He Who Fights with Monsters 9

5

MORE THAN JUST A NAME

THE STREETS OF LIVAROS WERE THRONGING WITH PEOPLE AS THE CENTRAL

areas were overtaken by a sprawling street festival. The market district was the heart of the post-surge celebrations, but it extended into the boutique store ward and even the Adventure Society campus. Tables had been brought out and food stalls were everywhere, while the Magic Society had released thousands of colour-changing paper lanterns that drifted over the streets, illuminating everything in myriad colours.

Jason stood on a rooftop, his cloak dimmed down and blending into the shadows of the late evening. Sophie stood beside him, significantly more obvious. The rest of their companions were elsewhere, either waiting at the meeting site or in place for other tasks, all connected through voice chat.

“Ooh, the food smells wafting up here,” Jason said with yearning. “I could pop down there and grab us something real quick.”

“No,” Humphrey scolded. He, like the rest of the team, was positioned elsewhere. “We talked about this, Jason. You agreed to play the ominous harbinger, which means no popping down to check out food stalls.”

“It’s not like anyone would recognise me; I’d be completely anonymous.” “That’s a lie and you know it,” Farrah said. “I’m betting that most of these food stalls are run by the people who run the same stalls at the market.

Do not even bother trying to convince us that they won’t recognise you.” “Not to mention that you have a very bad track record on staying

anonymous,” Clive added.

“Sophie could go down there,” Jason said. “No one’s looking for her.” “Thankfully,” Sophie added. “I’ve had quite enough of that in my life,

thank you.”

“You want Sophie to go down there,” Humphrey said. “The most beautiful woman in the city, dressed head to toe in white adventuring gear. Very subtle.”

“You are such a suck-up,” Jason pouted.

“I think it’s sweet,” Belinda said. “But yes, she does rather draw the eye.” Sophie stood out in her new armour of white with silver embellishments. Figure-hugging yet utterly flexible, like Sophie herself, it focused on mobility rather than protectiveness. She had acquired the armour while Jason was still in recovery, through Neil’s looting power, from an unusual ooze-type monster. She had not enjoyed fighting the silver-star jelly, but was very

satisfied with the spoils.

“There are lots of adventurers out there,” Jason complained, and Sophie put a hand on his shoulder.

“I asked Belinda to go around grabbing anything that looked good,” she said. “It’ll come out of her storage space nice and fresh. I know it’s not the same as being down there, but it’s something.”

Jason turned to look at Sophie, pushing the hood back off his head. “Thank you,” he said, his smile an uncharacteristic non-smirk. “That’s

really thoughtful of you.”

After a lifetime of mistrust, Sophie was still learning about companionship, and her rare expression of bashfulness made Jason smile wider.

“Belinda was meant to be intercepting the target,” Humphrey said.

“I can do both,” Belinda said. “Jason’s going to sense him long before I can get eyes on him anyway.”

“How are we doing with that?” Humphrey asked.

“We left his warded compound in the warehouse district with a couple of bodyguards,” Estella said through voice chat. “We took a carriage until we hit the festival crowds and then started moving on foot.”

Estella was also included in the voice chat as she directed Havi Estos to the meeting site.

“He doesn’t have a flight travel permit?” Neil asked.

“Temporarily suspended for the duration of the festival,” Estella explained. “He’s not happy about it either.”

“Most of them have been suspended,” Rufus added.

“And the guilds aren’t thrilled, from what I’m overhearing,” Belinda said. “You can tell a guild adventurer here more from their complaints than their

gear, although anyone fully tooled up to fight monsters at a festival is probably a complete tool themselves.”

“I don’t like this,” Havi Estos said as he made his way through the crowd. “It’s the perfect chance to get in some assassinations. This week will probably see more of them than the rest of the year combined.”

“You’re worried about being assassinated,” Estella told him. “I can’t tell if you think too highly or too poorly about yourself.”

“Being assassinated isn’t a matter of character,” Havi said. “It’s a matter of being an obstacle to someone with no scruples.”

“Then maybe you shouldn’t surround yourself with people lacking scruples. Look, no one is going to… oh, wow; that guy is definitely going to assassinate you.”

“What? What guy?”

The two bodyguards went on alert. They had shortswords, as large weapons were generally less effective in the city, as well as being more attention-grabbing.

“That guy,” Estella said, pointing. “He’s hiding his aura fairly well, but I’m, you know, me.”

The man in question started running.

“Don’t chase,” Havi ordered his bodyguards. “He might be trying to lure you away.”

They carried on at a hustle, the bodyguards often rudely shouldering the way through the crowd. Only Estella noticed Belinda trailing them, occasionally changing her face.

Like the tentacles of an octopus, arms made of darkness emerged from different shadows to drag people out of sight.

“That’s the fourth group that has been looking to kill this guy,” Jason said as he dropped the last unconscious man onto the pile on the roof. “He’s got more people after him than I do. Maybe he should be the one faking his identity and skipping town.”

“The people after him are a little lower on the threat scale,” Rufus pointed out.

“Still, four assassination attempts in one walk across town?”

“Not to mention the other two we stopped against unrelated people,” Humphrey said. “And I know for a fact that the Adventure Society has people quietly patrolling as well, so who knows how much is going on.”

“I wish you’d told me that earlier,” Jason said. “I almost tried to take one of them out until I realised from his aura that he was watching for threats, not being one. That would have been embarrassing.”

“Especially if you got your butt kicked,” Neil added. “Yeah,” Jason agreed with a laugh.

“Estos was right about it being a prime chance for assassinations,” Estella said.

“Not to mention robbery,” Belinda added. “I’ve spotted I don’t know how many pickpockets. They know their business in this city too. The deftness with which they dispel anti-theft wards is impressive. I might go find who taught them, swap some tips.”

“You’re not a thief anymore, Lindy,” Humphrey pointed out. “Uh, yep,” Belinda agreed. “Definitely not.”

“Belinda…”

“We’re approaching the destination,” Estella notified them. “Site is secure,” Rufus said.

“I put up some extra anti-surveillance magic,” Farrah said, “but what was already in place is surprisingly thorough.”