Chương 16: Chapter Sixteen: Difference's in Childhoods

SIXTEEN"Who dies first?" Roan's words were met with blinking eyes. Nash might be a slimebag, maybe even a killer, but those independents with him? Roan could see right through them, he didn't need Darren's ability. Rough bastards, tough and maybe willing to break some kneecaps, but to kill and die other humans? Roan could see the hesitation in their faces.

"You all missed my little speech earlier. But I can condense it. Come for me or mine and you die. Simple as that." Roan met Nash's eyes and smiled at him. He dredged every ounce of ice and venom he could from the pit of his soul to decorate his face. Nash's smirk flickered, faded, and was replaced by indecision." Amateur. Just a school yard bully." Taoya straightened up next to him and lifted his hands up. There was no burning light around him, his energy spent.

Still had a seven foot tall giant staring down at the poorly trained independents.

"You can't fight us all," Nash finally said.

"Probably not. But which three of you want to die first? That's how many I'll take. Taoya might take a few more, but I will get at least three of you. And Nash, I'll be coming for you first."

"You're full of shit." Nash didn't sound convinced.

"You're all locals right? Or at least a few of you are. I can see the tans. I trained under old Bao. You know what that means." More than a few faces paled at that. They backed up and the first fissures formed in their coalition of taxmen.

"Who the fuck is old Bao?" Nash asked. Roan finally placed the accent. East coast. New York or something like that.

"Oh shit, what are we doing?" One of the guys said as he backed out of the encirclement. Two more went right after him and with that they broke and ran. Not all of them, but the threat of being completely overwhelmed disappeared in a moment. Nash was the last to leave, but even he tucked his tail and ran at the end.

"We're going to have to kill him," Roan said. Taoya grunted and looked over to Moira and her group of people who had hopped to their feet as the taxmen ran away.

"Why didn't you do it then?" Taoya asked.

"I'd probably end up dead doing it. Enough of them would have fought back that it would have been impossible with how I currently am. We're going to need to secure this exit though. Or push to the next safe room."

"You're a cold bastard, you know that?" Taoya asked. His voice was calm even if his words were harsh.

"Comes with the territory. You live in the Deadlands, you have to be practical." Roan shrugged his shoulders and put it out of his mind. He'd been called worse by better people.

"Moira, how much did they get from you?" Taoya said as he turned to look at the designated healer. She scowled and glared at her escort. If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

"Everyone's weapons and half the elixirs." Roan winced at the thought of all the money it would take to buy those back. He had a nice windfall from the fight, but he wouldn't want to pay that back.

"I'll start selling the gear. Give me a few minutes," Taoya said, taking the slings full of daggers and sitting down." Trust but verify. He's not as soft as he plays up to be." Roan reached into the piles and pulled out the jewelry he'd found. There was something about them that continued to nag at his brain, a hint that he was missing something. The market opened up with its sea of tabs. Even with his time going through everything he had barely scratched the surface of what was available for sale.

The search functions were useful as Roan looked for what he needed. He was too ignorant at the moment to make informed decisions. He needed a way to figure stuff out and he smiled as he found a list of results that could work.

IDENTIFY TIER 1 SKILL 10, 000 CREDITS IDENTIFY OBJECTS POTENTIAL GRADE: TIER 6 LEARNING MANUAL: N/A ANALYZE TIER 1 SKILL 10, 000 CREDITS ANALYZE OBJECTS POTENTIAL GRADE: TIER 8 LEARNING MANUAL: N/A TOWER COMPENDIUM ITEM 100, 000 CREDITS LIST OF ITEMS INSIDE OF THE TOWER FLOOR 1 COMPENDIUM ITEM 10, 000 CREDITS LIST OF ITEMS INSIDE THE FIRST FLOOR LEVEL 1 COMPENDIUM 1, 000 CREDITS LIST OF ITEMS ON FIRST LEVEL OF THE FIRST FLOOR Roan checked his current balance and smiled as he saw he was close.

After Craig and the bonus, he was sitting at eight hundred-ninety-three credits. The pile of weapons Taoya was getting ready to sell would net him a decent chunk as well, but would it be enough to buy the level one compendium?" Is it worth it to spend it all? Wait. I'm part of a group now. I can try to unload some of the cost onto the T. C. A. Subsidize my costs a bit. Just need to spin it right."

Roan managed to keep his face clear of a smile as he turned to Taoya who was picking up another of the long daggers before it disappeared with a quiet pop of displaced air.

"You have access to the T. C. A funds?"

"Why?" Taoya sounded tired. There was so little life left in his voice as he looked up with bloodshot eyes. He was ready to keel over if he took even a moment's rest.

"Part of the benefits of belonging is sharing information. I found a compendium for this level. It's a thousand credits," Roan said. Taoya's eyes flickered off to the side and Roan figured he was looking at the earnings of the account. There had been ten of the sect members and nine independents who had signed up. Roan couldn't know how many had paid their fees and how much had been spent on gear. The accounts could be bone dry or flush.

"Your share of the loot is one-twenty. If you forfeit the rights of the gear I have already sold, not counting that jewelry you pulled to the side, I'll buy it."

"Done. If I get first crack at it," Roan said, offering his hand for a shake. Taoya took his hand and shook once. It felt like having his hand in a vice as the big man squeezed gently. Another pop and then an old book was sitting on the ground. It wasn't large, hardly more than a finger width thick. Roan grimaced as he wondered if he'd screwed up, possibly burned a bridge by a bad call. He didn't let it show on his face as he plucked the book up.

Old leather cracked as he opened the pages and relief flushed through him as he realized he was fine. The first page had a picture of a skeleton on it with the emerald fire in its eyes. The backside held the blue flame skeleton and the next page had the level guardians. It had not just what items were in the crypt, but also details about the guardians. Roan crossed his legs and bent down to study the journal as Taoya finished up his work.