant got to ending him. His wide eyes quickly move from the knife to its thrower, a normal-looking tanned bearded man with an arm casually raised from his throw tilts his head at Eirlet eyebrow raised, visibly impressed.

"Nice reactions kid. Though," he glances over Eirlet's stance, "recovery could use some work."

Ignoring the man's criticism Eirlet tries to figure out his plan of escape, 'In front there's a wall, to my right there's a wall, don't know if there's anyone else but I can't trust my hearing to pick them out for me if he was able to get this close to me,' Eirlet shifts his feet, 'Best bet is gonna have to be going behind. I probably won't escape but I ain't taking my chances upfront.' Deciding within a second he pushes his sore legs into action, pumping as much strength as he can into his strides to create some distance between the two.

He doesn't get far as the man moves at the same time as him, rapidly closing the small distance between them, driving a knee into Eirlet's side before he can react. As spittle flies from his mouth, an iron grip latches onto his wrist, twisting his arm above his head and making him drop his knife into the man's waiting hand. Eirlet wheezes from the pain as he falls face-first into the ground, his arm painfully twisted behind him forcing him to the ground. Trying to collect his bearings, he stops when a knife plunges into the ground an inch in front of his eyes.

Thunk

"Well kid? You gonna run now?" The man questions with amusement. Eirlet naturally stays silent as he slowly glances at the smirking man above him.

"You not much of a talker are ya?" He hums before raising his hand to his mouth and whistling a tune, another responding from where they came. Lowering his hand he pulls the knife from the ground and takes it out of Eirlet's sight before asking another question, "So what's a kid doing all by his lonesome in the wilderness during these times? Hmm?"

"..."

He sighs at the silence he receives, "Ya' know kid? A conversation," he places his knee on Eirlet's back and applies some force, "shouldn't be so one-sided." Eirlet wheezes as the air from his chest gets forcefully exhaled, eventually gasping both in pain and for breath as the man doesn't let up. Eirlet tries to use his other arm to grab the man but his other arm gets twisted even further in response, his joint threatening to dislocate at this point. As Eirlet's head starts to pound from the lack of air, the man brings his knee back up and loosens his arm, making him cough in relief.

The man gives Eirlet a few seconds to bring his breath back, "Now," a familiar cold presses against the back of Eirlet's neck, "I'm going to ask you a question and you're going to answer it, capiche?" The man's tone gets colder with every word he says, "What. Are you. Doing here?"

Knowing the man pinning him was dead serious, Eirlet tries to bargain his way out of his predicament, "GaaHrk." …Tried.

"...What?" The man deadpans at the incoherent answer.

Grunting and wheezing some more, Eirlet tries to convey that he can't physically speak, something that starts to grate on the man's patience.

"Alright! Shut up! I get it, you can't talk!" He silences Eirlet's attempts. The man sighs as he mumbles under his breath, "Why do I always get the oddballs."

As the man opens his mouth for presumably another question, both of them hear footsteps slowly approaching before some foliage rustles and two stereotypical thugs step out with rifles held in their hands, "Oi Gavec! What the hell happened?" One with both hands heavily tattooed speaks out.

Gavec's face lights up as he sees the two thugs enter the scene, "This kid happened. Now both you dumbasses bring him with us to camp, I want the Boss's opinion on him."

The one that spoke first twisted his face in distaste as he looked at Eirlet, the other stays quiet and nods in confirmation, "Why the fuck we babysitting? Let's just off the kid and go." The first speaks up, ignoring the glare Eirlet gives him.

"Because that's what you're paid to do and what you're going to do. Unless you want me to shove that gun up your ass and shoot you like I did with Jorge?" Gavec answers neutrally.

The man pales noticeably at the name, his hand unconsciously lowering and protecting his behind while his partner quickly moves ahead to fill out the man's order, himself soon following.

Nodding his head in satisfaction, Gavec looks back down at his unwilling captive who stayed still during the exchange, "You try running, you won't get 10 steps before I end you."

