Salvation [manxman]

Chapter 4

Chapter 4

I had managed to muddle my way through to the river Styx and decided to follow it until I reached the eponymous city. I had opened up the bag the silver eyed god had given me only to find provisions for five days, a dagger and a bit of money and by a bit I meant more money than I had ever possessed. I decided I was going to use the money to pay smugglers to get me into Hell and from there it was all reliant on improvision.

I missed the nice and warm comfort I had for less than two days but sleeping underneath bushes was hardly a sacrifice if you compared it to what was going to come if I hadn't left. I kind of regretted not having said goodbye to Nolan, Mateo and Koa but they surely understood where I was coming from and didn't hold that against me and even if they did, I wasn't around to experience their wrath anyway.

On my fifth day, just as my food supply threatened to run out, I reached the city. I needed to find a place where I could work but in my current condition, covered in mud and filth I wasn't going to be able to get one. I traded a little money in to be able to use the public washing spaces and stepped out feeling much cleaner, wearing my now washed Chiton. I might actually have a chance, looking like this.

The hunters either had given up or they hadn't caught up to me yet, looking in a completely different direction. Either way was fine with me. If I managed to get off the streets, they wouldn't be able to find me. They weren't allowed to access the porperty of gods and goddesses and while they were allowed to enter the property of regular citizens, they weren't allowed to step foot inside the house. I could just take on chores inside the house and wouldn't be bothered,

I managed to get a one day job at the market, helping an elderly vampire lady selling veggies and fruits she grew in her garden. This was way too open and public for my taste but I had to risk it. I was going to use the money she was giving me to pay back the silver eyed god. I planned on keeping my promise and  sending him every little bit of money I was going to earn. I didn't want him to think I was leeching off him.

"Can I touch your hair?" The old lady asked as I sorted the vegetables into their corresponding trays.

I was used to this. Most people had never seen a nymph up close and they were weirded out by our strange color combinations. Mateo almost looked normal if you looked past the different eye colors but Nolan's coral eyes would already attract attention. My navy blue hair was something you didn't see everyday and I didn't really mind her touching it. She'd just find regular hair that  just happened to be another color. A strange color, granted but still.

"Sure." I shrugged, coming over to her.

She touched it as if it was something otherworldly and magical while it just was hair, growing on my head. She didn't pet it like the silver eyed god and just let go of it again, making it bounce before falling back over my shoulder. I was so going to get a hair cut. The longer my hair got, the more it got out of control and I actually really wanted to shave it all off. 

"Lovely." She complimented it. "Thank you so much for your help, dear."

She shared her lunch with me as she figured out I hadn't brought any food and heavily protested as I wanted to pay her for it. She was very friendly and was generally quite pleasant to be around. I told her that I wished more people were like her and she laughed, thanking me. She probably thought I was just saying it to be nice but I actually wanted people to be nicer to each other and stop hurting others.

"Whom did you work for before you got into town?" She asked while we ate our food.

"Erebus." I replied shortly, making her suck in her breath.