Chapter 5: A Lead
Shouts sounded all along the busy night street as another gale ripped through, threatening to uproot tables, chairs, and people. The tables and chairs on this street were bolted down, naturally, but you never knew when a screw might fail. That had been the third time in one day, making for an unusually windy evening, even by Galen stadards. Thunder cracked overhead, and a light rain pitter pattered on the asphalt, though those on the sidewalk sat under an awning that ran the length of the street; when it wasn't blowing nearly horizontal to the ground, that is. A wretched man with a grubby face huddled in the doorway of a local bar and restaurant.
Weiren had been there for almost an hour this evening, as he had every evening for the past week, listening, though at this point he had half a mind just to call it a night. A small pile of coins sat in his hat, which he felt sort of bad about, since he wasn't really homeless, though after the clothing store incident last week he actually needed the help.
He wasn't really sure what he was listening for at first. Rustlings of the fair wind, of course, though he'd heard little. Other than that Weiren supposed he ought to be listening for patterns of injustice; finding a job to boost the stature of the Windy Warrior. Or the Gale Guardian? Cringing, Weiren decided to put a pin in the naming process for now. Thus far he had stopped a few thefts and even a kidnapping, but none of these really served to give him the kind of notoriety he needed; he was going to have to catch a bigger fish.
Sifting through the bubbling stream of voices for valuable information proved to be more difficult than he had thought, as did consolidating what he had learned into anything usable. Just a snip-it of someone's day here, and someone else's there. Still, Weiren found the experience surprisingly moving.
A sullen man confided sorrowfully in a friend that he had lost his much needed job. A group of giggling girls accompanied a new bride in her quest for a dress. A tired woman with teary eyes and her son discussed funeral arrangements for a late husband and father. Someone dropped their wallet, only for it to have already disappeared by the time he turned around to pick it up. A group of young men regaled their accomplishments with no small degree of exaggeration, each story more outrageous than the last.
Corrupt bosses, good friends, abusive relationships, an act of kindness, unspoken anguish, all these passed him by; a colorful tapestry of lives. Which of these wasn't touched and tainted by the corrupt spirit of Galen, whether it be as actors or as victims? Which of them didn't also have some light, some joy, some kindness, some hope for a better them and a better world? Weiren had a sense that all of them together, himself included, fell far short of deserving mercy; a wicked city. And yet his heart went out them, and he couldn't help but to love them and to grieve with them.
The rain suddenly began to grow heavier, joining forces with the wind to soak merrymakers and passersby alike, many of whom sought shelter in shops and restaurants. Weiren had had just about enough, and was about to go home when he heard something that piqued his interest. Two Enforcers decided to take shelter in the same nook as Weiren, and, ignoring the raggedy bundle at their feet, continued speaking freely.
"... don't understand why he has us working on this," the first one sounded to be quite frustrated, "We're going to end up dead out here, like Nerran."
"You know as well as I do the captain doesn't care about us. We're expendable. I guess someone's gotta do it though," the second said, in a more laid back manner.
"They oughta send one of the E.E.'s; let an Elemental deal with an elemental. Dealing with a new band of robbers is bad enough. A thief with a talent? That's above my paygrade."
"What pay? You get paid for this?" They both cracked up laughing. "It looks like the rain's died down, let's get out of here."
Weiren thought excitedly to himself, "A thief with a talent? That should get me on the map at least."
After waiting a moment to create some distance between the Enforcers and himself, Weiren grabbed his hat, putting it on after slipping the few coins it carried into his pocket, then followed behind at a distance to see if he could figure out where they were investigating this so-called new band of robbers.
As he walked, however, a group of about fifteen patrons, swaying and drunk, all left a restaurant together at once, crossing between Weiren and his mark, stopping to chat on the sidewalk. By the time he managed to push his way through to the other side, he could no longer see the Enforcers. He picked up the pace, pushing his way through the crowd to try and find them, ignoring the obscenities which followed him.
No luck. He saw a side street up ahead and wondered if they might have taken it. It was worth a look, he supposed and made his way down the street. The din of people thinned out fairly quickly as Weiren followed the side road down to the next cross-section. Nothing. He decided to go one more street over, just in case. This was too good a lead to lose.
As he walked to the next intersection, the street lights seemed dimmer and fewer. Looking down dim street, he saw lights shining from a few shadier looking establishments. The few groups of men there were on the street looked rough and secretive. Still no Enforcers. Weiren began to suspect this was not a very safe place to be at night. The rain had also begun to grow heavier again, and he decided that, taking both of these things into account, it would be wiser to give up his hunt for the Enforcers and turn back.
Just then, before he could move to turn around, he felt a strong hand shove him from behind, and he stumbled into the middle of the road.
"Well now, what's this?" a gravely voice asked from behind him, "You lost, friend?" When Weiren turned around to look at him, he saw a dirty bearded face, and a holey grin. To Weiren's dismay, the man wasn't alone. Before he knew it five men stood surrounding him.
"What's that janglin' around in your pocket? Mind if we take a look?" one of them asked with smile.
"Gotta bit of lunch money on him, I recon," another sneered, "I'm sure he wouldn't mind if we held on to it for 'im for a bit."
"A little payment for helping him find his way. Sounds reasonable to me."
