Bab 11: CH 11: Fishy Business
[Merry Christmas]
.....
POV: Adam
Upon opening the flaps of the hut, I was immediately blindsided by the bright light coming from the sun. I quickly covered my eyes and moved to the side where the shadows stood, when I looked back to see how miss Maria was fairing I found her basking in the light with a warm smile and her hands together to perform a prayer.
"Oh, traveler protect our poor souls, as we go about our everyday lives. We pray to you to protect us from our enemies at night so as to let our poor eyes rest. For without you we fall to the dead light of the moon which hangs high above the sky. We thank you for giving us the opportunity to fill our lives with peace and prosperity, amen". she said which completed her prayer yet upon finishing her prayer she simply walked past the shade and I without a word as she walked towards the dirt road.
"We should first get a little something to eat at Jacks Alley before we head to the grounds" Miss Maria said as soon as I caught up to her on the dirt path.
What's Jacks Alley? I asked curiously as I turned to look at her.
she slaps her forehead before saying "I forget you aren't from here. Jack's alley is pretty much the go-to place for food in our village. It's named after the cook who revolutionized the cooking industry with his insanely delicious food. Though nowadays he's somewhat retired due to his age. luckily, his son is trying to follow in his footsteps, so their family has a restaurant next to the place where and it's usually open in the morning for everyone." She says with admiration as we walk down the dirt path.
"Now that I think about it's probably best I give you a little tour of our little village malshon." she said before waving hello to a couple of kids who were running past us. "Where was I...ah yes. You see that wooden shack over there " she said while pointing at a small wooden shack made of oak planks that looked pretty old.
"that belongs to Amy, she's the daughter of one of the advisors to the chief. Oh and don't mess with her or anyone who lives in the inner circle of the village..... some people had to find that out the hard way" she said sadly before quickly smiling and pointing at a stone shack. That had a small wall made of rubble and rocks that you could probably jump over. It seemed devoid of life except for an Exo with green marks on its head who wore only leather pants and no shirt. He was pounding away at a large heap of scrap metal with a stone hammer which sent sparks flying each time it struck the metal.
"That over there is the home and workshop of artos, he's our village's blacksmith." Maria said to me before waving her hands and shouting "Good Morning Artos, how's your work going" The Exo's leather clothes fluttered ever so slightly as he turned away from his work to see who it was. "Good Morning Miss Maria, It's been going very well so far, by the way, who's your friend that's standing beside you?" he asked aloud. she turned to look at me with a worried look on her face "I'm terribly sorry but I'm very bad at remembering names would you mind reminding me sweetie?" she pleads apologetically.
"My name is Adam, It's a pleasure to meet you mister Artos." I tell him almost immediately after miss Maria spoke up.
"I'm giving him a little tour of the village, he's interested in moving in" she said cheerfully as she made a weird hand symbol by curling her ring finger before correcting it and turning to look at me with a smile. I just looked at her puzzlingly but shrugged it off.
"In any case welcome to our village Adam, hope you like it. Sadly I gotta get back to work, I'll talk to you both later." he said while waving his hand as he got back to pounding away at the scrap metal once more with his hammer.
...
POV: mark
I stood before Noe the third village chief, he was a muscular guy who wore the animal pelt of the long risked boar which was passed down by the 1st. Though at the moment it mattered little as we argued about what to do with the settlement of woshing.
"Please understand! we cannot cut off trade with the settlement of woshing the precedent you will be setting for the public will be akin to a brewing storm in the devil's mountain range. The merchants will scramble to stock themselves with weapons rather than food for the village not to mention the fact that you've also given them their own soldiers for crying out loud. If anything we should be worried about a fucken coup, reconsider...please! I beg you" I pleaded with my hands together as if I were praying only for it to feel like I was talking to a brick wall on steroids as he stared at me with a deadpan expression.
"My decision is final. Trading with them has only resulted in an axe being placed over our heads as we rely more and more on them. They are a plague that's sticking to the deepest parts of our homes. Listen, I....I know you cannot and absolutely refuse to see it my way but know that if we succeed, our people will thrive" Noe said calmly as he rested his hands on his wooden desk before pulling out a parchment and writing out his wishes on it.
"But sir-" I tried to interject only to get shut up by a stern look when he looked up from his parchment which told me know it was no longer up for debate. He then slid the parchment to me which made me lightly hiss under my breath as I read it. "I... understand sir, I'll start making the preparations" I said reluctantly as I grabbed the parchment and turned to leave the room.
As I turned my back to him, I clenched my jaw tight. ~I'll make sure the right people know about your plans, I can't let you ruin the village Noe not yet at least~ I told to myself mentally which brought about a mischievous smile that I had to quickly as my brother in a large coat walked in without knocking. "Good to see you at least tried coming to the meeting this time Henry, even if we already finished discussing it" I said without bothering to hide the disdain in my voice.
