We moved quickly. I navigated the city with experienced ease, putting on my hauler persona and asking questions until we finally found ourselves in front of the Guild building. Situated in the middle of the central lithos—such was the name of the concrete-slash-stone hollow squares—it was a huge, crooked wooden building that served as the hub for travelers and mercenaries.
It was the place where scum gathered, where money and alcohol flowed freely. People wore grim faces, some of them etched in permanent scowls, some of them inhaling purple smoke from brass smoke pipes. Again, it reminded me of the hauler life, if only of the worst aspects of it.
"Apparently, even in a fantasy world I can't escape my past." I murmured as I made my way in. It was almost as if human nature had distilled itself into this, with no escape and no utopia.
Elyra and Vespera trailed behind me. They were surprised to learn that this grimness had been my past. I guess the stories I told them didn't do it justice compared to seeing it firsthand.
I adjusted my grip on their fake slave collars. It wasn't something I wanted to do at all, but we had observed how the others treated their humanoid slaves, and concluded that this was the most common behavior. Anything else would draw the eye. I hated it.
I made a beeline straight to the bar, steeling my face. I wore the hauler persona tight around myself, just like I used to do in my old life. Even back then, I had never been a scum like these people, but I had been forced to pretend. By now, it came easily enough that it made me wonder if, perhaps, by the end I had actually become exactly the sort of person I hated. If at a certain point, I had simply stopped pretending.
This was my second chance at life, and here I was. Back at it.
I felt one of the girls squeeze my hand briefly, encouragement and trust flowing through the bond. Whatever I might do, they knew that I was no longer that kind of person. They knew that this was all an act. It was I who wasn't sure. The tight lines of my face, frozen in a scowl of anger and disgust, felt way too easy to maintain. I was channeling the hate I felt for my old life, for failing to escape it even in death and reincarnation, and already it was enough to make me question if perhaps I did deserve this life because of who I was. Of the things I had done.
More encouragement, trust, faith and warmth passed through the bond. I let it flow through me, giving me strength. I wasn't alone anymore. I had Elyra and Vespera by my side. They will be my anchors.
Then I shoved all the emotion to the side. To anyone looking, I had to be unapproachable, dangerous, a wildcard. I spotted three potential troublemakers, eyeing me and the girls like pieces of meat, eyes trailing over the fake chains as if to assess their sturdiness. I made sure to make eye contact with them, even though I didn't know our relative strengths.
"This shithole sucks," I said to the man at the bar, slamming my hand on the wooden boards stained with decades of spilled drinks.
My Strength came in handy. It was a meaty thud that rattled a few wooden mugs and the only glass bottle on it, next to a drunk patron sitting on a stool near me.
He turned around and growled. "The fuck you say?"
He yanked on the chain that connected him to his slaved beast, and a dog barked at me twice. Big and mean, deformed but rather malnourished, it was an ugly sight. Spittle flew everywhere, and the beast strained against its collar.
The message from its owner was clear. "I can let go whenever I want, and he'll rip you into pieces."
I pretended the dog did not even exist.
"I said this place sucks," I snarled, in turn yanking at the ethereal chains in my hands. Then, without a word, I turned to the barista and asked for the strongest thing he had. He poured without a word.
"That'd be three copper chips," he rumbled. He had the voice of a chainsmoker.
"At least the rotgut's cheap," I said, downing the glass and grimacing. I didn't even need to pretend.
The drunkard barked a sharp laugh. "Cheap?"
Good. A somewhat decent baseline for the cost of life.
The bartender, however, wasn't having it. "Three chips," the man repeated.
"I ain't got shit on me, but I'm looking for work. How about you tell me where to find it."
The man jabbed a meaty thumb towards a wall full of fliers at the far end of the smoke-filled room. Then, his finger glided to a small door. "Register there. I'll be sending the tab over. Don't try to be funny."
The man on the stool cackled. "That's right, asshole. You think you're hot stuff, but Bib here can snap your neck like a twig." he laughed again, turning to Bib—the barman. "Think he'll manage to scrounge up enough to pay ya?"
