10 Chapter 10: The Human Quarter (2/2)

”Why would they need to keep track of us? Actually, why are they even here to begin with? Where do they come from?” Asked Luca in confusion, uncomfortably noticing the intensity of the stares of some of the elves around him.”

”I'm not really sure.” Admitted Dominic, ”But I think it's far more complicated then it seems. I know at the least they act as what you might refer to as NPCs, but make no mistake their real, their blades kill, and they hold grudges.. They generally resent our presence here.”

To emphasize the point, one of the youths around them, an elven boy appearing to be the age of thirteen or fourteen, picked up a piece of the cobblestone road that had broken off and threw it. The rock hit Luca in the face, splitting his check open as the rock-cut into his skin.

”Ouch, that hurt.” Complained Luca as he riped away the blood. ”Why didn't I resist or dodge that one?”

Kevin snickered. ”Because it's a rock dumbass. You're supposed to dodge it. Or wear something or use something to protect yourself from getting dommed.” The rest of the group nodded mockingly in agreement. Great, Luca complained to himself. I really do look every bit the part of a new guy.

As if to empathize with the point, another rock went sailing through the air and struck Luca. His response was immediate and unconscious as his black wings unfolded by themselves. A portal opening and a creature of shadow began to pull itself out from the nightmare plane. With an angry snarl, Luca turned to the boy who had disappeared into the crowd, walking away.

Luca had to fight back the desire to lash out at the humans who were running away in fear. His blood puled with rage, feeling an impulse to harm them as they ran away, a desire that was hard to resist. Similar to the unconscious bite of an animal, the hackles of a dog, or gooseflesh on a man. The impulse was harder to resist when another rock hit him, splitting open his forehead as blood gushed freely.

He lost control, and the ground beneath him started to pulse with crimson energy, and the pavement turned dark black. Around the group, the crowd gasped and turned to look towards the portal. Every elf stopped moving, giving the group their undivided attention. The air had become rife with tension. The few humans mixed in with the crowd as well as the demi-humans quickly scattered, running away to safety.

”Aw Christ, now you've done it.” Complained Kevin, as he hit his gloved fist to the shield he was carrying, causing a sort of metallic hue to come over his skin adding layers of protection as the angry crowd directed the rocks his way, each of the stones hitting him solidly across his body without doing any damage. Kevin gave a quick look at Luca and explained. ”I'm using a tank skill if your wondering.” Luca felt immediate relief, and the magic that opened the portal to the nightmare realm dissipated.

Unlike the rest of the party, the twins had some measure of protection granted to them due to their elven appearance, but they didn't want to linger. Calmly they sped up their pace, anxious to leave this area behind them.

Dominic put a steadying hand on Luca's shoulder, the devil-man trying to settle him down as he leaned in and whispered. ”Don't do anything rash.” He explained. ”They're trying to provoke you. You do anything rash here, they'll have all the reasons by whatever covenant binds them, to strike out and kill you, and none of us is strong enough to fight them off or get you out of here alive if you do.” With a quick motion of his hands, Dominic cast a spell that spread a shield over the group, explaining as he did, ”The dwarf might be able to incite them to attack him, but the ability doesn't prevent them from missing and hitting the rest of us.”

Luca nodded in understanding, not liking it a bit, but understanding what Dominic meant. Looking at the crowd, Luca scanned every single face that gloated and mocked him, remembering every single person who threw the rocks. I'll remember all you, and your time will come. Luca promised this was a debt he would remember to repay.

Eventually, the rocks stopped coming as the crowd began to thin and eventually disperse. Happening long before the cobblestone road, they had been walking on transitioned into broken tiles, and those tiles giving way to dirt pathways. The stone buildings of superior masonry replaced by the wood boards of a makeshift shantytown. I haven't seen anything this bad since doing night strikes Luca told himself, remembering the homeless cities he used to drop off supplies with during the holidays.

”What's all of this” Asked Luca scanning his surroundings, seeing people mired in filth, much like the situation at the arrival platform, but worse. The sheer sprawl of the misery he saw made him uncomfortable, and it was everywhere. Even more so, it made him self-conscious, watching all the miserable people leaving their shacks and their hovels to come and take a look at him and the Guild leaders. ”I thought we were heading towards your compound.”

”This is where the magic happens,” Replied the Gemini twins, finally speaking. Clearly comfortable enough to let their guard down now that they were back among humans. ”This is the human quarter, and our guild headquarters is in the middle of it.”

”Oh, I was afraid you'd say that this is just about what I had imagined,” Luca admitted, his voice trailing in embarrassment. ”I had imagined it would be you know…” had assumed it would be well.” His voice trailed off, embarrassed.

”A shit hole?” Asked Kevin a knowing grin on his very bruised face. That's good to know. He can still get hurt in that from, thought Luca as he examined Kevin's face for a second before answering, deciding to be blunt.

”Yeah, a shit hole.” Replied Luca, ”I haven't seen anything like this outside of pictures my mom used to show me from her time with the Peace Corps. She made a big deal of wanting to be thankful for what we had. ”

”Cool story,” replied Kevin as he pointed out the to story compound in the middle of the quarter surrounded by wooden fencing. ”That's us other there.”

”Kevin, don't be a jerk.” Yelled Layla, hissing at the dwarf before looking towards Luca. ”Where is your mom anyways? Just how old are you? Did you come here alone?” Asked the twins, their voices comforting. Warning bells were going off in Luca's head, but he didn't know why.

”I don't really like to talk about it. My parents passed away recently.” His voice heavy with emotion faked emotion. It surprised him. He had never had to pretend his feelings before and certainly not sadness.

”Hey, no problem; we've all lost somebody. Let's go inside and get comfortable; I'd like you to meet everyone, and maybe when we're done, you might want to check out the memorial we've set up. It helps to mourn and remember the people;le we've lost.” Interjected Dominic sensing Luca's mood souring.