A few minutes ago.
Firrol jumped onto the roofs and began running away jumping from one house to the next. From time to time, his steps would pause and he would glance behind him with a complicated expression. But he would then reluctantly turn his head and resume his escape.
Along the way, several angry shouts would follow after him whenever he leaped over rooftops where people were present. His sudden appearance, big size, and pitch black color would give them a fright, and they would yell in anger.
'That guy is trouble,' He attempted to comfort his guilty conscience as he ran, 'I knew that the moment he fell from the roof. I've never seen anyone fall from there.'
Thoughts of a past memory surfaced in his mind, and he couldn't help but increase his speed as he jumped over another roof, trying to push those old memories deep down where they belonged.
However, memories of the previous night would flash before his eyes, and he knew full well that he hadn't had that much fun for a long time. There was also the fact that he had revealed his existence as a monster, and not just a normal stray cat, and yet the guy still treated him normally.
In this world, humans and other sapient monsters were always at each other's throats, and in the few times he had attempted to speak with people, he was chased for days on end.
When he jumped over another wall, his steps paused. Suddenly, two paths seemed to stretch out before him.
He could either continue living his life the way he always did, afraid and running away from his past, but safe. Or he could go back and risk his life, but in doing so he would be able to face his fears and redeem himself for what happened today, and especially that other time.
Just the fact that he encountered such a decision surprised him because before there would have been no choice, his decision was always clear and final. But now there was doubt, and more so, hope.
Above the wall, he kept walking back and forth, his expression complicated as his tails nervously swayed from one side to the next.
"Tsp," A man who was smoking in the rooftop before Firrol shouted, trying to shoo the cat away. But all he got in response was a menacing hiss and a hateful glare that made him stumble backward.
The sight randomly made him think of the previous night when he fought with guards and robbed a man. Yet, out of all that what stood out to him the most was the fact that the person that he deemed as crazy and fearless was also slightly afraid of him, and to him, that thought gave him immense strength.
That subtle boost in confidence proved to be the catalyst that made everything different for him, and he immediately ran back in the direction where he came from with his top speed.
With both skill and precision, he dashed through the roofs one after the other before he quickly found himself in the lightwell leading to the dark dilapidated building where the fight was happening, he could even hear the faint clinging of weapons hitting against one another.
A resolute light flashed before his eyes, he gritted his teeth, and he decisively jumped.
...
"Are you okay?" Firrol awkwardly asked from the side, clearly aware of what he had just done.
Opening his eyes Melvin glanced at him, but he didn't know what to say.
On one hand, Firrol had left him in a very vulnerable position, and on the other, he also played a key role in saving him.
'Who am I to even expect more from him?' He thought with an incredulous expression, and he realized just the fact that Firrol came back and helped was good enough!
They only knew one another for a single day, and this was already plenty good.
He nodded towards the uncomfortable feline and assured, "I am alright don't worry. As for what happened..." His voice trailed here, unaware of how to broach it.
Although realistically they don't owe one another anything, the act of leaving someone in the middle of a fight that coldly was still an act of antagonism in many ways.
However, Melvin also understood that this seemingly simple cat was multi-layered and he was going through a lot of issues of his own. Though intrigued about them, he didn't want to impose by prying on them.
"Look," He said with a smile, "You left, which is bad. But you saved, which is good. They cancel each other, so let's just take it as you didn't do anything, and that would be the end of it."
Hearing that Melvin didn't resent him for what he did surprised him, and so with a faint smile he said, "Sounds good to me."
By then Melvin had already calmed down, and both of them looked at the old man's corpse at the same time.
"We have to leave here now that they know where you are." Urgently suggested Firrol.
However, Melvin was still puzzled, "How did they know?" To him, it was such an inconceivable thing. He was hidden in a very remote house in the corner of the city and he was still found.
Firrol snorted softly, a small puff of air escaping his nose as he stifled a chuckle as he looked at him, "Why do you even trust your decision if your memory is lost, you don't know nothing about the world so don't make big decisions about it." He stated, "As I said before, if someone just moderately powerful wants to find you it won't be that hard." When he said that, he approached the corpse and started sniffing around it and started going through its clothes.
Registering what the feline said, Melvin immediately agreed but still, he couldn't just stay in the same place and not make any decision just because he didn't know much about the world.
As he was pondering what to do next, a surprised voice echoed, "This smell, clothes, and weapons. I am sure this guy is from one of the Assassin guilds."
Hearing that, Melvin was naturally unaware and asked for more clarification, and the cat was more than happy to oblige. Melvin guessed that he was maybe trying to compensate after what he did before.
