Kyritus senecaru (2)

Tista weed was the most notorious poison on the continent. If Edico found it in the Alexbrook Tavern or anywhere else in the vicinity, he would start breaking down doors and trying to get random shop owners hanged. So long as it was beyond his sphere of perception, it would play out like a freak occurrence—

—just as she planned for it to do.

That said, it was now a race against the clock. If she took it later, the symptoms wouldn't hit in time. Since she took it now, she'd start keeling over before she finished. The game was on.

"Why didn't you wait?" Edico asked suspiciously.

"I was hoping for a chance encounter."

Edico's eyes widened, and he pursed his lips. "There's no one suspicious. You have 30 minutes."

"I have as long as the mission requires," Sara replied, walking past him. "Besides, you'll be able to watch me, right?"

Edico developed a poker face. "Of course."

Now who's good at lying? Sara thought sardonically. "I'll try to be out in a half hour," she said. "I'll check in an hour and fifteen minutes at the latest."

"50 minutes."

"Fine, whatever. I'm going."

As she moved forward, she coughed into her hand and took a strained breath. Before Edico could ask, she disappeared through the crowd, entering into the Alexbrook Tavern.

3

Inside a quaint tavern in the center of Helscope, adventurers drank their fill, eating stew and telling stories of wild beasts and hallowed wars. Despite its cracked tables, rotting floors, and heavy blocks of solid wood that constituted "seating," the atmosphere was lively, and new people flowed in and out of it in increments of ten minutes.

Kyritus moved and weaved through the crowd, putting pots of stew and bread onto the table. It was just him running the tavern that his late mother left him, so he didn't have the means to run the kitchen and deal with the brawling men asking for beer and spirits around the clock. Instead, he pre-prepared food and specialty items and then warmed them up and served them to everyone at designated tables. Those people paid two silver gliders each to eat their fill. It was expensive or a bargain depending upon a person's appetite, and adventurers always ate dirt cheap. It was a problem, but it was the best he could do. He and his sister were barely eking by as is.

Despite hellish hours and hard realities, Kyritus enjoyed his life, and it showed in the way he interacted, greeting everyone by name and taking "friendly" back claps that could paralyze a monta with a return hello.

Suddenly, a commotion broke out in the room, and two adventurers started screaming at each other, standing up and pounding their fists on the table.

"Say it again! I want to hear it! I'll rip your face off for it, but I'm in the mood."

The other man laughed and spoke without hesitation. "This. This right here's why she left your fuckin' ass, you—"

The first grabbed for his throat while the other reached for his dagger.

Kyritus didn't even glance their way. Instead, he let out a boisterous bellow. "Oooooooh, Timmind, oh Loma, oh beach by the shore!" he sang. Suddenly, the atmosphere dampened, and the annoyed regulars grinned. "By morrow, by morrow, you'll stand here before… my young an' be~lov~ed and write us no more!" they responded, creating a burst of anxiety through the room. Soon, the men stopped fighting, afraid the whole place would turn on them if they broke the trance.

Kyritus led the song, dropping off their beers and smiling. As he made it past the counter, his tiny little sister tugged at his trousers. "What is it…." His eyes widened in horror when he saw how pale her face was. "Come on, let's go."

The adventurers stopped singing when they saw him drop everything to pick her up, carrying her up the stairs. Then the locals started shouting, "No fighting, or we'll break your skulls!" as they disappeared. Kyritus usually rolled his eyes at that mentality, but at present, he barely registered it as he laid her down on the bed. "Rest, Jasperberry."

She coughed and gripped his hand. "Please don't go."

Kyritus's face twisted into a grimace. His sister had tyexis, "spirit sickness," as people often called it. It disrupted mana channels through people's bodies, making mana flow into physical veins and muscles, depleting their bones and physique. It was usually caused by reckless use of magic, using spells beyond one's means, or fighting long past mana deprivation. But it could develop in anyone, and it was costly to treat, let alone cure. To keep her alive, he needed money, and to do that, he needed to work. But he knew at any moment she could fall asleep and not wake up, so he wanted to stay next to her. She was all he had.

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door. "Hey, Kye. The regs have got it handled. We practically live here."

Kyritus smiled wryly at the thought that anyone that frequented his tavern, Got it handled. Their version of handling problems was by ganging together to destroy any of the unvets (as they called first timers), which had its virtues but always resulted in property damages. Adventurers pitched in, but the time it took to fix it…. No matter what he did, time was looming like a guillotine.

Tiber coughed and gripped his hand, and Kyritus grimaced, turning toward the door. "Okay, Jant. I'll be back down in an hour. Try to keep this place handled until then."

"You got it, Kye. Get well, Tiber."

"Okay…" Tiber said weakly.

Kyritus's eyes welled with tears. Tiber wasn't his sister. Not exactly. She was his half-sister by blood and child by circumstance. His mother died during childbirth, and Tiber's abusive father left when Kyritus refused to sign the tavern over to him. Thus, he ended up raising Tiber alone from the day she was born, so their bond was far deeper than that of normal siblings. If she died…. Kyritus winced and gripped her hand. "I'll stay here for an hour, okay?"

"You never stay," Tiber pouted.

He smiled ruefully. "I… I'll stay this time. No matter what."

"You promise?" she asked.

Kyritus swallowed, feeling a surreal wave of anxiety wash over him. Terrible things always happened when he was away, so an hour was harsh in general. But right then, right there, he had a sinking feeling in his stomach that something serious would happen, and he didn't know why. Still, looking at his sister's body, more pale and depleted than he had ever seen it. It was terrible timing, but his priority was his sister. Always.

Kyritus swallowed, taking a sharp breath and then letting his tense shoulders relax. "I promise."