Sev savored the mouthful of tea. He couldn’t remember when he’d last been able to drink real tea, and taste water that hadn’t had to be run to six different filtration processes before it was safe for consumption.

He sat in the office in the back of the strange shop. Across from him sat the shop owner. An odd man who didn’t seem entirely human and reminded Sev a bit of the teachers and tutors he used to have back when he was still a scion of the Huxley clan. All put-off, and stern, and long-suffering.

If it weren’t for the fact that there was something patently, pant-soilingly, terrifying about the man, the experience would have been nostalgic. As things stood, focusing on the flavor of the tea was the only way Sev could keep from buckling under the pressure that the man exuded by merely being there.

Eventually, the tea was over. Ditto for the tea cakes and scones. When he realized that the scones were gone, Sev felt a pang of guilt. If he hadn’t been so nervous he would have pocketed a few for his sister, Cathrine. Despite being a vampire, the girl had quite the sweet tooth.

While Sev was busy feeling bad about eating all the cakes and scones by himself, the shopkeep was observing him. The man’s expression was unreadable behind that smile he wore as a mask for anything else he might have been feeling.

Eventually, the man spoke, his low, mellow, faintly melodic voice, smashing through Sev’s train of thought.

“So...I don’t suppose you’ve got any idea of how to get out of this?” said the man.

“Hu-...Huh?” said Sev. Shaken. Meeting the man’s eyes and almost immediately regretting it as he felt himself go weak at the knees.

“I was just asking if you have a concrete idea of what to do once you leave my shop... I’m pretty sure they’ve stopped looking for you in this area, so I was just wondering what you were going to do next.” said the man.

“I uh...I’m not sure what you mean, sir.” said Sev.

*************************************************************************************************************

“Mazon has connections to a lot of people east of Hythe...And he’s clearly willing to invest money and time into getting people west of Hythe to bring you to him. I’m curious to see what you intend to do.” I said.

“Er...I ...I don’t know.” said the boy. Growing pale and looking lost. Making me feel like a total ass because one)apparently the lad hadn’t quite on to how bad his situation was and two) I’d almost certainly made the boy very nervous by revealing that I knew who he was hiding from.

Sev wasn’t stupid. He just didn’t know all the facts. Ringmaster Mazon’s performers weren’t just normal slaves. They were also lab experiments. Expensive assets and living samples of the sorcerous Ringmaster’s work. Worst of all, Sev and Catherine were a pair of Mazon’s few successes.

If things were left as they were Sev would realize this, probably during some moment of deep despair and heavy stress. He’d awaken the fruits of the ringmasters work and then maybe butt back into the heroes’ path as recurring villain because I knew from experience that one rarely tends to run into people you absolutely hated, when one was one’s best self.

No, it was always when you crazed, or grieving, or had mustard on your shirt. It alway when you were in a mood of general antipathy for the world. And maybe, you might have been doing something not nice to someone who you could have let off with a warning, or maybe you weren’t and it just looked like you were. Either way, you could bet that this would be the moment that some “justice-” loving dickhead would show-up to brighten your day.

I sighed. I hadn’t really wanted to get involved with this kid, considering his past track record, but somehow he’d just been bumped up from being passingly intriguing to being someone I was loathe to just leave alone and as it turned out he was also someone I could possibly make use of. Thus making my life a lot easier.

“I’d like to make you an offer.” I said.

“An ...Offer?” said Sev. Eyes narrowing, as his guard went up.

“Yes...An Offer. But only an offer. Not a threat. Not a demand. Not some Faustian bargain. An offer. I’d like to make you an offer. Nothing less. Nothing more.”

“Er...O-, Okay. I’m listening,” said Sev. Sitting up straight and squaring his shoulders. His expression turning stern in a mimicry of expression I’m sure he’d seen his father wear many times.

“I’m going to offer you two options…Three, if you count the first option. The option that is completely open to you...if your not interested, which is the offer to walk-away because like I said, I’m absolutely not trying to force anything on you.”

“Alright...What about the other two doors, sir?” said the boy. Gulping slowly as he imagined the hulking figures of the Sharkfang gang pacing the streets outside.

“I move around a lot. You might have noticed that the building that this shop is in ...Wasn't present in the town a few weeks ago and just kind of popped up overnight.”

“That isn’t something you’re misunderstanding...That’s just how things are. My shop is a ship. An airship. And I am willing...no strings attached...for the low price of a few hundred spirit-coins. To carry you, and your sister, further west...Out of the Hythe Wasteland and out of the reach of Philip Mazon and his many friends.”

“You could...You could do that? How many spirit-coins are we talking here?” said Sev. The tension draining from his shoulders and his expression brightening up before he tensed again and asked what kind of price I was demanding.

“Three hundred and fifty. Non-negotiable.”

“Three hundred and fifty!? I….I guess I could do that.” said Sev. Sucking in a sharp breath. His widening and his expression looking pained.

I’d just asked for basically four-fifths of all his and Catherine’s money. However, that wasn’t out of any desire for the coins. It was minimum I could ask without the boy bolting out of the office. Spirit-Coins were a part of the Andern-systems generic loot.

The systems that were integrated into each world generally came with various forms of currency. The main purpose was to allow the denizens of those worlds to trade with the system generated vendors, but most worlds would often adopt those currencies as the general currency because it helped stabilize their economies during periods that were quite literally apocalyptic.

The point being, that even assuming I actually wanted the spirit coins, as DPAA Administrator I could basically just use a console command to gift myself as many coins as I needed. Though I’d probably get flagged if I did so and used those coins to disturb the local economy.