There were three kinds of Assassin Guilds, but in essence, they all shared a simple similarity. A place where people of the Common grade class, Thief, and the Uncommon grade class Assassin converged to share secrets about the class, help one another, create teams, and so on...
One of them was strictly legal, they just dealt with monsters, dungeons, and military operations.
The other kind was a huddle up of criminals where they used their classes for theft, assasination, and intelligence gathering, among other things. And that was precisely what the Black Rose tavern was, the legal front of the Black Rose Assassination Guild.
The last one was more so a mixture between the two, they dipped their toes in equal measures in both industries the legal and the illegal kind.
After he finished his explanation, Firrol smiled and pointed, "Although there isn't exactly an emblem to know from where this guy is, chances are he is from the Black Rose." Then his voice dropped a few octaves as he said seriously, "In other words, if you had gone to that tavern you'd have been killed because there is already an active quest to kill you."
'Damn.' Melvin thought with fear, as he brushed his sweaty palms against his knees. "So, what should I do?" He asked, hoping to gain some enlightening ideas from someone more knowledgeable than him.
"Well," Firrol said after he sat in front of him once again, "If I were you, I would seek protection from the Laurelli family. They are the undisputed number one powerhouse in the city, and even classless citizens are aware of that fact. If you were under their wings, then you would no longer have to worry about your life, and even that wanted poster from the guards would be taken down and the news would change revealing some scapegoat as the killer."
"But how would I even manage to do something like that?" Melvin asked, clearly intrigued.
"It's simple," Firrol answered, "You can create runes. That's it. Just show them your skills. Moreover, you're very young so they will give you even more value probably."
Just as Melvin was getting so excited that he became daydreaming of freedom and dungeons, Firrol continued with another chuckle, "But then what if the person who wanted to kill you was from that family?"
Hearing that his smile stiffened, and he immediately thought, 'But more than that, my method of creating runes is vastly different from how it's usually done in this world. And I can't show off my legendary skills...'
However, when he heard the word Laurelli he felt that it was very familiar to him. After pondering over that familiarity for a bit, he suddenly remembered!
"Wait!" He said swiftly standing up, "I remember that name."
Noticing the man's scared expression, Firrol retreated a few steps to get a good glimpse at him after he stood up and questioned, "Where?"
"You remember that fight I told you about in the plaza, with that girl and the tiger?" Melvin asked, and seeing the cat nod, he added with an anxious tone, "I heard that Chief Dulan address that girl as Ms Laurelli."
However, Firrol shook his head and said, "Don't worry, you don't get to become the number one powerhouse in the city by being petty. A disagreement of that size wouldn't stop them from taking in a new runemaster. But then again you're not really going for that route, so it might raise some problems if she holds a grudge."
With a sigh, Melvin quickly dismissed that particular problem from his mind to a later time. Now, he had important things to do. He approached the corpse step by step, and stood in front of it, chin resting on his hand as he deeply pondered, 'Could it be the ghoul?'
He had to know who sent the assassin after him, and though he wasn't entirely certain how that information would help him, he knew that it would, and that was enough for him.
'It doesn't seem like the style of a drug dealer of that size.' He debated, 'The guards won't do such a thing either.'
Thus, there were only two powers left that might be responsible for that. It was either the girl from the Laurelli family with whom he fought or the mysterious power that killed Jacob in the first place.
When put together, Melvin knew that the latter was way more likely to do so after seeing his face on the news.
This realization, however, brought him immense relief, to the point that a toothy smile was plastered on his face. What he was scared of the most before was that mysterious factor, the unknown. He didn't know who or how powerful they were, and that made the situation infinitely more complicated for him.
Now, he understood that although they were way more powerful than him, the fact that they had to rely on an Assassins guild meant that the chasm between the two wasn't that insurmountable.
After he excitedly told the cat about this brilliant deduction of his, Firrol only shook his head once again in amusement and said with a mysterious tone, "But you're missing one single, but very important detail."
Hearing the tone of voice, Melvin gulped, afraid of losing this sense of hope he had just grasped. With a hesitant voice, he asked, "What is it?"
"Well," said the feline as he stood up and began walking back and forth, "First, you have to see things from their perspective. You told me that you were Classless when they killed you, right?"
The moment he heard, the color disappeared from his face, and he could more or less see the point Firrol was trying to make. "You mean..." He mumbled as he remembered what was the first thing the old man said.
"Yes," Firrol interjected, "They sent someone with you being Classless in mind, and he failed. So, who will they send next?"
