The Main Street Father

My life has been the epitome of despair. My father was known as the Wolf of mainstreet in his prime and my mom was a brothel maiden for the redlight district. They both died when I was just an infant with that being said death seems to stalk these streets. I suffered every kind of abuse one could imagine and I'm honestly the bottom of the barrel in this society. I hear the kids mocking me saying "I'm not bruce" or "You smell like bruce". I often wonder how I am even alive. It's no exaggeration to say that I am honestly the worst smell in the kingdom of Armadia. My flesh is decaying from the open wounds that won't close given to me by the knight's order for looking them in the eye. My luck couldn't have been worse considering I was given 3 cuts by a cursed blade and the only way to heal those wounds is to bring 20 silver Tarsals to the church to get healed by a priestess. I am also very starved. Every now and again a shop keeper will take pity on me and throw scraps to the floor for me. With the war going on even the floor scraps have stopped.

I feel my consciousness fading due to hunger because I haven't eaten in so long. I gathered my strength and stumbled through the streets and I remember seeing a kid. The child was severely injured and my heart felt so many emotions at how cruel the world could be. Something in me snapped and for the first time I committed my first crime. I saw a woman walking without a care in the world and her satchel was full of coins. It's almost as if her pouch became more visible and in that moment I could tell if I was to take that satchel she wouldn't even notice. I passed the woman and walked into the alley and began to cry. I never wanted to make a coin like this. I wiped my face and began to count the coin. There were 50 silver tarsals which was more than enough to get both of us healed. 

I got back to the alley and the boy was drenched in a cold sweat. I picked him up and got him to the church and the priest looked at me and said "Get lost we are not a charity for the filthy" I looked at the priest angrily and retorted " I have the 20 tarsals necessary for the services" the priest looked shocked and said "Well unfortunately due to the war we have gone up in price to 25 tarsals. Given this boy's disappointing hygiene that would be an additional 10 for him to be cleaned first. There will also be an additional 5 tarsals for me having to bear the scent of common folk like you" Bruce gritted his teeth and gave him the coin walking away without a word. The priest looked shocked that he actually paid the full amount. 

This day was the biggest turning point of my life. I broke the rules to save a life not knowing it would change my life. I tested the trick multiple times seeing if I focused on a particular item it would gain that glow and sure enough it did. I began by going into the sea of people on main street taking things from people and returning it to them to see what the limits of this ability was. It appears I can only use it 3 times right now due to me being so weak I can take about 5 pounds is the limit before someone notices. I rested up and decided that today I will choose my targets wisely and only take from those deemed worthy of my judgment. I saw it clear as day. My target today is that man at the stall with the monocle he berated the stall attendant and was very disrespectful. He was causing a scene which typically would prompt a patrolling soldier to act and arrest him but his influence was evident. The soldiers ignored his distasteful behavior. 

It's time to take action as I crept closer to the man the satchel was within reach. I could see the glow. The man with the monocle growled "what is that unbearable stench." he cast an angry glare at me and said "how dare you get that close to me you wretch" I felt the satchel clasped with in my hand as I received an unbearably strong blow sending me flying. My vision was blurry and I could hear audible voices around me and with the last of my strength I staggered to an alley. I could see a shadow approaching my figure as I faded out of consciousness. When I woke up I could see a beautiful woman. I never saw a more dazzling person in my life. She looked at me and said "you were knocking at death's door. You're lucky the Morning Star adventures found you and brought you here when they did. You were inflicted with serious cursed magic that an adventurer in the party dispelled and we healed the surface wounds."

I understood my situation immediately. I looked at her and to my surprise she held my gaze back and blushed. She looked at me and said thank you for the other day my little brother is the only family I have left. I shook my head and said "I would do that every time if I could. Tell him to be more careful." She glanced and said "You are quite the comic considering your situation" we both laughed and life seemed to be at its peak for me. I walked to the door and said " What's your name Miss Nurse?" She smiled and said My name is Emil. Please stay out of trouble and come see me again soon." I looked at her one more time and walked out. The odds of me seeing her again are so slim but Emil is a name I won't forget because she made me feel warm. I like that feeling. I finally could check the contents of the satchel and I freaked out instantly seeing 5 gold tarsals and 50 silver tarsals. 1 gold tarsal is worth 30 silver Tarsals. 

I decided to go to a store and buy some clothes with this newly found wealth. I bought an all black outfit and as I passed a street stall I saw a black mask with a wolf insignia on it and bought it. I bought food from the stalls and took it back to the slums to feed people primarily the kids because they can't provide for themselves. I decided that I needed a home and began to scout for a home. I found an agent who told me for 4 gold tarsals I could have a home which was in the very back of the slums. The agent had a mischievous smirk thinking I didn't know the issue with that home. He said "it's fairly cheap even for the size of the building and area". I began to walk away saying "and what of the unwanted guest living there already am I expected to deal with that too?" The agent wore an ugly look and said I could bring it down to 3 gold Tarsals. Deal I said as I grabbed the title deed and left. 

Time to see my new home. I approach my home and open the front door to be greeted by 5 kids, 4 boys and 1 little girl. One of the boys was a hair taller than the others. This boy said "You here to make us leave" resentment evident in his eyes. I looked at the lot and said "No, but I do own this place and you will earn your keep. You can start by cleaning this place up." The kid's face was rich with excitement and said "thank you mister". All I could do was acknowledge them with a head nod. Things were running smoothly and I began to feed and clothe the kids, gradually teaching them as I learned myself. We began training our bodies and working out, getting faster and stronger. The slums will forever be the slums but a level of respect was rising and Bruce was no longer a name to be made fun of. The people in the slums would often refer to me as Son of the Wolf in reference to my father. 

