Chapter 31 - Business

Using his gauntlet on Earthens felt wrong, but also redundant. It was meant to level the playing field with other Alvanian knights so he could keep up on patrols and missions. Earthens on the other hand, despite using Ficium, occasionally even unsealed Ficium, still lacked skill and practice to pose any real threat.

Take the one he was holding for example. Tetsuo had already disarmed him, the other knights had forced his allies to surrender, and even so he continued to thrash wildly against Tetsuo. He had been using a mace that could become lighter on activation, but rarely took advantage of that ability. His movements were wide and left him exposed, letting Tetsuo easily defeat him and leading to the position he was in now. Even so, despite being held up from the collar of their shirt, a fire lingered in his eyes. Tetsuo knew if he had the chance, the man would tear him to pieces. Although it hurt, coming from the people he had intended to help, this was simply part of his job as an Alvanian knight. Just a means to put food on the table.

Tetsuo sighed and closed his eyes. “Sorry about this. Just surrender now. Please.”

The Earthen continued to writhe. “Alvanian trash! Put me down and leave Tervana! This isn’t your home.”

Tetsuo cocked his head back and loudly sighed. “I tried, I really tried. This is for your own good.” He lurched forward headbutting the rebel. The rebels fell backwards as he lost consciousness. Tetsuo laid him face-up onto the ground and tied his hands together with rope. His head stung a bit from the impact, hopefully a solid enough excuse to not have to deal with any more arrests for the day.

Looking around it seemed like the other knights were also close to finishing up. Tetsuo counted about eight rebels and only four weapons. Based on the joking banter of the other knights, Tetsuo had some doubts as to the legitimacy of all the arrests they were making. Tetsuo watched as Veera, who had been leading this patrol, helped one of the arrestees to their feet, calmly asking them to cooperate. The rebel seemed scared but agreed to which Veera patted them on their back. Veera came over to Tetsuo observing the rebel he had just tied up.

“Say… er… You, uh, sure did a number on that fellar.” Veera knelt down and adjusted the unconscious man, moving him to lay against the wall. He slowly lifted up the man's bangs, and observed the growing red mark on his forehead. “Didja headbutt the guy?”

Tetsuo looked off to the side, his forehead still tender from the blow. “He wasn’t backing down.”

Veera looked at Tetsuo with worry in his eyes. “Still. Could’ve tried something a littler gentler.”

Tetsuo shrugged.

“Yer worryin’ me boy. Not just me. Pia too. Rumors been goin’ around about ya. Knights and rebels seem t’ hate ya.”

Tetsuo knelt down and gently started slapping the rebel awake. He began to stir, so Tetsuo began pulling him to his feet. “I’m just doing my job. Not my fault the knights don’t trust me. Not my fault the rebels are causing problems. I just want to finish, go home and sleep.”

Veera sighed shaking his head. “Yer lettin’ me down boy…”

“Nothing new for me…”

Veera muttered. “What happened to you two? She’s been havin’ terrors since the night you two disappeared.”

Tetsuo didn’t respond as he dragged his prisoner, barely standing over to where the rest were being held.

He could hear behind him as Veera shouted, “at least talk to Pia! Please! I don’t know what t’ do at this point.”

Tetsuo paid no mind to his words as he continued to work.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The sun continued to set as Tetsuo walked home from his patrol. He stopped by a small store, picking up a small loaf of bread filled with meat for dinner. The owner seemed disgusted with him and charged him extra. Tetsuo reminded himself to change out of his uniform in the future, before buying something.

As he walked along the street he could see traces of the night life that had started to develop in Tervana. He knew the patrols they did during the day were redundant, because all the rebels acted during the night. Alvanian outposts being raided, rallies and distribution of Ficium were widespread and common during the night. While it seemed like the crackdowns during the day were cruel, they seemed to be caused by how useless the knights were at nightfall.

Tetsuo could hear whispers in the street. Fingers were pointed at him from the dark. People watching, waiting to see what they could do to him. None of it really felt real anyways, so it was easy to ignore. He walked past a path between two houses. He heard some voices talking within. Bored, he sat down near the entrance and started eating his bread as he listened.

“So this stuff’s legit?” A young boy seemed to speak.

Silence. The subtle sound of cloth moving seemed to indicate some non-verbal response.

“Alright! We can show them who owns Tervana now.”

The same rustling of fabric could be heard as the other person signaled something to them.

“C’mon, really?” The boy seemed disappointed with the response. “‘Kay fine, well how does it work.”

Tetsuo listened as he heard the rustling of a page being handed between the two of them.

“Oh, so… It just makes wind… I mean, at least it’s unsealed.” The boy seemed disingenuous with his response. “I mean you sure you don’t have anything any more… I don’t know, damaging?”

Again, complete silence from the other. Based on their conversation, it seemed like they were distributing Ficium weapons in the alleyway. Tetsuo was curious where this sudden source of weapons was coming from, given how limited the armory was. However, he had finished work, and had no intention of doing anything he wouldn’t be paid for.

The boy relented with his requests. “Well thanks anyways, Roscoe. You’re one of the good ones.”

“Hrk–!” Tetsuo nearly choked on his bread upon hearing Roscoe's name. He tried to compose himself, although it seemed like he had already blown his cover.

The boy exclaimed, “Oh sh–!” and the sound of him running away echoed through the alley. Tetsuo ran and stood at the entrance of the path and could see a large pillar of earth rising up to the rooftops, a familiar cloaked figure standing above. Tetsuo could make out his familiar dark hair and piercing gaze looking back at him, before jumping onto a rooftop and disappearing into the night.