Day 4 (18), Flashback (2)

He hops on top of the ceiling of a neighboring house and begins his journey to the nearest medicine store. The falling snow assaults his jacket, attempting to pierce his bones with the frigid air. He continues to resist the onslaught until he arrives roughly 30 meters from a somewhat well built street with some light traffic.

Myles promptly hops off the roof he was on and continues his pursuit for medicine on foot. He jogs lightly, somewhere between a fast paced walk and a full jog, towards a few stores. He stopped at a store called "Strenuous Tonics" and began to brush all of the snow on his body.

"Greetings, dear customer." The shopkeeper greets Myles as he opens the door. He sneakily inspects the young lad while he was looking around at the goods.

"Hello, can I get the herbs on this list, please?" Myles hands the shopkeeper a small piece of parchment paper to the shopkeep. The shopkeeper pulls a leatherbound book from under the desk and searches for the herbs on the list.

He looked up at the young lad, not a hint of emotion was shown on his face, except a small glint of avarice in his eyes. "A quick estimate puts the cost around 38 silver, young customer."

"38?!" Myles replied in a shocked tone, barely being able to contain the volume of his voice. "It was just 15 silvers a few weeks ago, how could this have happened?" He rubs his temples slightly as he mentally counts how many coins he had in the pouch. If he dared take the pouch out, the merchant may raise the price since he'd roughly know the wealth of his customer.

~Hmm… Let's put this into perspective real quick. I can also test methods to search for specific bits of info while viewing memories this way

~The fee to hire a priest was 1 gold, whether or not the treatment was successful. Myles' monthly salary was 40 silver a month, and total medicine costs were roughly 30 silver per month (the price varies by one or two silver due to availability and seasons); purchased once every two weeks. Out of the 10 remaining silver, 6 was used for necessary expenses such as food and clothes.

~This was assuming Myles went to the well to get water, hunted 3 times a week, and got some handouts or was taken out to eat by his sympathetic bosses or coworkers. In other words, it'd take them roughly 4 years to completely save up for a priest's treatment.

{Author's note: Our boi Cain did the math instantly so here's the work: 2 silver in savings per month, 100 silver needed. Thus 50 months required or 4 years and 2 months. In case you didn't catch it, it's 15 silver per batch of medicine and they purchase it two times per month.}

~Rachel got sick with this disease roughly a year ago, but they have close to 98 silver thanks to previous years' savings and… oh… It appears Myles stole from easy targets to speed up the process.

~Although he did steal some tools and other things from his jobs occasionally, it doesn't seem like he sold them and kept them for personal use. Let's see here… his reasoning is… huh, that's pretty smart.

~He did it since the items can easily be identified by the workers, especially if they were new. He only stole used or almost broken things so his coworkers think that the items were misplaced, not stolen; as the case would be if a brand new item were to go missing.

~Sweet, now let's get back to this flashback. I need some popcorn...~

"That was last week, young lad. The price has gone up due to the lack of availability of herbs. Will you pay or not?" The storekeeper said, slightly frustrated. Myles stood there for a minute, contemplating whether or not he should buy the herbs.

On one hand, almost half of his savings would be gone. On the other, he didn't know how much time Rachel had left; she was coughing blood after all. He needed to get these herbs to her immediately to lessen the symptoms. The medicine was only temporary though, and they were so close to being able to hire a priest.

'Fuck it, I don't even know what kind of disease she has, it'll be best if she gets treatment now. I'll check 3 or 4 more shops and look for easy pickings during the walk.' Myles thanks the shopkeeper and exits the shop.

He searches for 3 more shops while keeping an eye out for any easy marks. Suspiciously, there was not a single one despite walking roughly a quarter of a kilometer. Usually there would be one or two, even on the worst of the worst days.

Even more unnerving, was that all of the shops he visited had the same prices; no fluctuations, not even by a single copper. The shopkeepers of each shop each had a different response, so it's not as if there was trouble with a supplier.

Roughly 30 minutes had passed when Myles entered the 4th shop, in which he decided to throw all caution into the wind and buy the herbs. He rushed back to his rundown house, while ensuring he wasn't being followed. Even though it was by habit, it was better to be careful.

He frantically entered his house and began preparing herbs. Once the herbs were prepared, he set them aside underneath a small upside down candle. There was a tiny basin hanging under the wick that caught the wax. He lights the flame with one hand, his body nearly taking off before the wick catches on fire.

A small flame appeared from his hand, barely touching the wick. Once the flame was created, Myles took off to Rachel's room to check on her condition. Although she wasn't shivering anymore, there was some fresh blood near her mouth.

Myles lit his right hand on fire, then he hovered it over the frozen water bucket next to Rachel's bed. He desperately increased the temperature until the water melted and started to slightly boil. He then quickly rushed back to the kitchen to finish concocting the medicine while the water cools down to a suitable temperature.

He mixes, grinds, and stirs the herbs for the next few minutes. He grabs a bowl from the cupboard above his and fills it with the concoction. He rushes back in a hysterical walking pace, leaving the kitchen a mess from making the concoction.

After entering Rachel's room, he sets the bowl down on the chest of clothes at the foot of her bed and walks over the water bucket. His hand hovers over the top, gauging the temperature of the bucket. After deeming it suitable, Myles grabs the cloth within and wrings it out a few times.

