The expression on Shane’s face was priceless. It was one of utter despair as he looked at the long line in front of the immigration office. The morning mist was still lingering in the air and the weak light from the sun that hadn’t even made its rise into the sky cast a gloomy atmosphere in the dawn. When he had last met Acaelus in Desierto, the man had also prompted him to get a passport. If he was insistent in joining the mess that Acaelus was duty-bound to clear up and to find out more about his master, he would have to do as the man says, getting a passport for getting in and out of Fiore.
Shane had thought it a simple errand, naively thinking he could swoop in and out of the immigrations office and leave within an hour. Oh boy, how wrong could he be. The blonde mage slowly walked from the beginning of the line, his mood dropping and dropping as he slowly moved towards the middle of the line. Until someone called out to him.
“Hey you. Yes! You!” the voice called out in a hushed tone, slightly louder than a whisper. Shane turned around to look a lean young man, a glint of mischievousness in his eyes. Shane looked around and pointed himself, a questioning look on his face. The young man, barely seventeen, gestured with his left hand for Shane to come over.
“You thought you were early right?” the teenager asked with a short laugh followed by smirk. Shane rolled his eyes. “If you have nothing better to say, I will be joining the queue.”
“I have a deal for you. Simply really. You look like a strong guy. And a mage probably?” His eyes were scanning Shane up and down, to which the latter found irritating. “So?”
“Here’s the thing. My mate’s being locked up by some thugs. Says they will be selling him as a slave because of his father’s gambling debts. Unless we can bring them the money. Not a small amount too. 50,000 Jewels,” the young man said, whistling after mentioning the amount. He continued. “The others are running all around to collect the amount. They gave us three hours and we won’t get it in time. I have already been waiting here for one hour. Would you do it? My turn in line will probably come around two hours later. Just enough time for you to do it and come back.”
Shane eyed the young man as he spoke, searching for a trace of him lying. The young man’s eyes had been earnest, tinged with a little desperation, but confident that even if Shane rejected him, he would still be able to find someone else to do it. Shane was weighing the benefits. Of course it would be much more practical to wait two hours like anybody else, but with his moral compass, he could never turn a blind eye if what the young man had just said was true. A deep breath, followed by another.
“Fine, lead me there,” Shane agreed. A grin on his face, the young man stood on tiptoe and craned his neck as he looked around. He found whatever he was looking for and raised his arms high into the air, waving eagerly. Another young man, a chubbier youth probably younger than the other, ran over with haste.
“You found someone??” the chubby teenager asked in between gasping for breath.
“Yup! Hurry and bring this mage to Bucktooth!”
The chubby teenager beckoned for Shane to follow immediately and the two set off on a sprint. Shane was way faster, but he had to slow down his pace to match the teenager’s. It took around five minutes to reach the shadier parts of town, twisting streets and hidden alleys covering for the assortment of shops dealing in things unexposable to the law. The chubby teenager refrained from saying anything all this while, merely moving ahead at the fastest pace he could while Shane followed.
“Tsst!!”
Shane’s head turned in the direction of the whisper and grabbed the shoulder of the chubby teenager to stop him. There was another gangly boy, hiding behind a pile of crates, gesturing fiercely for them to go over. The chubby teenager nodded and squirmed out of Shane’s grip and ran over.
“They are inside that opium shop. The Cracked Dagger,” the gangly one said to his friend as he pointed in the direction that Shane and Chubby was originally going in. Shane followed the finger and saw two burly men posted outside the shop, standing as imposingly as they could. It worked, in this part of the town. No issue for Shane.
“Let’s do this the simple way. I will force my way in and you two follow me to identify your friend,” Shane instructed as he vaulted over the pile of crates with his right arm. And he charged straight towards the Cracked Dagger. The pair of guards, big as they were, were startled but managed to step in front of the entrance. The blonde mage responded by kicking off the slippery pavement, left knee forward and crashed heavily into the first guard on the right before spinning on his right foot, a backfist with his right into the guard’s face.
Chubby and Gangly stared with their eyes wide, jaw dropping as low as possible. They were still thinking the man insane after he had shared his plan.
