About ten minutes after we left Timber’s camp, Tasha asked if I was injured and also volunteered for Flora to heal me. I think she could have worded it better, but of course, Flora didn’t mind it and agreed. However, I declined. Despite how intense the fight got between me and Timber at one point, I didn’t have any significant injuries. In fact, I was feeling more sore and tired from exerting the power of the Thousand Bolts than anything else. Tasha still insisted that I be healed though.

  “Dad, please just let Flora heal you.”

  “It’s really unnecessary. I’m barely hurt at all.” Other than some light bruising, and the aforementioned soreness, I was feeling just fine. I don’t know if I would call it a realization or increased appreciation, but I came to the conclusion that Flora shouldn’t be wasting her energy on superficial healing. I don’t plan for it to happen again, but I definitely don’t want Flora collapsing from overexerting herself.

  “Are you really not injured, dad?” I could hear in Tasha’s tone that she clearly thought I was lying to her.

  “It’s barely anything, Tasha. Do you want me to take my clothes off right here to show you?”

  “...Yes, prove it to me.” I was shocked by Tasha’s response to my suggestion.

  “I was joking, Tasha.” Tasha glared at me, while also tugging on Flora in front of her, as if to encourage her to speak up on her behalf.

  “Um, Mr. Braith, maybe you could at least let us have a look. Maybe you just don’t realize how bad of a shape your body might be in.” I must have looked offended by the slight insinuation of ignorance, as she ended up wincing almost immediately. “I mean, Mr. Braith, sometimes you push your body very hard, and it is also possible that you are feeling too numb in certain areas to notice the pain you could be in.” Despite Flora’s initial facial reaction, she stuck to her opinion and brought forth cogent reasoning. I was impressed by Flora’s increased confidence.

  “Fine, I understand,” I sighed. We stopped for a bit so that both Flora and Tasha could take a closer look. As I said, physically, there were no significant issues, which caused Flora to apologize to me, presumably for having doubted me. That was more like her usual self, but what I was more interested in seeing was Tasha’s reaction. She asked Flora again if there was anything serious, but she confirmed that I was fine. As doubtful as she was about me for whatever reason, Tasha finally believed Flora. I changed and got back on the horse again, but before leaving to get on the horse with Flora, Tasha asked me another question.

  “Why did you go so easy on him, then?”

  “What? What are you talking about?”

  “That bandit, Timber. Compared to how you fought in Brennan, you were barely even using half of your strength.” I froze up for a second.

  “Do I need to go all out in every fight, Tasha?” I countered.

  “That’s how you fought almost every other time, though.”

  “Well, almost every other time, I was risking my life, so of course, I would have gone all out.” I responded with my excuse quickly, and in my opinion, very convincingly.

  “But, it almost looked like you were losing.” This was exactly the reason why I avoided any sparring in Brennan. I had no confidence in trying to fool Tasha’s eyes when it came to fighting. However, I thought that five bolts would have looked good enough.

  “Well…I admit it certainly was looking difficult to beat him using only five bolts.” Both Tasha and Flora looked at me with some mixed confusion. “However, as you saw, I still won in the end.”

  “...Why were you limiting your strength?” Tasha asked. Yeah, I still didn’t really answer that question.

  “...Does there need to be a reason?” Tasha clearly looked like she still expected me to provide one. Well, of course there’s a reason. It’s because that was my limit. But, I cannot tell her that. I almost died fighting against Tarras in Brennan. If I tell her that my strength is at barely half of what it was before, then I just know that both Flora and Tasha would insist on staying somewhere safe for me to recover. After having just encountered bandits, I just know they are going to say it’s too dangerous to continue. And, on top of not wanting to worry them, I just don’t want to waste any more time.

  “Mr. Braith, is there actually something wrong?” Flora asked, uncharacteristically breaking the silence.

  “No,” I responded immediately. The swiftness of my response did nothing to reassure them. I sighed. “Well, you see…I intentionally limited myself,” I lied. “After that fight in Brennan, I did some self-reflection, and I realized that my movements are not as sharp as they used to be.” This was actually the truth. I wasn't able to notice before, but although my strength allowed me to act much faster than ordinary, my technique was a bit sloppier. I ran through the last part of my fight with Tarras in my mind again, and it was only with the added bolts and increased concentration that I felt I was able to smoothly deflect and parry his axe. In my time alone in Brennan, when I tried to really focus on just my movements while using one or two bolts, I felt there was a somewhat noticeable difference.