Henry looked glum as he turned to look at me with a deadpan expression "well sorrryy I was late, happy now" he said mockingly as he shrugged his shoulders ~I wanna kick him in the balls so badly~ My lips twitched a little bit but I simply let it go and start walking away to prevent myself from doing something I'll regret in front of the chief.
I left the room under the watchful eye of the chief and my brother. Upon closing the door I let out a frustrated mental sigh before looking at the village and remembering how it used to look. ~this shits going to kill me~ I thought as I walked down the wooden stairs that led to the first floor.
Upon entering the hallway I turned the corner towards the exit only to bump into a brunette woman with burn marks on her right forearm which sent her to the floor.
"Sorry about that" I said as I extended a helping hand to her which she gladly accepted. "Thank you advisor mark BANAL for the help" the woman said which made me freeze in place as I watched her walk away. I then noticed she left a folded note which she must've slipped when I helped her up. I looked around before unfolding it and reading its contents which just made me groan out of frustration.
...
pov: Henry
I watched as my brother left the room and slammed the door shut. After waiting a couple of seconds in silence to make sure mark was gone I pulled out a wrapped-up bottle from within my coat. Upon pulling it out I immediately placed it on Noe's desk from which he quickly grabbed and unraveled it revealing a fish living happily inside a see-through moonshine bottle. He smiled as he watched it swim about inside and for a moment he looked like a kid.
"Thanks Henry, I haven't been able to visit the lakes in quite some time and there's be just a whole lot of shit going on" he said sadly with a smile still on his face as he watched the fish.
"I know, I know, shits been crazy. It's not only you, we're all trying our best." I told him with a proud smile on my face as I took a seat.
"I know, but I feel the need to address a small concern of mine" he says as he digs out a piece of parchment and slides it over to me.
"I want to know where the farm is" he said plainly as my eyes widen for a second before returning to normal as I read the parchment. ~We've got a mole~ I thought to myself as I reread the parchment to try and see who spilled the beans.
"How many do you have right now?" he asked with a neutral tone as he got up and looked out a window to my right which had a clear view of the gate.
"not as many as you might think, after all it's kind of hard to get just one to adjust to a bottle without committing suicide. But look on the bright side, the village's economy is booming" I say with a smile as I turn to look at him but not before admiring the portrait of his mother which hung behind his desk. As I turn to look at him his smile seemed to have lowered ever so slightly as he nods his head lightly. He then glanced at the fish in his hands before setting it down gently on the window stoll.
The second he set it down his expression turned serious as he quickly turned around and throw a punch that quickly found my jaw and sent a tooth flying while I was sent to the floor alongside the chair. I barely managed to stabilize myself before I hit the floor just as Noe calmly grabbed the fish's home and headed back to his desk.
I touched the spot where the tooth had been only for another tooth besides it to suddenly become loose. I quickly pulled my hand out in horror as a bloody tooth sat in my palm.
"I'm going to kick your ass to the moon and back, also give me back my damn fish, you back stabbing bastard!" I said with rage as I threw away the useless tooth and pointed at the bottled fish.
As he walked around his desk he started spinning the poor fist home on his desk before placing it upright when he stood next to his chair. "I can see you've become really attached to your money and your fish. So how a deal?" he proposed as he sat down on his wooden chair. "And why on would I ever want to do that to myself?" I tell him with a cheeky smile plastered on my face which makes him flash a sly smile as he gestures to a chair opposite of him.
"Well, I'll be honest, you don't really have a choice in the matter." he said as he pulled a glock out from beneath his desk and let out an evil laugh. Though it slowly died down after I sat down opposite of him. "I want you to investigate a little something that the cultists have somehow managed to get their hands on. Do this and maybe there will be a thriving fish market that isn't limited to a select few but who knows tragedy always seems to strike around here" he said with mockery before continuing "OH and make sure to bring in that friend of yours that you let in, after all, you're going to need all the help you can get" he said sadistically before going back to laughing uncontrollably.
A few knocks on the door from his assistant sherry knocked him down a few pegs. "Are you alright Sir." she questioned which just made me flash a smile as Noe started to frown. "We're alright sherry" Noe responded with a surprisingly calm voice. "Alright, just making sure Sir." she said which left us both in silence as her footsteps could be heard slowly getting further away until they were finally gone.
"Seems you have a couple of things to worry about too "SIR" if I were you I'd be careful after all it's like you said "tragedy seems to be striking a lot of people lately" I mockingly said which made his face sour but he quickly hid it almost as quickly as he revealed it.
He looked at me venomously as he said "your brother would have said the same thing"which made the color drain from my face as he lets out another round of laughter. "It seems I really don't have a choice in this" I unwillingly said with a dejected tone as I stood up from the wooden chair. "I'll see you around SIR" I said as I snatched the fish's bottle back and rewrapped it before putting it back into my coat's large inner pocket. ~I'm going to make you regret this deal~ I thought maliciously as I walked out the door, not even bothering to hide my thoughts as a smirk crawled onto my face.
Status Power Mingguan
-- Peringkat
Power 
-- Power
stone