System Change

Derek removed his hand from Jacks’s shoulder as the man shouted for his son. Edgar and Jake floated down beside Derek and Jacks.

“Father.” Jake said.

Jacks walked over and took the young man in his arms, swinging him around in the process. “What are you doing here? I didn’t expect you so soon.”

“They had leave.” Derek said and snorted.

Jacks let the squirming young man out of his embrace and turned towards Edgar and bowed slightly. “Thank you for your help, Prince…”

Edgar rolled his eyes. “Edgar, but don’t call me prince.”

“Ah… so you were a prince. No wonder you did all that flashy shit.” Derek said.

“What do you mean?” Edgar asked.

“Like you really needed to clap your hands like that before releasing that skill. How long do you stand in front of a mirror each day practicing that? Huh? Tell me.” Derek said.

Edgar’s pale face became a slight shade of pink. “Ahem… it helps control the skill.”

“Sure it does.” Derek said.

“Well, it doesn’t matter, does it? It knocked them all unconscious, didn’t it? That’s what matters.”

“I guess…”

Derek turned to look at the reunited father son duo. Jacks had dragged Jake off a small distance and they were talking. Derek shrugged.

“Doesn’t look like any of them died. A couple are critical, but not dead.” Derek said, after scanning the fallen bodies around them. “I wonder if Jacks held back, or if they just got lucky.”

“With burns like those, I don’t see how I could call it luck.” Edgar said.

“They aren’t dead, and a decent healer can fix all that. Plus, you came along and knocked them unconscious. I don’t know if I would have been so generous.” Derek said.

“As you know now, I’m somewhat of a Prince. Diplomacy and all that…” Edgar said.

Derek shrugged. “I’m going to go gather them up. Do you have a way to carry them back to the city? I’m going to have some questions to ask these elves…”

Derek had his Time Prison that he could use, but he didn’t want to use it around Jake and Edgar, especially Edgar. The man seemed decent enough, but Derek held little respect for the Royal Family after everything happened with Torith.

“Half elves.” Edgar corrected.

“Half elves, then.”

“I don’t know… there’s what? 12 of them? I’m sure we can think of a way to get them back to the city.” Edgar replied.

“Well, think about it.” Derek walked off and made his way to the body lying the furthest away from them. He grabbed the half elf by the ankle and dragged him back, grabbing another body along the way.

After a short while, he had gathered all 12 half elves together.

“You think of anything?” He asked Edgar.

Edgar waved his arm and an extravagant rug fell onto the ground. “This work?” he asked.

“You sure you want to dirty up something so… royal?” Derek asked.

The prince shrugged. “I never really liked it, anyway.”

“Whatever, your choice.” Derek turned back to the father son duo. “Hey! We’re heading back. Ya’ll can catch up when we get back to the shop.”

The two walked back over. “Half elves?” Jake asked.

“Looks that way.” Edgar answered.

“A little help.” Derek said as he laid one of the unconscious bodies on the rug. He pulled a red vial out of his storage bracelet and force fed it to the next half elf he moved. He was in a critical condition and Derek didn’t want him to die… yet.

“Any idea why they attacked you?” Derek asked as they moved bodies.

“I’m not too sure, but I can think of a reason.”

“That elf chick?” Derek asked.

Jacks nodded. “That’s they only thing I could come up with. You embarrassed her in front of a lot of people.”

Derek snorted. “Nobles and their brittle skin.”

“Elf chick?” Edgar cut in.

“I’ll tell you about it later. Let’s get these dipshits back to the city before they wake up.” Derek said.

Dragging the ambushers back to the city took much longer than getting to the scene of the battle. The group also got a lot of strange looks when entering the city, but everything was settled when Edgar introduced himself. Two Onyx Badges being in the group didn’t hurt, either.

Still, the guards had to report the matter to their higher ups. Derek told them if they needed to discuss anything, they’d be at his shop. Then he explained where his shop was. He figured he may end up meeting Natalie Savannah sooner rather than later after this ordeal.

The group soon dragged the 12 half elves through the front door of the shop, drawing gasps from Brandi and the others.

“Oh, thank goodness. You’re okay.” Rayna ran up and hugged Jacks.

Jacks awkwardly pushed the woman off him. “I am. Thanks for getting back here fast enough that they could come save me. I was almost out of time.”

Rayna stepped back and looked between Jacks and Jake. She moved her head back and forth. “The two of you really do look similar.” She turned and said to Mal.

“That’s good and all.” Malorie said. “But why did you bring all these bodies back to the shop? Isn’t there a better place for that?”

