‘Really?’ said Hector. ‘I figured you would think I’d never be able to do something like that.’
‘We were all young and stupid once,’ said Garovel. ‘Hell, you still are.’
‘Fuck you.’
The reaper snickered. ‘Actually, I’d say you’re strangely mature for your age. In fact, sometimes I forget how young you are.’
The sudden compliment made Hector hesitate. ‘...Really?’
‘Yep. But then again, it might just be your natural gloominess. Adults are all jaded fucks, y’know, so a kid can seem older by acting all dour and cynical. Little tip for ya.’
‘Mm. I kinda knew that already, I think...’
‘Not surprising. Were there any other bad things you tried to do?’
‘Well... uh... nah, I guess not.’
‘Seriously?’ said Garovel. ‘That’s it? Two things? That’s your terrible list of past misconduct?’
‘...I jaywalked a couple times.’
‘What a thug. I guess you were just fated to be on the side of righteousness and broken motorcycles.’
‘I thought you didn’t believe in fate.’
‘Oh, I don’t. It’s just amusing to think about some cosmic, universal force thwarting a little preteen’s bumbling efforts at being a badass.’
‘...I could be a bad guy, if I wanted.’
‘Uh-huh.’
‘I could! I mean, it’s not like I’m a saint. Technically, I’ve done all sorts of bad things. Stole drugs. Beat people up.’
‘First of all, saints are overrated as hell. And secondly, none of that shit even counts.’
Hector frowned. ‘I broke a cop’s arm once...’
‘Oh, you mean that thing you felt really bad about afterwards? That thing I’m sure you STILL feel really bad about?’
‘I... uh... that’s beside the point.’
‘Pfft. Y’know, despite how keen you might have been to get arrested back then, it really shouldn’t have been that difficult for you. All you had to do was throw a brick at a police car or something.’
‘Eesh, I didn’t wanna do anything THAT bad.’
Garovel just stared at him.
‘...Alright, fine,’ Hector relented. ‘I’m a fuckin’ goody-two-shoes. Are you happy?’
‘Mmhmm.’
‘...By the way, if we ever make it back to Atreya, don’t let me forget to visit Klein and find that cop again.’
‘Ha. What do you mean to do for him?’
‘I don’t know, but there’s gotta be something. I’m the Lord of Warrenhold, right?’
‘Indeed, you are, my friend.’
-+-+-+-+-
Marcos Elroy hadn’t slept this well in over a month. There’d always been something getting in the way. Something in his head. Something fueling the nightmares that he couldn’t even remember after waking up. All he’d known was that they left him sweating and his heart racing in a panicked way.
It was only here and now that things had changed.
A dark serial novel. Set in a modern fantasy world called Eleg. Mature language. Updates every night at midnight PST by ~400 words.
"figured you wouldd" one extra letter.
ReplyDeleteFixed, thank you.
ReplyDeleteLittle typo here: don’t let me "to" forget to visit
ReplyDeleteI believe there's a "to" too much.
Name: Hector
ReplyDeleteMission: Being a badass bad guy
Mission status: FAILED!!!
Name Hector: Crime registered.... forced cop to laugh.
ReplyDelete"But I'm a menace to society!"
ReplyDelete"Well, in the court's eyes you're a harmless buffoon. Case dismissed."
As I've said, I'm pretty sure the only way that someone could get scared enough to get emergence outside of a fight is if Hector were to receive a hug from Lynnette.
ReplyDeleteHeh, saints? Do they even have organized religion there? Some people mentioned a goddess sometimes, but that's about all we've heard of any religion (discounting whatever it is that Abolish believes about the Void).
ReplyDeleteSo was he freed by Sanko in the course of her investigations? It seems like she would have taken him for questioning and he would have merely traded one prison for another.
ReplyDeleteCisco was the one in captivity.
ReplyDeleteNow this doesn't really have anything to do with this page... but I was wondering how it's possible for a servant to create self-regenerating material, like the cheat-shield or bricks @ Warrenhold.
ReplyDeleteTechnically all the powers these people have are based on the elemental table, right? And unless I'm missing something, we have no idea how to manipulate the elements so that creating such a thing as a self-regenerating inanimate object is possible. I get that servants can soul-empower materials though, but that wouldn't really do the trick, would it?
Got it, thanks.
ReplyDeleteIt's using the "Fusion" (can't remember the name) power. So, they just need to fuse something with self regenerating properties into the mix. Like... the flesh of a servant, imbued with enough soul power to keep it working... Or just literally any flesh, imbued with a lot of soul power. Maybe worms.
ReplyDeleteIts called Integration. What it does is it take things made of elements in the servant's repertoire, but they can combine properties besides elemental ones. To create regenerating stuff, they infuse something with the work of a servant in pan-forma and I guess that their power allows them to make it stick. The way Pan-forma does it is by using the improved connectivity to convince their regeneration that the materialized object is part of their body and should be regenerated to its ground state as such.
ReplyDeleteThank you. I'm glad I can laugh at my own mistakes, because they are a consistent source of entertainment.
ReplyDeleteI get a definite sense that there is something that's a fairly strong analog of at least Christianity, but because Frost keeps his theology and magic system separate, they aren't all that important to the story. Besides, cosmic wonder becomes a tad less desirable when the most powerful and abstract beings you know of have a 50/50 chance of exterminating humanity eventually.
ReplyDelete"I'm a *** goody-two-shoes. Are you happy?" in now my favorite quote so far.
ReplyDelete