CHAPTER 1: "The Last Stop"

THE LAST POTION SHOP ON DEAD GOD AVENUE

Scene 1: Opening the Shop

The sound Kaelen Vex had grown to love clicked the lock. It was the sound of another day and another normal day and another day when you were nothing special. Without looking, he grabbed the light switch and opened the door into the dark convenience store.

The fluorescent lights flickered to life and shelves were lined with healing remedies, manna and questionable treats. The store had an old wood and herbs smell and a smell of magic that had permeated through the walls over the years of its use. Kaelen breathed it in. He was now a man of this nature. This was his peace.

He performed morning ritual with facility. The broom swept the dust and the leaf that had been dried up on the shabby wooden flooring first. Then the potions, and they had to look at each label to ensure that none of the remedies had expired or that the colour was off. Next, the cursed items inventory, which demanded a carefulness that most shop owners couldn't imagine. He stored the cursed goods on the top shelf, inaccessible to the general population, and he had a head map of which of them would be "annoying" and which would "level a city block.

The coffee machine gurgled to life and pervaded the shop with the rich aroma of cheap beans. Kaelen put his reading glasses on his nose and leaned against the counter, drinking from his cup. He didn't want them, he had trained years for his eyesight to be sharp. But his glasses made him look more like a bookkeeper and less like the man called the Silent Executioner.

There was a bell that rang over the door. Kaelen's smile for service was on his face as he looked up. It was a practiced smile; one that never quite made it to his eyes, but most people did not notice the difference.

The man said, "Good morning. Welcome to Last Stop Potions!

An elderly woman entered, her back stooped, hands clenched and knotted with age. She had a bundle wrapped in cloth and had red rimmed eyes from crying.

“Please,” sobbed the woman, her voice giving out. "Please help me."

Kaelen placed his coffee cup on the floor and walked around the counter. "What's wrong?"

She uncovered the bundle to find a small cat barely breathing, fuzzy and dull. He's not eating, not moving, I've tried everything, he's sick.

Kaelen stared at the cat, and then at the woman. He did not ask the cat's age or how long the cat was sick. He didn't need to. There was a resignation that was visible in her eyes and a fear that this was the end.

He looked at us in a gentle way and said: “let me see.”

He took her cat from her, with his surprising tenderness. His fingers, the fingers that had taken the lives of dozens of men, now traced the animal's ephemeral body, looking to discover the source of its pain. It was in the cat's stomach, in the form of a hard lump which shouldn't be there.

There's a curse, he said. "Someone put a curse on your cat."

The woman gasped. "A curse? Who would do such a thing?

Kaelen didn't answer. He had his suspicions, but they didn't matter right now. It was the cat that mattered.

I can make it better," he said. But I have to have you outside; it may get a little... weird.

The woman paused and after a second, she nodded and walked out of the store. Kaelen took the cat into the back room, which to most seemed like just a storage room. However to those who understood, it was a powerful location. The walls were adorned with runes, their magic dimly still glowing. Jars of ingredients, which would make any average person's skin crawl are kept in shelves.

Kaelen set the cat on a table and started to work.

He didn't use spells. He did not incant. He gently patted the cat on the belly and pushed. After being used as the most feared assassin in the Assassin Order, his Stillness Magic was now being used for another purpose. He expelled the curse from the cat's body, so that it could be dispersed like smoke. The cat coughed once, twice, and then opened its eyes, and meowed weakly.

"Good," Kaelen whispered. “Don't worry, you'll be okay.”

He brought the cat back to the old woman, who cried when she saw her cat alive and moving. She sobbed, "Thank you! "Thank you so much. “How much is the debt due to me?”

Kaelen shook his head in disbelief. “Nothing, just care for him.

The woman tried to dispute but Kaelen was adamant. She had her cat in her arms and she was still crying and saying thanks. Kaelen watched her go, but he could not tell what his expression was.

He didn't do it with the intention of making money. He did it because it was right to do. It was a small thing of kindness in a world of not enough kindness. It made him think about what he could be if he didn't kill thousands of people.

He was still working on it, he was trying to be a better person.

He brewed another cup of coffee and waited to start his day.

---

The students will then proceed to the next scene: The Employees Arrive.

The back door was thrown open, smashing the windows. Kaelen didn't flinch. He was used to this.

Rina Sasaki said in a loud voice, "The vending machine ate my coin. Again! I'm going to set it on fire!

Kaelen didn't look up from his list of inventory as he said, "Don't burn the vending machine. "It's haunted."

Rina, with her crimson hair in a wild mess round her white face, rushed into the shop. Definitely not a sword case she should have brought to work but Kaelen had long since given up on commenting on that one. She was twenty-three years old, a physical fighter and always angry.

“Haunted?” she put down the sword case on the counter. It's a vending machine, it's not haunted.

"The ghost disagrees."

"There's no ghost."

