Chương 153: (149) 3.14. Definition of Failing

Vin stared down the bolt of the beastkin's crossbow, nervously glancing at Shia still sitting atop Blossom beside him. He wasn't particularly afraid for his own safety thanks to his divine boon, but Shia didn't have that luxury. Taking a small step forward to try and draw their ambusher's attention more toward him, he called out.

"You must have seen us running like crazy before you jumped us. We just escaped from the Red Dawn, which is probably why we smell like them."" Nobody escapes from the Red Dawn once they have you in their clutches," the man countered, his eyes narrowing at Vin.

"Curash is too careful. It would be far more likely that you're new recruits sent to try and infiltrate the town." Damn it, I wish more places used truth magic like what Madam Trebella had.

"Look, I don't know what more we can say or how we can convince you we're not with them. But could you at least drop the crossbows? You can see for yourself we don't have any ranged weaponry. We're not here to hurt anyone."

"No point in trying to play harmless with me. I can see the shrouds of death still lingering on you," the beastkin hissed, his eyes flicking back and forth between the two of them.

"They weigh much heavier on your friend, but they hang from you as well. You've both taken lives, and recently."

"That's some skill," Shia said, her brow raised.

"But like my friend here already said, we killed members of the Red Dawn to escape their camp. If anyone deserved death, it was them."

"I won't argue with that… What's wrong with him?" The beastkin asked, peering at Vin. For his part, Vin had barely even heard this last question. Upon learning that he had in fact killed that man back in camp to save Shia's life, his mind had gone blank. Vin had been through quite a lot ever since arriving on Edregon. He'd been on this new world for about a month at this point, and he'd been through more struggle and hardship than he ever could have imagined.

Though throughout it all, there was one thing he'd managed to avoid doing all this time. He'd never taken a life. Looking down at his hands, Vin imagined the rock chunk he'd aimed with one of them, practically seeing it slam into that archer's temple a second time and dropping him like a lifeless sack of meat. He felt like his hands should be covered in blood, so the sight of them looking clean as ever just felt wrong.

After their entire ordeal with the divine warrior, Vin had thought he'd been prepared to kill, and he almost certainly wouldn't have lost any sleep if he had actually managed to stab the lizardman with the top half of Alka's sword. But now that he actually had taken a life… Realizing what was going on, Shia cursed, hopping down off Blossom and pulling Vin into a tight hug.

"It's alright Vin, you did the right thing. You didn't just save my life, you saved the lives of all the other innocent people that marauder no doubt would have gone on to kill in the future." Blinking, Vin realized his hands were shaking slightly. Letting out a weak laugh, he leaned into Shia's embrace, gripping his hands into fists to stop the shaking. Even now with his mind so scattered, he made sure to put himself between Shia and the stranger with the crossbows, just in case.

"Thanks, Shia. Sorry, that kinda came out of nowhere," he said, doing his best to grin.

"Having witnessed the Red Dawn firsthand and knowing that guy was about to shoot you, I don't regret what I did in the slightest. Just the certainty of suddenly knowing I did in fact kill that man caught me by surprise."

"I don't think anyone would blame you," Shia said, returning his smile.

"God damn, if that's how you react to finding out you killed someone, you're either the best actor I've ever seen, or you really aren't part of the Red Dawn," the beastkin said, finally lowering his crossbows and giving Vin an understanding nod.

"Sorry about the rough reception. Can't be too careful about newcomers with the Red Dawn running around all over this fragment."

"Well thank the Gods for that, it's always super awkward trying to do a classic standoff when all I can reach is your ankle." The beastkin froze, and Vin couldn't help but laugh as he spotted Scule standing directly beside the man. The Rogue had the tip of a poison-coated dagger placed carefully against the stranger's ankle, and was no doubt prepared to slam it into his leg if he so much as twitched.

"It's alright, Scule, I think he finally gets we're not with the Red Dawn," Vin said, laughing all the harder at the shocked look on the beastkin's face after finding himself held hostage by a six inch tall man.

"Whatever you say," Scule shrugged, stepping back and resheathing his dagger.

"Seriously though, I leave you guys for less than half an hour and you're already held captive again? I'm starting to think you just like getting into trouble."

"We're not quite as slippery as petians," Shia drawled, finally letting go of Vin and bending down to pick up Reginald as he scurried up to her. Petting the happily squeaking rat, she turned her focus back on the beastkin.

"Seeing as our poison-addled companion here isn't sticking you with his dagger, maybe that will help you believe our story even more?" The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

"It certainly doesn't hurt," the beastkin grumbled, finally holstering his crossbows.

"The name's Waltz. I'm a Scout, and I spend most of my time patrolling the town perimeter to ensure we won't be caught off guard whenever the Red Dawn decide to attack."

"No wonder you're so trigger happy. That's got to be a nerve wracking job," Shia said, giving him an understanding nod.

"You've got that right," Waltz replied with a thin smile.

"If you're not members of the Red Dawn, mind introducing yourselves? I'd feel a bit better knowing who I'm dealing with."

"The softy's name is Vin, he's an Explorer. Ol' pointy ears there is a Druid named Shia. I'm Scule, a Rogue, and the cute one is Reginald," Scule said quickly, earning a scowl from Shia. Before Shia could start anything, Vin cleared his throat.

