Last Words chapter 61 (Patreon)

We arrived downtown after only about ten minutes. We kept to the alleys, avoiding the walking paths lit by street lamps so we didn’t run afoul of the guard. Wilbur, being a former guard himself, knew the way, and led me along quickly and quietly slipped us past multiple patrols. Eventually, we ended up at the back door of a squat, somewhat run down house in the rear quarter of the city.

Wilbur knocked on the door authoritatively, and we waited for a moment. Before long, a haggard looking man answered. He glanced at Wilbur in confusion. “Sergeant?” he said groggily as he rubbed sleep from his eyes. “What are you doing here?”

Nodding to me, Wilbur jerked his thumb in my direction. “This is Balor. He was hoping to speak to you about your house.”

“I’m interested in buying it,” I said quietly. “But I need to look around inside first.” As soon as we’d gotten close, my Treasure Sense had begun to pull strongly toward this place. It had value, at least to me, and I knew that I needed to get it at any cost. I hoped I wouldn’t need to go broke, but I knew I couldn’t miss the opportunity.

He stared at me for a moment, confused. “I don’t-” I reached into a pocket, withdrawing a familiar purple fist sized fruit. He froze, eyes locked on the fruit, jaw working in the air. 

“Ten fruits,” I said bluntly. “Unless you’re the least talented person in the world, that’ll be enough to get you to Beginner.” Given how rare the fruits were and how quickly they were snapped up, it was more than plausible that he’d never even SEEN a mana fruit before. Regardless, he clearly knew what it was, and I saw his eyes shine with avarice.

He bit his lip, looking around. “Come inside,” he said quickly. “Don’t let anyone see you.” Once we were inside, he bolted the door shut, barring it before whirling to glare at me. “Who are you? What do you want with my house?”

Wilbur stepped forward. “Peace, Davy,” he said soothingly. “Balor is a friend.” That was a bit warm and fuzzy for our previous interactions but I didn’t mind. “If he says he can supply ten fruits, he can supply ten fruits. As for what he wants here…” he frowned, looking pensive. “I can’t tell you. I can only say that it isn’t something you can benefit from. It has to do with a secret I was keeping for your father. This is a better deal than you’re likely going to get from anyone else.”

Davy looked dubious. “That’s…Sarge that’s suspicious as hell. If anyone else was saying it I’d have them out on their ass before they closed their mouth. You’ve done a lot for me, but this is-”

Wilbur sighed, slumping into a nearby chair. “I know, lad. I do. But these are dark times. The less you know the better. This is a chance to change your whole life. I’m not telling you to take the fruits, just saying that the offer is a good one. If I was you I’d take it and get the hell out of town.”

I didn’t interfere. This whole thing was suspicious as hell. Creepy masked guy shows up in the middle of night and offers treasure for your house? I would be freaked if it was me. If I’d offered money I doubted he’d have even let me in, regardless of amount. Mana fruits though, they were something a little different. You couldn’t buy a mana fruit even with cash. And that many was enough to make most people’s dreams come true. Becoming a mage was enough to change your whole life here. It was basically too good to pass up.

Ultimately, this was where my power shined. It was easy to get caught up with values and money, but when it came down to it, I had the ability to give people things they wanted even when no one else could.

“Well, let’s find out if you even really want it,” Davy said sourly. “What do you need to see?”

Sighing, Wilbur stood and walked to the back of the house, where a small, dark door was shoved into a corner. “The basement,” he said as he tapped the wood. “We need to look around the basement.”

Pushing the door open, he led the way down into the cramped shaft with the single ladder. We descended into a surprisingly sturdy stone walled room, filled to the brim with boxes and random odds and ends. I was impressed by how sturdy the building was. After my recent adventures in construction, I knew how difficult building a basement like this could be.

“What exactly are you looking for down here?” Davy asked warily as he touched down behind us. “I’ve been over every inch of this basement, there’s nothing valuable in any of these boxes.”

“There isn’t,” Wilbur confirmed. He strode over to a large stock of them and started moving them out of the way. The stack was in the back of the basement, the side that, if my sense of direction served, was pressed squarely against the back wall of the city. Reaching into a pouch at his belt, he withdrew a small, rustic looking folding knife. He flipped it open, then jammed it into the wall between two of the stones.

To my surprise, it punched right into the mortar, a puff of dust flaking down, and he proceeded to saw at the mortar around that stone until he’d worked it loose. One after another, he sawed away the mortar and removed the bricks in a specific area. When he finished, it was clear to see that the section of wall had been added later to cover up a small alcove with another, much sturdier door set into it. The door was metal, riveted and sturdy, and there were several locks and three different steel bars holding it shut.

Davy just stared at it. “That…where does that go?”