Eirlet, who was indeed thinking of a plan or at least trying to, cut himself off, remembering how easily he was taken down; it wouldn't take much to kill him as well, 'Only as a last resort will I run.' He nods in agreement as a weight gets lifted off his back and his arm is released.

Standing up, he tries to soothe the pain in his shoulder as Gavec starts walking away, the two thugs coming behind him before the one with tattoos on his hands shoves him forwards, "Move brat." He says curtly.

Glaring at him from the corner of his eye, Eirlet puts a lid on his temper and stores it away before he follows Gavec, 'Later.'

In the silence of their walk, something that none of them wanted to break, noise from the camp filter through the trees as they get closer. When they breach the treeline and come into the gang's sight, conversation dims for a moment as they take in the procession before resuming again, many dismissing or throwing curious gazes, and one… very odd gaze.

Looking to where he feels a slimy gaze, it lands on a large man, a rather fat one. His cheeks take up a majority of his face, pressing his eyes so much that they're practically closed, partly because he's smiling, a rather unsettling one for Eirlet on the receiving end.

He shivers as he pulls his eyes away, quickly picking up the pace, 'Note to self, get my weapon as soon as possible.'

While Eirlet was assessing the gang, the group of four made their way closer to a specific carriage that no one approached. Reaching the back, Gavec pushes the curtains open and bangs his fist on the wood, "Oi Sherbolt! Wake up!"

"Grhk. Huh? Oh it's you. Why the hell are you waking me up so early?" A scratchy voice mumbles out from inside.

"Found someone peeking in on our camp, I caught the kid and brought him back and I want your opinion on him." Gavec responds as he steps back from the opening.

Thump

Eirlet hears feet falling to the floor, slowly dragging their way to the opening, "Kid?" He questions.

A hand pulls the curtain open as a thin man in a ruffled white dress shirt and black slacks comes out, eyes squinting from dawn's light. Looking down, the man's eyes roam across the procession, landing on Eirlet, intense green eyes meeting defiant blue ones.

As Eirlet starts getting uncomfortable from the staredown, Sherbolt moves his eyes away as he steps down, "He's willful sure, even after seeing some shit, but we can find any street rat or muscle like him. Though, you wouldn't have brought him to me unless there was something else?"

Gavec grins, "Although I got him in the end, he sure made me work for it. He's got good instincts and knows how to run, fighting's a bit iffy but he's got the talent to make up for it."

Sherbolt hums, "You two. Go and prepare to move in five." He nods his head at the two thugs who dutifully stayed quiet behind Eirlet.

""Yes Boss."" The two confirm, walking away to another carriage.

Given his order, Sherbolt reaches into his pocket and brings out a comb, using it to pull his dark red hair back, "That's rare of you to praise someone." He finishes smoothing his hair back before he taps his chin with his comb, "What's your name?"

Before Eirlet can try answering Gavec does so for him, "He can't talk. Apparently."

Sherbolt raises an eyebrow in interest, "Why not?"

Not knowing either, Gavec looks to Eirlet. Seeing both men with curious gazes, one which took him down easily and the other the apparent boss of this gang, he knows it's in his best interest to answer.

Tilting his head up slightly he taps the light scar going across his neck, watching as Gavec's eyebrow shoots up, "Damn. You got slit deep enough to damage your voice and you still survived? That's some nice endurance you got there, colour me impressed." He looks back at Sherbolt, "Also some damn good luck, something we'll be needing pretty soon."

Sherbolt keeps tapping away at his chin, contemplating over the child in front of him. Pausing his tapping, he speaks slowly, "You've seen too much," Eirlet tenses, "but, I'll let you live, even let you tag along until Karanes."

Eirlet calms down slightly at that, confusion soon spreading across his face as he for sure thought he was going to be killed, to tie up loose ends. Sherbolt notices his confusion and elaborates, "Gavec sees potential in you, something I'll need soon enough so consider this an investment in your future." Eirlet grows alarmed at that, not having any plans to involve himself in the underworld currently.

