Tycoon May: Chapter 16 (Patreon)

Chapter 16

Grant managed to land with a roll, saving his ankles from breaking as he fell through the roof.  The debris falling in behind him were thankfully limited to only what had been immediately around him when he went through the roof.  If the whole thing decided to collapse, he would have been buried underneath a ton of wood and potted plants.

The aches and pains caused by the last few days made themselves known with a vengeance as Grant sat up.  “You know, it’s been a rough couple of months for me.”  He fought against coughing from all of the dust.  Looking around, he saw that he had landed in the attic of someone who really liked to collect dolls.  Almost every inch of available space had been used for shelving, and they sagged under the weight of the multitude of ceramic figurines.

<You need to get out of here.>  Sarge sounded a little higher-pitched than Grant was used to hearing.  <Now.  Leave, Grant.  Leave now.>

“What’s wrong, Sarge?  Are you afraid of a bunch of dolls?”  Grant had somehow managed to land into the only available open space.  It was a small seating area next to the top of the stairs that led to the next floor.  The debris from the roof blocked the only visible exit, meaning Grant would have to climb back out onto the roof to leave.  A sturdy workbench separated the seating area from the shelves of dolls.  Grant started climbing on top of it to try and jump when the dry sound of ceramic scraping against ceramic came from somewhere deeper in the shelving sections.

<Dolls are creepy, sure, but I’m not afraid of a bunch of dolls, Grant.  I’m worried about what might be hiding inside a doll.>  Another slow scrape seemed to steal the air out of Grant’s lungs, and he felt his heart skip a beat when something out of sight shattered with the sound of broken pottery.  <Stop looking around, and get out of here!>

The slow plodding steps of tiny feet were almost drowned out by the shouts of people downstairs finally reacting to the sounds in the attic.  But he could still hear their approach, and the hair on the back of Grant’s neck stood on end as the feeling of being watched by something inherently malevolent washed over him.

Jumping up, he managed to grab the lip of the broken roof and slowly pulled himself to safety.  Grant turned around to look into the dark attic below him to make sure nothing was following him, and he could have sworn he saw something move back into the shadows, skittering across the floors like an insect.  The dead eyes of the dolls didn’t react as he let out a sigh of relief.

<That was a close one.  Those things are the worst.>  Sarge sounded genuinely relieved, making Grant even more happy that he had avoided fighting a bunch of dolls.

“What’s so bad about them?  And what even are those things?”  Grant could hear someone pounding on the blocked doorway below, and quickly moved to the edge of the roof to see where to jump to next.

<Let’s just say, those aren’t the kind of dolls you want children to play with, and leave it at that.>  Grant shook his head, and Sarge could see it wasn’t enough for Grant to leave it alone.  <It’s something that shouldn’t be here.  Monsters like that are in Early Winter.  Leave the worries for District October for when we get there.>

Mollified, Grant decided to move on.  It sounded like District October was going to be a rough one if even Sarge was worried about it.

The next roof over was an easy jump, and so were the next three.  Grant made his way to the House Monday location and shimmied down a water spout that fed into a barrel overflowing with plants that grew bright blue fruit.  He had left behind the guards, and the crowded streets didn’t show any signs of excitement beyond the normal hustle and bustle of the city.

Grant got in line to speak with the House Monday representative, who was standing behind a window beside the gate to the compound.  It was a long wait to get to the front, but the progress was steady.  After waiting long enough for his stomach to start growling, he was finally first in line.

“What do you want?”  The man standing behind the window looked Grant up and down with a frown.  Looking at himself, Grant was keenly aware of his bedraggled appearance.  He hadn’t even had a chance to use his Apprentice Repair to fix the recent damage to his armor, which made him look like a down-on-his-luck adventurer.  “Beggars are only given food vouchers on the eighth and sixteenth of every month.  You need to go to the House Thursday building to volunteer for a collection mission if you want more food.”

“I’m not here for that.”  Grant reached in his pouch to pull out a chunk of Metallica.  “I need someone to count up my contribution points and add them to my badge.”  He motioned to the solid bronze shield pinned to his belt.  “I should have enough to hit silver, so I can get to the next section of the city.”

“Sure, guy.  I totally believe you—a complete stranger I’ve never seen or heard of before—collected enough rare high-tier metals all on your own.”  Grant saw the man not-so-subtly motioning to someone out of sight behind the gate.  “Just wait there until a team of… appraisers can come and check your belongings.”

Grant let out a sigh as a heavy hand fell on his shoulder.  “You know, you really shouldn’t judge a book by its cover.  I really did collect a bunch of metals on my own.  I almost died doing it.”  He looked behind him to see two guards wearing the colors of House Thursday waiting for him, one with a pair of shackles already hanging from his grip.  The one holding him was a Vassal, while the one with the shackles was a regular cultivator.  It didn’t escape Grant’s attention that the man behind the window had already made the small piece of Metallica disappear.

“Come quietly with us.  We’ll get to the bottom of things, don’t you worry.”  The guard holding his shoulder grabbed Grant’s sword with his free hand, trapping it in the sheath.  “As long as you have a witness or two at silver badge rank or above—like an expedition leader—to verify that your supplies aren’t stolen, then your points will be added in two to three months.  Minus the costs incurred by the investigation, of course.”

“You have to know how wrong you are right now.”  The guard only shrugged at Grant’s words.

“I don’t make the rules, I just enforce them.  And it’s on you to know and follow them.”  He tugged at Grant’s shoulder.  “Come on, let’s go.”

“Let me go, and we’ll pretend your attempts at extortion didn’t happen.  Otherwise, this isn’t going to go the way you think it will.”

Both guards laughed at Grant, and the guard with the shackles got closer.  “Looks like we have a live one!  We better get him chained up before he causes any problems.”

Grant had enough.  He dropped his shoulder to break the grip holding him and turned to face the guard that still had a grasp of his weapon.  A stomping kick at the guard’s knee forced the man to let go as he danced back.

A sharp stabbing pain in his back caused Grant to spin, using Iaijutsu to help speed his turn.  The House Monday man at the window fell back with a scream as Grant’s sword split his face diagonally, and the spear he was holding clattered to the ground.

Knowing that the two guards would be closing in, Grant activated Thundering Step and concentrated the cone of lightning at them.  It was super effective.  Knowing more would be showing up soon, Grant left the two guards on the ground to twitch out their sorrows as he ran for the nearest alley.

<You know, I don’t think this is the best city for you.  Guards seem to be attracted to you or something.>  Grant let out a grunt of agreement as he levered himself onto the low-slung roof at the back of the narrow street.

“Tell me about it.  They weren’t nearly this bad in the last city.  It reminds me too much of District March.”  He fell silent as the sound of booted feet stomped past.  It wouldn’t be long before they figured out where he went, so Grant circled back around to make his way out of the city.  “I think it would be a good idea to try our luck at the next city.  Hopefully, they won’t be as arrest-happy as this place.”

<Agreed.  Try to find a canal or bridge that runs straight to the other side of the city.  There’s certainly an exit to the opposite bank of the river, that way you don’t have to swim it.>

“Yeah, that river was too wide, too fast, and too monster infested for House Thursday not to have some way for trade to get through, no matter what level their badge is.”  Grant leapt from rooftop to rooftop, making his way north until he found a wide road that ran the full length of the city.  It took him to a gate that exited onto a well-worn trail through the desolate wastelands of monster country.

<Here we go.  Round two of Grant versus Everything.  Better get moving.>