Weiren clenched his fists, partially in anger, but mostly in fear. He thought about just trying to use his wind to push them away and escape. He was still pretty rusty, having hidden those skills away for so long, but he was sure he could get away. Were there too many people around though? No use getting himself in any more trouble than he was already in. It wasn't his money anyway, and he felt bad for taking it; maybe he should just let them have it. Would they really leave him alone?
Neither of these scenarios were to take place, however. Before anyone else could speak, the screaming of the wind began to rise, yelling its warning as the fourth gale of the evening tore through the street with unprecedented strength.
"Let's go!" the bearded man shouted, and they all poured into the beaten up building from which they'd appeared, leaving Weiren in the street as bits of debris and trash whipped his open skin. Eyes closed, he was startled by the feeling of a soft hand grabbing his. Looking up, shielding his eyes with his other hand he saw a woman, dressed in ragged clothing like he was. She gestured at him to follow her, so they pushed through the wind together, feet slipping on the wet pavement.
She stopped in the middle of the street, just over a manhole lid, then crouched down and begin to heave with great effort. Weiren, realizing she sought to take refuge in the sewers, bent down to help her. Together they managed to pull the heavy lid up. The woman quickly climbed down the hole. Weiren hesitated for a moment, but when another series of small rocks pelted him, one of them cutting his cheek, he decided whatever was down there was worth the risk, and plunged in after her, pulling the lid back in place behind him.
Arriving at the bottom of a long ladder, Weiren dropped down to a grimy stone floor. Foul smelling water trickled by below, while the drone of the wind raged overhead. White lights flickered from the top of a long, curved brick tunnel.
"Well that was wild!" The woman exclaimed in an oddly cheery manner, considering where they were. This was the first chance Weiren had to take a better look at her. He realized she was younger than he had thought at first, perhaps even his own age. Playful eyes peered out through a grimy face framed by shoulder length dark hair.
"Um, thanks for the help," Weiren offered awkwardly.
"Sure! I haven't seen you on the streets before, so I'm guessing you're probably new. Friendly advice buddy, wandering alone around Bagardi Lane is a good way to get yourself robbed or kidnapped, especially at night. Really this whole suburb isn't a very good place to be. You're lucky I saw you come down this way and decided to help you out," she said a little more seriously. "What were you up to anyway?"
"Um I guess just got a little lost," he lied.
"No worries," she smiled, "It happens. Come on!" She gestured for Weiren to follow her down the sewer and they started walking.
"Who were those guys anyway?"
"Just a few low level thugs. Part of a new gang settling in this part of town. The guys you met are just the small fry, greedy opportunists looking to capitalize on someone else's bad name. Still, they'll rob you blind whether you've got a penny or a fortune. I don't know much more, except the rumors. They say the head of the gang's got a crazy talent!"
Weiren could feel his heart quicken. What luck! By some fortuitous turn of events, he had lost one lead and run right into another. "Uh, where does this guy operate? So I can avoid him."
"Nobody's really sure exactly where, but it's clear enough that their influence stretches at least to Bagardi. Really you shouldn't go any further past there either. It's not a good part of town."
"Where are we going anyway?" Weiren thought to ask as they traversed a maze of tunnels.
"We're getting you back to safer streets. Well, nearby anyway. People tend to freak out if you pop up out of the sewers in front of everyone."
As they walked they chatted, and even laughed some. Weiren had a surprisingly good time. It had been a while since he'd simply talked with someone, at least someone he did not need to talk to like Mr. Borris. Eventually they stopped near an exit. The wind seemed to have died down above.
"You know," she said, "If you need a place to stay, you could come with me. These tunnels go deeper, and a number of us homeless have set up a nice community down here. Why don't you come stay with us?"
Weiren suddenly felt uncomfortable. He was intrigued, of course, but he wasn't really one of them, and he felt somewhat deceptive. At any rate, it was late and he ought to get back to his own home.
"Thanks for the offer, but I think I'll pass tonight," He replied.
"Oh, right," she seemed a little taken aback, though she bounced right back with a smile. "I get it, it's hard to trust people out here. Give it some time. Not everyone's out to get you. If you change your mind, I'm sure we'll bump into each other again. By the way, buddy, what was your name?"
Weiren was caught off guard by the question. How had he not thought to come up with a fake name for his disguise? In a panic he blurted the second name that came to his mind.
"Puren. Uh, yeah, you can call me Puren." Shoot. At least he hadn't gone with the first name that crossed his mind, which, naturally, was his own. Still, the name was a little too close to home. It was too late to change it though. What are the odds that he really would see her again, anyway?
"Nice to meet you Puren, I'm Aiera!" she held out her hand.
After shaking her hand Weiren told her, "I had better be off, it was good to meet you though, really."
"Alright. If you head a couple streets to the right when you get up you'll be back where you need to be. Stay safe. And stay away from Bagardi Lane," she scolded him as much with her eyes as with her words, before running off into the tunnels. "See ya around, Puren!"
"Yeah, see you." Weiren was sad to see her go. He climbed up the ladder and pushed his way out onto an empty street, then started toward home. Weiren had no intention, of course, to stay away from Bagardi Lane, though he needed some time to think of his next move. He supposed perhaps it was time to break out that strange cloak.
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