“He's standing behind you.

Rina spun around, her hand going to the sword case. The vending machine was the only thing in sight, innocently buzzing in the corner. She glared at Kaelen as if her eyes were burning the man.

Fighting with me.

"I'm not. He's shy."

But Grem Ironstomp stepped into the doorway and interrupted her from arguing, Rina opened her mouth. The goblin walked very slowly with a box of items that two normal men would need to lift. He was short, stocky and like a walking brick. A faint glow of amber colored eyes remained in his eyes, a leftover from his days as a warlord.

The Bleeding Garbage was in the alley again," he growled in a rumbling voice. I'll just take care of it afterwards.

Kaelen sighed. Bleeding Garbage was a regular issue in the Ribcage District. The trash from cursed objects and unsuccessful potions would pile up in the alley behind the store, and over time would become an unintelligent entity. The resulting monster was hungry, pathetic and desparately lonely. Was also slightly dangerous when provoked.

"How big is it this time? Kaelen asked.

"Medium," Grem said. Perhaps it would be a bit larger than the previous one.

"It's sad, really."

In this district with everything sad?In this district all is sad?

Rina did not listen to their discussion, but continued to glare at the vending machine. I'm serious, it ate my coin, I want it back.

Kaelen was finally able to look up from his list of inventory. Have you asked nicely?

"What?"

Have you asked your vending machine nicely for your coin back?

He looked like a second head to Rina. It's a vending machine. It's not a nice machine."

If it is haunted, "It does," which is why it is haunted.

"Fine," Rina snapped. She went to the vending machine and with a firm voice, she said, "Give me my coin back please.

After a few moments, the vending machine beeped and gave one coin back. Rina opened her mouth in a silent expression.

She declared, "I don't like this store at all.

This shop," Grem said with correction, "you love this shop.

I can live with this store, I can't live with that.

A slight smile creased Kaelen's lips, the most he could manage this morning. Welcome to Last Stop Potions, where the staff are mad, the goblins are ex-warriors and the vending machines are haunted.

---

Scene 3: Lila's Morning

Lila Vex was doing her hero poses in the apartment above the shop.

With a hand on her hip and the other hand lifted high in the air, she was posing in front of the mirror with her silver hair still in disarray from sleep. Citizens, do not fear," she declared to herself. Lila Vex is back to save the day!

Her self looked back at her with a slight doubt.

Lila said to herself, "You're not taking this seriously. “There's a bad guy loose, people's lives are at stake, I have to be prepared.”

She then changed her position, this time going through a lot of arm motion. “With the force of friendship and punching I'll beat you down!

The mirror didn't interfere.

Lila sighed and let go of her arms. She was 12, and wanted to be a big hero. She desired to venture into unsafe dungeons, battle horrid monsters and rescue individuals from imminent death. She wanted to be strong, brave and important.

She just didn't know how to get started.

She heard her father moving about downstairs and could detect the familiar scent of coffee. Her stomach grumbled. Time for breakfast.

Her enthusiasm overwhelmed her need to be flashy, and she ran down the stairs. She has found Kaelen in the kitchen while she is preparing a toast and egg breakfast.

“Morning,” she said as she slid into her seat, "Dad.”

"Morning, Lila."

She quickly finished her food, thinking about what the day might hold. May I work in the shop today?

Kaelen hesitated. Whenever she asks him this, he is always not sure about the answer.

“Well, I guess we'll see,” he said.

As you always say, "You always say that.

“Since you ask for it.

Lila pouted. She was aware that her dad was concealing something from her. She didn't know what, but she could feel it. He was too attentive to her, too protective. As if he were afraid of something!

Slowly she asked, "Dad, can I ask you something?"

Kaelen lifted his head from his cup of coffee. "You just did."

"Something serious."

He put down the cup and was entirely attentive to her. "Okay. What is it?"

"When are you going to teach me how to fight?"

A silence fell between them once again. Lila could see that Kaelen's face was expressionless, but his shoulders felt tight.

“If you're older,” he said.

“You always tell me that.”

I dunno 'cause you're not ready.

I'd do anything!

Kaelen shook his head. No, Lila, that's not you and that's ok; you have plenty of time to learn.

Lila wanted to challenge, but her father said something that put an end to it. He wasn't being flippant about it. “He was being prudent.” He was making him feel afraid.

“Ok,” she whispered. "I trust you."

Kaelen nodded, and for a second, his practiced, insincere smile seemed authentic. "Thank you."

They ate quietly and Lila did not mention fighting. However, it was something she was considering. She always had it on the mind.

---

Scene 4: The Carnival Arrives

The posters came up out of nowhere.

They were everywhere, attached to walls, windows, even the ribs of the dead god which was the district's skyline. They were garish and flashy with too many teeth sticking out and a grinning face. Below the face, there was written the text:

"THE CARNIVAL OF KILLERS COMES TO THE RIBCAGE! ONE NIGHT ONLY! COME FOR THE PERFORMANCE, STAY FOR THE SCREAMING!"

