Pre-read: Reap What You Sow - Chapter 4

                                                                           Chapter 4

Shielding her eyes as she screamed, Sable fell to the floor. She wacked her head on the ground as her hands were attempting to shield her eyes. The light radiating from Siluetta was like staring into the sun itself. Even with her eyes closed, she had a giant bright spot in her vision, probably from her burned retinas. Sable, nearly crying, screamed out.

“What the fuck are you doing?! STOP!”

The light never faded, and Sable gave up in her useless attempts to block the light with her hand. She tried to claw herself away blindly on the floor towards the exit. There was a pattering of footsteps approaching from outside, and suddenly, the door was kicked open.

Sable couldn’t tell who it was, as she was blinded, but she made out the voice. It was Miss Klodinstine.

“Siluetta! What is the meaning of this? Stop!”

Sable felt a pair of hands touch her. She frantically pushed them off of her and scooted away, eyes clenched shut, causing her to ram her head into the nearby bookcase, knocking a few books off the shelves and onto the floor.

“It’s a nightwalker! It must be killed!” A screeching voice shouted.

Hearing the threat to her life, Sable sobbed and frantically tried to find the exit to the library. But she was disoriented, having been caught off guard. She didn’t know where she was in correlation to the room.

“Nightwalker? Just stop it!” Klodinstine shouted.

Sable couldn't tell if the spell had stopped or not through her closed eyes, she attempted to open them, but all she could see was a giant white spot.

Oh my god. I’m gonna be blind.

Tears fell from her eyes, both from the seering pain and the realization that she was going to be blind. She was hyperventilating. Not knowing what to do, she shouted as loud as she could in the hopes of someone else in the school hearing her plea.

“CALL THE WATCH! HELP!”

The two angry voices in the room stopped murmuring at each other, and Sable heard Miss Klodintine snap.

“You see what you’ve done?! I can’t help you with this, Siluetta.”

Sable heard footsteps coming closer and then tried to squirm away from whoever was approaching. Miss Klodinstine talked slowly to Sable.

“I’m going to touch you and lead you out into the hallway. You can wait for the watch out there. Okay?”

Sable just sobbed and nodded shakily in response. She felt Miss Klodinstine grab her shoulder, and she followed her lead out into the hallway.

It only took a minute for the watch to arrive. They must have stormed in as she heard the loud thudding of boots marching down the long hallway.

She heard Miss Klodinstine talking quietly with the guards, and after a minute, one of them must have came over toward Sable, as she heard one speak.

“Miss. I am Junior Guardsmen Teyvor. I am going to use a healing potion for your eyes. Is that okay?”

Sable was still in shock, but she nodded anyway. She would find out the details of a healing potion after she could see and calm down.

She felt someone grab her head, so she slowly opened her eyes. It felt like someone was dropping eye drops into her eyes for her. Seconds later, she could see again.

She rubbed her reddened teary eyes, then looked around. The watch had came in force. There were six guards spread out in the hallway. One was with her, one was with Miss Klodinstine, two were talking to Silueta down the hall with hands on their weapons, and two others were keeping a classroom full of curious children and teachers away from the area.

Glad that she wasn’t going to be permanently blinded, she began to sob in relief, instead of terror. Junior Guardsmen Teyvor gave her a minute to compose herself, and when it seemed like she was calming down, he began his questioning.

“I know it is very soon, but I need to know what has happened. Can you tell the events as they took place?”

She immediately explained everything from walking into the city to being told about the school, talking with Miss Klodinstine, and getting blasted by the sun. This wasn’t Sable's first run-in with law enforcement, so she told them every single detail she could possibly manage.

After she was finished, Teyvor thanked her for her time and promised that this would be resolved soon. He left to confer with his associates.

This was the last thing Sable wanted. She only came here to read some books in hopes of understanding this world and having a place to sleep. Instead, she got assaulted by sun magic. This was putting her situation into perspective, and she began to contemplate the reality of her life.

She had been fairly lax since arriving. She was on a whole new planet with skills, levels, and classes. And she had none of them. She was in danger for her life. She had no home, friends, family, or money, and she was trapped. Unable to return to home.The reality of everything came crashing down upon her, so she began to sob once more.

It must have been shock. Shock from being brought to this unknown world that blinded her, no pun intended, to her current circumstances. If she was acting normally, she would still be on that grassy hill. Crying and bawling her eyes out from the absolute fuckery of the situation. This… This wasn’t normal. Why wasn’t she panicked from the start?

As she pondered the last few hours of her life, Sable saw another guard step over to her. Looking up through blurry tear-filled eyes, she could tell that this wasn’t Teyvor. This guard was older, in his forties, with a short salt-and-pepper beard.

