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[Skill-Eater] Chapter 56: Mel
🕑 Added 2024-07-21 17:01:01 +0000 UTCEdge approached the deputy on duty, a muscular redhead named Melenia who went by Mel. She was armed with a massive two-handed axe, which she could swing hard enough to shatter a boulder without using a skill.
He was a little nervous, since he didn’t have the credits to pay for his passage. However, he was fairly confident that he could talk his way in, given the value of the goods in his pack. When he approached the gate and raised a hand in greeting, he learned that his worries were unfounded.
“Edge, right?” He nodded. “Trapper’s crew just offered to pay your way in. But there isn’t a fee anymore. Not while we try to figure out what in the hell is going on and what we’re going to do about it.”
She looked him in the eyes and smiled. “Glad to know that you’re still among the living. You were uncored when you left, so I figured that you were done for after the anomaly hit us. Did you really find a rare core out there and a pair of uncommon skills?”
Damn, Mel is thorough. I need to play this smart. Edge clasp one hand to the bandage around his chest, wincing like he was putting pressure on the wound. “I got lucky in more ways than one,” he answered honestly. “Did anything else change while I was away?”
“You mean besides everything? The Sheriff and the Mayor are trying to keep the uncored from panicking. Everyone else is still going through the motions, at least those who haven’t barricaded themselves in their rooms while having a nervous breakdown.”
Mel laughed, then looked at Edge with a serious expression, the levity vanishing from her tone. “I doubt that you’ll cause us any trouble, but I’ll tell you the same thing that I’m telling everyone. Keep your hands to yourself and stay out of trouble. We’re fresh out of second chances for anyone who breaks the rules. Already had to banish two people and execute a third, and I wouldn’t want to have to add your name to the blacklist.”
He took the warning to heart, but he didn’t plan to find himself on the wrong side of the law. Not right now at any rate. Edge had little to gain and everything to lose by trying anything that could get him banished to the wilderness. “I’ll behave. I promise. Right now, I just want to get something to eat and then sleep for a week. It’s fucking awful out there and it’s only going to get worse.”
Mel sighed at those words and then waved him through the gate. “I’d add a change of clothes and a bath to that list. You smell like shit, and those pants look like they’re one wrong step away from falling apart completely.”
“I know. I will. The monsters we fought fucking reeked.”
“Tell me the story sometime and I’ll buy you a beer. Sorry, by the way. By the time that we saw the commotion, the fight was already over. With only two of us guarding the walls, it can take a few minutes in between passes. We did send a runner to Doc, and she’s in her clinic if you need to get stitched up. Although, you seem to be in surprisingly good shape considering what jumped you.”
“Thanks, but I’ll heal on my own once I have some magicytes in my tank. Take it easy Mel.” With that, Edge passed through the dome and stepped onto the streets of Puppet Town, glad to leave his ordeal on the plains behind him and begin the next chapter of his adventure.
He walked through the gate and emerged onto South Street, which ran between the commercial and residential districts. When he stepped out from under the wall, he found Trapper’s crew sitting by the side of the road, dealing with the exhaustion that arose in the aftermath of an adrenaline-soaked battle.
They had removed their armor to tend to their wounds, and a fair amount of blood was now staining the stones below. Thankfully, none of their injuries looked life-threatening and they were already starting to recover.
Edge was still pretty dazed himself. Although thanks to regeneration going into [Overdrive] at the end of the fight, his body didn’t hurt at all.
The strawberry blond spear-wielder caught him smiling at the realization. She must have thought that he was smiling at her. She broke into a beaming grin, walking over while offering her hand. “I don’t think we’ve met. My name is Sasha. I’ve only been in town for a few weeks.”
“Edge. I’m new too.” He took her hand and gave it a firm shake. It never hurts to make new friends, especially in trying times.
Without her wooden armor, it was easy to see that Sasha was lean and fit. She had bright green eyes, a short, sharp nose, and a face dusted in freckles. It was the first time in years that a pretty girl had smiled at him, and even longer since one had looked at Edge the way that Sasha was looking at him now.
“Pleased to know you. That was one hell of an entrance back there. We owe you our lives. Come by our place sometime soon so that I can thank you properly. I’m sure Trapper will want to see you too. We’re headed over to Doc’s to get patched up, then I’m ready to pass the fuck out.”
She walked back over to Riller and Jumo, who had recovered enough to keep moving. After helping her friends to their feet, Sasha turned to him and waved. “See you later, Edge. Don’t be a stranger.”
He waved goodbye, feeling a bit guilty that she thought he was their savior when he’d been at least partially responsible for what had happened. Though to be fair, he had come running to the rescue, at considerable risk to himself. Let’s just call us karmically even this time.
Either way, the encounter had been a lucky break. Not only had fighting alongside Trapper’s crew let him defeat the monsters that had been stalking him for days, he’d evolved to stage-one and collected enough resources to put some credits in his pocket along the way.
Not to mention earned the crew’s goodwill. A resource that would be just as valuable as credits during the difficult days ahead.
