The warehouse district was not much of a traditional warehouse area, but more of a group of buildings amalgamated in a hodgepodge misshapen design. They used any space where it was available. The homes, which once housed families with large windows, now had all the windows boarded over. To accommodate double doors, they knocked through areas of walls where the original single doors were located.
The street they had turned down had widened, making it easy for carts or wagons to traverse. Rubbish cluttered the street itself, and broken crates littered the outside walls. Lanterns hung on posts along the street, providing light in the dimming evening. Several buildings were still active, with wagons or carts on or off-loading.
“I know that goblin,” Jay pointed, “I’ll go ask him.”
Jay stood talking to the goblin as SJ watched the beings working around the area when there was a cry from above.
“Look out below!”
Looking up, a crate that had been being lifted by a rope via a pulley had snapped, sending the large crate plummeting to the ground. Hitting the stone street, the crate exploded, fragments of wood littering the street. A piece went sailing by SJ. The contents of the crate spilt out onto the ground.
A weaselly looking man walked from the warehouse entrance to where the crate had been getting lifted.
“You,” he called, pointing.
SJ looked behind her as the man pointed in her direction. Frowning, SJ turned back, but no one was near her.
“Me?” she replied, pointing at her chest.
“Yes. You did it, didn’t you?”
“Did what?”
“Snapped the rope.”
“Sorry? You think I caused that crate to fall?”
“Yes. It’s the sort of thing your lot do.”
SJ had had enough. Snarling with venom in her reply, she stalked towards the man, his face suddenly becoming a lot less confident than it had been.
“My sort. My sort.” SJ gritted her teeth, scowling as she spoke. “I am sick and tired of the racism shown to ‘my sort’. Who do you think you are? I don’t care what you may think or have experienced of fae before me, but to think every one of my kind is the same is pathetic. Do you trust every human you meet? Has another human ever caused you any harm? Are you that perfect a race in which there is never any conflict, disagreement, argument, or fighting? Why do you think you can stand there and throw accusations at me just because I am a fae?” By the time SJ had finished her tirade at the man, she was standing before him, finger pointed, wagging furiously.
Silence had fallen outside the warehouses, and everyone on the street was watching.
Not realising how far she had moved during her outburst, she stormed towards the man, making him back away until he was nearly against the warehouse wall. His eyes were wide in shock.
“S-sorry.”
“You will be if I hear you say another word like that again?” Turning and looking around her, her face contorted in anger, she continued. “And the same applies to anyone who dares say anything against me. You don’t know me. You don’t know who I am or what I have done. So don’t dare make assertions.”
Fuming, SJ locked eyes with several beings staring at her.
“Well, that was unexpected. You will be the talk of the inns tonight. I bet this neighbourhood has seen nothing like it before,” Dave said.
‘I am just fed up with it. Every time somebody blames my race. The next time, I may just kill them.’ SJ’s thoughts were emotionless.
Dave chuckled with glee. “My baby is growing up into an assassin, after all.”
SJ moved back from the man into the street and stood with her arms folded, now looking towards where Jay stood with his goblin acquaintance. The scowl did not leave her face. More came out of the warehouse, and the weaselly man began shouting at them to pick up the remnants of the crate and its load. Taking in her surroundings, the others continued with their work. Many of those working in the warehouses looked frail and underfed. Jay finished talking to his goblin friend and headed over to her.
“What did you find out?”
“That can wait a minute. What did you do?”
Looking surprised, SJ replied. “What do you mean?”
“You just shouted down the warehouse district in District 3!”
“And?”
“This isn’t the sort of area you make a scene at. We should go before any of the others arrive.” Jay said, looking around.
“What others?”
“Oi!” The shout again silenced the area.
“Them,” Jay said, turning to face the approaching beings.
SJ recognised the two beings that shouldered the goblin in the middle but had seen none since arriving in Amathera. Their faces were those of a bull with large front-facing horns, and their physical appearance relayed the myths of ancient Greece.
Amazed, looking at the creatures, SJ couldn’t help but say what she saw, “Minotaurs!”
Both beings stood over seven feet tall and were even broader than Jay.
“State the obvious,” Dave said. “Both are level 21. The goblin is level 18.”
‘I didn’t realise they were even here in Amathera.’ SJ triggered her advanced identification skill. Initially when she had attained the skill she hadn't thought it very useful. On top of the basic identification information it now added weaknesses of targets. The problem she had had was that from reviewing the skills tree for the advanced identification at level 1 it only gave weaknesses for humanoid targets. Since all her quests had been against monsters it hadn't benefitted her until now. As the details filled her screen she smiled at the information.