"Don't worry, I won't force you to join me, forcing you will just make bad blood between us and I find that willing companions work better than all else." He slips his comb back into his pocket, "Think of this as a show of good faith, know that you will get your fair share from any future investment in me."

Eirlet hesitantly nods, caught off-guard by the good-natured offer, from a gang leader no less. Sherbolt calmly smiles at his acceptance before a built man dressed as a civilian slowly approaches and stops at a respectful distance as he reports, "Boss, we've prepped the carriages and are ready to move at your signal."

Sherbolt nods at him, "Good, let's get to Karanes now shall we?"

The man nods and backs away, "Alright! Let's start moving!" He orders everyone, letting a few carriages start moving to the front.

Sherbolt starts to enter his carriage, "Gavec, take the kid with you and make sure nothing happens to him." He orders.

Gavec gives a two-fingered salute and walks to a nearby carriage, entering through the back, "C'mon kid let's get outta here."

Eirlet stays in place for a moment before he follows Gavec and enters the carriage. Looking around there's a stack of three crates, longer than the other crates he saw earlier, and Gavec reading a book beside them. He takes the opposite seat far away from him just as the carriage starts to move, faster than with the caravan due to no people walking slowing them down.

As soon as he sits down Eirlet's legs slacken, the pain and fatigue catching up faster than he likes as he starts to get drowsy. But before he passes out he pulls out the journal Elly gave him, opening to a new page and struggling to write something before he makes a noise with his throat to catch Gavec's attention.

"Hmm?" Gavec looks over at him questioningly, lowering his gaze to the book he's holding up.

'Give me my knife.' It says in wobbly handwriting.

"Oh yeah." He chuckles lightly as he reaches to his waist, pulling out Eirlet's knife but not handing it to his outstretched hand.

Eirlet's frowns as Gavec plays around with the blade, "Since you got that thing why don't you tell me your name now?"

His frown deepens as he hears what Gavec proposed, essentially blackmailing him to say his name. Bringing the book back he quickly scribbles out his name before showing it with an annoyed expression.

"Eirlet huh?" He taps the blade against his palm as he muses over the boy's name. Eirlet jabs his hand out again, waiting for him to give his knife back.

"Nice name." He says before jerking his wrist, sending the knife in his hand flying before it sticks to the bench beside Eirlet.

Thunk

Eirlet jumps at the noise, glaring at the man whose nose deep again into his book.

'Dick.'

Huffing he pulls at the blade with some effort, Gavec's throw getting it solidly stuck a quarter of the way through the wood.

He doesn't sheathe his knife and instead hides it underneath his overcoat which he puts on, 'When you're in a forest with predators around you, you can never let your guard down.' He glances at Gavec, 'Though sometimes you can't help it.'

Getting comfortable he passes out within a few seconds, not able to keep himself awake any longer.

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Step Ste-

Eirlet snaps his eyes open, tightening his grip on the knife; he quickly looks to his side and sees Gavec moving towards him, face set as he looks past him. Looking around as he clears his eyes he sees that the sun is nearing the horizon, indicating it's sometime in the early evening.

Gavec glances at his tense form before gravitating his eyes back down the road they just travelled, staring determinley at something.

Curious and slightly dreading his disposition, Eirlet follows his gaze down the road, squinting as he tries to figure out what got the older man moving. A pit forms in his stomach as he figures it out, raw memories pulling to the forefront of his mind. Three massive titans, both in height and size of their disproportionate body.

Paling at the thought of running from the monstrosities once more his mind starts to race for a plan of action, 'Run? Mabey, but,' he glances at the stoic Gavec, 'I don't know if he'll let me.'

While he runs through different scenarios Gavec turns around and walks back to the front of the carriage. Grabbing the lid of the top crate he grunts before he -Crack- rips the lid off from its nails.

Startled by the sound, Eirlet looks on as Gavec reaches inside and brings out a harness, one which he straps on before he reaches back inside and lifts out two steel boxes with cylinders strapped onto them.

