Fire

Nerton, 1873. Dorothea's bakery.

I took it upon myself to wake up early today. The dishes from last night's feast weren't going to wash themselves.

Having finished cleaning the counter, I put the cloth in a separate bin. Dorothea was particular about how the cleaning cloths were handled, and I wasn't in the mood to argue.

Sitting back in the chair and looking at the bakery, I started to think of how I could get rid of Redguard.

Yes, if someone told me that burning the whole place would be extreme. I'd agree; however, I also thought of what that would be doing. I wouldn't just be saving myself, but I would be saving people like James, who suffered from them longer than I did or will.

I once thought that I had changed, but gradually I started to realize it. I had always been myself. I am a person who abides by the rules and listens to others. However, I am no pushover.

People like them, who prey on others because they're too weak or lazy to live by the same rules as everyone else, don't deserve the freedom they abuse.

Thinking that, the door to the bakery opened, and I stood up. Putting on a smile, I said, "Welcome! How may I help you?"

Three guys walked inside; none of them looked polite. Looking around while laughing, their leader, Dane, walked up to the counter.

"Good afternoon, Marik!" A wide smile stretched across his face, revealing some of his broken teeth. "You already have the payment, right?"

I kept on a smile as I pulled out a drawer from my side. Dane took a glance at the hidden money but didn't say anything.

I put five iron coins on the counter. He took them and started looking at his hand, then with a smile, he said, "This is the payment for you punching me! Now I need you to pay the actual fee. You know how to do the right thing, right? After all, you don't think this money is for me, right? This goes straight to the boss. And he's not nearly as forgiving as I am."

I looked at him. "Yes, of course. How could I forget?" I let out a small smile as I took out five more iron coins, putting them on the counter.

"You are kind of slow, aren't you?" Dane scooped the remaining coins from the counter.

People like him probably live off this mindset of preying on the weak, provoking them to feel stronger somehow, to fill a hole in their empty lives. Yet they never will, not because of their actions but because of who they are.

After Dane and the two people following him left, I let out a big sigh.

All that money was part of my income from the bakery. Thankfully, the original Marik also saved a lot, so I guess nothing will change for Dorothea...

It was time for lunch, so I went back to get something to eat. There I saw Dorothea sitting on the chair, not moving her hands, looking like she was thinking.

"Marik, did something happen?"

Did she hear my chat earlier? That guy, Dane, sure likes to raise his voice.

"Don't worry about it! It was some guy outside the city who mistook us for another bakery." I hope she believes me, at least for now.

Dorothea stayed silent for a few seconds before going back to moving the dough. "Also, we need drinking water. Just go ask Mr. Sionn next door for some, and we will repay him later with some bread."

"Sure." After taking an apple, I went out to the next-door neighbor. A middle-aged man with black hair opened the door.

After chatting, he gave me a wooden bucket. Thanking him, I started walking back to the bakery.

Then I stood still, there in front of the bakery's door. Standing was a girl with long, bronze hair and a black gothic dress with a big, pointed hat.

It was the vampire that I saw before in the market. But why would she come here? Now that I think about it, she also went to the adventurers' guild last night. Is she a part of the gang? No, let's just think rationally for now.

I continued walking and looked at her. "Hello, miss, how can I help you?"

She turned around, her red eyes looking at me directly before smiling, "I want to buy bread!"

I paused for a second before replying, "Sure." I was surprised by how calm I was when talking to her.

I was cautious for the whole encounter and didn't let my guard down, but her request seemed genuine. I gave her the bread, and she paid, and after that, she left.

Sitting behind the counter, I relaxed my posture. I need to get rid of this gang soon; I can't stop thinking about them.

Today, I closed the bakery early, telling Dorothea that I wanted to meet some of my 'friends.' She seemed to be happy about it. Not surprising since the original Marik didn't want to interact with anyone, really.

Wearing a robe, I started to investigate around the adventurers' guild. It wasn't that late, so adventurers who had nothing to do with the gang were there, and in that sense, I could just use that as a way to make myself look like one of them.

The building had 2 floors; the gang left their more aggressive-looking members outside when adventurers were the majority. There was a backdoor that led to the storage room, but it was always guarded. If I could use that, I might be able to get inside and burn all of their items.

However, the problem would be, how can I get rid of the guard? While yes, it was only one, if he just alerted the others, it would be pretty easy for them to attack me as a group.

After a few days of careful observation, I also saved some extra money. Dorothea, thinking I had friends to hang out with, made it better since she gave me more money.

I used it to buy lamp oil. Since there were lamps inside, I had no real need for a fire source.

I also concluded what the perfect time to attack was. Around 5 AM, that's when most of Redguard will leave to make it look like a normal adventurers' guild, and at that time, the back door will have a few minutes with nobody guarding it.

I hid behind one of the alleyways, waiting to see people leaving the building. Taking my hands and breathing in them, which made some smoke, but it wasn't noticeable.

After a bit, people started walking out slowly. Which gave me the chance to sneak in through the back door. Before getting in, I made sure nobody was coming, and then I started opening it.

There were items contained in boxes; however, this place was dark. That made sense; they don't want a fire starting here. I hid in the corner, then a person grunted as he started walking to the outside.

"Tsk, yeah, yeah. Extra pay! Of course! Not like you just think I am a lowly servant!" The person said before going out and closing the door.

That voice... It was Dane's. I guess fate is ironic. Making sure nobody was coming for a bit, I got the glass flasks from inside the robe and opened them.

Pouring the gas all over the boxes, I walked inside the building. There were not many people, so sneaking around was easy. I made sure to pour it everywhere but the second building, since that's where the leader and his gang mostly hang out, and I've never seen them leave at this time.

I was finally done; I could hear my heart beating in my chest. Taking one of the oil lamps from the main building, I dropped it. Then, without waiting for the impact, I sprinted and dropped every other lamp that was lighting the place.

I took the last lamp with me back to the storage room. If I could get him to run, I could torch the storage room and be gone before anyone knew what happened.

I waited in the corner; however, the unexpected happened: Dane opened the door in a hurry, and then, walking to one of the boxes, he tried to pick it up.

That was when I got up and stepped closer, hiding the light of the gas lamp with my coat. I took it out, ready to throw it.

However, Dane instantly dropped the box and jumped back, hearing my footsteps creak on the wooden floor.

The lamp I threw at that moment dropped, which made the boxes burn.

Dane turned to me. His teeth gritted, and his expression contorted. It was obvious he saw my face because of the fire. "You!"

He dashed at me, but I had the time to dodge. Heading for the door, I used all of my power.

The smoke from the fire was already making my lungs burn and my vision blurry. Then the second floor's platform started falling. And in that instance, it blocked the door to the exit.

I stood there with the fire reflecting off my eyes. I turned around to look at the man who was walking towards me with an unexplained expression.

I let out a small smile. "Dane, do you think I can kill you?"