“Nowhere you need to visit,” Wilbur said darkly. “In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if someone comes knocking on the other side one of these days. Like I said, you should take the fruits and leave. As soon as possible.”

I hadn’t actually considered that. I supposed that with people active in the necropolis again, it was possible someone would stumble on this tunnel. It hadn’t happened before, but there were more people down there than there ever had been, most likely, with the Tennies sending squads to search.

Davy looked troubled. “I don’t know what to do,” he admitted. “This house has been in my family for generations. But it’s honestly the last thing I have left here. I know that taking the fruit and leaving is the best choice, but I just…I can’t help thinking of what my da would say. Of how disappointed he would be.”

“You’re wrong,” Wilbur told him solemnly. “Wayne never wanted you to have to deal with any of this. It was why he sealed the door up to begin with. His deepest hope for you was to live a normal life, without any of the pressure that your ancestors bore. Gaurding this door is a burden. It was only within the last few generations that the Fellbarrows became less well known that the murmurs about the door died down. Wayne only felt safe blocking it off because of that.”

Davy sighed. “Alright Sarge. I trust you. If you really think this is for the best.” He turned to me. “I accept,” he said firmly. “I’ll sell you the house for ten mana fruits.”

Rather than buy the fruits myself immediately and one by one, I just reached out with Purchase and triggered it, buying the house now that it was available. Six thousand two hundred and fifty dollars were deducted from my reserves, nine more mana fruits appearing nearby on top of a box. Both men flinched, clearly terrified at the random manifestation of powerful items. I was supposedly a demon though, so I didn’t have to be too low profile.

Wilbur swallowed audibly, turning to Davy with an almost frantic look. “Take them and go, lad. Down the alley to the left, out behind Campbell’s Market. Take the west avenue out around Delmore’s barn and head out towards Dolavar. It’s only a few weeks walk, and those fruits will keep you alive during the journey.”

I blinked at that. I hadn’t realized you could SURVIVE on mana fruits, though I probably should have. Actually it was probably an ideal way to use them. Davy nodded frantically, grabbing a bag from one of the boxes nearby and shoveling the fruits in. He froze as he did. “There were a few things-” he said weakly.

“Take them,” I responded with a wave. “I don’t want your items.”

Grabbing another bag, he started snatching up items from the boxes, then climbed the ladder out. Once we heard the door slam ten minutes later Wilbur turned to face me. “Thank you,” he said uneasily. “For letting him take his things.”

I didn’t tell him that I’d had no need to take any of it. Nothing in those boxes was worth anything substantial. My Treasure Sense hadn’t tugged toward any of it. Just the house itself. I honestly wasn’t too sure how that ability worked yet, and hadn’t really had much experience with it before tonight, but I trusted my skills, so I’d put my faith in it this time.

“No thanks necessary,” I said grimly. “I trust I don’t need to remind you not to speak of this to anyone? And will his disappearance be noticed?”

He shook his head quickly. “No, to both. He has a job baling hay at one of the local farms, but the turnover there is fairly substantial. They employ a lot of visiting workers who just sort of wander off, so they’re used to disappearances. Especially with…” he trailed off uneasily, but I knew what he was talking about. The Lord was taking people at random for who knew what, and people must have noticed. Clearly they had enough survival instinct not to ask.

Wilbur walked over to the alcove, reaching up to cut at another stone within the recess. Pulling that out, he reached in and withdrew a small metal box. Flipping it open, he pulled out a heavy iron key. He passed it to me. “I helped Wayne brick this place up, and he left me with the location.”

I rolled it between my fingers. Feeling over the iron, I could vaguely make out slight ridges on the body of the key. I frowned as I traced them. “Is this…?”

“Enchanted,” he said with a nod. “The door too. They were made by a powerful blacksmith generations ago. No idea if they’re still functional, we’ve never had occasion to check. But that door is sturdy at least, and nothing will open it easily without that key. Like I told Davy though, don’t get complacent. Not easily doesn’t mean not at all.”

I was surprised he felt compelled to warn me, considering my demeanor and current visage. I stared at him for a moment…then I reached into my pocket and withdrew something else. Something that cost as much as all ten of those other fruits. An indigo mana fruit. I tossed it to him, and he caught it, eyes wide as he gaped at the rare item. “Consider it a retainer,” I told him quietly. “Your favor is paid up, but if you take that, I might come back to ask for help again.”

He stared in awe. Despite having a ten times cost modifier, the rarity of the indigo fruits was incomparable to the violets. Forget ten times, you could have a thousand times more delyrans than someone buying a violet fruit and not manage to find one.

I saw him debate taking it, but finally, he nodded and hurriedly put it away. “You know where I live,” he said solemnly. “If you need me.” Then he turned and headed out of the basement. I nodded to myself as I turned to the door, gripping the enchanted key as I approached. Time to find out what exactly I’d just bought.