A Gunslinger’s System in a World of Magic

"I suppose the city

is

beautiful," Andor said nodding but with less conviction.

Henry paused and then he asked,

"Andor, where are you from? Where\'s home for you?"

Andor looked uncomfortable for a bit and scratched at his arm for a bit before he eventually answered,

"I— I don\'t really have a home. I used to fight in the Pits."

"The what?" Henry asked.

"The Pits. It\'s like an Arena for Brutal fights. Sometimes to the death," Andor explained,

"One day, I fought, I won and one man was in the audience watching. He bought me and I was taken away and brought to Alvareen where I stayed ever since."

"Where was the Pit?" Henry asked.

"I don\'t really know," Andor said after a minute of screwing up his eyes as though trying hard to recall, "I try not to think about it. It wasn\'t a happy time for me."

"I\'m sorry," Henry said.

"Don\'t be," Andor said, shaking his head.

A few seconds of silence passed before Henry said quietly,

"I\'m going to Alvareen too," he said.

Andor\'s expression brightened a bit,

"Good, I\'ll stay close to you then."

"You shouldn\'t do that," Henry said with a sigh, "It was fine while we were in the Dungeon but we\'re out now. You should go your way. Do your thing."

"I don\'t really have a thing," Andor said with a small sad smile.

Again, Henry sighed and shook his head as though to emphasize just how bad a decision it would be to follow him,

"I\'m planning to do some pretty dangerous stuff," he said.

This time, it wasn\'t only Andor who was paying attention. Louis opened his eyes and eyed Henry with his ever-wide eyes like \'dangerous stuff\' had piqued his interest.

"Like what?" Andor asked.

Henry glanced around. No group was close enough to them for him to be worried about getting overheard.

"I\'m going after Ralph Gribbo," he eventually said with his voice dropped to a very low whisper that only those two had a real chance to hear.

Andor and Louis\' eyes widened although for Louis, it was barely noticeable.

"How?" Louis asked.

"I don\'t quite know yet but it\'s not going to be the sort of thing you\'ll want to get involved in," Henry said.

"Who said?" Louis asked, "This sounds like exactly what I need to do."

Andor nodded,

"I\'ll help you, Henry," he said looking even more convinced that he was supposed to come with Henry than he looked a minute ago.

Henry looked between them and then shrugged. The task would be a lot for him so why turn away eager help.

"Do you know anything about Ralph Gribbo?" Henry asked them.

Andor shook his head,

"Never met him," he said.

"Yeah, we only ever dealt with Mercenaries like Doherty," Louis agreed before adding eagerly,

"But we can find out. He\'s so well known all over Alvareen, that gathering information will be easy."

"I suppose so," Henry said with a nod.

"How about talking to the pretty Lady Knight about it?" Louis asked with a gesture at Eloise, "She doesn\'t seem to like slavery much."

"We can ask," Henry said with a nod, "But how about not telling her what I —we— plan to do? At least for now."

"That\'s fine."

And that was the end of it.

The two had offered their help and Henry had decided it would be dumb to reject it so now they had to refrain from speaking of it within earshot of possible eavesdroppers.

And then, Eloise came at Henry from behind and touched his shoulder lightly,

"Hey," she said and Henry turned slowly to face her returning the smile she was flashing at him.

She really was beautiful. It was even easier to appreciate it now that they were out of the Dungeon and no longer surrounded by the horrid scents and danger. Even though her face had some blood smear from the trauma she had suffered from attacks, it did nothing to mar her looks.

And those eyes. Henry could have sworn he had seen similar grey eyes before but he could not, for the life of him, remember where and when.

"Hi," He answered her in a normal tone that revealed nothing of the thoughts within.

"Where are you headed?" Eloise asked.

"Alvareen," Henry told her.

She looked surprised.

"Oh, really?" She asked, "Well, that\'s one part of my proposition handled."

"Your proposition was for me to go to Alvareen?" Henry asked.

"Part of it, yes. Maybe the most important part. Especially considering the compromise we agreed to about the books.

Also, You mentioned you were brought here from far away because of… the cuffs," she said \'the cuffs\' with her eyes flashing before she continued in a more normal tone,

"I was hoping I could convince you to not return just yet. Give Alvareen a chance and let me lend your talents."

"How?" Henry asked.

"Dungeon Raiding," Eloise said and gestured at the Dungeon gate they just walked out of that was starting to collapse into itself.

"Oh," Henry said not quite sure what to say.

"I\'ve seen you act, Henry, you have talent. You fight strangely, wielding those unconventional weapons…"

"You mean guns," Henry offered with a smile.

Eloise returned the smile,

"Yes, them. You wield them well and can use magic too. I think Alvareen could use your talents to tackle the Dungeons."

Henry chuckled then and gestured at the groups still around the gate and had not moved on yet,

"I think there are more than enough eager people to raid the Dungeons. I don\'t think you need me."

Eloise shook her head,

"They\'re just in it for the money. Dungeon Raiding is more than that."

"If I do it, I\'ll be doing it for the money too. I think the whole thing with the books proves that so really, I\'m just like them," Henry said with a shrug.

"But I\'m not offering it to them though," Eloise said, "I\'m offering it to you."

"But why?"

"What does the \'Why\' matter?" Eloise asked and a bit of red was in her cheeks now, "I just am."

"Oh," Henry said taken aback by the sharpness in her tone but that also allowed him to observe her mannerisms. How she seemed to shift from foot to foot and how she had her eyes on his as the red in her cheeks seemed to get brighter by the second.

He wasn\'t sure he understood it. Or maybe he did and wasn\'t sure what to do with it.

An explanation would be that there was an almost irrational desire on Eloise\'s part to keep him close but Henry believed letting himself go down that line of thought would stoke his ego to dangerous levels so he suppressed it.

Eventually, he chuckled and nodded,

"I\'ll think about it," he said.

"It\'s all I ask," Eloise said, delighted before she asked,

"So you\'re headed for Alvareen?"

"We all are," Henry said with a gesture at Louis and Andor who looked to be trying to only look as invested in the conversation as was enough to not appear to have been eavesdropping.

They both nodded in agreement to Henry\'s words.

"I assume you don\'t have where to stay," Eloise said.

She assumed right. The only place any of the three had ever been within Alvareen was in Ralph Gribbo\'s Estate and even then, they had been isolated to the Slave quarters.

Eloise smiled generously,

"Well, come on then," she said, "I know just where you can stay."