Chapter 92: An unexpected find.

Chapter 92 - An unexpected find."Let's go find Klavax." Thorax said as soon as his brother was done with the formalities.

"Shouldn't we get something to eat first?" Arax asked. Obviously something in Ashland was always the same, but all of them were too hungry and thirsty at to got picky.

"Mhm. On the way." Thorax said, and almost jogged towards the line of the one story buildings in the distance.

The heavy tortoise shell he was carrying for the second day in the row didn't bother the guy one bit, contrary to his brother who had to keep up. Since the shell was filled with the spiky pelts, it was impossible for Thorax to carry it alone and he had to help.

Getting food sounded reasonable to everyone, but unfortunately for Lee, he didn't get the opportunity to slip away neither while waiting in the line for the stew, nor afterwards on the streets of Ashland. The potential escape was made even more difficult by the long-legged guy who still kept following them after the return.

It was hard to say what he wanted exactly, but the brothers decided he was harmless, and didn't pay any heed. Lee, on the other hand, was annoyed to have someone on his tail, no matter what intentions the other party had.

They walked though the city for quite some time, but on full stomach it wasn't as tiring. Surprisingly the disgusting stew had an energizing effect even on Lee, although he was the only one in the group who found the stinky dish inedible.

***

Despite the place's popularity, Lee had never been to the Artisan district before. As it turns out, there were people in Ashland who weren't useless bums – dozens of workshops were operating here, although from the outside the buildings looked like any other regular house.



The blacksmiths, leather workers and carpenters living and working here were the most respected citizens, and even people on the streets kept their voices low, trying to not disturb or annoy the masters.

"I need you to make a shield out of this!" Thorax barely opened the door, but was already placing the order.

As expected, the tortoise shell was too big to get it through the front entrance, so the devil awkwardly entered with his behind first, but got stuck, not being able think of a way to bring the precious cargo in.

"Get the fuck out!" Lee heard someone curse out loud, and Thorax stumbled on the street right after – clearly he had received a heavy kick on the back.

Contrary to the contents of the shout, the shorty who appeared on the doorstep, wasn't offended or upset. The guy with exceedingly huge arms and buffed shoulders that didn't match his height, was happily grinning. It seemed that Klavax, the blacksmith the brothers wanted to meet, had been waiting for an opportunity like this for a while.

Thorax didn't care about the earlier abuse and began to explain what and why he wanted to get crafted. Klavax patiently listened, similar to the small crowd of bored people who gathered around them. Afterwards he began to ask questions like where and how did the brothers get their hands on the thing, and curious about the story the crowd quickly grew in size.

The discussion heated up when the blacksmith named the price for his services, and Arax jumped in to haggle. Apparently the divine contribution they had made by turning in the sparks earlier was nothing compared to what Klavax wanted.

When the surrounding crowd sided with the treasure hunters and tried to pressure him, from the nearby buildings few more artisans rushed over, and the earlier discussion transformed into a loud marketplace.

After civilized discussion turned into loud shouting, Lee noticed one of the caretakers arrive and settle on one of nearby the rooftops. Either he was also curious or came to make sure the situation didn't get out of control, but it didn't matter. This was the moment Lee was waiting for.

He took a step back, and then two more, and was already mixed with the excited crowd. Few moments later he casually walked down the street, but kept forcing himself to not start running right away. All he needed was a quiet place where to change his clothing, and he would never see the Good Brothers again, hopefully.

After a couple of blocks Lee abruptly cut a corner, intending to increase the pace, but ran in a person, bumping his forehead on the chest armor. The guy was bigger than him and almost knocked him over, but Lee couldn't care less.

"Sorry, my bad!" He mechanically apologized, ignoring the incident.

"Fuck you, moron!" The guy murmured under his nose, but Lee froze, hearing the words said in the Sunwell's dialect.

'Well ... hello to you too, Sir!' Lee grinned, and the previous attempt to escape from the two devils was forgotten.

He could only think of one group this person belonged to, and there was no way he would now let him out of the sight. It was neither Deen nor Edward – Lee didn't recognize this particular Victoria's follower, but it was good to know they were currently in Ashland.

The guy didn't go far, though, and few blocks further, still in the Artisan district, knocked at the door of an inconspicuous building. Two short, a long one and two more short knocks – the simple code didn't escape Lee's ear, but he didn't intend to follow inside.

Assuming the hated role again, pretending to be a weak old woman, he arrived next to one of the windows, and slumped down as if the whole weight of the world was on his shoulders. He did it quietly, though, hoping to remain unnoticed.

Lee was more shocked by the fact that Victoria had settled here, in the prestige area where the artisans lived, than his unexpected luck of finding her. From the earlier bargaining between Klavax and the devils, he understood that it took a considerable amount of divine contribution to be allowed to live here, in addition to paying regular monthly taxes.

Of course, the taxes were payed in the form of the same contribution, although Lee was not clear how it was calculated and used as a currency.

"What's the news, Tycen?" Lee's train of thought was interrupted by Edward's calm voice. He hadn't heard it for a while, but apart from the guy sounding exhausted, it was had to mistake him for anyone else.

"Nothing exciting." The guy Lee bumped into, said, "Lunax is preparing another conquest. From the looks of it ..."

"Wait, there's someone here! Looks like an old woman." Another voice interrupted him. Apparently while listening, Deen walked over to the window and noticed Lee sitting below.



'Shit!' Lee cursed, but didn't move.

After the initial split moment of panic, he realized there was no way anyone would attempt to attack him on the street. Moreover, he was curious how the bunch from Sunwell would solve the situation.

He began to chant one of the prayers to Lunax, silently, but loud enough for passersby by to hear. It was hard to imagine someone more harmless than him, sitting at the side, praying. There was no tradition in the world where it was acceptable to hurt an old, pious lady.

But he almost choked the next moment when the princess spoke.

"Get her in and kill her!" Her voice was melodious as ever, and the contents of her speech had become even more vicious.

"Your highness, we shouldn't!" Edward saved Lee's neck, "No one understands our tongue, and there's almost no room left to hide the dead bodies. In fact, we need to come up with a plan to move the corpses out of the city."

"It's not a city! It's a dump!" Victoria hissed, and for a change Lee couldn't agree more. But the bitch had to die! She was a danger to any society!

"Yes, your highness, we have to bear with it until we find a way to get to a world that is populated with people like us." Edward said.

Lee couldn't imagine where the guy found enough patience to deal with her. If it was him, he probably would've smacked her dead long ago or died while trying ... probably the latter, of course.

"Tycen, go on! What about the next conquest?" Edward used the brief pause, and diverted everyone's attention.