Understanding dawns on him as he watches Gavec latch the boxy scabbards to his harness, 'Is he going to try and fight the titans? Or is he gonna run away?' Eirlet panics slightly at that thought, 'But wait, if that crate had the military's gear then the other two probably have them as well! When he leaves I can take one for myself and go.'

Getting out of his thoughts he sees that Gavec finished equipping his gear and is walking back towards him, unsheathing his gleaming blades.

Seeing him staring, Gavec winks, "Watch and learn kid. Watch and learn." Saying his statement he leaps out of the carriage and releases his grapples, latching to a tree before swinging away.

Forgetting his plan, Eirlet watches in fascination as Gavec speeds down the road, 'He's going even faster than those soldiers! That's the fastest I've seen anything move!'

A few short seconds later a grinning Gavec reaches the titans, not slowing down in the slightest as he fights against the wind to keep himself upright.

The foremost titan notices him closing in and raises an arm to grab him from out of the air but Gavec doesn't give it the chance. Shifting his weight he dodges the hand by a hair's breadth and starts spinning around the arm, blades outstretched as he turns the limb into meaty ribbons.

Flashing past the titan roaring in pain he angles himself to the right and shoots his grapples, latching onto a tree right in front of the neck of a fat running titan. Using the neck as a pivot point Gavec grits his teeth as he wraps around, feeling the rotational force push on him even as he reels himself before he gets close enough to sink his feet into the collar on the titan.

Smirking, he shoots his grapple to the other side of the forest before he pushes a large amount of gas out, accelerating him at a high speed across the shoulder of the titan he landed on and cutting the nape off as he does.

Disappearing into the forest, the last titan barely turned its obscenely large head towards him before it trips over its kin clutching its arm in pain. It lands face-first into the road, grinding a divot into it for quite a few meters before it stops dead in its tracks.

With both titans down on the ground, Gavec swings back around and reels himself low to the ground and slashes the titan eating dirt before swinging back around to the final titan.

"Ahh, music to my ears." He says to himself.

Getting bored of the screaming titan he swings closer and latches onto the back of the titan and plants his feet before slashing the titan's nape clean off, splashing him with titan blood. The titan's screaming abruptly stops as its arms fall to its sides and flops onto its stomach.

Casually standing on the corpse's back as blood steams off him, Gavec takes his time to admire his handiwork.

Back in the carriage, Eirlet's jaw drops as he sees the massive titans, ones that even a squad of soldier's couldn't take care of, drop like flies at the hands of one man. His mind tries to process what just took place before he notices Gavec lazily swinging back, he gets clear of the opening as he lands inside with a heavy -Thunk- step.

"Whoowee, that was the most fun I had in a long time!" Gavec grins as the last of the blood on him evaporates. Eirlet just stares, dumbfounded at the man, some admiration seeps into him as he sees how nonchalant he is after facing three of humanity's largest threats.

"Now that kid," Gavec grin grows larger as he notices Eirlet's expression, "Is how you kill some titans." He pats Eirlet on the shoulder as he walks past, Eirlet nodding minutely in response.

He turns around as Gavec starts unlatching his harness, "Seems like I got a little too excited." he raps a knuckle against the gas canister, a dull echo from the tank indicating it's mostly used up.

Staring as Gavec removes his equipment and tosses it haphazardly back into the crate, Eirlet walks over, curious as to how ODM looks up close.

Peering into the crate as Gavec sits back down he notices how new the gear looks, barely a scuff on anything other than the slightly chipped blades.

"If you wanna play with it go ahead kid," Gavec speaks up beside him, already back to reading his book, "just don't break anything otherwise you're gonna have to pay for it." He flips to a new page.

Looking back inside, Eirlet grabs ahold of the handle -as much as he can with his small hands- and lifts it out, marvelling at the weapon that a few moments ago, bathed in titan blood.