Rina discovered the first poster as she was walking to work that morning. Looked at it for a while, then pulled it down and folded it up in her hands. After the first, she found another on the next block, and one more after that, and one more after that.

When she got to Last Stop Potions she was carrying a bunch of crumpled posters.

"What is this?" she demanded, throwing the bundle onto the counter.

Kaelen looked at the posters, but his face remained blank. It appears that it is a carnival.

"A carnival? A carnival of murderers? No, it's not suspicious at all.

"It's probably nothing."

Rina stared at him. "Nothing? Have you read the poster? It's literally 'come for the performance, stay for the screaming.

"I saw that."

"And you're not concerned?"

Kaelen shrugged. There's lots of weird stuff in this district, a carnival is just another weird thing.

Rina wasn't convinced. There's something wrong about this. I can feel it.

After a moment of silent restocking, Grem said, “Well, this is the liveliest store I've ever seen.Well, this is the most lively store I ever got my hands dirty in,” Grem said. “There's something wrong with those posters—she's not wrong I feel it in my bones.”

Kaelen didn't answer. He was gazing at the poster, his eyes locked on the smiling face. He knew that face. He saw the logo, a mask with both comedy and tragedy divided in it. He knew who it was, the Carnival of Killers.

He knew him because it was a man.

"Malvolio," he whispered.

Rina heard him. "What did you say?"

Kaelen shook his head, his practiced smile back in place. There's nothing, it's just a carnival, we'll get through it if it is an issue.

However, he knew it would be a trouble. He was aware that it was a problem at this point. It was Malvolio who had discovered him and Malvolio did not ease up.

---

The store shuts down.Scene 5: The Shop Closes.

The rest of the day was business as usual (or, as business was in the Ribcage District anyway). They came and went, and they came and went. The sale of potions and medicines was a regular occurrence. Rina threatened to burn the vending machine down once more, as it consumed two more coins.

However, Kaelen was distracted. He continued to look at the door, waiting for someone to come in. He was busy shelving and stocking, but his thoughts were elsewhere.

At the end of the day, he locked up the store early.

I bet you two go home," he said to Rina and Grem. "I need to think."

Rina hugged her arms. "About the carnival?"

"About everything."

"Kaelen." Grem's voice was quiet and calm. If there is something you are not telling us, you should tell us, we are in this together.

Kaelen glanced over his staff, his friends, his family. He wished to share with them the truth. He was trying to tell them about Malvolio, past history, the threat that was on the horizon. But he couldn't. Not yet. Not when he didn't know what Malvolio wanted.

"I'll tell you all this later," he said. I only need "1 night to figure things out.

The two exchanged glances, but did not fight. They left the shop and Kaelen was left alone.

The man stood in the darkness, with his hands resting on the counter, his head bent. The past was pressing down on him, the memories of who he was.

Malvolio," he repeated, the name bitter on his tongue. "It's been a long time."

This day should have come to him, but he did not know it. He must have known that peace wasn't going to last. But he had hoped. He had, he had allowed himself to think he could leave his past behind, that he could be somebody new.

He was wrong. Old is not out of the question. And now it was coming for him.

It's just a carnival," he said to himself, empty in the empty shop. “It is only a carnival.”

He didn't believe it. He couldn't believe it. Because he knew Malvolio, and he knew the Carnival of Killers, and he knew what his old partner was capable of.

The carnival was dangerous. The carnival was a warning. The carnival was Malvolio's expression of "I'm here, I've found you, and you will not be able to escape me forever.

Kaelen set the alarm on the shop and made his way up the stairs to his flat. Mira was at work yet. Lila was in her room, in what was probably her hero poses. He leaned down to the kitchen table and looked at the wall.

He had one night. One night to know what Malvolio's wishes were; one night to think of what he should do next; one night to consider whether he was still the Silent Executioner or merely the shopkeeper who would prefer to not be disturbed.

He had no idea of the answer. However, he knew that he soon would find out.

For Malvolio was here. And Malvolio was never a half-hearted man.

---

END OF CHAPTER 1

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AUTHOR'S NOTE: CHAPTER 1

This chapter lays the groundwork for Kaelen's new life. He's a man who left behind his violent past, but the past hasn't left him. The inciting incident is when the carnival posters arrive, and Kaelen realizes his peace is threatened.

Key elements established:

Kaelen's life in the shop

He is on a romance with Rina and Grem.

- His connection with Lila

The carnival comes to the court.Malvolio arrives at the court for the carnival.

- The foreboding of war

The chapter is a mixture of comedy (haunted vending machine, Rina's anger), drama (Kaelen's guilt, his fear for Lila), and mystery (who is Malvolio, what does he want). This tone will be used throughout the novel.