The odds of someone killing an awakened saurian, then immediately gutting them before their core decayed and dispersed into their body, seems close to zero if you ask me. When paired with the alleged one in a thousand being compatible, I’d argue it’s on par with a miracle.

  — Excerpt from Notes For Newstar

  Day 1118, 11:00 AM

  Somehow, we made it. We reached Thunderbluff’s walls before the saurian tide crashed into us. During our exodus, we came across only one populated settlement. The rest were mass graveyards of dessicated bodies left to the elements and the vultures.

  I was fairly certain the settlement remained whole not because the saurians wouldn’t reach it, but because it was too close to an imperial city. I warned the townlord about the dragons and the cultists, and she said she would prepare for evacuation. As for what she would do and what the saurians would do, that was all up in the air.

  What I knew was that I wouldn’t redo for their sake, as that would play into the outer gods’ hands.

  When we reached the gates, we found them closed, with a contingent of guards waiting.

  “Good day, Sir.” The man recognized me and offered a slight bow, despite being on duty. “I am under orders to inform you that entering the imperial city comes with a fee, and those who cannot pay it aren’t welcome.”

  “I was under the impression that by imperial law, Thunderbluff was obliged to take in any refugees during an onslaught?”

  “You are correct, Sir.” The guard nodded. “The imperial law also states that in cases of emergency, the highest ruling authority on site has the right to temporarily change, ignore, or create new laws as they see fit.”

  I stared blankly at him for a second, processing what I was hearing. The citylord certainly had the right to do what she was doing. She had the right to increase the entrance fee too. But whatever deviation she made from the usual laws, she would have to justify further up in the administration, and I certainly didn’t see why she needed a handful of second realm manarium.

  The guard at least had the decency to look ashamed and to turn his gaze away.

  “Fine, I’ll pay for them all.”

  And so the contingent of city guards went through the refugees and counted them, while I went into the city to withdraw enough manarium to pay for the whole mess. While walking down the street, waving back to those who waved, I wondered whether the citylord was doing it just to spite me.

  Then I noticed there were more awakened than usual and realized what was happening. The citylord had hired adventurers, and the cheap little bitch wanted money back to cover her losses, since the city’s coffers didn’t have funds reserved for mercenaries.

  “Dandelion,” the guildmaster of the adventurers’ guild greeted me with a warm smile. “It’s good to see you again. How have you been? What have you been doing?”

  He glanced at Ruby and mouthed, ‘Her?’

  “Good day, sir.” I offered a polite bow even if I wanted to say a few choice, impolite words about his joke at such a horrible time. “I need to withdraw some manarium from my account.”

  The money found itself in a sack not too long afterwards, and Ruby and I headed back towards the gate.

  “How come everyone knows you? How long have you been here?”

  I shrugged.

  “A lifetime? Several moons? It depends on how you look at it, and I’m a memorable guy. Why wouldn’t they remember me?”

  We returned to the gate and sorted everyone’s papers, a lot of people giving me conflicted looks.

  This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author's work.

  I was Dandelion Blackfist. The Blackfist Bandit. Murderer, thief, and a rapist. My predecessor probably stole, murdered, or abused at least some of their parents’, or possibly even their grandparents’ friends or family.

  Whatever damage Blackfist had done to each of them individually, it was worth less than a single first realm crystal I paid to get them to safety. A waste in the mind of every awakened, and even in the eyes of all those people staring at me.

  They weren’t worth a million gold coins. None of them were. Yet, the government sentenced them to death, and I bought their lives. All of them waited. For me to speak, to steal their freedoms, to abuse and humiliate them, to take their spouses and children.

  I opened my mouth, and their hearts stopped, the silence growing deafening.

  “There is a soup kitchen and a hospital for those without means to pay. I’ll tell you how to reach them later. For now, let’s split your stuff back.”

  The mess would’ve taken quite a while, if I had cared about it. Since I didn’t, I dumped their stuff on a pile and let the shell-shocked people deal with it themselves as I explained where the things that mattered were.

  Soon, Ruby and I were back in the city, and free of our obligations. All except one that is.

  “Now we have to go and talk to heresy hunters,” I told Ruby, who seemed just as confused as the non-awakened population.

  True to the general mood, a startled voice called out to me.

  “Father!?”

  I turned around to find Blackfist’s biological son, Hardstone, disappointingly not Hardrock, Blackfist and Jasmine Steelwheel standing next to each other in the street, gaping at me.

  “Hardstone! Good to see you, my lad. How have you been doing? I’m glad to see the two of you are still together.”

  Everything turned silent. I half expected a cricket to say hello, when marvelously, Hardstone, as thick in the head as he was, gathered his wits first.

  “Good to see you?” he roared. “You bastard! You abandoned us! Wives, children, let us fend for ourselves! Half your wives, just married your brother—”

  “See? They were resourceful. I’m surprised you didn’t marry him yourself.”

  His face turned purple, teasing his girlfriend in his face—

  “How could I marry my uncle? Why would he marry me?”

  Or he was as dumb as I remembered him.

  “Some of us had to flee. I don’t know what happened with the others—”

  “I see you’re doing well enough,” I interrupted him. The talk was going places I didn’t want it to. I’ve never seen most of Blackfist’s children. They could have been among the corpses, or the refugees, or even amongst those who stayed in Hailstown.

  My gut knotted at the thought. I made a terrible mistake there. Even if they weren’t mine, they were sired by the body I used, and I silently vowed I wouldn’t let that happen again.

  Man, I’d kill someone who pulls shit like that, and here I am doing the exact same shit. Why? Because I was focused on something else entirely?

  I had no excuse there, and all my faith into working towards a nobler world vanished just like that.

  “Are you all right, Dandelion?” Ruby asked, Hardstone and Jasmine nowhere in sight.

  “Where did they go? What happened?” I realized I was leaning against a building to stay upright.

  “You turned pale, and he kept screaming at you for five minutes straight before turning around and marching away.”

  I nodded. “I guess I deserved that.”

  She bit her lip. “You did and you didn’t. You have lost all your memories. It just never occurred to you to ask about your family. They never existed in your mind, save for your brother. From what I’ve heard, they hardly existed in your mind even before you lost your memories, so they probably didn’t dare approach you.”

  I wanted to hug her for trying to comfort me, but I didn’t.

  “It’s all right, Ruby. I have made a mistake. Whether out of willful ignorance or something else matters little now.” The words sounded mechanical to my ears.

  Luckily, Ruby knew what to say.

  “I want you to buy my contract if you can. You may have made a mistake, but I trust you, and I hate every minute of worrying about the future in which my current lifestyle comes crashing down.”

  “You sure?”

  She hesitated. “I wasn’t. Not until my master turned towards us. His eyes shone when he spotted us, as if we were his chance to escape. If people like him are going to use me once they fatten me up as much as they can… Well, I don’t want a life like that, and I’d like to escape it if I can. I’ll pay you back as soon as I’m able.”

  I smiled at her and put a hand on her shoulder. “No need to pay me back. Friends don’t keep track of favors, which reminds me, I’ll have to write a letter to a kid and tell him his old flame is still alive.”

  She didn’t understand what I was talking about, but that was fine.

  “Come on, let’s talk to the heresy hunters and get things over with. After that, we’ll handle the matter of your ownership and, finally, we should get you registered with the adventurers’ guild. They are the best way for you to earn your keep and resources for advancement. I read about them in a book in the library.”

  I winked, she laughed, and we moved to make a better tomorrow, because yesterday and today sure were crappy.