Dust had spent the rest of the night and the following morning holed up in the inn. Thin streams of gold pushed through the curtains, offering him the beauty he desperately sought. But terror made his joints stiff. He dared not go outside and potentially risk another beating.
After what felt like days, a chance to leave presented itself. Zenith walked through the inn door and beckoned Dust to come over to him. Dust did exactly that, scooting off his bed heading towards Zenith.
"We're leaving. The place we're going to shouldn't be too far from here."
The prospect of leaving ignited the tiniest spark of rebellion in Dust's mind.
No harm in testing the waters I guess...
"Zenith? Is it okay if I ask where we're going?"
Zenith's stance remained casual.
"We're going to a tavern to discuss our plans for the future. We're going to meet up with some acquaintances of mine, I'd appreciate it if you familiarized yourself with them. I believe you know one of them already so it shouldn't be too difficult."
Who would I be familiar with? I barely know anybody in this city.
Even though curiosity scratched at the walls of his head, he dared not pester Zenith with his questions any further.
"Come on. We're leaving."
***
Dust was greeted with a cheery atmosphere upon entering the tavern. The dim yellow lights that hovered over the crowd of jolly drunkards made the place feel extremely welcoming. Zenith ushered him away after they entered, leaving him no time to appreciate the mood. They walked towards a booth at the far corner of the bar. Sitting there were two women, one of whom he was unfortunately familiar with. Leaning against the bar wall, was Dust's acquaintance Rachel. Upon seeing the girl, Dust flushed red with rage.
"You! You totally screwed me over last night! The fuck is wrong with you!"
Rachel jerked her head towards Dust.
"Heyyyy... You're the weird dude. Mhmhmhm. Zen said your name was... Dusty. Well, welcome to the club Dusty! You want a drink?"
How the hell does she even know Zenith?! And why is she drunk if we're supposed to be 'getting familiar.' Why does life keep forcing me to interact with sociopaths!
Dust's tension dissolved as Zenith touched his shoulder.
"I understand you two don't have a great history together. I'll have to ask you to deal with it for the moment. For now, just familiarize yourselves."
Zenith walked over to the other woman in the booth and nabbed the book she was reading.
"And that includes you Sora. You need to talk instead of burying yourself in a book."
Dust's attention turned away from Rachel and toward the woman Zenith referred to as Sora. She had long blonde hair with streaks of faded pink at its ends. Her eyes were the color of crystal amber.
"Will do. I want that book back later though."
Zenith nodded. He glared quickly at Dust, signaling him to sit down in the booth, which he did immediately. Zenith began walking away, calling back over his shoulder as he left.
"I need to handle some things elsewhere, make nice you guys."
Good riddance...
Dust sat in the seat opposite Rachel and right next to Sora. Sitting next to the girl filled Dust with a nice feeling. Under the influence of the tavern's friendly atmosphere, Dust made conversation with Sora.
"Soo, uhh, how do you know Zenith?"
Sora looked over at him, her eyes burning with an otherworldly shimmer.
"Me and Zen are longtime friends."
Sora slid a menu to Dust.
"Feel free to order whatever you want while we're here. My treat."
The girl's unprompted goodwill stirred something in Dust he hadn't realized was missing.
Man... my bar for kindness fell real hard after meeting that psycho.
Across the table, Rachel let out a drunken burp.
"Soraaaa... can I get more food too?"
Sora's lips pursed into a gentle smile.
"Of cours-"
"Hell no you can't! You haven't even apologized for nearly getting me killed."
Rachel stared up at the ceiling. Her pupils seemed to melt into small puddles as she thought.
"Oh yeah... I didn't. Welp, no time like the present! Sorry, guy."
Dust chose to ignore the lingering sparks of resentment inside him. It was better than continuing to talk with the goblin sitting across from him. Rachel's face drooped.
"See... I apologized... All better now..."
Rachel collapsed on the table and started snoring.
What the fuck is wrong with this girl?!
Sora chuckled lightly.