Minotaur Thug x 2
Level: 21
Class: Fighter
Hit points: 275
Mana points: 55
Armour Class: 32
Attacks: Unarmed combat
Special: Charge
Weaknesses:
Kidney - Minotaurs are susceptible to attacks in their lower back.
Crotch - Minotaurs are exceedingly strong beings but all can suffer from a perfect blow, both male and female minotaurs can be stunned with a precise strike.
The outline of the minotaur on her display highlighted the weakness location with a red glow. It was as though she was looking at a text book with the being stood with their arms outstretched to the sides with a front and back view. Neither of the weaknesses were world changing and she just needed to be precise with her strikes.
“Most of the creatures you can probably think of are here. It just depends on the territory you are in. Minotaurs are not the original inhabitants of this continent. They came here during the scrug wars as mercenaries for the dark forces and tribes have remained since. These are young minotaurs, only in level 20s. Senior minotaurs or experienced ones are usually in their level 40s.”
The goblin in the middle of the two men was quite large compared to many SJ had seen.
“Quiller,” Jay called.
“You should know better than to be down here causing issues, Songa.”
“Songa?” SJ asked.
“Family name,” Jay said. “We meant no issue, Quiller. We are leaving.”
“She ain’t leaving until she pays for the damage she caused.”
“I caused no damage,” SJ snapped.
“Not what my foreman says,” Quiller sneered. “Pay up, and you can leave with no problems. Don’t pay up, and the boys here will teach you a lesson in manners.”
“Quiller. That’s not a wise idea. She is a councillor.”
“You think I care about that pompous bunch sitting in the tower eating and drinking all day? We work to survive in the districts, and this friend of yours has caused damage for which she needs to pay.”
“She didn’t cause any damage.”
“You calling my foreman a liar as well, are you, Songa?”
Jay stood in front of SJ protectively. “I am, yes, and if you think your boys can get through me, then you are mistaken,” he said, rolling his shoulders, cracking his neck, and staring at the goblin.
Walking beside Jay, SJ placed her hand on his large forearm. “I will deal with this.” Jay turned to look at her. “Quiller, was it?”
The goblin frowned, nodding at her.
“I only arrived in Asterfal two days ago, and since I have arrived, someone has attempted to kill me twice already. I am tired of being spoken to and treated like a third-class being, and on top of that, a relative of my ward is now missing in this cesspit of a district you call home. I will give you one opportunity to apologise for your threats and graciously allow you to walk away.”
The expression on the goblin’s face initially went from confusion as she spoke to laughing raucously. “Haha. That has to be one of the funniest things I have heard this season. Sort her out, boys.”
With her outburst at the person she assumed was the foreman, SJ had only partially released the anger she had bottled up, and now she was prepared to unleash her frustrations. The minotaurs moved forward, snorting, vapour erupting from their nostrils. Only thirty feet separated them.
“Councillor, please,” Jay said as he stepped forward, his face contorted in concern.
“This is my problem to deal with,” SJ replied, putting her hand up to stop Jay. The two minotaurs walked forward at seven feet tall compared to the diminutive figure of SJ at five feet six inches. It seemed like they would pound her into dust with the size and strength difference.
“Minotaur’s are slow and cumbersome. They have strength, not speed. Your initiative will give you an advantage to strike and move,” Dave said.
‘I am not looking to kill them. I will incapacitate them.’
The speed at which SJ moved forward towards the minotaurs took everybody watching by surprise. Jay stood open-mouthed as, with a flourish, she closed the gap, and her martial arts came naturally. Since she had reached level ten in her kata, the fluidity of her moves was something to behold. Lorna had got to the point of no longer being able to monitor her moves easily. They could be so fast. The minotaur she approached swung its arm around to grab her. Ducking under its reach, she moved inside the strike zone and threw her initial punch into the one region that any male would never wish to receive a balled fist from anybody. Never mind a skilled martial artist with the anger and frustration boiling over.
The sound that left the minotaur’s mouth was unworldly. Its head flew backwards, its eyes wider than the largest dinner plates as both its hands grabbed at its now exceedingly painful crotch. Its knees gave way, crumpling to the floor, rolling, crying in agony. Several gasps from males stood watching, their immediate reaction to protect their crotches. Her display triggered.