"And before you ask what we're doing here, we actually came on behalf of Golrim. He and Kym are staying with my people at the moment."

"They're both still alive?" Waltz said, clearly surprised.

"Huh, good for them. I pegged them good as dead when they each ran off on their own."

"What do you mean 'on their own?' Didn't Golrim have a handful of prisoners with him?" Shia asked.

"At the very least he had an assassin with him."

"No, Golrim definitely left camp on his own," Waltz said, shaking his head.

"I followed him part way, just to make sure he stayed safe. Man doesn't know the first thing about how to fight." Where did he get the assassin and other prisoners then? Vin wondered.

"Regardless, he told us your new town was failing and asked about potentially allowing your people to merge with ours. I wanted to come take a look for myself before promising anything, but we ended up running into Curash who tricked us into walking into the Red Dawn's camp."

"Failing is a bit of a stretch," Waltz snorted, which admittedly sounded just a little too much like a cat sneezing.

"And he didn't even warn you about the Red Dawn? Seems out of character for Golrim. I'm not exaggerating when I tell you the man thinks of everything. It can get exhausting after a while, but even I have to admit his plans get results. It's why we let him take the reins in the first place."

"So… your town isn't failing?" Scule asked, climbing back up onto Vin's shoulder.

"First Golrim, then Curash, and now you… We're getting some real mixed signals about how this town is faring."

"Obviously, I'd hope you don't believe a word of what Curash says," Waltz hissed.

"Next time you run into him on his own, let me know so I can take care of the man once and for all. And no, despite whatever Golrim told you, I wouldn't say our town is failing. Tensions have been a bit high lately, what without Kym's knowledge and Golrim's expertise to guide us, but we've managed. Hell, we're only losing someone every other day at this point, which is far better than when we first formed the town."

"Wait, what do you mean you're losing someone every other day?" Vin asked, raising his eyebrow. Waltz had stated that fact like it was something to be impressed about.

"As you'd expect from a town full of former prisoners living under constant fear of the Red Dawn attacking, people can get a bit hot headed and often lash out when frightened," Waltz shrugged.

"Even after turning a new leaf, many of us can't just let go of our old ways overnight. Fights aren't uncommon, and a good number of them end with someone dying. It's just how it is."

"Waltz… That's not normal," Vin stressed, wondering how in the world the beastkin didn't understand that such behavior wasn't sustainable for a small town.

"How many people does your town even have?"

"I think Golrim mentioned there being about six hundred of us when we finally escaped," Waltz said, counting on his stubby, paw-like fingers.

"Around eighty ran off to form the Red Dawn rather early on, and a few decided to take off on their own, which leaves about five hundred people for the town. Granted, that was around four months ago. I think at this point, we're down to around three hundred people? Maybe three-fifty?" Okay, at least we know Golrim wasn't lying about this, Vin sighed. The prisoners' attempt at a town had lost nearly a quarter of its population in only four months.

He didn't know Waltz's history, but clearly the Scout didn't understand that their town was in fact failing miserably. Thankfully, they weren't the only ones however. Vin had only spotted about thirty or forty members of the Red Dawn back in their camp, and that was before Shia and he had killed a few more. If they'd started off with eighty, the marauders had lost more than half their members since forming, which wasn't all that surprising seeing how willing they were to kill one another.

"Don't you guys have a guard or something?" Scule asked, looking incredulous at the fact that so many people had been killed in the failing town.

"If someone kills someone, they should be thrown in jail! Or held responsible somehow!"

"No jails," Waltz hissed again, glaring at the petian. His fingers even twitched as if reflexively going for his crossbows before he stopped himself.

"We all agreed there would be no more prisons. If someone commits a crime, we deal with it as a town."

"No wonder Golrim ran off to try and find help," Shia muttered, and Vin nodded. If things kept going without any changes, in a few more months their supposed town would be little more than just a large group of people making camp.

"Waltz, now that you know Golrim sent us, would you mind leading us back to your town? I think I've heard enough that I'm willing to try and convince our people to take at least some of yours in, if only to get them out from under the threat of the Red Dawn. But I'd still prefer to get a first hand look for myself seeing as we're already here."

"I suppose that would be fine… We can certainly use all the allies we can get. But I'm telling you, I can't imagine all that many people would be willing to just pick up and leave," Waltz said.

"Many of us now worship the God of Rebirth, and unless your town has their own shrine to them, I think most will wish to remain here. The God has touched our hearts and given so many of us what we craved more than anything in the world during our dark years we spent suffering within that prison."

"Wait, you've actually spoken to this God?" Vin asked, sharing a knowing look with Shia.

"What did they say?"

"They don't speak in words, but we feel their compassion through their System messages and during the rebirth process," Waltz said, placing a hand over his heart.

"It's like nothing you've ever felt before. As if God himself is washing your sins away and giving you a second chance."

"Can anyone go through this rebirth process?" Scule asked, looking curious.

"I suppose so," Waltz said, giving him an appreciative nod.

"So long as they pray respectfully and it's what's truly desired in their heart, all are welcome to give up their class for another."