-Reesia-

  I gently push little Rylin along with my mother as we explore the town's market. News had spread that the lord had sent aid, and all kinds of people were heading over to see what goods had been delivered. The goods were going to be reused to repay the workers who had rebuilt the town, so everything earned from the sale would be distributed among them. Mother was excited to see goods from the city. Sometimes I forget that she grew up as a city girl with how well she has blended into the populace of our town.

  Most wouldn’t realize how different it was, but my master, Sir Turolf, had taught me what to expect in cities and how they differed from frontier towns. The biggest difference is that cities were far safer, not just inside the walls but outside as well. This means that people are far more competitive for essential jobs, and someone is typically capable of living independently much later in life and has their stats unlocked at 18 versus our 15.

  People from towns are taller, stronger, and generally more capable than city folk, but city folk, on the other hand, usually have far more specialized roles. In our town a blacksmith tends to master all aspects of forging, from the smelting to the shaping of the metal, but a city has a specialist for each role. A smelter who can easily refine whatever alloy is requested, a smith who can handle even the most extreme details in their work. The two perspectives shape a lot of the national policy. The outer territories like ours believe in independent strength, with our lord setting up circumstances for an earlier adulthood. However, in the human heartlands, where our population is densest, craftsmen build the tools our outer territories need to hold back monster populations.

  I find myself wondering what it would’ve been like had Callia and Callen been born in the capital. Callia would’ve had a hard time using all her energy, but Callen would be able to access all the resources of humanity. His flying device was already something of a marvel for everyone in our community. To me it felt like proof that both factions held the truth. Levels are important, but I don’t think anyone would choose to give up swords and magic.

  My musings are broken as little Rylin cries to get my attention. I pull him up from the stroller and gently rock him and quickly identify from the smell what he needed from me. I get Mother’s attention and indicate that I’m taking Rylin aside to clean his diaper. I move to the side into one of the public restrooms. Another invention of Callen using water to clean away waste, and while he originally wanted to build access to everyone’s home for personal access, Mayor Hew had pushed for a smaller-scale project with frequent public restrooms instead.

  I set little Rylin on the table and get to work, but I hear something behind me. With the reflexes of someone who grew up living with Nixie, I cradled Rylin in my arms and dodged toward the exit. A long, tentacled appendage burst from the toilet, slapping into the changing station. I try to make for the exit, but another two limbs block my path. It pulls itself from the toilet, squeezing through the piping that should have been far too small for anything dangerous. It was an octopus.

  Octopi are one of the most frustrating monsters to deal with, often sneaking into town and hiding in small spaces or squeezing into places that shouldn’t fit them. Now it seems this one had snuck up through the sewage system. Cornered in a restroom without my gear and having to protect little Rylin. I dialed my focus to the limit and took action while the beast was squeezing its way out of the pipe.

  I took Rylin in my left arm and grabbed a shattered tile in the other. Of the three tentacles that had passed, two were busy pulling the body through the pipe. The last tentacle lashed at me with extreme speed and superior strength. I ducked low while lashing back with my tile, pushing the limb upward. Successfully diverting the tentacle, but it still managed to break my shoulder as it clipped my body as I ducked from its path. I push forward, stabbing towards the pipe it is trying to squeeze out from. Right as I’m about to hit, another tentacle breaks free and lunges right toward me.

  This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

  The tentacle lands a perfect hit straight into my gut and pushes me all the way into the wall. I shield little Rylin from the impact, saving him, but I’m left gasping for breath as the wind is knocked out of me. I feel the tentacle that hit me latch on with its suction cups and barely have time to set Rylin down away from danger before I’m yanked away again by the tentacle. It swings me into a wall, and the second impact dazes me. My vision blurs, but I still make out the body of the octopus finishing pulling itself out of the pipe. Its eye locks onto me with a hateful gaze. I struggle against the tentacle, and somehow it loses its grip.