The man shrugged. "I don't see why not."
"City's not cheap," the man said, belching and demanded a refill. "And monsters are strong around here. Don't let that sign fool ya." He pointed at a wooden sign with glowing runes on it. It said: "BTNO 36% (low tide).
He harrumphed. "I say he'll be scrubbing the sewer canals in less than a week, between the lithos blocks. Out in the open! Hahahaha! I call dibs on the creatures." He smiled toothily at me. "I'll pay five silver for both. You won't need them."
"What does five silver buy me? A night in this shithole?" I asked.
"Above, perhaps even a week," he replied. "Near the ceiling. Where it's hot and noisy and dangerous. No place for ladies. Give'em to me," he grinned toothily. "I'll give you Rufus in exchange."
The dog in question barked, but it was a pitiful sound. I made a show to punch the man in the face for the disrespect, but Bib stopped me. The way he casually grabbed my arm despite my Strength being 37 told me all I needed to know. That was enough of the hauler persona, I thought. I was worried with how easy it had all come to me.
Now, unlike back in my universe, I had the strength and body type to back the asshole personality. It made everything dangerously alluring. Then I felt the bond, and I relaxed.
Bib stared at me in the eye. "No fights in the Guild. Take it outside if you need to," he growled.
"No need. This asshole isn't worth my time," I replied, acting aloof. Truth was, I was trying to do my best to keep the girls from summoning their magic.
I could feel them both raring to go, and it surprised me how much Elyra, of the two, wanted to cave the man's face in for daring to disrespect me. Vespera was more restrained, having understood how this place worked, although it didn't prevent her from hating it with all her heart.
I pulled away, but not before asking more questions about the rooms. The upstairs rooms, like the drunkard had said, were cheap, a silver a night with a weekly discount. The underground ones were increasingly more expensive the deeper you went, and you could go very deep. All the way down to Chasm City, apparently.
I let the name of the underground city roll on my tongue. There was a Chasm City in my universe, a tribute to an early science fiction writer. This one? It was a literal city in a chasm.
"Come on, girls. Let's get registered at this Guild."
After knocking on the door I was shown, we were led to a waiting room and told that a clerk would be with us in a few minutes. The place was well-lit, clean and only a faint smell of smoke had followed us through when we came in, a welcome respite from the grimy environment outside. I still felt the smell lingering on my bare skin.
Elyra leaned in, close to my ear. "Did you really have to do all that?" she whispered.
"He did," Vespera said in my stead. "This place sucks. Full of assholes. You need to be an asshole yourself if you want respect."
"Picture this," I explained. "A random asshole walks in, bare-chested, with two gorgeous ladies trailing him. Everyone else has monsters and deformed beasts as slaves, but not him."
Vespera nodded, and Elyra frowned. I continued. "These three things are not things I can change, but I can use them to my advantage. In order to do, I needed to act a certain way. We are lucky I'm so used to this."
Elyra grimaced. "I am so sorry, Sol. It must have been hard."
"No. The worst part was the loneliness, and I'm not alone anymore."
"Aww," Vespera cooed.
"Anyway." I added. "I had to walk a fine line there. Remember, we must never go overboard or they will mob us, kill me and turn you into real slaves. Trust me on that."
"Did you…" the angel asked, pausing. Her wings twitched, folded against her back and pressed against the wooden chair. "Did you have to do this often?"
"It was my life, Elyra. Hauler life outside of cryo-sleep was 90% crippling loneliness, 10% this."
"How did you manage to live like that?"
"Most people turned to drugs, whores, body mods and brain alterations."
"Did you?"
"No. I simply hated every second of it. But I kept going, buying my Green, gritting my teeth. I hoped I could get away from it, one day. Instead, I found myself in the same fucking place."
"Like you said, you're not alone anymore, spacer boy," Vespera said, squeezing my hand.
She hastily let go when the door swung open, and a clerk greeted us with a raised eyebrow and a scowl. It lasted for a split second, then he schooled his features and a plastic salesman smile appeared on his face as we rose to our feet.
"Welcome to Perseverance End's Guild, how can I help you?"