“I am Lead Guardsmen Jameson. I understand you’ve been the victim of an assault and that you are a visitor and not a resident of the City of Slatt. In accordance with the law of the Alliance of Severi, you are within your rights to press charges. Are there any questions you have for me about the situation?”

Sable did indeed have questions she wanted to ask. She had calmed down slightly, the adrenaline rush still pumping through her veins. Information was key, and she needed all that she could get.

“I am a visitor. Guardsmen Slade and Femir let me in a few hours ago. I was going to read through all of the laws in the library, but you can see how that turned out. Are there laws for attacking a person with no classes? And I do not think it was just assault. That was attempted murder. She said I must be killed! Miss Klodinstine was there! She heard as well!”

Sable wiped her eyes and could see the grim look growing on Jameson’s face.

“I understand… There are indeed laws for that. Are you saying that you have no classes?”

Sable nodded.

Jameson’s face darkened even further.

“I will have to find someone capable of casting [Apprasal] or a suitable magic item to validate your claim in front of multiple witnesses. [Detect Lies] would not be good enough for a crime of this magnitude. In the event that you have no classes and as she has already been found guilty of assault, and now the possibility of attempted murder. If you pressed charges, Siluetta would be incarcerated for a… a long time. Or worse…”

Sable didn’t even know the Owlkin at all, so she felt very little about hearing that she would go to jail or prison. But hearing the ‘or worse’ left a sickening feeling of concern.

“And what would the ‘or worse’ be?” She asked.

Jameson looked at her and talked quietly so that the others wouldn’t be able to hear.

“Death.”

Sable was angry at being assaulted but not angry enough for the lady to be put to death over it. If she were permanently blinded, she honestly probably wouldn’t have minded. An eye for an eye wouldn’t have been good enough, but the healing potion solved that issue. In the end, she was… fine? She wasn’t injured anymore, her eyes were healed from the miracle potion. Death was a little over the top, even she could see that.

She looked at Jameson's face and could see that he didn’t want her to press charges, but he was unable to stop her if she chose to do so.

“I would be willing to accept monetary compensation for my emotional and physical trauma. Also, I want a restraining order. Do you do those here?”

Jameson let out a held breath and looked like a heavy burden had just fallen off his shoulders.

“You would be receiving monetary compensation either way, so that is not a problem. I don’t know what a restraining order is. Can you explain to me the details?”

Sable didn’t know exactly what a restraining order did, but she explained it to the best of her abilities. She explained that the person would not be allowed within a certain distance of her and would be unable to contact her in any way, shape, or form. If Sable ever wanted to talk with Siluetta, then that would be fine. Sillueta just couldn’t go about contacting her. Ever.

Jameson wrote down the details onto a piece of yellowed parchment that Teyvor handed him. When finished, he rolled it up and handed it back to Teyvor. He gave a small salute and left the building.

“As you’re a visitor and your home city isn’t within the Alliance of Severi, we are willing to accept that law of your land. She will have a restraining order, as per your will. If it is broken, she will be punished accordingly. I will go and speak with her about charges and compensation.”

He turned to leave but spoke over his shoulder before he started walking away.

“Thank you for your leniency. She is a good teacher and [Librarian] for the children. I will ensure you are compensated fairly. I know her well, but I give you my word that I will not be leintient in my duties. The crimes are severe.”

Sable watched him walk away and thought through everything that had just transpired.

I never told him where my home city was. Even if he looked it up, he wouldn’t find it. I doubt he just happened to know, either.

She narrowed her reddened eyes and sniffled.

Jameson… Old man Jameson? The level thirty Jeremy mentioned?

She watched as Jameson spoke with Silueta, and she saw the moment when Siluetta was told about the potential charges. Her gray feathers began to shake uncontrollably, her beak clattered, and her large oval eyes dilated to points.

She probably was told I have no classes. She looking at assault and attempted murder on what is basically a child. Jeremy is fourteen and has three classes, so it's worse than that.

She watched them converse, and eventually, she nodded. She turned and looked at Sable, and Sable looked away. She didn’t want to have anything to do with her, not after today.

Jameson walked back over. “She has agreed to the restraining order, even though it would have happened with or without her consent. You are entitled to five gold coins as remuneration.”

He paused, waiting for Sable’s reaction, but she didn’t have any. Jeremy said he made a silver a week, but he was just a kid. Five gold could be a pittance, but as she currently had nothing. She wasn’t going to complain.

If Jameson was surprised at her reaction, he didn’t show it. “You may collect it at the nearest merchant's guild tomorrow morning. Are there any more questions you’d like to ask before we depart?”

