V2Ch93 New Lies

Babur and I began traversing the streets in a southerly direction. Our immediate destination was the wall that stood on the border of the Free Lands and the Plaines Lands. The gate at the wall is supposed to be a day's ride away on a carriage or horseback. I had checked out the road at the south end of the city. There is a stable there with horses for sale. I figured Babur and I could get one for the trip. The road past the border would be another month of travel to the main kingdom of the area.

The Plaines Lands are under the rule of a griffin-like people. I've seen a few in Coaction City. They have bird feet and legs. The fur of a lion covered their humanoid torso and arms with a lion tail at the rear. They were topped off with an eagle head. Their hands were similar to Babur's in that they had pads on the palm and claws instead of regular nails. I had heard rumors that their people used to have wings in the distant past. Though, I saw no evidence of wings on the specimens that I was witness to.

Babur stopped ahead of me. When I got closer, I saw why. I let out a sigh at our luck. The day had not even started and a fight was happening in the middle of a large open square. One man was surrounded by serval people from the Adventurers Guild. Regular guards were holding the populace back to keep them away from the tough fight.

"Let's go see! Nya?"

"Alright."

I agreed as I scratched my head. I guess a few minutes lost wouldn't hurt the day's trip. Babur was practically bulldozing through the crowd. I followed in her wake. We got to the front in no time. I took in the look of the fighters. The adventurers were large. They wouldn't be the kind you send for an easy job.

I got a look at the one on the defensive. I knew him...

Almost as if he could sense my stare, he looked right at me.

"Wrath found you. COMMERE, WHELP!"

At that moment, the four large adventurers took advantage of the distraction and swarmed him before he could take a second step toward me. The combined weight had forced him to the ground and they got some large metal shackles on his wrists and ankles. I was relieved that I didn't have to deal with him today.

He was brought to his feet. He looked at me again.

"Wrath can smell you from far away. I know it's you, whelp. WRATH WON'T LET YOU GO!"

He lifted up one foot as high as it could go with the shackles. He stopped and caused a shockwave that sent his captors flying into the crowds. The people surrounding me began to scatter.

"Babur. If he gets close, he's mine."

"Okay..."

Babur casually walked over to the side of the nearest building to watch. I returned my attention to Wrath. He had already broken the chain on his ankles. I watched as he took a powerful stance and began to pry apart the chain that linked his wrists with sheer power.

"Wrath knew you were no good."

He began walking toward me. Anger on his face. His teeth exposed, except for the few that were missing.

"When Wrath heard that you turned traitor, Wrath knew what he had to do."

Wrath began to charge at me. One of the adventurers tried to intervene. His mass looked to be on par with Wrath, but he was sent flying with a single backhand. I adopted a stance that would let me intercept Wrath from a low center of gravity. I put in as much power from Anger that I could.

Our hands met and clasped together. Clouds of dust erupted from the ground below me that was starting to give way. I dug my feet into the ground, literally. Even under such circumstances, I was being pushed back. My feet were now plowing two rows into the ground as he pushed me back.

Our hands were clasped together overhead. If he decided to pull his arms back from this position, he could lift me and throw me with ease. However, the thought of lifting me gave me an idea. I used the power in my arms to rotate our lock to an underhand stance. I began to lift him by his hands and arms. He caught on and pushed off the ground with his feet. He thought he was going to be smart and land behind me. He wasn't counting on me holding his weight mid-air.

He started to loosen the lock of his elbows in an attempt to get closer to me. I lifted him up enough to straighten him out and slammed him down into the ground. I pulled one of his arms around his back and held it at a near breaking point.

"Wrath isn't the only one that will come after you. More will come. For you and for the tongue of the girl."

I leaned in close.

"The girl? Oh... That girl. I sold her. Some slavers took her. They said they were headed to Grumpus. No idea what direction they took to get there."

"Hah! Wrath knows you are lying."

"Really?"

I pulled out my spare gold sack. I shook it to create the unique sound that the coins would make. You can't hear this sound with copper or silver.

"This gold says otherwise."

"Wha... Why would you do that?"

"She got annoying and I just wanted to get rid of her. At first, I had no idea that we were traveling with slavers on the way here. I made a deal with them in secret. As soon as we got here I led her and her mother to an underground black market. The collars were put on when they weren't looking. Their betrayed faces were precious."

He seemed to easily fall for BS like that.

"Wrath thought you didn't k..."

"I don't kill. Slavery isn't killing. You think I'll take fingers and have a problem with slaves? Hah!"

He let out a grunt of defeat. He even stopped pulling at his arm.

"Tell you what. If you tell the Assassins Guild where I'm going next, I'll let you go. I won't even break your arm."

"Why would you do that?"

"I like the challenge. You in or out?"

I wanted him to hurry at this point. The adventurers were closing in.

"Where are you going?"

"I'm headed to the Dwarven Kingdom. I'm leaving today."

He looked back at me. I knew he was dumb enough to tell them everything. I let go of his arm and leaped back with some extra effort to make it look like he tossed me back. He got up and ran off with amazing speed. Two of the adventurers gave chase. Their large frames were not built for speed. Another adventurer came to my aid. I sat up with my hand on my head like I might have been injured.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah. I think I'm fine."

"That was an amazing display. You almost had him. Are you... No. Would you like to join our guild? We could use someone with your strength."

"Sorry. I'm actually leaving the city today. I just happened by the incident."

"Oh. That's too bad."

I heard him mumble something about missing out on a recruit finders fee.

"By the way, he seemed really angry at you. Do you know him?"

"I've had a run-in with him before. We didn't get along then, either."

Babur came up to me and held out a hand. I happily took it and stood with her help.

"Sorry he got away. We must be leaving now. We have a long day ahead of us."

"That's okay. Thanks for trying to help."

I nodded and we made our way south once more.

Without interruptions this time.