I began teaching the kids in the slums how to survive by scouting areas and picking weak targets to make enough coins to survive on. Only take from market stalls when the hunt fails that day. We built a sort of code for the slums to operate out of and as I bought more houses in the slums and put more people in them. The insignia of the wolf would be on any door under my control.

I began strolling down the streets that I used to stumble down and could not believe that taking fate into my own hands was so easy if only I had this ambition and desire the whole time. Not paying attention to where I was going I bumped into someone causing them to fall and drop their belongings and began apologizing and offered my hand as I noticed the fragile hand that was on my own I realized it was Emil and she was blushing as she allowed me to help her up. I apologized again for the inconvenience of everything as she looked at me and stammered out "why didn't you ever come back to visit me in the hospital every day I waited patiently.." I'm so good at disappointing others it should be a skill by now. I never thought that she honestly wanted to see me again. I looked at the ground and said "If you have a moment I know a place we can eat at to talk for awhile". She smiled and said "that's fine I should have enough to go out and eat for a bit" I teased her and said "if you consider it a date then I will take care of the tab." She confidently looked at me and said "it's a date then" 

I honestly didn't expect her to say yes I thought inwardly. My stomach began to twist as I felt a little bit more nervous. I noticed Rock at a stall. It's the name I came up with for the oldest kid at the house and told him to relay the message that I'm going to be coming back later. I continued my evening with the most beautiful woman in Armadia. As we sat down and ate at the bar I got curious and asked her why her eyes were unbelievably beautiful. She said it was due to an ability she had to see people's weaknesses and wounds. When suddenly she got bumped and a drink spilled on her because 2 guys were arguing so I got up and punched the guy with all my strength with the veins in my head bulging. The guy wobbled and then the other guy whispered stupid idiot you should leave now if you value your life that is the Son of the Wolf." When the guy heard the name he ran out the door. Emil looked at me and said "your hurt and your hand is bleeding let me heal you" she rubbed some cream on my bleeding knuckles and began healing my hand at a speed visible to the eye. I could even see her eyes glow an ember color slightly. 

I noticed Emil's clothes were wet making her look very provocative due to the blessings of her large melons. I did my best not to look as I suggested that I could buy her a new shirt because of the inconvenience from earlier and she said sure. We went from stall to stall looking for a shirt when suddenly a necklace caught my eye because it reminded me of the ember color I see in Emils eye's when her ability is active. I said "Emil stand still for a sec" as I placed the necklace around her she said " Wow this is beautiful. It's so perfect." I looked at the stall owner and said I will buy it. Emil hugged me so tight I thought she had a strength ability or something. I hugged her back as she held on without any signs of letting go and said "can we stay like this for a while". I smiled and said "yeah, I would like that". 

The days flew by and before I knew it 3 years skated by and they no longer referred to me as the Wolf I had a new name. The Mainstreet Father all crimes in the city could be connected back to me. All the gangs had a connection back to me for one reason or another. All the kids I helped either became someone in that short time or had connections. Whatever the reason I became the one running the show whether it was murders, theft or gang assaults people would consult with me about it. I shielded Emil from this identity so she didn't know anything. I officially opened the first ever thieves guild and it became popular with the royals. One of my most frequent visitors was consorts of the King. I had all the information in the city. My number one customer overall was the Assassins guild as their information had to be flawless. They even had their own entrance that allowed a safe hasty entrance multiple exits as well. 

I never cared for material wealth. I often forged information to allow kids with high potential in the slums to go to a magical academy or Knights school. The return on investment will be astronomical one day. Due to funding all these projects even with the massive amounts of wealth coming in I'm essentially penniless. I have to select the person that has earned my conviction today. Before I gain some capital today I want to spend time with Emil. Today is Emil's day off so I should surprise her with some flowers. I picked out a beautiful set of flowers. It was NightShades mixed with roses. When I got home I handed the flowers to Emil and asked her to go on a walk. Emil gave the most radiant smile and said "yes I have something to tell you too" I was so excited what could it be. Maybe it's about her brother because it turned out he was in route to be an excellent mage. I actually sent him to the Magic academy to take the entrance exam.

I was more excited for the walk then she was now. She never surprises me with news. We walked the streets allowing the sun to kiss our skin. She looked at me as we could hear the kids playing and pointed at them with a smile as if saying do you get it. This became a game of ours because she often gets too excited to speak and we would point at things, often guessing what the other meant. Finally I got tired and said " I honestly don't know. Did you gain weight because I feed you so well?" She smacked at me and hit everything she could touch saying " No you big jerk… I'm with child" For the first time since I met Emil my eyes began to water as she cried with me and we held each other and I kissed her. I got on one knee and said "You're my first and only love and If our love holds true you will marry me." She smiled and said " I will marry you" as our lips locked. All I could think about was how I was going to make the money for this engagement ring. 

I knew this had to be someone with a heavy coin purse. I didn't care if my victim was just or not. I had a certain goal and that was to give my future wife the life she deserves. I found a young man who had to have had at least 2 platinum tarsals, one is worth 30 gold tarsals. My ability grew to the point I could Identify the items in the bag. I felt sick to my stomach. Everything on the inside said this was a bad idea. I saw Light , the little girl who grew up in the house, not so little anymore. I told her that if something goes wrong take the satchel to Emil and keep one of the platinum tarsals. She agreed and I proceeded with caution as I approached. I saw the glow like usual until the satchel touched my hands. It's funny they say when you die flashbacks happen but not for me I just remember my world spinning. I could feel my body but I knew my head wasn't there any more with my last bit of strength I threw the sack to Light. I'm sorry Emil you made all the pain in my life worth it for the limited experience we had.