The shop keeper ran his fingers through his hair and sighed.

  “I’m just trying to help my cousin, DD, nothin’ personal,” said Maurice. “Give us a name. I’m sure he has something worth money.”

  I looked at my cousin with a smile on my face. We were back on the trail to get my get back, and I could not be more willing.

  “Fuck kinda fiend for a cousin you got,” said DD, “Smiling and shit about robbin’ people.”

  “Are we not helping you?”

  “You are but–”

  “Then what is your qualm?”

  Maurice sighed and looked away. DD pulled out his phone and glanced back and forth before delivering a name.

  “Jaylen Davis. Lives in the West End, I’ve sold a couple times out there. I want his car.”

  “What?” Maurice exclaimed.

  “You heard me. You wanna see the cameras? You wanna tell my business to your cousin? You wanna help so bad? Then I want his car. A Mustang GT. I take it to my guy, sell it, and it’s all square.”

  “You want us to kidnap his steel dragon? How much did he pilfer from you?”

  DD turned to me in confusion.

  “His steel what–”

  “It’s what he calls cars,” sighed Maurice, “Ignore it. Why his car? You told me he ran off with an ounce.”

  “That was last week. He came back with money for the ounce on some sly shit. Then he pulled out money for some of my real good shit, pulled out a gun, and took the entire damn bag. I cooked that up myself! My own strain!”

  “Cooked?” I asked, “You dabble in the alchemical arts?”

  “Uh–yeah–kinda–look man. That’s premium shit. He didn’t pay for it. I want his car, are you in or out?”

  “We’re in–”

  “The fuck we ain't!” snapped Maurice, “I thought you just wanted us to shake him down or something. Stealing his entire car? Hell naw.”

  “Then no cameras. Get out of my store.”

  I stepped between Maurice and DD. This was my quest. I needed to see it through.

  “Let us not be so hasty, cousin. This is the best lead we have!”

  “Yeah, and it requires us being on the radar. No deal.”

  I racked my brain for an idea.

  “Wait a minute–you said you were going to sell this dragon if we stole it, right?”

  “His car, yeah.”

  “What if we did it,” I started, “But you cut us in on the deal?”

  DD the merchant furrowed his brow. He went to speak for a moment, but stopped. Opting instead to rub his chin in thought.

  “Jamal,” said Maurice, “What are you doing?”

  “You said it’s of considerable risk, right? Then we ask for a higher reward. The proof, and the money. I’ll even give you half of my share. I just wanna know who did this to me.”

  “It’s not about money–”

  “Ain’t it?” interrupted DD. “What was the problem when we were doing this regularly?”

  “That was then,” remarked Maurice, “This is now.”

  “How about it, Merchant DD?” I asked.

  A moment of thought.

  [INGENUITY CHECK PASSED]

  “Fine. I’ll cut you in.”

  I looked to Maurice in pride. He rolled his eyes and asked the important question.

  “How much of the profit are we taking?”

  “You get ten percent,” stated DD, “Each. And that’s generous.”

  “Ten? We’re taking a steel dragon and you only give us–”

  “If you keep talking I’ll make it five–”

  “Ten is fine,” interjected Maurice, “Let’s go, Jamal.”

  Maurice turned and walked away. I wanted to negotiate for more, but Maurice motioned for me to follow. Before complying, I said one last thing to the merchant.

  “We will get you your Mustang dragon. Make good on your end of the deal.”

  DD blinked once.

  “Yeah, whatever, nigga. Get out of my store.”

  I let my eyes linger on DD before turning to leave. Outside, Maurice was waiting by his mount.

  “Jamal, what the fuck man?”

  “What? Was this not a success?”

  “If success is signing up for carjacking, I don’t want it.”

  “I’m giving you half of my share! Plus he said you’ve done this before so–”

  “Fuck the share, and fuck what I’ve done before. That’s history.”

  I took a moment to gather my thoughts. My brain filled with images of my bloodstain on the ground. I slowly turned to it and sighed.

  “Someone did that to me,” I said, pointing. “I have to at least know who.”

  Maurice groaned and paced in a circle. After a moment he turned to face me.

  “Fine. Get in the car.”

  This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

  “What about Jaylen Davis of the West End?”

  “We’re not going today. We have no idea who he rolls with, and if they’re packing heat.”

  “Packing heat? Is that what you call pyromancers?”

  Maurice rolled his eyes and strapped into his steel dragon.

  “Just get in.”

  We began the ride home. Maurice had been extremely helpful this entire outing. While he focused on the Dragon Path, I stared at him from the corner of my eye. He had passed a Presence Check where I had failed on my own. DD said something about how Maurice worked for him in the past. Work that Maurice was not proud of. What other secrets could he be hiding?

  My stare intensified. I opened my my mouth to ask a question before–

  [SLY LEVEL TOO LOW TO INSPECT]

  [SLY: 5]

  The sudden appearance of the pane made me flinch. Maurice flinched in response, causing the steel dragon to jerk.

  “Are you good? Why are you being so damn jumpy, bro?”

  I swiped the pane away from my face.

  “I’m fine, just…I’m fine. Sorry.”

  I pulled out my phone and reviewed my own attributes.

  [+25 FLOW]

  [+5 SLY]

  [+5 PRESENCE]

  [+10 INGENUITY]

  [+5 ATHLETICS]

  Looking at the numbers again, it was possible a mistake had been made. I had used everything but [FLOW] and [ATHLETICS] today, and with how conversations had been going? It seemed as if I would need more than that.