A few minutes ago.
Firrol jumped onto the roofs and began running away jumping from one house to the next. From time to time, his steps would pause and he would glance behind him with a complicated expression. But he would then reluctantly turn his head and resume his escape.
Along the way, several angry shouts would follow after him whenever he leaped over rooftops where people were present. His sudden appearance, big size, and pitch black color would give them a fright, and they would yell in anger.
'That guy is trouble,' He attempted to comfort his guilty conscience as he ran, 'I knew that the moment he fell from the roof. I've never seen anyone fall from there.'
Thoughts of a past memory surfaced in his mind, and he couldn't help but increase his speed as he jumped over another roof, trying to push those old memories deep down where they belonged.
However, memories of the previous night would flash before his eyes, and he knew full well that he hadn't had that much fun for a long time. There was also the fact that he had revealed his existence as a monster, and not just a normal stray cat, and yet the guy still treated him normally.
In this world, humans and other sapient monsters were always at each other's throats, and in the few times he had attempted to speak with people, he was chased for days on end.
When he jumped over another wall, his steps paused. Suddenly, two paths seemed to stretch out before him.
He could either continue living his life the way he always did, afraid and running away from his past, but safe. Or he could go back and risk his life, but in doing so he would be able to face his fears and redeem himself for what happened today, and especially that other time.
Just the fact that he encountered such a decision surprised him because before there would have been no choice, his decision was always clear and final. But now there was doubt, and more so, hope.
Above the wall, he kept walking back and forth, his expression complicated as his tails nervously swayed from one side to the next.
"Tsp," A man who was smoking in the rooftop before Firrol shouted, trying to shoo the cat away. But all he got in response was a menacing hiss and a hateful glare that made him stumble backward.
The sight randomly made him think of the previous night when he fought with guards and robbed a man. Yet, out of all that what stood out to him the most was the fact that the person that he deemed as crazy and fearless was also slightly afraid of him, and to him, that thought gave him immense strength.
That subtle boost in confidence proved to be the catalyst that made everything different for him, and he immediately ran back in the direction where he came from with his top speed.
With both skill and precision, he dashed through the roofs one after the other before he quickly found himself in the lightwell leading to the dark dilapidated building where the fight was happening, he could even hear the faint clinging of weapons hitting against one another.
A resolute light flashed before his eyes, he gritted his teeth, and he decisively jumped.
...
"Are you okay?" Firrol awkwardly asked from the side, clearly aware of what he had just done.
Opening his eyes Melvin glanced at him, but he didn't know what to say.
On one hand, Firrol had left him in a very vulnerable position, and on the other, he also played a key role in saving him.
'Who am I to even expect more from him?' He thought with an incredulous expression, and he realized just the fact that Firrol came back and helped was good enough!
They only knew one another for a single day, and this was already plenty good.
He nodded towards the uncomfortable feline and assured, "I am alright don't worry. As for what happened..." His voice trailed here, unaware of how to broach it.
Although realistically they don't owe one another anything, the act of leaving someone in the middle of a fight that coldly was still an act of antagonism in many ways.
However, Melvin also understood that this seemingly simple cat was multi-layered and he was going through a lot of issues of his own. Though intrigued about them, he didn't want to impose by prying on them.
"Look," He said with a smile, "You left, which is bad. But you saved, which is good. They cancel each other, so let's just take it as you didn't do anything, and that would be the end of it."
Hearing that Melvin didn't resent him for what he did surprised him, and so with a faint smile he said, "Sounds good to me."
By then Melvin had already calmed down, and both of them looked at the old man's corpse at the same time.
"We have to leave here now that they know where you are." Urgently suggested Firrol.
However, Melvin was still puzzled, "How did they know?" To him, it was such an inconceivable thing. He was hidden in a very remote house in the corner of the city and he was still found.
Firrol snorted softly, a small puff of air escaping his nose as he stifled a chuckle as he looked at him, "Why do you even trust your decision if your memory is lost, you don't know nothing about the world so don't make big decisions about it." He stated, "As I said before, if someone just moderately powerful wants to find you it won't be that hard." When he said that, he approached the corpse and started sniffing around it and started going through its clothes.
Registering what the feline said, Melvin immediately agreed but still, he couldn't just stay in the same place and not make any decision just because he didn't know much about the world.
As he was pondering what to do next, a surprised voice echoed, "This smell, clothes, and weapons. I am sure this guy is from one of the Assassin guilds."
Hearing that, Melvin was naturally unaware and asked for more clarification, and the cat was more than happy to oblige. Melvin guessed that he was maybe trying to compensate after what he did before.
