Epilogue

With Jordan’s hand on his back parading him around the officials, Wilhelm had the feeling that he should reconsider what he had done. Even more so when they got to the stretching tables of refreshment. He bit his lip, slipping his mouth back right after.

Was this really the right thing to do? If I stay on their good side, I’m guaranteed an amazing opportunity. He looked up at the beaming Jordan who stood nearly a foot over him. I’m his golden boy right now, but when he finds out what I did, when they find out about the Champions…

He bowed politely around at the suited men with their holographic identification spouting forth, like their own egos taking shape in grandiose fashion. Huge peacekeepers all in the white-spotted navy of the UN stood by, thumbing their heavy belts. He swallowed after counting the dozen of them, noticing that they were all poised at him, the tips of their boots tracing his movements.

Woo-Yi stopped by the square’s guardian tree and put down her pallets. “This is weird,” she noted, rubbing her arms up and down in nervous strokes. “I’ve walked by this place so many times, but I’ve never seen that sapling before.”

She stared up at the small, yet entirely self-supporting thing. “You would have loved it,” she sighed, “In fact, it reminds me of you, a stubborn piece of wood that inspires confidence.”

Turning slowly, she was careful not to brush the stack of covered food against the branches of her potted birch-ling as she headed to the infirmary.

“I’ll find you a good home. Promise.”

Sykes excused himself past Wilhelm. As the second round of Debaters came through to meet the officials, Woo-Yi and Shirley anxiously looked around in their booth, and although he was of the mind to join him, he didn’t. He passed the chatter of the other regulars, noticed Darnes tapping away at the counter, overlooking the crowd. I’m sure he wouldn’t mind slipping out as well. If Anita will ever leave her PM friends.

He was certain that the pub had never seen this many patrons. But beating MEDB this time around required all possible allies, and this was as close to neutral ground as they could get. Darnes caught his eye as his mind was drifting and tried to communicate something with a gesture. But it was impossible to make out what it was and Sykes reckoned that the barkeep didn’t know himself, but whatever it was, he was not the cause of it.

However, it may have been a warning.

Taking a drag of his smoke, he decided to open up Airgead for the last time. Hell, it might have been shut down already.

Smiling at his healthy medal balance of medals, now completely worthless, he tapped open his inventory. An item remained form each of his entrepreneurial endeavours; low-mastery armours and weapons; the bangles that turned out a quick profit; the potions that he sold after Yeung-Sung had become infamous -Hold on!

The potions weren’t there. But the red flaks were always there; on the fourth row, two boxes form the left -all three of them. Flakes of burning ash dripped from the end of his rolled cigarette as he understood what this meant.