Chapter 8 Paradise & the Poisoned Fruit (Part 7/7)

Barely a few seconds had passed from when the group of five left the shop. At that moment, a singular patrolman politely entered the shop. Taking in a hissed breath at the sight of the still impaled Tom he swiftly redirected his gaze away from the grisly once living statue. Bowing in greeting to the both of us, he specifically addressed Victoria. "Greeting Master Apothecary, we saw your store had experienced an intrusion. However, once we reached here, you appeared to have things well in hand, and we did not feel it was wise to intervene."

Looking up to gauge her expression, he continued after seeing her nod. "We seek to offer you any aid that could ease your interrupted night. As such, we have temporarily contained those that exited your shop and await your decision regarding their allocation. Also, we could get a team over to repair your store window and any other damage that might have been incurred. What is your bidding?"

Victoria paused for a moment as if to better consider this offer of help. Then she spoke. "I truly appreciate your offer of assistance. I could in fact use your help with a few matters. First, I would love to have this," pointing to the still ice impaled body of the Tom "removed from the premises. You may do with it as you wish. As for those that just departed, I will not be pressing any charges or requesting any further recompense than that which they have already given. So, you may release them . . ." Then as if a notable thought entered her mind, she added. "Actually, I would like to request a favor. Please have a trustworthy female with empathetic insights see to the care that the group of five may need, as they process what they just experienced. Other than that, I seek not to have them further detained or troubled. As for the window, I believe that there are several window repairmen awaiting my attention this very moment."

From my own vantage point within the store, I could see that a fairly large group had congregated outside the shop a respectful distance away. As she had spoken that last part with a slighter louder tone, I saw the eyes of a certain group of men and women light up with expectation.

Victoria finished with, "I will see to them in short order. And I thank you for your aid."

The patrolman gave another very respectful bow before replying. "It would be our great honor to aid thee this night. Your requests shall immediately be carried out."

Stepping back out of the store, he addressed his group of patrolmen. One of them, a woman peeled off from the group and approached the five adventures initially held cordoned, only to lead them away from the scene.

Another group of five patrolmen entered the store and after giving a joint bow to Victoria, they approached the impaled Tom. Victoria waved her hand as if to adjust something, and in the next moment, the initially tightly fastened ice pillar lost its deadly grip with the ground. With that, the body began to tilt over, forcing three of them to rush in their approach to catch the body mid fall. They quickly carried the body out of the shop, with the icicle still impaled through the body. 

The other two remaining patrolmen began picking up the discarded armor and pieces of torn clothing. When they came upon the bulky and hairy frozen piece that came from the Tom's nether regions, they both let off a shiver and opted to use one of the armor plates to shovel up the gruesome body part. They too made a hasty retreat from the shop as if wanting to waste no time in disposing of their previously precious cargo.

Not long after all the patrolmen left the vicinity, did the group that had shown excitement at Victoria's mention of window repair approach. "Master Apothecary." They too deeply bowed. "It is terrible that you should have to suffer such an assault in this city that you have been so gracious to. We would like to aid you, with no charge in the quick repair of your window and any damages to your shop. Would you allow us to take care of such?"

Victoria pulled out 10 silver and handed them to the spokesperson of the window repair group.

Sputtering out a refusal, the man made as if to retreat from the offered coin. "Please allow us to do this favor for you."

Shaking her head, Victoria denied them saying. "I dare not be beholden to any within the city. The patrol and military owe me for favors given, but I have little dealing with others except as patrons of my own shop. So please accept this as payment for services rendered."

The window repairmen appeared exceedingly disappointed to not be able to give this favor to Victoria, but he then nodded belatedly and began ordering about his staff in the repair.

Despite the recent show of great power from my teacher, watching the process of how they went about the window repair was quite interesting. Three of the workers began chanting in unison. As a faint brown light formed around them, it then dispersed into the shattered remnants of the window spread across the shop floor. The light swept into every crevasse that could be found, and soon a shower of glass shards began rising up from their many hidden places and the mostly open floor. Then a new shaping occurred. Forming in midair to the size of the store window, it then flew to the place it had originally rested as part of the open display from the street. The very edges became warped as the glass fitted itself into position, and the warped part then secured itself within the original stone frame work.