  I dive to the ground as the octopus thrashes violently and push through another hit as I feel my ribs shatter under its strength. I scoop up little Rylin and break and give my all breaking for the door. It continues to thrash, but I see its beady bloodshot eye lock on me. I cradle the scared little Rylin, shielding him from everything around us, as I feel something hit from behind. The two of us are sent tumbling into the streets, but I let nothing hurt him. I try to get up, but my legs don't respond. Instead I reach out with one hand while the other cradles Rylin and pull myself inch by inch.

  The noises had already drawn attention, but when the octopus burst out from the restroom flailing violently, the adults moved into action. Before it could close the distance, two adults had already stepped forward. One caught the lashing tentacle, and another two took hold. The monster began to pull back, but another dozen people rushed forward. Groups working together to grab and restrain it. A couple moved forward to pull me away from the fight.

  A duo of guards came running onto the street and easily slashed the octopus into pieces. I could feel my adrenaline draining away as I tried to confirm Rylin was unharmed, but my vision was blacking out.

  “Is he ok?” I rasp out, reaching towards the civilian who had taken him when they pulled us from chaos. I hear the buzzing of Callen's flying craft, but I don’t hear whatever the person said to me. All I get before everything goes black is the concerned looks of the couple and what I hoped was confirmation from the eager nodding of their head. The dizziness overwhelms me, and I lose consciousness.

  Law Enforcement

  -Baron Grimmark-

  How had everything gone so wrong! The Baron pondered this question from the cell of the carriage. Somehow Duke Harlanou had gotten word of his project before he began, and not even a week into organizing the action, dozens of knights were led by the duke’s dog Darius. He had lived long enough to know that there was no escape, but that doesn’t mean there was no chance for his boy. Harlanou only cared about those with power, so there was a slim chance that Sir Eldraine could escape with his son.

  Slowly his carriage rolled into the duke's city. Baron Grimmark had once visited this city as a child before the current duke came to power. It had been a thriving city once upon a time. Now the smell of carrion was rank, and from the bars peeking out, he saw the disorderly streets of what had once been a thriving city. It was a ghetto thriving not with people but murder. The baron saw a couple of what were likely a refugee mother and child get ripped in half by a knight escorting his carriage. Eventually Grammark was rolled into a massive arena. Then locked into a prison cell below.

  Grammark wasn’t sure how long he had been held in the dark, but eventually he was visited by a small group of knights bearing a scroll. "Grammark, you have been stripped of all rank, and all inheritance has been seized. You are sentenced to fighting in the grand coliseum until you perish and provide the duke with what little remains of your worth. Your kin has been executed for defying the directives of the Duke. Finally your son will be pardoned but shall remain in the duke's care and be groomed into a properly loyal retainer of the future duchess."

  "Your territory shall be managed by the loyal Sir Eldraine for his services to the duke in revealing your conspiracy and bringing your son to us. The City of Grammark will henceforth be known as the City of Eldraine. Once his child and yours reach the appropriate level to take up the role of Baron, they shall be set to fight, and the survivor will hold the title."

  Grammark could barely breathe. By his side had always been his two most loyal knights. Sir Eldraine and Sir Fullart—he had implicitly trusted them for many years. Sir Fullart had been a bit too stiff, which was why he had entrusted his son with that bastard Eldraine. The only time he could even think that might’ve offended his knight was letting his son’s milkmaid marry the knight she loved. The man had been far too interested in that common girl, so he felt at the time relieved he could arrange a better match with another!

  However, he supposed it didn’t matter now.

  He was now in the arena of Harlanou, and the rules to survive were simple. Every day he will be set against an opponent; if that opponent is maimed or killed, he will receive the same. If he won, he would live a little longer, and if he became popular, they would make his life a little better. However, this was still an execution, and he was being used as fodder to train and improve the duke's knights. This place was where cripples and criminals would become food for the growth of the next generation.