Coldness displaced heat in the arena, and the spectators around Aegis pulled their sleeves. Aegis's heart skipped a beat as he heard the word mistake. With a grim expression, he looked around and found nothing. It was a word that he heard in his nightmares, and in one way or another, the word returned.
His nightmares always had a fragment of the past, his or someone else's.
Mistake.
It was the only word that was common in his dreams. An old man, a crippled dwarf, a fierce fiend marauder, and everyone else who appeared in his dreams till now spoke that word. However, this was the first time he heard it outside the dream.
Aegis inhaled sharply and stepped back from the railing, but his gaze was still fixed on the eldari gladiator. Before he could think, the emerald green eyes of the gladiator that pierced him a second ago were now fixed on the dias. It was as if the gladiator never looked, Aegis questioned himself.
Did I hallucinate?
No, he did not hallucinate. The gaze that spotted him in a crowd of the poor was real. The Eldari gladiator looked at him, and the chill he felt was too real. He was now unsure.
Is this what I want?
Before looking at the gladiator, Aegis was sure he wanted to work with him and obtain the gold. He was ready to be the gladiator's slave if that would be the cost. But now, Aegis was unsure.
He is scarier than my master.
Aegis stepped back from the railing and walked toward the door. The noise rose slowly, and eventually the cheers returned. Aegis passed through the giant doorway and descended the steps. Finally, he reached the stone road below the arena and breathed a sigh of relief, as the blazing rays of the two suns hit his skin.
Just then, a voice screamed near him a few meters away. Aegis looked around and spotted a fiend dressed in clean robes beating a cambion with a metal rod. The cambion squirmed in pain as he rolled on the ground, and tears rolled down his cheeks like a waterfall. He begged as his voice cracked.
"Please! I-I'll pay you back-just give me time!"
But the fiend did not pay attention, and he screamed at the cambion.
"You pathetic wimp! I want my debt interest right now!"
Aegis could say what the fiend wanted. In this plane, any loan given had a daily interest, and one had to pay it to keep their head. Which the cambion clearly failed to do so.
Suddenly, Aegis's eyes widened as he realised he had to meet his friends. The cambion's plight reminded him of his friends' daily interest. He has their money, or rather had. Since he lost the wager, he was left with half of what he had.
The pouch Aegis stole only had thirty silver coins more than his wager, and he had to give ninety-four silver coins. Aegis walked forward into the city. The tall buildings cast long shadows on the road and alleys, long enough to hide.
Aegis slowly disappeared into one of the alleys and stood still in the shadows. He was looking for a target, and he knew he had to leave soon. So he did not want to rob an adult. Cambions had nothing except holes.
Fiend children smaller than him, often carried enough to pay off his friends' debt interest. Aegis crouched and waited for a minute in the shadows.
My Devil!
A horned child stood in front of the alley and looked around. His robe was elegant and looked like it was made of silk. The colours on the cloth shone, the vibrance alone was proof of the child's status.
Praise Arch Devil!
It was an upper-class fiend, and his luck answered his calls. However, who would rob a child? Even if it was a fiend child? The thoughts appeared in Aegis's mind, but he paid them no attention.
He will grow up to be a beast.
In Aegis's eyes, it was not a mistake, and in fact, this is how Inanitas functioned. This is how he survived in this plane, being noble and good here, like a few cambions will only give him death.
Phuuuuuu.
A whistle escaped Aegis's lips, and the child turned back, his orange pupils searching the alley. Just as his gaze finished searching.
Phuuuuuuu.
Another whistle, the child now stepped into the alley. Slowly, he moved toward the shadows. Aegis sat still. Each step carried the dumb glory-seeking child into the alley. The children of fiends always wanted to prove themselves to their parents, so they faced threats head-on.
Aegis sneered inwardly.
Pft, dumb glory.
He let the child close the distance, and out of nowhere, he fell onto the child and coughed. Saliva from his mouth splattered on the child as Aegis hid his face and toppled the kid. He swayed his body to make himself look drunk. Aegis's hands moved, and he acted as if he tried to get up but failed.
"Get up, sir!"
The child tried to lift Aegis, but Aegis did not budge. He did not reveal his face, as a fiend's child's eyesight was not as sharp as an adult's. So Aegis could pose as a fiend until he revealed his face. The kid did not give up, and he pushed Aegis up gently. Aegis caught the pouch from the child's pocket and gently slid it into his pocket.
Aegis finally stood up. He covered his mouth and nose and coughed loudly.
"Thank you, junior! I drank too much ale!"
Aegis swayed as he said that. He bowed down in front of the child and left the alley shadows. As he moved forward, he acted as if he tripped on a rock. But slowly composed himself while he swayed his body, he finally left the alley and walked into the crowd.