  “I see,” Flora said, apparently believing my reasoning. Well, it was true, after all, it just wasn’t the real reason. However, there was still a tinge of doubt in Tasha’s eyes.

  “Tasha, you’ve seen my practiced moves before. Remember back in Befson. And then that time in Rettif. Can you really say that I was fighting as well as I did back then, if you only look at my movements or techniques, and not my strength and speed. Tasha stared ahead pensively. After some deep contemplation, I could see a little nod.

  “But, that was still too close. You should beat them quickly and easily. If you want to practice, you can do it alone, or you could spar with me.” I smiled at having successfully deceived these two young girls.

  “Yes, I think I will try to avoid that in the future.” I decided to not respond to her sparring suggestion. “Alright, let’s stop standing around now.” I got back on my horse and started to trot forwards.

  ******

  A week later, late in the afternoon, we were almost at our destination. As we neared it, an unbelievable sight started to come into view. In the distance, thick plumes of grey and black smoke rose up into the area, mixing with the darkening sky. As we got closer still, I saw something I had never seen before. Massive columns rose up into the sky. Each column looked to be at least as thick as the guardian tree of the Nature Clan, but each one was even taller. At first, it looked like there was no limit as it appeared that the columns poked through even the dark smog. However, as we got even closer still, I could see wisps of the dark smog spread out to the sides. These massive columns actually supported a massive platform. This was not the city of Deimos. This was the wondrous structure that the city of Deimos was built below.

  The plumes of smoke were thickest on the northern side of Deimos. Likely because the industrial facilities were built alongside the Meridiem River to easily dispose of wastes. Considering the condition of the river, I can see why it wouldn’t be considered wasteful to use the river just for waste disposal. Or, maybe the river only ended up like that due to years of wastes? Well, it would have to be magical wastes in that case. Or, maybe it was a combination of the two factors. Unfortunately, I didn’t know much about the history of Deimos other than it being a trade and industrial city. Other than that, I was only given directions to reach the Merchants’ Guild located there.

  I wrapped some cloth around my mouth to act as a face mask and I told Flora and Tasha to do the same. The Merchants’ Guild wasn’t located in the industrial area, and Flora also probably could have helped treat poisons or damage from the smog, but there was just no reason to not put in at least this minimal level of protection.

  Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

  Walls did not surround the entirety of Deimos, and there were several well-worn paths that led into the city. There was a checkpoint at each of those roads, but it was a relatively quick and informal process. There wasn’t a toll to pay either. From there, we headed straight for the Merchants’ Guild. As we got closer to the major shopping district where it was located, the roads and buildings looked noticeably cleaner. It was also brighter than I expected since Deimos was built under a massive platform. There were various lamp posts and it also looked like there were some kind of lights embedded into the massive columns. When we finally reached our destination, if it weren’t for the few flecks of burnt materials that floated above us, I would say this looked even nicer than Ironshield’s city square. There were sidewalks alongside the store fronts and other buildings, which were noticeably distinguished from the paved roads where carriages rode through.

  The guildhouse itself looked neither too extravagant nor too plain for its location in this clean district. It was a three story stone building that prominently displayed the signage: [Merchants’ Guild: Deimos Branch]. There was also a symbol resembling antique scales on the signage.

  Standing by the front steps of the guildhouse were a pair of guards dressed in simple blue uniforms. On the left side of the guildhouse, there was also a massive fenced off section with a roof, which seemed to resemble either a large garage or a parking lot. I couldn’t see all of it, but it looked like it extended much further than the guildhouse did. There were also more uniformed guards on either side of that fence. As we brought our horses over to the guildhouse, one of the guards waved at us.

  “Greetings, sir. Are you here to visit the Merchants’ Guild?”

  “Yes,” I responded simply.

  “Understood. Would you like us to take in your horses while you’re inside?”