Congratulations, you have achieved Incapacitation level 3.
SJ immediately stepped back and sideways, putting the falling form of the first minotaur between her and her second attacker. It cried angrily, lowering its head as it charged the short distance towards her. With speed as fast as a spitting cobra, SJ stepped sideways, leaving her trailing leg as it lunged at her—the momentum of the beast carrying it over her leg. The strength in its leg caused SJ to wince as its muscular form brushed her limb to the side.
“That didn’t work,” Dave said unhelpfully.
The minotaur’s back was now to SJ as it turned its bulk back towards her, and she took advantage, punching low and hard into its kidney. The beast grunted from the impact of her punch, and its body tensed, pausing its turn. Stepping in, she struck with her heel into the rear of its knee. The knee buckled from the impact into the weaker area, staggering again. Remaining behind the beast, she moved in again and struck at its kidney. The minotaur’s face contorted in pain as it groaned. A third successive punch in the same spot made it reach behind its back to hold the area.
Swinging its arm around in a haymaker, it attempted to hit her. Ducking its attempt, she stepped back, giving herself room again and shrank. The expression on the minotaur’s face became one of confusion as SJ became six inches tall and took to the air instantly. Buzzing straight above its head. Looking up at her, its head tilted back, it snorted and let out a bellow of rage, trying to grab her. A crowd of warehouse workers had appeared on the street, and several patrons from the nearby inn had come outside to watch the spectacle.
Flying around the head of the minotaur at speed, she was making the beast turn to keep track of her. She could fly like this all day without rest, and the minotaur was getting frustrated and trying to keep up with her movements. Occasionally, she swooped in close, making it appear as though it could reach her before flying out of its reach again. The frustration on the minotaur’s face was ever present with the sneers and huffs it was making.
“Stop dancing with it and just finish it,” Dave said.
SJ had been observing it as it got more disorientated by her movements and could see its eyes flickering. She applied this same method against an owlbear she had faced during one of her quests. Despite the creatures being different, they were similar in size and speed. Neither had the dexterity to maintain fast movements, and its eyes were briefly closed, as she knew it had become dizzy from following her. Immediately seeing the sign of weakness, SJ dived and grew running as she landed full size behind the creature. It spun to attack her, but again, she was way too fast for it. Punching out viciously into its kidney again. This fourth strike brought a deep bellow from the minotaur, again grabbing the spot with its hand. Again, she kicked it in the back of its knee, and it staggered again, moving its hand from covering its kidney, allowing her a fifth successive hit. Its face was one of rage and pain mixed as it spat forth. A sixth punch rendered it to its knees, the blows eventually taking their toll.
The creature’s upper body was massive, its head wider than SJ’s shoulders. Stepping up behind it, SJ struck the base of its neck. Her knuckle extended from her balled fist as she did. The beast let out a deep groan as its eyes rolled in its head, and it fell forward, unconscious, onto the ground. The incapacitation training she had been learning from Brother Wilbert was coming into its own. She had been hoping it would work on the minotaur, not knowing the biology of the beast, only assuming it was like other humanoid races. As the beast’s face hit the street, SJ turned to look at the goblin.
“Quiller,” she said as she strode towards him.
The goblin stepped backwards as if to turn and run before it backed into the massive form of Jay, who had moved behind him. Turning his head, Quiller looked into Jay’s smiling face.
“Get out of my way, Songa,” Quiller hissed as Jay grabbed him by his shoulders.
“I am sorry, Quiller, but you owe the councillor an apology. I am just following orders.”
“You instructed your henchmen to attack me even though this incident could have been resolved without violence.”
Even though Quiller was sneering at her, the fear behind his bravado was apparent.
“I said I would allow you to walk away if you apologised. You didn’t take my offer.” The punch landed squarely in the goblin’s gut, forcing the wind from his lungs and making him double over forward, coughing and spluttering.
The second punch caught the goblin’s chin, throwing his head backwards, making his teeth clatter, and knocking out any sense. Jay had let go of him as SJ had struck, and the goblin’s eyes rolled in its head as it collapsed backwards like a falling domino.
What would usually be a street that saw workers and cries of shouts of warehouse staff sat in silence as all those watched the outcome of the fae against the warehouse boss and his minions. Moving back from the goblin, SJ looked around her at the creatures. The minotaur, who she had immobilised at the start, was slowly getting back up to its knees, still grimacing in pain from the blow it had received. It looked towards her, snarling. It spoke in a broken common tongue, “Blow, not nice!”