  It had only been a couple of hours since we had left the house. I unlocked the door and stepped inside with Maurice behind me.

  “Alright,” he sighed, “Listen to me very carefully.”

  I turned to see him on his phone. He walked past me and sat on a couch in the foyer.

  “DD just sent the address–”

  “Perfect, let’s–”

  “Sit yo ass down.”

  I rolled my eyes and joined my cousin.

  “The West End is about ten minutes from here. We go to the address, stake him out, hotwire his car, and boom. DD takes it to his guy to scrub the VIN and he sells it. May even give us a cut.”

  I rubbed my hands together, already plotting what I would do with my share of the loot.

  “What the fuck is this evil-ass hand thing you got going on?”

  I cleared my throat and waved it off.

  “Continue.”

  Maurice sighed and shook his head.

  “Anyways, check this out–”

  He swiped on the phone. A photo of a regal steel dragon came into view. A man with crossed arms leaned on the side of it. He had dreadlocks, tattoos, and a woman with her posterior faced toward us.

  “That’s his car. Looks like a Mustang GT.”

  “A Dragon of the Mustang? It sounds powerful indeed.”

  “I just don’t understand why he ran out on DD if he got it like that. Maybe he’s broke lowkey. Either way, we hotwire and go.”

  “Would it not get the point across if we threatened him directly?”

  Maurice scrunched his face in disdain.

  “You’re jackin’ niggas now? Is that how you get down?”

  “I have no idea what you’re saying, but if it means ‘take his stuff’ then, yes.”

  “We are not going in there at gun point and stealing his car.”

  “What’s a gun?”

  Maurice raised his head from his phone and stared dead ahead. He took extra time to blink slowly without turning to me.

  “Well?”

  After a minute of silence he closed his eyes and continued saying nothing.

  “Maurice? Are you entering meditation? I understand you’re a dragon sage, but now is not the time–”

  Maurice held up a hand in protest. He slowly curled it into his other hand, letting them sit in his lap. Without opening his eyes he spoke slowly.

  “Jamal, I know you did not just ask me what the fuck a gun is. I know you got shot, but–”

  “Is that what did this to me?” I pointed to the scars on my forearm and chest, “A gun?”

  “Yeah, but–”

  “When mother said I had been shot, I assumed some kind of arrow had struck me.”

  “No. Not at all. Nowhere near.”

  “Is this gun more efficient than a bow? Than a crossbow?”

  “...yes.”

  I stood up and marched to the bathroom. I analyzed the stitched punctures on my chest, right arm, and above my right eye. Whatever this was, the damage spoke for itself. I peered out of the bathroom.

  “Where do we acquire these guns?”

  “No. I’m not handing you a gun. At all.”

  “It is you that said they have pyromancers–”

  “I said they may be packing heat! Strapped! Guns!”

  “Their guns spit fire? We may need to enchant our gear–”

  “Jamal!”

  Maurice gripped a hand to my shoulder. He took a moment to breathe before speaking.

  “I know what I said. The entire goal of this job is to just identify the man who shot you. That’s all I’m trying to help you with. What I’m not going to do is let them know I helped. I’m not gonna let them see my face. And I’m not getting involved with pissing off gangs. You understand me?”

  I sighed.

  “Fine. We do it your way. But if they come out with their pyromancy and their guns, what are we going to do?”

  “We won’t have to worry about any pyromancers,” said Maurice, through gritted teeth. “When we find this guy, your entire job is to keep watch. I’m going to hotwire the car. Then we are going to get the fuck out of there. That is it. No guns. No pyromancers. No faces. Got it?”

  I was still worried about the pyromancers.

  “Got it.”

  “Good. I’m leaving now.”

  Maurice let go of my shoulder and headed to the door.

  “I’ll pick you up tomorrow. We’re going on a practice run. Call me if you need anything.”

  [CONTACT ADDED: MAURICE ROBINSON]

  [TUTORIAL QUEST: GET YOUR GET BACK: PART 2 - UPDATED]

  [NEW OBJECTIVE: SUCCEED ON THE PRACTICE RUN]

  I was alone in the house again.

  Tomorrow’s quest would put me one step closer to the bastard who–

  Bathroom. Now.

  Was it the tavern food? Or the food from the infirmary?

  No matter, nature was calling me.

  I marched to the bathroom and shut the door.

  The porcelain throne awaited.

  I went and relieved myself immediately. I turned back to see if it would flow into the river alright. Nothing was happening but the rising smell of my own waste. I searched the porcelain throne for anything that would release it. A silver knob caught my eye.

  I pulled it up.

  Nothing,

  I pushed it down.

  Suddenly a torrent of water whisked it away.

  Fascinating.

  I had heard about something like this. Only the most noble lords and ladies were rumored to have such a marvel. If it were accessible in this world so easily, then–

  A bath.

  A hot bath.

  I turned to see the empty tub. Its translucent knobs were calling my name. I leaned over the edge and twisted the first knob.

  Rushing water.

  I dropped a hand into the torrent and recoiled upon feeling its cold touch. I twisted the knob back and reached for the other one. Seconds later another stream of water came out.

  I saw steam rise.

  A hot bath.

  I jammed the stopper in and nearly burned my hand. Moments later, all of my clothes were on the bathroom floor. I waited patiently for the water level to rise, still in amazement.

  I stopped the stream. The entire bathroom was coated in steam and condensation. I slowly slipped into the embrace of the sauna. I felt my body relax and go limp in its warm caress.

  It was here I dozed off for several hours.

  It was only later I realized I had not locked the door.