  “...Excuse me?” I was having difficulty understanding what the guard was asking. Was he…acting as a valet?

  “If you will not be inside for long, you can leave your horses with one of your companions or unattended, but we make no promises as to their security.” Okay, so that is what he was asking about.

  “How much?” I asked, partly expecting some ridiculous fee.

  “If it is only until the end of the day, it is free. However, we will charge you for feed and other expenses if you do not reclaim your horses. Also, we have a policy to confiscate any unclaimed property left with us for more than thirty days. If you want to avoid such confiscation, but you foresee your inability to retrieve your property within that time, you may pay in advance for storage keeping. Also-”

  “Okay, okay, I get it!” I dismount from my horse, and then hand him the reins. “I don’t expect to be here for long.” Flora and Tasha also dismounted. I prepared to walk away, but the guard stopped me.

  “Just a minute, sir. We need to provide you with tags for your horses.”

  “Tags?” I asked. The guard nodded.

  “Yes, tags. After we take the horses in, we will leave them in an available stall in the stable, and then give you a tag that matches that stall number.” I looked past the fence again, and I thought I could see what was a sable in the back. Then, I looked back at the guildhouse. No, the guildhouse definitely isn’t that long of a building.

  “How long will that take?”

  “It should only take a few minutes. If your companions wish to wait outside or in the front lobby, though, we can give them both tags later.”

  “Okay, that’s fine.”

  “Very well, sir.” He tipped his cap to me.

  “Tasha, Flora, wait out here for now. Come in after they give you the tags.” Flora nodded and Tasha looked like she wanted to argue. “Act with your own discretion if there is an issue,” I added, hoping that might help. It did not. “Okay, fine, I will wait with you both.”

  “Don’t you only need to go inside and make a report? Why do we need to do all this?” she replied, eyeing Flora, as if telling her to not hand over the reins to the other guard.

  “Even if you think it sounds simple, there’s probably a bunch of processes and bureaucracy to deal with.” Tasha looked at me in confusion. I’ve taught Tasha a lot of things, but I certainly didn’t dedicate much time going over the complexities and intricacies of business and politics. “It could take a long time to finish what I need to do here, and I don’t want the horses just waiting here unattended for hours. And I know you don’t want to stand around doing nothing for that long either.”

  Tasha relented, and Flora handed the horse’s reins over to the other guard as the guards behind the fence opened it. Several minutes later, the guards returned with a couple tags and they handed them to us. I looked at Tasha with a bit of annoyance when I took them. She looked back at me with a similar expression. Whatever. We finally entered the guildhouse.

  The inside of the guildhouse did not look too dissimilar from the layout of the front of an office building. I went straight to the reception desk and was about to confidently state my business, but the receptionist spoke first.

  “Hello, sir, how may I help you today?”

  “Uh, yes, I am here to…report a murder.” True, but obviously not the best way to phrase it.

  “Um, sir, do you need directions to Deimos’ guard headquarters?”

  “No, no, this is the place I need to be.” The receptionist silently maintained her professional smile. “I am here to report the murder of a merchant.” Her smile instantly disappeared.

  “You witnessed the murder of a merchant today?” she asked, very seriously.

  “No, not today.”

  “How recently did the murder occur?” she asked.

  “Uh…about two months ago.” The receptionist’s face twitched slightly, possibly suspecting that I may not be entirely there.

  “About two months ago…you witnessed the murder of a merchant…in Deimos?”

  “No, no, it wasn’t in Deimos. It was in Reapers’ Pass. Also, technically, I didn’t witness the murder.” My rambling wasn’t helping. The receptionist’s face started to slacken a bit, but then Tasha suddenly appeared right beside me.

  “Dad, is there an issue?”

  “Not now, Tasha. I’m in the middle of something.” A slightly confused smile was now fixed on the receptionist’s face. Thankfully, Flora did not add further to confusion, as she quietly sat in a chair by the entrance instead.

  “Sir, do you require any assistance in getting back home?” she asked me, but mostly looking at Tasha, as if expecting Tasha to back her up.

  “Oh, right, where are we staying tonight?” Tasha asked.

  “We’ll go to an inn after we’re done here, Tasha,” I answered.