There were three kinds of Assassin Guilds, but in essence, they all shared a simple similarity. A place where people of the Common grade class, Thief, and the Uncommon grade class Assassin converged to share secrets about the class, help one another, create teams, and so on...
One of them was strictly legal, they just dealt with monsters, dungeons, and military operations.
The other kind was a huddle up of criminals where they used their classes for theft, assasination, and intelligence gathering, among other things. And that was precisely what the Black Rose tavern was, the legal front of the Black Rose Assassination Guild.
The last one was more so a mixture between the two, they dipped their toes in equal measures in both industries the legal and the illegal kind.
After he finished his explanation, Firrol smiled and pointed, "Although there isn't exactly an emblem to know from where this guy is, chances are he is from the Black Rose." Then his voice dropped a few octaves as he said seriously, "In other words, if you had gone to that tavern you'd have been killed because there is already an active quest to kill you."
'Damn.' Melvin thought with fear, as he brushed his sweaty palms against his knees. "So, what should I do?" He asked, hoping to gain some enlightening ideas from someone more knowledgeable than him.
"Well," Firrol said after he sat in front of him once again, "If I were you, I would seek protection from the Laurelli family. They are the undisputed number one powerhouse in the city, and even classless citizens are aware of that fact. If you were under their wings, then you would no longer have to worry about your life, and even that wanted poster from the guards would be taken down and the news would change revealing some scapegoat as the killer."
"But how would I even manage to do something like that?" Melvin asked, clearly intrigued.
"It's simple," Firrol answered, "You can create runes. That's it. Just show them your skills. Moreover, you're very young so they will give you even more value probably."
Just as Melvin was getting so excited that he became daydreaming of freedom and dungeons, Firrol continued with another chuckle, "But then what if the person who wanted to kill you was from that family?"
Hearing that his smile stiffened, and he immediately thought, 'But more than that, my method of creating runes is vastly different from how it's usually done in this world. And I can't show off my legendary skills...'
However, when he heard the word Laurelli he felt that it was very familiar to him. After pondering over that familiarity for a bit, he suddenly remembered!
"Wait!" He said swiftly standing up, "I remember that name."
Noticing the man's scared expression, Firrol retreated a few steps to get a good glimpse at him after he stood up and questioned, "Where?"
"You remember that fight I told you about in the plaza, with that girl and the tiger?" Melvin asked, and seeing the cat nod, he added with an anxious tone, "I heard that Chief Dulan address that girl as Ms Laurelli."
However, Firrol shook his head and said, "Don't worry, you don't get to become the number one powerhouse in the city by being petty. A disagreement of that size wouldn't stop them from taking in a new runemaster. But then again you're not really going for that route, so it might raise some problems if she holds a grudge."
With a sigh, Melvin quickly dismissed that particular problem from his mind to a later time. Now, he had important things to do. He approached the corpse step by step, and stood in front of it, chin resting on his hand as he deeply pondered, 'Could it be the ghoul?'
He had to know who sent the assassin after him, and though he wasn't entirely certain how that information would help him, he knew that it would, and that was enough for him.
'It doesn't seem like the style of a drug dealer of that size.' He debated, 'The guards won't do such a thing either.'
Thus, there were only two powers left that might be responsible for that. It was either the girl from the Laurelli family with whom he fought or the mysterious power that killed Jacob in the first place.
When put together, Melvin knew that the latter was way more likely to do so after seeing his face on the news.
This realization, however, brought him immense relief, to the point that a toothy smile was plastered on his face. What he was scared of the most before was that mysterious factor, the unknown. He didn't know who or how powerful they were, and that made the situation infinitely more complicated for him.
Now, he understood that although they were way more powerful than him, the fact that they had to rely on an Assassins guild meant that the chasm between the two wasn't that insurmountable.
After he excitedly told the cat about this brilliant deduction of his, Firrol only shook his head once again in amusement and said with a mysterious tone, "But you're missing one single, but very important detail."
Hearing the tone of voice, Melvin gulped, afraid of losing this sense of hope he had just grasped. With a hesitant voice, he asked, "What is it?"
"Well," said the feline as he stood up and began walking back and forth, "First, you have to see things from their perspective. You told me that you were Classless when they killed you, right?"
The moment he heard, the color disappeared from his face, and he could more or less see the point Firrol was trying to make. "You mean..." He mumbled as he remembered what was the first thing the old man said.
"Yes," Firrol interjected, "They sent someone with you being Classless in mind, and he failed. So, who will they send next?"