Shane kicked down the door as hard as he could. The two wooden doors, rotted by humidity, flew off their hinges and dropped on either side of the entrance. The superhero in training’s eyes darted around in the store, taking count of the number of hostiles and to see if he could find anyone being held hostage. The customers had all shrank back in their cots, clutching their opium sticks as tightly as they could, eyes wide in fear at the sudden intrusion.
“Is that him?” Shane asked as he pointed as a kid, bound and gagged, in one of the cots. The two teenagers who followed him in nodded furiously. To the men who were probably the employees here, “Untie him. I’m here for him.”
A dagger flew for his face in response. Shane caught it deftly with his right and tossed towards his left at one of the men. The unsuspecting thug dropped to the ground with a scream as the knife hit him in his thigh. Another man came from the side, fists swinging wildly. Flexing his left arm, Shane leaned backwards to avoid the straight punch, and send a quick jab into the man’s ribs. He had made sure to add a little torsion as he punched, putting more force into the fist than he could with a normal punch. The man was thrown into one of the cots, head over heels as he tumbled over the railing that surrounded three sides of each cot.
“Do you want to just give me what I want, never bother these boys again and leave it at that or do you want me to do a thorough cleanup?” Shane offered the options as he looked around, steely gaze breaking down their defenses. Even the boss, who had thrown the knife earlier, was faltering under his gaze.
“So, it’s agreed. You let the kid go, never bother them again,” Shane repeated. An order, this time. The boss, barely able to speak, his voice oddly strangled, gestured to his man to acquiesce with Shane’s demand. The captured teenager was released from his bonds and pushed forward to his friends.
“And you guys will have nothing to do with this group again. One wrong step with them, and you pay the consequences yourself,” Shane demanded, putting his attention back to the group of teenagers. Chubby and Gangly gulped loudly and nodded just as quickly. “Let’s go.”
Shane had solved it in record time. He had only taken a total of thirty minutes, and when he finally got back to the immigrations office, the teenager quickly let him step in line before stepping out himself. The four teenagers uttered their thanks before leaving.
Shane looked at the number in his hand. Fifty. The board by the side of the entrance was displaying the number being served in the offices inside. Three out of five counters were fully operational, and currently, the person being served was number thirty-seven. Shane grinned, there was only seventeen more to go until he would get his passport.
Shane had thought it a simple errand, naively thinking he could swoop in and out of the immigrations office and leave within an hour. Oh boy, how wrong could he be. The blonde mage slowly walked from the beginning of the line, his mood dropping and dropping as he slowly moved towards the middle of the line. Until someone called out to him.
“Hey you. Yes! You!” the voice called out in a hushed tone, slightly louder than a whisper. Shane turned around to look a lean young man, a glint of mischievousness in his eyes. Shane looked around and pointed himself, a questioning look on his face. The young man, barely seventeen, gestured with his left hand for Shane to come over.
“You thought you were early right?” the teenager asked with a short laugh followed by smirk. Shane rolled his eyes. “If you have nothing better to say, I will be joining the queue.”
“I have a deal for you. Simply really. You look like a strong guy. And a mage probably?” His eyes were scanning Shane up and down, to which the latter found irritating. “So?”
“Here’s the thing. My mate’s being locked up by some thugs. Says they will be selling him as a slave because of his father’s gambling debts. Unless we can bring them the money. Not a small amount too. 50,000 Jewels,” the young man said, whistling after mentioning the amount. He continued. “The others are running all around to collect the amount. They gave us three hours and we won’t get it in time. I have already been waiting here for one hour. Would you do it? My turn in line will probably come around two hours later. Just enough time for you to do it and come back.”
Shane eyed the young man as he spoke, searching for a trace of him lying. The young man’s eyes had been earnest, tinged with a little desperation, but confident that even if Shane rejected him, he would still be able to find someone else to do it. Shane was weighing the benefits. Of course it would be much more practical to wait two hours like anybody else, but with his moral compass, he could never turn a blind eye if what the young man had just said was true. A deep breath, followed by another.
