Sapienophobia

Chapter 24

Watching him go was harder.

Amidst the retaliation from the other dispatchers, Herl's head hung low. He dragged his feet in utter resignation. The human who conjured the bands walked ahead of him, tugging him along, the way an owner would a pet. One was giving his last comebacks to Danny, and the remaining two were scrutinizing Herl's movements, probably so that they could try to charge him with attempting to elude too.

The curses from the demons outside overlapped the Anides' inside as Herl departed from one crowd into the next.

The humans wanted an audience for Herl, to make a mockery of him. And I did not follow him.

I used all the commotion to retreat to my room without so much as a casual sidelong glance from Danny.

Breathe. The humans are gone. I'm fine.

My routine hand spasms continued.

Don't feel bad about Herl, I rolled under my bed and curled into a ball. The safe space within my safe space.

I tried tracing the lines on the spring board above the slats. It was one of my less destructive habits as opposed to lip-biting and nail diggings.

He has lived several times the number of years I have. He should've known best.
I betrayed him. He was nothing but kind to me, and I betrayed him.
Before he betrayed me.
It's not betrayal if it's true. I deserve twice his punishment.
Yet here I am. Sometimes, you gotta drown someone to stay afloat.

I traced the lines until my hands no longer shook.

The timing of the thought was horrendous, but it occurred to me that I no longer had a proxy for going into human establishments. I'd have to pay someone else if I wanted to get tools or food other than what the guild provided. And I doubted anyone would charge as merciful a rate as Herl.

I don't need any more items for Sod, I think.
Yes, I do. I could use some wood for the rest of my traps.
There's wood in the Murks.
I can use that if I don't have any other options, but I'd prefer some dry wood. If it's wet, it'll be harder to carve.
So that's decided.
And as for food...
I could keep nabbing snacks from the other butchers.
How long until they stop thinking that that's cute?
I could go hunting in the Murks. Two birds with one stone.
I'm more likely to kill myself.
Let's just try drawing it out as long as I can by going back to just eating breakfast.

I groaned and crawled out to check the vent where I hid my coins. I purposely kept one of the screws loose so that I could pry it open and take the saved money quickly in an emergency.

No one could tell that the vent had been altered or stuffed at a glance, but as a failsafe, I kept a small fund in my satchel.

I took a rough estimate from the jangle of the pouch and a peek at the goods. Taking out the rent fee, I had more than enough for anything else if there wasn't any reckless spending. My next payday would have been inconveniently after my bounty was due to Vera. It hinged upon me meeting my singular quota.

I still need to stay busy.
There's a lot to do.
Drywood first.

The carpentry shop that I saw from Vera's office window would've had everything I needed. The problem came with obtaining the items without any human interaction on my part.

To save money, this would require a well-rounded strategy.

I considered stealing what I needed, but the store was open almost all day long. And the times it wasn't, I watched the supposed owners, place and undo a spell on the doors from the common balcony on the third floor. I presumed it was a security spell, with its faint glow in the shadows before first dawn, but I couldn't see it clearly from the distance I examined it at.