Yes, there were.

“I do not have any money currently. I was planning to sleep in the library. Jeremy, a young man I met earlier, said that was a thing that would be okay. As I’m obviously not going back in there, is there any way for me to get a place to stay for the night? Maybe I could receive a portion of that gold now?”

Jameson fumbled in a small pouch on his side and grabbed two silver coins. He put them into Sable's hands.

“That should be more than enough to get you a room at an inn and food for a couple of nights. Take that as a personal thank you for your understanding and leniency.”

Sable looked down at the two silvery coins. They were quiet basic, just a little ridge raised along the edge for gripping, and a picture of the moon in the center. She thanked Jameson for his help and tucked the two silver coins into her pocket. She stood and began to leave the building, as she was obviously dismissed, but she paused in the hallway. Looking over her shoulder, she asked a final question.

“One last thing. Are there any laws about smoking?”

Jameson looked a little caught off by the question but answered nonetheless.

“A few, mostly about age limits and smoking illicit drugs. Otherwise, just be conscientious about the people around you. Why do you ask?”

Sable didn’t waste any time grabbing for her vape, which drew in the looks of all the nearby people. The rectangular box of metal flashed faintly with light as she took a hit. She blew the cloud of vapor out the side of her mouth away from everyone around. She turned and began walking out of the school.

Vaping in a school was bad, but it's not the first time she ever did it. After all School bathroom breaks were a haven of sorts.

“Because after this whole fiasco. I really needed that.”

—---------------

Senior Guardmen Jameson watched as Sable left the building. Once she left, he turned to Miss Siluetta and made his way over. Siluetta was still shaking. It might have been due to the consequences of her actions or fear of what she claimed Sable was.

“You’re extremely lucky she didn’t press charges. I would have been forced to accept them. She’s classless, and you attempted to murder her. Why did you think that was acceptable? You’re high enough level that you’re on the Watch's interest list. This doesn’t help your case in any way.”

Siluetta ruffled her feathers and spoke quietly. She was both ashamed and afraid.

“As I said. I believed she was a nightwalker. She fits the description in every way. I thought… The [Daylight] spell should have killed her. Her being classless is because she’s a nightwalker…”

Jameson cut her off. “Stop speaking. You’re incriminating yourself.”

He turned to speak to another guard, and spoke with levity. “Go fetch me a book on Nightwalkers. Now.”

The guard saluted and turned to walk out of the building briskly, but Siluetta jumped in. “I have one in the library. Second row, third bookcase, four shelves high, it’s the fifth one on the left.”

The guard went into the library only to return moments later. He handed the book to Jameson and stood off to the side.

Jameson flipped through the book, Enciclopedia of Humanoid Monsters by Thalidis Storm. He noted the name of the famous [Adventurer] before flipping through some pages. He quickly found the section on nightwalkers.

Nightwalker - Unique

Classification: Undead, Supernatural

Nightwalkers are immortal creatures dwelling in darkness. With their pale skin and captivating red gaze, they blend seamlessly into human society. When their hunger strikes, they reveal their true nature as blood-sucking monsters of the night.

Abilities:

Semi-Immortal: Nightwalkers are near ageless and possess rapid healing capabilities.

Enhanced physicality: They excel in physical prowess, surpassing mortal limits.

Shape-shifting: Some may rarely transform into creatures of the night, such as a bat—or rarely vaporous mist.

Immunity: Nightwalkers are immune to diseases and poisons.

Weaknesses:

Sunlight: Lethal to the lessers, they seek darkness during the day.

Silver weapons: Lethal to them, typical mundane weapons are ineffective. Magical weapons vary.

Holy Water: Acts as a deterrent and may not inflict lethal harm on stronger variants.

Habitat:

Nightwalkers favor ancient, desolate places like crypts and abandoned castles but require Humans to feed upon. They enter into civilized lands to obtain their blood source.

Behavior:

They are solitary, feeding on the living's life force, rarely with restraint.

Physical description:

Nightwalkers feast on the blood of the living, causing their physical traits to coincide with their food source. They favor red and black and have beautifully pale skin. Their physical beauty is said to help entice their victims.

Encounter and Caution:

Approach with caution. They are armed with supernatural abilities, and they are cunning adversaries. Knowledge of their weaknesses is paramount for a successful confrontation.
Recommended for encounter: Adventurer group of 5: Level 30’s.

Final notes: Purge with extreme prejudice. Never trust their word.

Jameson clapped the book shut and looked at it with a slight frown. He side-eyed Siluetta and spoke with a slight wobble of concern.

“Her skin wasn’t that pale…”