My reason for asking for coins from the boy, was because he was former-noble, an abandoned child, an escaped slave, a wasteland survivor, and now a fugitive.

All those things put together did not equate to someone who’d respond positively to pronouncements of goodwill at no cost. As things stood, I could literally see him eyeing me, trying to figure out if he could trust my offer, or if I was planning to hand him and his sister over to Mazon’s men the moment I had the coin in hand.

“What’s behind door number three?” said the boy. His brow still furrowed.

“I offer you a job. You become my cliens, my employee. You’ll be my hands and feet in Andern...and for as long as you work for me, Mazon will never be able to touch a hair on your head. And by the time you leave my employee, you’ll have gained sufficient power, that even when you are no longer under my protection ...Mazon still won’t be a threat. If you’d like, it could be you hunting down Mazon instead...”

The boy chuckled. The sound oddly childish and youthful. Reminding me of how young the boy actually was and making me feel strangely despondent.

“I thought you weren’t gonna be offering any devil’s deals, sir?” said Sev. Already shaking his head in disbelief.

“It’s not a devil’s deal...It’s a promise ...A system-honored promise. And I can also promise that this isn’t an invitation to become the slave of a new master...Even if you enter my employ, you and your sister will still be free.” I said.

*************************************************************************************************************

Sev’s fuzzy green brows rose. Disappearing into his hair. By this point in time, after two or three generations living with the system, people knew that a system-honored promise was nothing to be trifled with.

Even if men’s hearts and the law of the land could be fickle, the system would stay true. And the consequences for breaking a contract backed by the system could be quite dire, depending on the stakes. You might not die, but you’d probably end up wishing you had.

Sev frowned. He’d been on the fence about paying for a trip out of Hythe, but becoming the man’s lap dog was naturally a big no. Or at least it should have been. The terms the man was offering were just plainly too good. There had to be something nasty hiding behind the man’s non-committal grin.

Yet...Sev couldn’t get himself to simply say no. There was this feeling, this strong feeling, that he’d regret it if he did.

Sev blinked.

“Hold on...Why are you pulling my sister into this...Or rather, how did you even know that I have a sister.”

The man blinked and frowned.

“Well, it would be rude to ignore the young lady when she’s standing right there...Plus, I think you’ll find that I’m quite good at “just knowing” things.” said the man. His formally dark black hair taking on a strange pink hue, his green eyes momentarily turning into red flame.

Sev’s mouth dropped. His sister appeared. Stepping out of her hiding place within Sev’s shadow. Her large red eyes meeting the shopkeeper's green ones.

“Cat!?” said Sev. Horrified. Already stepping forward to protect his sickly companion.

“Sev...I think we need to take this deal.”

“Cat, What are you talking about? We barely know this guy! How can we trust him?! This isn’t something from one of your stories!”

“Isn’t it, Sevastion? We live in a fairy tale world...It’s been a long time since magic was just what we called the shady fringe science of the ancients…Unbelievable things happen to people every day. Unbelievable opportunities happen to people every day...Somehow, I have the feeling that this is one of those opportunities.”

“I...Cat, you’re not making any sense?!”

“Sev ...Just hear me out...You just spent the last forty-five minutes drinking tea, with this gentleman...He was aware of me the whole time...And yet, we’re both still alive and not in fetters or in any kind of cage...And with those high perception stats...I’m at least eighty-percent that it wouldn’t have been hard for him to catch us ...Both of us. Even your shadow couldn’t keep me safe if he’d wanted to make a move.” said the young woman.

“Plus...How many times is this going to happen?...This is the third time, Sev...We’ve been on the run for more than a year and Mazon’s almost caught us three times. How many times are we going to have abandon our lives, Sev? How many times are we going to start building a little happiness for ourselves only to have to drop everything and run, because of some gang, or some mercs, or some fucking corrupt cops?!”

“Ev-...Even then, that doesn’t mean we should work for this guy...Maybe he just wants to exploit us like Mazon did! Hurt us like Mazon did...What if he wants to do even more twisted experiments than Mazon?!”

“Maybe...But maybe not, here’s what I know...Mazon caught me all the way over on the other side of the continent, all the way over on the western coast of Alban...There were a lot of other performers in his circus from other continents too... So, I think -no- I know, that simply moving west won’t save us. The evil whoreson’s got friends in all sorts of places, both high and low. If Mazon wants us badly enough, we’ll be running and hiding for the rest of our lives.”

“Cat….”

“I don’t want to lose you, Sev...But I’m afraid that one day we won’t be able to hide...Or worse, eventually, he’ll stop caring about bringing us back alive...and we both know he’s got the money to put a very large bounty on both our heads.”

“I get it…Cat…”

“No, you don’t...Sev...I’ll die by your side if push comes to shove. I’m willing to go together with you, right here and now...But if there’s a way out of it...A definitive way out of it...Even if it’s just the slightest chance…”

“I get it…” said Sev. Sighing. Defeated. Placing his hand on the younger girl’s shoulder and pulling the tearful young woman into his embrace.

The young man then looked over at me.

“Yes…”

“Yes, what?” I said. Politely pretending not to have seen the young pairs little argument.

“Yes, we’ll work for you,” said Sev.

“Oh?...Goodie gumdrops! In that case, let's make this official...” I said. Quickly drafting, editing, and re-drafting an employment contract, before having Andern’s system look over it and send it over to the two youths as a system-prompt.