By the end of it, it was as if nothing had ever happened. Truly a unique use of magic that I had never contemplated before. As the window repair commenced, I heard many voices come from the notable number of bystanders. Most of what they said, could not be understood due to their low voices, but a couple were audible as they discussed Victoria's display of power. ". . . Certainly, she must be at Magus accomplishment at least! . . ." The awe in their voice was unmistakable. And yet as Victoria overheard their muttering, she gave them a flat stare. What others may consider to be a compliment to be elevated as having more power than previously known, she did not appear to appreciate such sentiments or renown.

"I'll have to lay low for a while after this." Only with my very close proximity was I able to hear her say these words in a grudging tone.

The last of the window repair group not involved in the window shaping, observed the once molten but now frozen object at the near center of the shop. This is what had initially been thrown through the window, causing the flare out of the bonfire. Surprisingly the ground beneath it was not scorched, nor was the ceiling above it singed. Not a single mark other than that of passing through and breaking the window was to be seen. This appeared to scare the repair group more than anything else that Victoria had done that night. Focusing upon the window that they had just repaired, they again began to chant.

"Hold!" Victoria's voice swept throughout the shop, interrupting their spell mid cast. The gathering energies dispersed harmlessly and the group, shivering a little turned back to her in question.

"I truly appreciate your desire to go above and beyond to enchant the window with resistance. However, that was not part of my payment. As I said before, I do not desire to be beholden to anyone. I will seek other means to further secure my window's integrity. Now that the work is done, please leave and allow me to retire for the night."

With shoulders relaxing at her clarifying words, the disappointment from the repairmen was very notable. But they simply nodded, thanked her for her patronage, and departed the shop.

Seeing that any further excitement was not likely to happen, the congregating crowd quickly dispersed back to their homes and shops as they too retired for the night. The gossip of this night's actions by Victoria, was bound to be spread like a wildfire throughout the city the next morning.

We said little to each other except to ask if the other was well. Other than that, we both retired back to bed. Not knowing if Victoria went directly to sleep, I personally couldn't help but run the night's explosive altercation through my mind. 

I had thought that after today and combined with her actions at the Mages guild, that I had gained an adequate understanding of her potential anger. I had been woefully unprepared for this fallout.

This advanced provocation by the Tom brought out a version of Victoria that I had never imagined to be possible. The wrath by which she acted in stripping him of his armor and subsequent torture she instilled upon him, left me feeling somewhat off center. A part of me at the time had begun to feel sorry for the Tom cat. However, after witnessing the injuries and abuse that he had almost certainly caused among his own team of woman and halfling follower, indescribable rage filled me. Seeing Victoria ever so gently apply the salve and potions to the beaten women's faces, I felt my heart go out to them even as my anger at the now dead Tom rekindled.

The number of years that he had to have invested in creating his little team, to engender their undying loyalty, despite his obvious abuse was appalling. That along with the financial resources they had managed to obtain, spoke of a far deeper problem. Was there no vetting system in place to restrict their entry into the city, or determine their suitability prior to allowing entry? They truly did appear to be a powerful group, that simply bit off far more than they could chew, when they went after my teacher.

Was the political and financial gain to be had by their entry and presence in the city enough to make those that were charged with the safety of the city to turn a blind eye to their actions? Was it only when a powerful individual like Victoria that forced their hand, which made them finally take action?

I could only imagine how many other innocents in this and other cities had likely suffered the attentions of the Tom and others like him. Individuals and groups preying upon the weak and helpless in society. This was seemingly due to the lackadaisical and greedy nature of the border guard and city leaders at allowing their unreserved entry.

My concern is how does one fix such a problem. It appeared that without proper reforms of proper monitoring, processing, and restriction of incursions from out of city visitors or migrants, that such problems are still at a high risk of occurring. It was only because of Victoria, being the right person in the right place, that such a threat was neutralized this time.

Maybe I was putting too much of my personal bias into this situation. I was possibly seeing the boogie-man in places that it wasn't. Maybe the city was doing its due diligence, and maybe the Tom and his group simply slipped through the cracks or was beyond political reach.

What I felt it came down to, is that development of personal power, much like Victoria had done, was pertinent to a more stable and safe life. Be your own protector, or be able to faithfully rely on another who could secure your safety without any betrayal on either individual's part.

With those thoughts in mind, I felt a renewed sense of purpose and determination. I desired to become stronger and far more capable than I currently was, so that I could take care of myself and others I cared for, both here and in my own world.

Sleep soon overtook me, as I dreamed of ways to become stronger. All the while, I was resisting mighty foes who sought to shackle me to their will.