A Gunslinger’s System in a World of Magic

There were Eight 'Children of the Moon' and they were separated into two groups to join the Squad of Knights, Mercenaries, and Slaves with Henry and Andor as the outliers in the sense that only Eloise vouched for their strength. Aurelius made a distinct effort to pay them no attention at all.

Kayla stayed while the forces Ralph Gribbo had provided were assimilated with the Squad of Knights and while it was clear she was there to be some sort of overseer, she only had eyes for Henry.

Henry, however, was making it a point not to exchange looks with her. Her smile unsettled him and as confident as he was that this moment would not devolve into a hunt, he didn't want to poke the bear. So to speak.

The Slaves slouched closer as directed by Gareth and as they did, Henry and Andor watched them with expressions of pity. Noticing the expressions, Aurelius finally took a break from his focused attempt at ignorance to smirk,

"Ah yes, the Cuff wearers," he said, "You should feel right at home by their sides, shouldn't you."

There was a sudden silence in the courtyard.

It took only a second for Henry to understand that no one in the courtyard, besides Eloise and Aurelius knew he and Andre were once Ralph Gribbo's slaves.

Gareth furrowed his brows as his mind worked fast and hard to make connections between two thought chains that did not yet match.

Kayla's expression was far more illuminated. Because she had already decided Henry at least was one of the enemies from last night, Aurelius's words were like another piece of the puzzle toward understanding his motive.

"What do you mean by that?" She asked Aurelius in a tone that sounded far too intense for what should have been a simple inquiry. She had gotten too carried away but cared very little about reining herself in.

"Nothing," Eloise said while flashing a glare at Aurelius who just smirked with no remorse for what he just let slip out.

"It had to have meant something," Kayla said.

Eloise opened her mouth probably trying to let out a string of lies to cover or throw Kayla and the Mercenaries off the scent.

You see, because of the legalization of Slavery in Alvareen and Valaeren in general, the laws of acquisition and keeping hold of acquired slaves were very much in favor of the slavers.

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Technically, according to the law, Henry and Andor had no right to be freed from their Cuffs. Even if it had been loosened by no fault of theirs, they were meant to return to their Slaver and request to be rebound because they were, and would always be his property.

It was a stupid law that Henry would scoff at and rather die than uphold but should it be known with certainty that he and Andor used to be the slaves of Ralph Gribbo, the entire Citadel would be against them because their duty was to uphold the Law.

And even without the bounds of duty, Ralph Gribbo held so much sway in Alvareen that the Knights would rise in his support anyway.

Henry's fingers began to twitch in readiness to retrieve any of his guns from his Inventory in his defense should Eloise's prepared lie fail to spare them.

He also heard Nyx's whinny in his head as his shadow got a shade darker while she prepared to leap out and lend her strength and speed to his survival.

Out of the corner of his eyes, Henry saw Andor stroke the Dimensional Bracelet on his wrist ready to draw his Spear and Shield.

And then, right before Eloise spoke, Henry seemed to remember Guns and violence were not the only things he had in his arsenal. And why let Eloise tell the lies when, so far, those in the Courtyard had no knowledge of her part in any of this? If there was even any at all.

He relaxed his hand and spoke over her,

"I— We (gestures at Andor) know a thing or two about the Slave Trade. No, actually, we once prospered at it.

Last time we met, I spoke of this to Sir Aurelius so, seeing as I'm again in the company of Slaves— Well, I assume he thought I'd feel more comfortable about what we have to do."

Henry looked at Aurelius then and managed such a natural smile, that Eloise almost believed his story. Aurelius certainly looked confused for a moment before he frowned as he reminded himself this was all definitely a lie.

"I'm not comfortable, by the way," Henry told Aurelius like they were just having a casual conversation.

"How so?" Garett asked.

Henry looked away from Aurelius and at him,

"Well, we don't control them. It's hard to feel comfortable in the presence of tools that can be turned against me at a moment's notice."

Gareth nodded. Henry's words made sense to him and he relaxed his stance before something came to mind that he just had to ask,

"So what happened?"

"Hmm?" Henry let out with a raised brow.

"What happened with your Slave business? Why is it only you two?" Gareth clarified his question.

"Ah, yes. We lost it. A few misguided do-gooders came after us and destroyed our livelihood." Henry said and shook his head with such genuine melancholy that he had almost everyone fooled.

It took the first sentence for Andor to realize what Henry was going on about and he made sure to compose his face to at least appear blank so he didn't give anything away to ruin the tale Henry was spinning.

Gareth clicked his tongue and shook his head in solidarity,

"That sounds terrible."

The Mercenary said nothing more and Henry had a feeling he stopped talking because he didn't want to reveal anything about the issue they had faced last night with losing a Caravan of Slaves and a Werewolf.

Whether Gareth kept quiet because he felt no one here had any right to know of those issues or he just felt it was his place, or the appropriate time/place, to share such, Henry wasn't clear but he was glad to be done with that.

While he was telling his convincing lie, Eloise was glaring at Aurelius to ensure there would not be another 'slip-up'.

Kayla looked like she didn't want to buy Henry's lie but it had sounded so convincing, at least on a surface/superficial level, that she could not help but consider that there might be some truth in it. After all, none of what Henry had said absolved him of being the culprit from last night.

If anything, if his words were true, he might have intercepted the Caravan to use the Slaves to restart a business he just claimed he had lost.

"I wonder what your partner has to say about this story," She eventually said.

"He doesn't talk about it much," Henry told her in an even voice, "The matter hurts him greatly."

As he was talking, Henry gave Andor a nudge that prompted the Fighter to adopt a sad expression but he didn't quite get it right. Luckily, he still looked distressed enough that it didn't really matter.

And that was that.

When he realized Kayla would not be coming along to the Dungeon Gate, Henry was glad her scrutinization was now at an end.

The conversations had taken a few minutes at most and now the Carriages to be used to ferry them all to the Gate arrived but before he went in, Henry felt a pair of eyes on him.

It was like the person wanted to be noticed because the attention pricked at his Perception until he cast his eyes around to search for the source.

It was the beautiful lady from the Temple of Selene. She had yet to leave the courtyard and had retained two 'Children Of The Moon' who stood with her like handmaidens.

Henry had known she was still there but after giving up the Clerics, she had closed her eyes and began mumbling under her breath. That, taken with her hands still pressed together, made Henry believe she had been saying a prayer. She hadn't been paying attention to anyone or anything then.

She was now.

She still mumbled and the Clerics with her mumbled along but her brown eyes were staring at Henry. Their subtle luminous glow gripped his attention so intently, that he had no choice but to stay as he was and stare right back.

He had no idea how long he stared but suddenly, somehow, he knew for sure that her mumbled words —her prayers— were now focused on him.

And then he received an Alert from the System;

[An Apostle of Selene has interceded on your behalf!]

[You have received 'Blessing of the Moon'

Effect: (Unknown)]

Henry's eyes widened slightly. The notification took him by surprise and he felt illuminated. His heart seemed to glow within his chest and gave him a feeling of peace.

Because the Apostle was still holding his attention hostage, he cast his Perception wide and no one reacted like they had felt the peace he felt.

None of them had received this blessing.

"Why?" He asked incredulously in a low voice he was sure only he heard.

The Apostle smiled as though she had heard him. And then, she spoke in a voice equally as low but he heard as clearly as if she was speaking directly to his ear.

"Go in Peace."