“I am sure your punch wouldn’t have been nice if it had hit me,” SJ said.
“We should go,” Jay said. The street had more patrons from the inns that lined the warehouse district.
Leaving the area, Jay walked quickly, and SJ stayed by his side.
“I would advise staying away from the area. Quiller will want revenge for being humiliated like that.” He kept glancing at her, appearing to want to say more, but was unsure what or how to say it.
“What did you find out from your friend?” SJ asked.
“He saw the gnoll being taken in a cart.”
“Where?” stopping and turning to look at Jay.
“That’s the problem. He has been taken to a very dangerous area of the city.”
“Which area?”
“It is in District 9. The place has one of the worst reputations of violence in the entire city.”
“If violent, why doesn’t the city guard sort it out?”
“You have already seen the state of most of the city guard. The inner city guard is funded by and controlled by the tower, including the gatehouses and outer routes. The district city guards are usually those who have failed to join the main guard force. Many of them are as corrupt as those that run them,” Jay said bitterly.
“Do you know where in the district he has been taken?”
“It’s an old fighting inn. He must fight to pay his debt.”
“What debt?”
“He had run up a debt trying to keep the house and fallen behind on payments.” Jay shrugged. “It won’t be the first time and not the last. The loan sharks in the districts are renowned for their antics. They increase the interest, and you can’t escape the cycle once they have you.”
'Loan sharks, the same term as Earth,' SJ thought.
"The sharks of Amathera are a little different. Take your largest shark on Earth and multiply it by five and you will have an Amatherean shark. They cause havoc in the seas, attacking boats and other vessels that cross the ocean," Dave said.
“I wonder how long he has been paying them?” SJ asked.
“I would guess for a while if he has run up enough debt to be taken to fight.”
Having met Cristy’s uncle, SJ knew he was no fighter. Checking her display, she realised that the time spent in the district so far was approaching 2000 hrs. She still had a couple of hours before she needed to meet Carlito. Arriving back at Cristy’s relatives, she knocked on the door. Yawnee answered momentarily.
“Any news?” her face was fraught with worry.
“We have a lead. We are going to find him. I need to ask a question before we go.”
“What?”
“Do you know Lurtew had borrowed money?”
Yawnee frowned, looking confused. “Months ago, when I was ill and we had to pay the rent, we borrowed some money.”
“I don’t think it was paid back in full. That is why he has been taken from what we discovered.”
“That can’t be. Lurtew told me it was all paid off.”
“Lurtew may not have told you, so you didn’t worry.” In her past life, she had known several who had made poor financial decisions and then ended up in a spiral they couldn’t get out of. They got into worse and worse debt until the bailiffs came knocking. The invention of short-term loans and their astronomical interest rates fed off the already suffering poor in society. It had sickened her back on Earth, and discovering the same thing happened in Amathera made her blood boil.
“We will find him. Don’t worry,” SJ said reassuringly.
Jay had untied the cart, and as SJ climbed into it, Cristy came bursting out of the door. “SJ.”
Her face was distraught. Even after she had slept, it was clear how she was feeling. Flinging her arms around SJ, she hugged her tightly.
“Cristy. Don’t worry, we will find your uncle. You stay with Aunt Yawnee and keep her safe for me, will you?”
Although Cristy had matured dramatically over the past few months, the young, childlike eyes that now looked at her pained her. “Please find uncle,” Cristy said as she sobbed.
“We will. Now look after your aunt. You need to be strong for Yawnee, okay?” SJ said, stroking her head fondly.
“I will,” Cristy said, her tear-filled eyes showing the hurt while her face tried to look determined. She was still so young. Handing Cristy to Yawnee, who held her tight, SJ climbed into the cart.
“We will be back as soon as we can.”
Jay spurred the horse, and SJ looked back at Yawnee and Cristy, who watched them go down the street. Once they were around the corner, SJ asked, “How long will it take to get there? I have a meeting at 22:00.”
“A meeting?”
“Yes. I have someone to meet, and I need to make sure I am there at 22:00.”
“Where is your meeting?”
“The Black Griffin.”
“What! You are meeting someone at the Black Griffin?”
“Yes. There is someone I need to speak to there. Why are you so surprised?”
“The Black Griffin is where we are heading now. It is one of the worst inns in Asterfal.”