He sat on the edge of Rachel's bed, wiping the corners of her mouth with the cloth then cleans the rag in the bucket. He repeats this process three times, cleaning every corner of her face and neck. On the last dump, he left the rag in there and leaned over to grab the tonic.

"Rachel, sit up, here's your medicine." Myles tries to coax his sister awake, carefully leaning her frail body up, resting her back against the head of the bed. She groans mildly while attempting to wake up.

Rachel coughs lightly after drinking the tonic. "Ugh… it tastes so bitter." She complains while wiping her mouth with the corners of her sleeves. Myles chuckles lightly, grabbing the bowl from her cold, tiny hands. He slowly rises, bringing the bucket of water with him on his way out of Rachel's room.

A meter before he reaches the doorway, Rachel speaks up. "Brother if I die--" her sorrowful tone echoes across the barren walls. Myles stops abruptly, holding back a tear. He gulps down any emotion, replying in a cheerful tone, his back still facing her, fearing she'd see through his facade.

"You're not going to die, you little bookworm."

Rachel shakes her head lightly. "Listen to me, idiot ShadowFlame." This was the adventurer name she'd chosen for him years ago. Myles stiffened when he heard that name, fearing she knew he wasn't actually a part of the guild.

"If I die, make sure to spend our savings eating all the tasty food from the food stalls." Her voice was eerily still, containing hints of anguish and acceptance. She did her best to hold back her tears.

"Yeah… Yeah, I will, don't worry little one. Just hurry up and get better so you can have them too." Myles replied, holding back any signs of emotion. A tear slid down his face, freezing before it could touch the floor. His hands quaked with overflowing emotion. After hearing no response, he looked back to see his sister had already fallen asleep.

He takes a deep breath and heads to the kitchen. While cleaning up his mess, he recalls the poster he stole three months ago. After finishing up and washing his hands in the water he boiled earlier to clean the counters, he enters his room and walks over to the table.

Myles picks up a book from the tables and takes a folded poster out from the inside of the cover. He unfolds it quietly, then burns it with a small flame that appears from his right hand.

The poster read:

Recruiting skilled fighters for the Shadowtrap family.

Must be at least 16 years old, preferably have the shadow element, and at least a 2nd circle aptitude.

No fighting experience required, training will be provided. Pay is 1 gold per month or 1 small favor and 30 silver per month.

On every full moon, meet in the deserted district, close to the Outer Wall.

~...So that's obviously a poster to recruit assassins that they train. I guess that's how he eventually met with me… It seems like Myles knows that, so let's see what happens. Huh? Dresil what are you doing?

~Heck, I can't exit the flashback without causing major damage, guess that's something I need to work on later. Although it seems like Dresil stopped whatever she was doing before…

~Anyways, let's just hurry up with this flashback.~

After burning the poster, Myles leaves his house, locking it up so not even a fly will get in. He climbs on top of the roof, pushing all of the snow on there away to prevent it from caving in. His gaze rests on the horizon, staring down the setting sun and waiting for the moon to greet the sky.

Exhausted with the events that occurred today, he slumps down on a fairly sturdy part of the ceiling. Tonight was a full moon, part of the reason why he'd even consider accepting that poster. Although he didn't know any specifics, Myles knew vaguely what would happen to him if he accepted. Despite that, he was still willing to venture into that hellhole so that his sister would get better.

Myles gazes at the sky, watching it slowly darken; the stars revealing their presence to the beings below. Once the moon rose to its apex, he vanished. His shadow glided across the roofs of the deserted houses, riding the frigid wind that came with it. A few minutes later, Myles skidded to a halt on a ceiling and glared at a group in robes.

He was at the center of the deserted district, the meeting place of the recruitment form. Although it wasn't listed, this was a test of sorts. A test to gather intel about the meeting location. Naturally, Myles knew where the location was before he snagged the poster.

He came across this information while looking for a deserted house in the district to live in after his parents died. Being the cautious teenager that he was, he made it his mission to know everything that occurred in the surroundings of his new home. This was required to make sure Rachel adjusted to the new environment smoothly and without any outside problems.

~Let's try doing a short skip… so the boi arrives at the recruitment venue, receives another test-oh… The test is to kill someone… Myles' target appears to be an ordinary shop owner; he doesn't know why he's targeted though.

~Anyways, the boi shows little to no hesitation while killing him, earning full marks. This, ontop of being at the 3rd circle, catches the supervisor's eye and he takes him in as a disciple. Seems sus though…

~He asks for treatment from a priest as his favor, but they deem this as too big of a favor. Expecting this, he asks for medicine to treat an illness and then describes the symptoms. The supervisor readily agrees and searches through a cabinet then hands him a pouch of herbs. Sus… Very sus…

~Nooo, Myles whyyy… why didn't you even question this timing/coincidence… *sigh* I guess he was in too much of a rush to notice… Oh, here's some important info, they said "her" illness, wait how did they know it was for a girl…

~Anyways, the supervisor said the illness would be cured in 4 months, so let's skip till then. In those 4 months it seems like our boi went on a killing spree, rip his mental state. He successfully completed 45 missions and was promoted to the 4th circle during this time.~