“They’re still alive.” Derek answered.

“What?” Both Rayna and Mal took a second looked at the half elves.

“Yeah, we’re going to get some information out of them. Since the basement’s mostly empty, I’ll take them down there.”

Not long after, the 12 bodies were sprawled out on the basement floor, and Edgar put his rug away. Brandi wasn’t too happy about being kicked out of her crafting space, but she left them to it.

“So, how long does it usually take for your shock treatment to wear off?” Derek asked.

“Depends on their Endurance.” Edgar answered. “Or, I can just go up to someone and…” He snapped his fingers and a current of electricity shot out and zapped one of the attackers. “Tada.”

“You didn’t have to snap, did you? It was for effect as well? Wasn’t it?” Derek asked.

“Oh look, he’s awaked.” Edgar called out, ignoring Derek’s questions. “It’s best to question him now, while he’s still foggy. He might let something unintentional slip.”

“You interrogate a lot of people?” Derek asked.

“The normal amount.”

“Would the two of you concentrate?” Jake snapped.

Derek walked over and picked the man up by the scruff of his shirt. “Why did you attack my people?”

The half elf snapped. “You shamed Lady Elras! You deserved it.”

“So it was because of the elf chick.” Derek said.

“How dare you call her that!” The half elf spat.

“Elras?” Edgar said. “Sabrina Elras?”

“That would be the one.” Derek said. “She’s some foreign dignitary from India or something.”

“It’s Indria.” Edgar said. “And why would she want to harm you or your people?”

Derek shrugged. “She wanted to cut in line. I didn’t let her.”

“That’s it?” Edgar asked.

“I may have released my aura against her goons, but I didn’t leave any lasting damage. It was just a warning. Why do people around here take warning so badly?”

“It still doesn’t make any sense. She would know better than to mess with an Onyx Ranked Adventurer. She is a dignitary… very political. She wouldn’t do something like this, especially in a city like Savannah.” Edgar said.

The Prince looked at the half elf again. “Were you acting under the Lady Elras’s orders?”

“As if the Lady would speak to someone as lowly as me.”

“Ah… I get it now.” Edgar said.

“You do? I sure as hell don’t. What’s going on?” Derek asked.

“First of all, I don’t think they planned on killing Jacks.” Edgar said. “Did you?” he asked the half elf.

“Of course not. That would taint the Lady’s name. We were teaching them a lesson in disrespect.” The half elf said.

Edgar sighed. “What we have here is a group of fanatic half elves wanting to impress Lady Elras. It is possible that she could put a good word in and have them accepted as full citizens of Indria.”

“Doesn’t that place treat half elves like crap?” Derek asked.

Edgar shrugged. “People want to be with their people. Plus, they will be treated better if they are recommended by a high noble, such as Lady Elras.”

“So stupid…” Derek said. “What do we do with them?”

“Let them go?” Edgar suggested. “It’s not like Lady Elras has anything to do with them. I doubt they’ll act again, knowing that they were caught by two Onyx Ranks… one who just so happens to be a Prince of this Kingdom…” He looked pointedly at the half elf, who’s eyes shot open. “Will you?”

“N-no… Your Highness.” The half elf muttered.

“What do you think?” Derek asked Jacks. He was really the only one affected by the poor decisions of this lot.

“I’m fine. You can let them go.” The man said. “I’d rather spend the time that Jake is here catching up, not dealing with a bunch of idiots. Plus, I think they’re going to be feeling their bad decision for a while. It’s going to take a lot of mana to heal those burns. That wasn’t regular fire.”

“Did you hear that?” Edgar said. “These nice people are letting you and your friends go. Also, don’t think Lady Elras won’t find out about your transgressions. Don’t do things like this in the future.”

Derek let the man fall to the ground. “Get your goons and get out.”

“Th-they’re unconscious…”

Edgar rolled his eyes, then snapped his fingers. Multiple currents of electricity ran through the bodies of the half elves. The one that was already conscious let out a yelp.

“Whoops.” Edgar said.

Soon, the half elves were all moaning and clutching at their wounds.

“Shut up!” Derek yelled, and released some aura with it. The whimpering stopped. “I’m letting you leave this time. Your friend here has some information that I suggest listening to.” Derek said. “Now… GET OUT!”

The less injured half elves gather up the more heavily injured ones and looked around the room.

“Up the stairs to the left, then out the door. You are all banned from my shop, so don’t think about coming back.” Derek said. They looked one last time, then left.

“That’s that…” Derek said, and followed behind the fleeing group.