Aegis lifted his head, and his face carried a frown as he walked. The images of fiend kids spitting on him and looking at him with disgust flashed in his mind. If the child had known Aegis was a cambion, he would have had Aegis beaten and locked in a gallows.
He walked down a busy road, and beast carts clopped as they moved forward. Aegis took a left turn into a small road, a board near it read.
"Obsidian quarry."
Aegis walked down the road. He quickened his pace.
I have to move fast.
However, he did not run. It was easy for a fiend to suspect a sprinting cambion. With the stolen pouch in his pocket, Aegis dared not get himself in trouble. Finally, Aegis reached a gate. It was taller than a few buildings beside the road. A metal arch with jagged corners stood.
Aegis slowly took the pouch out of his pocket. A soft rustle. He opened the pouch and carefully checked the insides. It carried a few gold coins and quite a lot of silver coins. He gently shifted the pouch, and finally, a gold ring with a gem emerged from the pouch.
His face paled as he saw it. He quickly took the ring and threw it into a gutter hole near the road. It was a signet given to upper-class fiends. He dared not keep it with him, even though the signet was valued at a hundred thousand gold coins. Aegis finally calmed down and went through a small door attached to the metal gate.
Clank-Clank-Clank.
The noise of pickaxes breaking brittle obsidian was loud. Heavy scaffolds and many infernus-operated carriers loomed above the quarry. Poor fiends dressed in big leather coats passed him as they carried pickaxes. The leather looked light brown, and a few spots on it sparkled. It was obsidian dust combined with rock powder.
Aegis walked forward and dared not look up. He did not want to offend any worker here, as he would be torn limb from limb. After all, the quarry was one of the most dangerous places for slaves.
He moved forward and took a series of turns. Zerra and Kaelran have worked in the same spot for a month now. They, along with thirty more workers, were tasked to make a statue. Aegis finally stood near a small wooden entrance, which was still big enough to fit three adults. He could hear a commotion. A loud voice invaded his ears as Aegis stepped through the entrance.
"Pay up, you wretch!"
Aegis quickened his pace, and his face twitched as his pupils burned. There was a huge pillar of obsidian with a wooden scaffold around it, and many workers stood on it and worked with a chisel and hammer. Near the ground, a bulky fiend stood, his arms wrapped tight around a girl; her skin was dark red. Her braided hair rested on her shoulder as she held his arms.
The loan shark screamed in her face,
"Where are my forty-seven silver coins?"
Her ram horns glowed red, as well as his. Both of them were enraged, but only one of them acted upon it. Her grip tightened around his arm. It was clear she wanted to be left alone. But she couldn't until Aegis paid her debt interest.
Aegis could notice her face tighten in disgust, he quickly went over to him and cleared his throat.
"Ahem, sir?"
The loan shark turned back, his face bore a huge gnash. He had two horns, one of which was broken. The loan shark looked at Aegis, his mouth turned into a frown, and he asked.
"What?"
Aegis carefully took forty-seven silver coins from the pouch and extended his hand toward him. He looked at Aegis and took the silver coins, and he let Zerra go. With a low thud, she landed on the ground, and her braided hair swayed.
The loan shark left them and walked toward another worker.
The leather coat on Zerra's body was covered in dust, so she gently dusted it with a cloth. Splinters of obsidian were mixed with the dust.
After she was done, she lifted her head and looked at Aegis. He extended his arm. Instead of grabbing his arm, she stared into his eyes, her jaw tight. It was clear she was a bit dissatisfied with him. Aegis, however, smiled. His smile looked odd.
"Eh-umm, Sorry?"
The words sounded odd, a bit awkward. He grimaced internally as he realised.
Zerra grabbed his arm and pushed herself up. She dusted her back and finally spoke.
"No, why, late?"
She replied, mocking his awkward words. She smirked as she said.
Aegis sneered. He removed a glass splinter from her hair and spoke.
"A little gratitude won't turn you soft."
Aegis noticed Kaelran was not with her before Zerra could reply. Aegis spoke again.
"Where is Kel?"
Right then, a voice called out their names behind them. Aegis turned to look at the person who called him, while Zerra stood in her place and looked past Aegis.
A pale-skinned fiend with short horns was walking toward them. His leather coat was the same as everyone else's, but it was cleaner. His short hair gently swayed in the air.
Kaelran finally reached them and spoke.
"Greetings, Aegis." He paused and continued.
"I was afraid you would wager all of our coins. Thank you for not gambling."
Aegis smiled a little and spoke.
"About that,"
All three of them went toward Zerra's stone quarters as Aegis explained how he got the coins.
They finally reached the entrance, and all three leaned against her small stone hut's wall. Aegis looked at both of them and said.
"I have something to say, it is about the dream."