Starlight Necromancer

[Argomna Style – Basic Silent Step – 13% Progress]

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"Hm... that's not too bad for one night..." Foster muttered quietly to himself. He had been trying his best to consistently run circles around the rooftop park while keeping up the right stance. It was slightly awkward at first, but it didn't take long for him to realize that this was really a great way to run.

His movements seemed generally lighter, allowing him to change directions quickly, and even without using the silent step martial skill, he should be able to jump from any point in the movement incredibly easily.

"That's a neat style though. What'd you say it was called?" Sofia, that martial artist that gave Foster some tips throughout the night, asked. But Foster simply sighed, somewhat annoyed, "You can ask a thousand times more, but I'm not gonna tell you, alright? It's none of your business."

"I know... but you saying that makes me even more curious." She replied with a smirk on her face, before jumping off the bench that she was sitting on, "Anyway, you've done quite well overall, so I'll show you something as a reward."

Sofia slowly raised her foot forward, as if she was trying to do a slow-motion step. But then, before Foster even knew it, she disappered from in front of him. Startled, as he was barely able to see a blur pass by him, he turned around to see her standing behind him. She hadn't even made a single sound, or left any sort of trace in the gravel or dirt that she moved through.

Immediately, Foster could feel a broad grin forming on his face, "So this is what happens when you properly use silent step, huh?"

With a slight chuckle, Sofia nodded her head, "That's right. But well, it's going to take a few years for you to reach this level." She said, swiftly turning around, before casually walking off. She walked for a few dozen feet, and then turned to look at Foster again, "I tend to be here practically every night. So if you want me to give you some more tips here and there, you know where to find me."

"I'll consider it, I guess." Foster replied, and Sofia quickly disappeared behind the closest corner. When she was gone, Foster quickly looked at the horizon, "I guess I should head back as well... maybe I can get a bit of sleep after all."

---

"Morning." Octer said with a loud yawn, seemingly having slept quite well. He looked at Foster and Lynol who had been waiting at him with a broad grin, "You guys ready to go?"

"Mhm, sure." Foster said in a tired tone. At times like these, after particularly bad nights, he would usually walk around and blast some music on his headphones. But those shattered apart together with his spine back then. And it wasn't like he had a phone to play the music on anymore either.

'Hahhh... I miss technology...' He thought to himself, following behind his friends. The streets were really quite full around this time of the day. Looking down at the bottom level, there were mostly carriages or people actively working by hauling things from A to B.

The group of three quickly made their way through town, or as quickly as they could, at least, and soon reached Zhaine's smithy. They walked inside, and were quickly hit by a cloud of dust hitting their faces. They quickly saw what that was about as well. All the shelves and weapon or armor displays had been pushed over. On top of that, plenty of the items in the shop had been bent or broken, beyond what seemed possible through the basic impact of everything falling over.

"Zhaine? You in here?" Foster asked with a worried expression, trying to peak over the shelves. And from the other side of the room, the dwarf in question soon replied, "Get the fuck out, ya damned bastards! Ye've done enough, din't ya?!"

"It's us, remember? The guys you promised to work with? The ones that beat you in a drinking contest the other day?" Foster said, and Zhaine stayed silent for a few moments, "So it's you, eh? Come in. But be careful, ye don't wanna cut yer dainty lil' feet up, do ya?"

"Ha-ha, very funny." With a deep sigh, Foster was the first to quickly climb over the shelves to get to Zhaine, and soon saw him, sitting on his stool, currently wrapping his arm in bandages. With a deep frown, Foster approached him, "What happened in here? Who did this?"

"None of yer business, lad. Now tell me, what'd ya want? If yer just here to make fun of me, ya can fuck right off." Zhaine growled, but Foster couldn't help but roll his eyes annoyedly, "Oh shut up already. And what the hell are you even doing with those? Urgh, goddammit..."

Foster squatted down in front of Zhaine and proceeded to pull the bandages off his arm. There was a quite nasty cut there, but it was too neat to have happened on accident.

"Oi, what're-"

"I told you to shut up." Foster interrupted Zhaine, giving him a quick death-glare, before pulling the rest of the bandage-roll out of his hand. He turned his head and saw the first-aid kit laying on the table, and swiftly pulled a wound compress out of it. And then, he looked at the suspicious bottle standing near it, that Zhaine had obviously been drinking from. After smelling it once, Foster took a quick sip.

"Urgh, that's really strong. Good." He groaned, before pouring a bit of it over Zhaine's wound. Of course, the dwarf slightly flinched, but Foster kept a tight grip on his wrist, so it didn't do much. Then, Foster tightly pressed the compress onto the cut, and wrapped the bandages around his forearm tight enough to make sure that it would hold out for a while, "A friend of ours is coming by in a bit as well, she's a healer. This should hold out until then. Now come on, tell us what happened here."

"...Don't meddle in things ya don't wanna deal with. Just tell me what ye're here for already."

"That's secondary. We're not in a hurry right now. Now spit it out. What happened?" Foster asked, and now, Zhaine finally gave in.

He sighed deeply, and explained, "Down here, there really aren't shops anymore, since they've expanded upward. The most ya can find are storages for bigger companies, housing for the poor folk that can't afford sunlight, stables, and of course the scum of the city. In this part of town, there's a group that just keeps bothering everyone, and they've been trying to have me supply weapons to 'em. I'd rather fuck an elf than play along with those bastards."

Foster let out a deep sigh, "In terms of adventurers, how strong would those guys be?"

"Huh? Tier 1 or 2, 3 at most." Zhaine replied, before realizing why Foster asked, "Oi, ya don't mean to-"

Foster climbed back over the tipped-over shelves, and approached the door, while not only Zhaine but also Lynol and Octer were looking at him like he was insane. With a grin on his face, Foster looked at them, "The moment I had you work with us was the moment I've put you under my protection. Anyone that fucks with you, fucks with me. And trust me. I don't let people get away with that."

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