“Fine, lead me there,” Shane agreed. A grin on his face, the young man stood on tiptoe and craned his neck as he looked around. He found whatever he was looking for and raised his arms high into the air, waving eagerly. Another young man, a chubbier youth probably younger than the other, ran over with haste.
“You found someone??” the chubby teenager asked in between gasping for breath.
“Yup! Hurry and bring this mage to Bucktooth!”
The chubby teenager beckoned for Shane to follow immediately and the two set off on a sprint. Shane was way faster, but he had to slow down his pace to match the teenager’s. It took around five minutes to reach the shadier parts of town, twisting streets and hidden alleys covering for the assortment of shops dealing in things unexposable to the law. The chubby teenager refrained from saying anything all this while, merely moving ahead at the fastest pace he could while Shane followed.
“Tsst!!”
Shane’s head turned in the direction of the whisper and grabbed the shoulder of the chubby teenager to stop him. There was another gangly boy, hiding behind a pile of crates, gesturing fiercely for them to go over. The chubby teenager nodded and squirmed out of Shane’s grip and ran over.
“They are inside that opium shop. The Cracked Dagger,” the gangly one said to his friend as he pointed in the direction that Shane and Chubby was originally going in. Shane followed the finger and saw two burly men posted outside the shop, standing as imposingly as they could. It worked, in this part of the town. No issue for Shane.
“Let’s do this the simple way. I will force my way in and you two follow me to identify your friend,” Shane instructed as he vaulted over the pile of crates with his right arm. And he charged straight towards the Cracked Dagger. The pair of guards, big as they were, were startled but managed to step in front of the entrance. The blonde mage responded by kicking off the slippery pavement, left knee forward and crashed heavily into the first guard on the right before spinning on his right foot, a backfist with his right into the guard’s face.
Chubby and Gangly stared with their eyes wide, jaw dropping as low as possible. They were still thinking the man insane after he had shared his plan.
Shane kicked down the door as hard as he could. The two wooden doors, rotted by humidity, flew off their hinges and dropped on either side of the entrance. The superhero in training’s eyes darted around in the store, taking count of the number of hostiles and to see if he could find anyone being held hostage. The customers had all shrank back in their cots, clutching their opium sticks as tightly as they could, eyes wide in fear at the sudden intrusion.
“Is that him?” Shane asked as he pointed as a kid, bound and gagged, in one of the cots. The two teenagers who followed him in nodded furiously. To the men who were probably the employees here, “Untie him. I’m here for him.”
A dagger flew for his face in response. Shane caught it deftly with his right and tossed towards his left at one of the men. The unsuspecting thug dropped to the ground with a scream as the knife hit him in his thigh. Another man came from the side, fists swinging wildly. Flexing his left arm, Shane leaned backwards to avoid the straight punch, and send a quick jab into the man’s ribs. He had made sure to add a little torsion as he punched, putting more force into the fist than he could with a normal punch. The man was thrown into one of the cots, head over heels as he tumbled over the railing that surrounded three sides of each cot.
“Do you want to just give me what I want, never bother these boys again and leave it at that or do you want me to do a thorough cleanup?” Shane offered the options as he looked around, steely gaze breaking down their defenses. Even the boss, who had thrown the knife earlier, was faltering under his gaze.
“So, it’s agreed. You let the kid go, never bother them again,” Shane repeated. An order, this time. The boss, barely able to speak, his voice oddly strangled, gestured to his man to acquiesce with Shane’s demand. The captured teenager was released from his bonds and pushed forward to his friends.
“And you guys will have nothing to do with this group again. One wrong step with them, and you pay the consequences yourself,” Shane demanded, putting his attention back to the group of teenagers. Chubby and Gangly gulped loudly and nodded just as quickly. “Let’s go.”
Shane had solved it in record time. He had only taken a total of thirty minutes, and when he finally got back to the immigrations office, the teenager quickly let him step in line before stepping out himself. The four teenagers uttered their thanks before leaving.
Shane looked at the number in his hand. Fifty. The board by the side of the entrance was displaying the number being served in the offices inside. Three out of five counters were fully operational, and currently, the person being served was number thirty-seven. Shane grinned, there was only seventeen more to go until he would get his passport.
