Ichor Cell

“I’m sorry, what did you just say?” Grenil asked incredulously from his place beside Alex.

Alex didn’t look up from what he was doing. He sat on the edge of the bed with Duran propped against the headboard, one hand steadying him while the other pressed a small cut on his own forearm to Duran’s lips. Dark blood welled sluggishly, faintly glowing with mana. He’d just finished retelling the battle against the variant to the old man.

“What?” he defended himself. “It’s not my fault the guild master got blasted into another dimension by a super goblin blowing itself up and wiping out a large chunk of the forest. I was just in the wrong place at the wrong time.”

Grenil was not impressed. “I understand all that, but could you please explain how any of those things led to you getting detained by the guild? And why are you free now if that’s the case?” The man leaned back. “You didn’t break out of prison, did you? I don’t want to flee another country as soon as we got here.”

“I was getting there, and no, I didn’t break out of prison, relax.” Alex rolled his eyes. “As I was saying, after all that shit went down, me and Remus, the gold rank, had to finish off the rest of the goblins. When that was finally done, we headed back to the city. Oh, this is also where I discovered that clouds stop the sun from burning me to a crisp.”

“So, you’re saying that you misjudged the time and almost got caught by the sun out in the open, only surviving through a stroke of good luck?” The old shopkeeper raised an eyebrow. “Did I get that right?”

Alex froze. “Uh… maybe?”

“I thought so.” Grenil smiled wryly. “How did this lead to your imprisonment?”

“Oh, right, that.” Alex jumped at the opportunity to shift the topic. “Well, when we finally got back from finishing off the goblins, we obviously had to report everything at the guild. I let Remus do it since he’s much more experienced with these things than I am. Next thing I know, there’s a guild enforcer asking me to come with him for questioning.”

“But why?” the old man tilted his head. “You didn’t do anything wrong this time.” “That’s what I was thinking!” Alex agreed. “Of course, I still went with them, since resisting seemed like a bad idea. When they finally-“

Alex’s story was interrupted by a groan. The two of them were startled for a moment, then they looked down at the ghoul lying on the bed.

“Duran? You good?” Alex asked tentatively.

The mans vacant eyes roamed around the room for a bit before settling on Alex’s face. He nodded.

Alex exchanged a worried look with Grenil. “Hey, buddy, can you say something? Anything.”

Duran seemed lost for a second before opening his mouth. “I… I’m ok.” His eyes slid over Grenil like he wasn’t there.

A spike of alarm shot through Akex.

“Hey, Grenil?” He spoke to the old man without taking his eyes off of Duran. “Could you please ask him something, or tell him to do something?”

Grenil nodded, leaning forward slightly and raising a hand. “Duran,” he said, voice firm. “How many fingers am I holding up?”

Duran didn’t react. He kept looking at Alex, eyes unfocused but fixed. His breathing was steady, his posture slack, hands resting uselessly at his sides.

Grenil’s frown deepened. “Duran.”

Nothing.

A chill crept up Alex’s spine. He swallowed and tried again. “Duran. Look at Grenil.”

Duran’s eyes flicked briefly, then drifted over to the old man.

Grenil straightened slowly. “That’s… not good.”

Alex’s jaw tightened. “Try again.”

“What?”

“Try talking to him again.” He elaborated. “Maybe now that he’s looking at you…”

Grenil shrugged, then repeated his earlier question.

Duran frowned, then tentatively answered. “Four.”

The two of them let out a sigh of relief.

“Ok, it’s not completely over.” Alex said. “He can still perceive and react to the outside world, just in a limited capacity. Only when I tell him to.”

He got up and started pacing around the room, sending distressed glances at his friend. “If it’s not a problem of his physical senses, it’s gotta be something to do with the mind. Maybe even his soul, if such a thing exists.” He stopped pacing and glanced at Grenil. “Do you know if there are any mind or soul mages around?”

“In this city?” the old man asked in confusion.

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“Well, that too, but I meant in general.” Alex replied. “Does that sort of magic exist, and if so, do you know where to find it?”

“That… Sorry. I’m not sure.” The old man shrugged. “I can confirm that at least magic that interferes with the mind is real, but I can only speculate about the soul. You should definitely ask someone more knowledgeable than me about this stuff. I’m just an old shopkeeper.”

“Right. Of course you are.” Alex didn’t even pretend to believe him. Although initially that’s what he believed, Grenil had shown knowledge of far too many things he had no right knowing.

“In that case, I’ll take a quick nap and then probably head to the guild.” He decided. “I still need to collect the reward for the goblin mission, and I can ask around about mind magic stuff while I’m there.”

Grenil and Duran both nodded. Throwing one last glance at the ghoul, Alex left the room.

Alex stepped out into the street and let the door swing shut behind him.

The city was awake in that muted, overcast way that only happened when the sun was hidden. Clouds hung low and thick, turning the light grey and flat, softening shadows and dulling colours. People moved through the streets—shopkeepers opening shutters, porters hauling crates, pedestrians wandering in and out of various establishments.

Now that he could see them during the day, Alex realised that some of the stores lining the street were rather… unconventional. While most of the buildings along the street were inns, bakeries, or tailors no different from those he’d see back on earth, these few stood out immediately.

'Darcy's Demonic Discounts', 'Herb Land', 'Monster Slaying Goods'; these were the most eye-catching ones.

Curious, Alex wandered into the nearest one, ringing a little bell as he opened the door.