บท 18: Chapter 18— The Thieves Tower
Cyrus beckons me to follow him as Joe leaves with his ship towards the Pirate Tower.
I still have a lot to learn about the tower and how it works and I will have to give it serious thought before I can hope to get through the first floor. Getting a gun sounds like a good idea, but hearing Joe and Cyrus have a lot of downsides to be aware of as well.
At the top of the stairs leading to the quay is a sort of little booth with a woman inside. Cyrus walks up to it and asks for a coin on a string which he hands me. He explains to me to put it around my neck and explains to me what it is for.
"In this part of the tower, they are distributed to everyone. The goal is to not have it stolen. Thieves must collect as much as possible each week to get rewards or to take tests. Since the money is kept in the inventory by the climbers it is an easy way to pickpocket under real circumstances. The goal is to get as much as you can, there are plenty of ways to get some so don't fall for the odd thing that happens. On the other hand, be careful with your belongings, you may not find much when you leave. I advise you to put what's inside in your inventory. "
I listen to Cyrus' instructions and then we set off. I'm a little worried about having the coin he just gave me stolen, but I decide to play the game. Since Fae explained to me that the guardians decide how the secondary towers work, I have to get used to the idea that every tower is different. Since I don't know what exactly I'm looking for I tell Cyrus to show me around.
Cyrus walks around the tower and goes inside the city. There are shops and bars in all the streets and these are the busiest I have seen since arriving in the Tower of the Worlds. Cyrus explains to me that this is where I would find the most different shops, but most of them sell unnecessary items in the tower except if you want to barter. There are merchants of embroidery, art, jewelry, food and all kinds of gadgets that remind me of the wares of a flea market. There is an earthly side to all this crowd movement. Most people are dressed simply and walk around in groups as they would on earth.
Cyrus then laughs, looking at me for a few moments. I end up asking him why and he points his finger at my neck. It would seem that while I was looking right and left the necklace with the coin disappeared. Micha didn't react either and instinctively I looked for a possible sign of a thief. Behind me, a hooded person seems to run away.
"She's a beginner, I think you can catch up with her if you start running now."
Cyrus continues to laugh as I rush over to the thief. This one moves at full speed in the streets to get away from me. I run through the crowd and gradually reduce the distance that separates us as best I can. Passers-by revolt when I jostle them and several times I almost fall to the ground. The hooded figure ends up turning into an empty street and I continue to chase after her. She seems to have less difficulty moving around in a crowd or in alleys, but that's probably because she's smaller than me. However, I continue to catch up little by little.
Suddenly she stops in the alley and turns to face me. I can't see her face because of the hood, but one thing's for sure, she's having a lot of fun seeing the smile on her face. She pulls the collar out of her cloak and beckons me to approach, apparently ready to battle so that I stop following her. I order Micha to hang on just in case, and slowly approach the thief while remaining on my guard. She takes a few steps in my direction before stopping, provoking me as if she was tired of waiting. Suddenly she steps forward and grabs my arm.
Before I can figure out what happened, I find myself on the ground as the thief still stares at me, waiting for more. I get up and realize that Micha has disappeared from my harness pocket. Through the link, she tells me not to worry, even though I'm not sure what to think about her disappearance.
The situation is a little strange when I think about it. After all, I'm fighting a thief in an alley for a coin just given to me. I don't even know why I'm doing this, or if I should really risk a fine for this piece by using violence. The thief continues to amuse herself with the situation and makes the same gesture as before to tell me to approach.
I don't know, maybe I am enjoying the situation like her. I have little chance of winning, but if the goal is to get the medallion back I might be able to.
I decide this time to throw myself forward on her in order to tackle her to the ground before she uses another martial technique on me. Suddenly she freezes and grimaces in pain which prevents her from moving and dodging my tackle properly. She falls to the floor, letting go of the locket as I fall on her and immobilize her by grabbing her arms.
She then remains motionless and looks at me indifferent as if she was waiting for the rest since none of us can move in this posture. For a few moments I look at her and detail her face and black hair. I thought she was younger than me, but finally she looked like she was just in her twenties.
Her cheeks are flushed from running and she is short of breath, although less than me. Our faces are only a few inches apart and ...
She suddenly starts screaming.
-RAPE ! RAPE ! Help ! Help !
-I ...
She suddenly takes advantage of my surprise and using her legs frees herself by throwing me over her and making me plunge to the ground on my back. She then gets up and goes to get the medallion on the ground while I fall to the ground having no desire to get up this time because of the pain in my back. She then laughs and runs away, without me chasing her this time.
As I watch her walk away, Micha stands in front of my field of vision with ears erect, apparently worried about my condition. I use the link to tell her I'm okay. She seems proud of herself.
I wonder if it is to her that I owe the success of my tackle. Mouse bite looks more effective on people than I imagined. Maybe I should think seriously about giving her a small sword to fight for me.
Without giving an order, Micha made the decision to act and helped me. It didn't change the end result, but knowing that she's able to do this stuff on her own is awesome considering she's just a mouse, but also extremely dangerous.
She's fragile and sometimes I feel like I'm not paying enough attention to it. If she dies what will become of me? I can barely bear her falling from a height of less than a meter to the ground. I need to discuss it with her. At this rate we'll end up having problems.
" Can I help you ? "
Cyrus is leaning in my direction and reaching out to help me up.
I sigh and accept it. Micha on her side goes up my leg and goes back to the harness pocket. I'll have to reward her later for all of this. She hasn't stopped today. Myself, I think I deserve a shower and I will probably have marks on my back from the force with which I fell on the pavement twice.
—So, your first defeat I presume ?
—It's okay. She had more training than me and more self-confidence.
—You managed to catch up with her, it's already not bad for a beginner. I'm already amazed that you ran after her without giving up.
—Hm.
Cyrus patt me on the shoulder and motioned for me to resume our journey. The visit to the towers ended up turning into a great defeat. I stroke Micha's head, who looks satisfied. I don't think I will forget this thief. In any case, it's been a long time since I had fun like this. The last time I chased someone this way was when I was a kid.
It's getting late and after reaching the main street I ask Cyrus if it's possible to get back home.
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