Seeing the triggers where his fingers rest he curiously presses on the top one, resulting in a soft click and nothing more. Trying the one his middle finger rests on gives him the same results along with the larger one where he stretches his last two fingers.

Looking at the handle from all angles he notices that the back has some sort of hammer, similar to a rifle's.

'What does this one do? These don't shoot bullets.' Like any other curious child, he pulls the hammer back with his thumb and he hears some rustling coming from the crate.

Looking back inside he doesn't see anything out of place, but when he moves the hammer he notices that the grapples move as well. Lifting one of the grapples he moves the hammer and sees that if he moves the hammer forward the grapple faces forward while it flips around when he pulls it back.

Fascinated by how it works he spends a few minutes mindlessly playing around with pointing it randomly.

Quickly getting bored he looks at the handle once more and notices two small switches on the side. Bringing his thumb around he pushes against the spring within until it -click- and locks in place.

As the switch locks, the blade suddenly comes loose, dangerously shaking within Eirlet's unbalanced hand. Alarmed, he grabs the handle with both hands and tries to balance the blade but ultimately gravity wins, twisting his hand around and letting the blade fall out of place.

Shink

Demonstrating its sharpness, the blade sinks an inch and a half into the wood, barely missing Gavec's foot.

Lowering his book Gavec glances at the blade that nearly took his foot and levels the sheepish Eirlet with an unimpressed stare. Sighing he puts his book aside and stands up, taking the handle from Eirlet's hands before jabbing it into the blade and pulling out, bringing the now locked blade with him.

Seeing Eirlet's eyes on him he answers his unspoken questions, "The switch was the locking mechanism for the blade, you unlatched it." He says simply as he places the blade back inside the crate, "The top trigger is to shoot the grapple, bottom for gas and the largest for controlling your reeling speed." He places the lid back on the crate and sits down once again.

Seeing him willing to talk, Eirlet quickly grabs his notebook and scribbles down a question before presenting it to him.

'How do I get one of these?'

"HeheHAHaha," he starts laughing as Eirlet fixes him with an annoyed look, "You want one of these kid?" He wipes a tear from his eye, "As of now you'd probably have to pay an arm and a leg for even a second hand one much less something brand new." He pats the crate.

An incredulous look passes over his face at that, 'Why does it cost so much?'

"Because kid, although the whole military gets their hands on these whenever they want, the guys in the North rather like to keep their stuff secret. So with nearly no contact in the 'patriotic' military," he emphasizes with air quotes, "It takes a lot to smuggle this stuff on the market but with what's happening right now that might change for the better for us, production will ramp up so there might be some 'misplaced' equipment."

Taking in the knowledge he's getting and a hint of the future, Eirlet starts thinking, 'Well getting some gear seems to be a bust, at least for now. I'll have to wait and see how the market changes and hope I'll have enough then or I'll need to take the initiative to get one.'

He scribbles down another question, 'How much would everything cost?'

"For everything you'll need? Well as of now ODM gear will cost you 15 gold, 5 silver for a pair of blades, another silver for a full tank and maintenance."

Eirlet's jaw drops at the cost, 'I've never even seen a gold coin, let alone try and save for 15! And six silver for something that you go through like water! What the hell!'

He rubs his chin in thought, "That's not even considering the training fees you'll need."

He laughs again at seeing Eirlet's face, "Oh you thought you just know those moves from before? Oh no no no. It goes from 50 copper to a piece of gold per session and you never know if it'll be worth it until you either live or die."

Eirlet furrows his eyebrows as he listens, 'This is a fucking scam.'

"With such a limited number of ODM equipment for sale there's rarely anyone trying to learn outside the military so there's no point for retired soldiers to teach anyone, at least not for cheap."

Eirlet ponders for a bit before his eyes light up, 'What about you? Do you teach?'

Gavec grins, already seeing where he's going with this, "No I don't, got better things to do than teach some fussy rich brat how to fly around for change."

Eirlet slumps over at that, 'Aww man. This guy is literally the only one I know who has the skills I want… and with how he's fond of me he might make it cheaper.