"My apologies for my friend's bad behavior. She usually has a little more self control."
She moved out of the booth and lifted Rachel's jacket to cover her whole body, giving the girl some comfort while she slept.
"Let's not bother her while she rests."
Rachel's poor demeanor sank into the abyss of Dust's thoughts. Instead he focused on the relaxation brought by Sora's unconditional kindness. In light of his giddiness, Dust decided to indulge his curiosity.
"Hey, um Sora? Would it be ok for me to ask you some questions that've been bugging me? See, I wasn't actually born in Yungzhou so I don't know a whole lot about this place, Zenith barely told me anything, so I was hoping to get some answers from you."
Sora relaxed in her seat.
"Yeah, that sounds like Zen. He's not a very good communicator."
Pointing a thumb at herself, Sora lit up with exaggerated confidence.
"I'll be happy to answer any questions you have on behalf of my socially inept friend."
Lightning ran through Dust's neurons as he tried to decide what question to ask Sora first. Amidst the cloud of burning questions, one felt more pertinent than the others.
"Well long story short, I got into some trouble the other night and ended up being chased by these guys who called themselves the defense organization. Do you know anything about that?"
Probably better to keep the bit about Zenith to myself. If they're lifelong friends, its probably not ideal for her to hear that he beat the shit out of me.
Sora's eyes widened a little.
"I'm surprised you got into trouble with them and didn't end up in a jail cell. You're very lucky, kiddo."
"Well, anyways, to answer your question, the Defense Organization is an international association of police who uphold the laws made by their leader. Think of them as global policemen."
With Sora's explanation came an epiphany that only served to make Dust more scared of Zenith.
If those guards were part of a global organization, how the hell was Zenith able to make them leave with a stupid pendant?
He chose to push the thought aside, more importantly he resolved to never tell it to Sora. Even though they had only just met, Dust felt that she was someone he could rely on. Telling her of any of Zenith's secrets might jeopardize that.
"I have a couple more questions. But first, I'd love to take you up on that offer for food. Assuming it's still your treat of course."
A frivolous giggle escaped from Sora's lips.
"No problem. We can talk more later."
The evening flew by after that. Food had arrived and Dust had scarfed it down in the same vicious manner he'd done many times before, something Sora found extremely comical. Under the tavern's spell, Sora and Dust talked for some time. Chatter and chuckles flew back and forth across the table, only interrupted by the occasional snore from Rachel. It felt to Dust in that moment, like he was floating. However, the loud slamming of the bar doors pulled him back to reality.
Five burly men burst through the doors of the bar. They reeked of ale and shame. The biggest man walked up to the bar by his lonesome while his friends lurked just behind him. He had a janky scar cutting across his right temple, coupled with two sheathed knives on both legs. He began speaking to the barkeep, spit scattering from his mouth as he spoke.
"Sooo... How about a beer. Or do you not serve that here? You fuckin' Saval pansies."
A loud bang hit the countertop. With it, the other customers began scattering out of the bar quietly.
"Us Xifeng defend the border aaaaaalllll DAY! We keep you all safe from monsters, and yet somehow you wretched merchants end up with all the nice food! Is that fair? I don't think that's fair. How 'bout you fellas?"
His crew shook their heads and cheered their leader on. This didn't seem to bother the barkeep though. He simply kept his cool demeanor and spoke to the muscular creature as if he was simply an insect.
"I think you should leave. We wouldn't want to get the defense organization involved, would we?"
The burly man radiated a rage so strong it nearly erased the stench of booze that followed him.
While this happened, Dust had taken the liberty of hiding under his table. He tried to make himself as small as possible, something which proved very difficult while his body shivered uncontrollably.
FUCK! Why is it that ANYTIME I'm having a good time it has to be interrupted by cretins like him!
Unlike Dust, Sora stood up and prepared to confront the man. Her knuckles became bone-white as she tightened her fists. She leaned under the table and stared Dust right in the eyes.
"Buckle up kiddo. We got some cleanup to do."