  “Sir, may I recommend some affordable locations for you to stay the night?” the receptionist offered.

  “Ma’am, I am trying to report a murder here.” Her fake smile left her face again. I felt like I could see her visibly suppress a sigh.

  “Okay, sir, Please continue.”

  “Thank you,” I started unnecessarily. “It is a merchant by the name of Dennis Loharn.” Judging by the instant shift in her expression, I should have led with that.

  “Someone killed Dennis?” I thought I could hear in her voice the hope that I really was just some drunk or crazy guy.

  “Yes. It happened in Reapers’ Pass two months ago.” She stared at me for a few seconds.

  “B- but you said you did not witness it? What do you mean?”

  “W- When I got there, he was already dying. He told me to tell Zalae that it was a man wearing a green hat.” I could see the receptionist trying very hard to stay focused on listening. “I’ve been trying to track down his killers, and I’ve narrowed it down to a group of people pretending to be merchants. They also stole his token and used it in Brennan.” It was at this point that the receptionist’s expression changed again.

  “You’ve been tracking down Dennis’ killers for the past two months and investigated their activities?” she asked, only thinly covering up her obvious skepticism.

  “...I’ve come across some reliable information.” I was well aware of how that sounded, but I couldn’t just say that I had the Harbingers, Brennan’s intelligence agents, investigate the matter on my behalf. That would sound even more ridiculous. And that’s assuming I even thought it would be a good idea to divulge that kind of information. “Please, this is the truth. I really just want to relay this information for Dennis’ sake.” I could see the doubt in the receptionist’s eyes.

  “I will send word to Master Zalae. Please wait in the lobby for now.” I believed that despite her doubts, she still thought there was some truth to my words, so I simply nodded and went to wait beside Flora, dragging Tasha along.

  “What are we doing next?” Flora asked, assuming that things were not going according to plan.

  “We wait, for now.”

  “Okay.”

  After about five minutes, a man walked over to us, but he was not alone. He looked to be in his mid twenties, wore a vest and was relatively sharply dressed overall. He was also escorted by two uniformed guards. The other pair of uniformed guards standing by in the lobby also saw this, and tensed up slightly. I waited for someone to speak before deciding my next action.

  “Sir, Master Zalae would like to see you. Would you please follow me?” I got up from my seat. “Also, please leave any weapons on your person here. They are not allowed beyond the lobby.” I thought it a bit strange that they didn’t make it a rule to take my weapons before I entered the building, but maybe stripping someone of their weapons is only done in the most extreme cases.

  “Okay.” I took the scabbard off my belt and handed it over to Tasha. “Hold onto that for me.”

  “What? I’m coming too!” Tasha also got up from her seat.

  “Master Zalae has only requested to see you, sir. Nobody else.”

  “I can leave my weapon behind, too,” Tasha argued, as if that was the reason. She began removing her scabbard as well, but I stopped her.

  “Just wait, here.” I could see Tasha was about to argue some more, so I leaned in close and put a finger to her lips. “They are doing this to keep an eye on you in case I do something. Don’t make this a big deal.” Tasha seemed to understand, but she was obviously still upset. “Look after Flora. I leave it to your discretion if an issue comes up.” After a moment, Tasha finally agreed.

  “Are you ready now, sir…”

  “My name is Braith.”

  “Braith?” he asked a bit incredulously.

  “Yes, my name is Braith,” I repeated.

  “...it is very unique.”

  “Yeah, I get that a lot. Well, lead the way.”

  “Follow me.” I followed behind the man and the two guards. We went up two flights of stairs to arrive at the third floor. Then, I was led down the hallway to a door at the very end. The man knocked on the door.

  “Come in,” a somewhat deep and aged voice responded from inside the room, without even waiting for the man to announce himself. The man opened the door, and motioned for the two guards and me to enter. “No, just send him in alone.” The man in the vest hesitated.

  “But, Master Zalae-”

  “That’s enough, Pascal. Just send him in alone.” Pascal eventually pointed at the two guards to leave. They walked past me without looking back.

  “Master Zalae will see you now,” Pascal said to me. I looked at him and then back at the guards, who were still walking away. Well, alright then. I entered Zalae’s office.