"Although, if you're thinking of learning I might make an exception," Eirlet perks up, "For one, you won't make a fuss and second you'll probably learn what you need from me in a few sessions anyway."

A smile makes its way on Eirlet's face, gaining a skilled instructor right now will make it easier on him in the future.

Gavec wags a finger in front of him, "Ah ah ah, just one second. Although I agreed to teach you, that doesn't mean I'll do it for free." He raises two fingers, "All I ask for is just a measly two gold for a session. See how accommodating I am for you?"

Eirlet's face sours like he sucked on a lemon, 'Dick, you already said that a gold coin is just change for you.'

Reluctantly nodding in agreement, Eirlet shakes Gavec's offered hand and seals their deal.

"Gavec," The driver speaks up from the front.

Looking away, he answers the driver, "What is it?"

"We're nearly there, bossman said to pack what you used away before the squad comes to us."

"Yeah yeah, I'm not stupid." Gavec waves him off.

The next few minutes the two spend in comfortable silence until the carriage stops and voices start speaking from ahead.

Glancing out the window by him Gavec turns back to face Eirlet, "Don't do anything without my say so." He finishes before looking to the back of the carriage.

The two wait a few seconds before two people pass by and look inside, both wearing Garrison uniforms along with standard-issued gear. Both men look between Gavec, Eirlet and the crates between them before Gavec throws a pouch towards them.

One catches it and looks inside, looking pleased with what he saw he nudges his comrade and the two walk away, not bothering to look in the rest of the carriages.

'Bribes eh?' Eirlet's seen many happen during his time in Verask, it being a common occurrence wherever he went.

The caravan starts to move again after a few more seconds, Eirlet sees a group of soldiers standing off to the side as they pass by, the one Gavec gave the pouch to handing coins to the rest of his squad.

Staring out the back a shadow suddenly covers them, from Eirlet's view he can see the shadow stretching across the plain they're on.

'Seems we're here.'

The caravan slows down as they approach the district gate, passing by he can see a multitude of squads guarding the entrance on both sides and on the wall itself. Inside he can see and hear the commotion of the overpopulated district, soldiers trying to organize everyone and give aid while others set up defences around the gate itself.

Their carriage comes to a complete stop once they're all inside, the crowd too large for them to just go through.

Humming to himself Gavec stands up and walks to the entrance, beckoning Eirlet over as well, "Come on kid."

Grabbing his pack Eirlet follows Gavec, staying right behind him as he cuts through the crowd towards Sherbolt's carriage. The man himself soon comes out, looking much more composed than the last time Eirlet saw him and now wearing a coat over his shirt.

He speaks up when he sees the two get close, "Well Eirlet, I've brought you to Karanes like I promised so I hope you see that I'm a man of my word."

He continues as he sees a nod, "Well this is where we part, at least for the moment. As you currently don't want to involve yourself in my business I still want to give you an offer."

Eirlet focuses on the well-dressed man, "With how many people are here, there soon will be a shortage of everything, food, water, shelter. The higher-ups within Shina will soon start to feel their lifestyle threatened and will take some sort of action. It'll most likely be a dreadful solution and I'm sure you don't want to take any part in that."

"What I'm offering is a chance to go somewhere and do something that'll make those worries go away." The two stare straight into each other's eyes, "In a week we'll be leaving for Stohess, meet us at dawn by the entrance and you can come with us and make some good money. Don't, well I've already told you what's about to happen."

Saying his piece Sherbolt gets back in his carriage, Gavec patting him on the shoulder as he does the same, "I see potential in you, I hope you try and use it all."

Leaving Eirlet standing in the crowded street with a thoughtful look he leaves in his carriage.

As the last carriage passes by Eirelt moves into an alley, swiftly dodging the families trying to find a place to sleep as he himself looks for residence somewhere.

In the distance, he hears a large -boom-, the district now officially closed off from Wall Maria.

'This is a lot to think about.'