In the next minutes, Nem learned that the other, older orphan's name was Rick, and that he actually could read and write as well as possessed his own pencil, made out of brass and graphite. Nem got him to lend it to him as well as a piece of paper, which wasn't very hard to find in Lunhart, even the southwest area.
He hurriedly wrote to Leo and Gina to warn them of the danger and act accordingly, while explaining the situation to the two adolescents.
"By a strange coincidence, I was at the manor of the boss of the organization based at the Fat Snake and heard him talk about something." He said without as much as the shadow of a lie. "He was talking about some strange happenings around Big Kor's territory..." Nem lost track for a second, leaving the two staring at him absentmindedly. It was hard doing three things at the same time after all, and Nem was writing, talking and also monitoring the two orphans' body language at the same time.
Trusting people really was hard...
He continued :
"It seems like Big Kor's entire gang is going to come here tonight and attempt to grab as many children as possible. That's why I came here." Nem finished his message and gave back the pencil to Rick and folded the paper in two. "Any questions ?"
Tio and Rick looked at each other in a daze.
"Tio... Who is this guy, exactly ?" Rick was completely lost. He hesitated between categorizing it as a delusion of a small child or a particularly strange and bewildering truth.
"This... I'm not sure." His friend was also confused. After all, he had met Nem a few times, but it wasn't like they knew each other at all. The only things Tio knew about him were that he was very polite and whatever imaginary things Nem had made up on the spot when Leo and Gina had asked about his background.
Now that he came here with a different hair and eye color as well as a slightly bloodied cloth tied around his arm and spouted the most absurd stuff with a straight face... Well, he really didn't know what to think.
Nem didn't really think too much about their reactions, and continued with his straightforward talk :
"So, I decided to go ahead and kill Big Kor myself before he comes here with his entire flock of scumbags. Do you want to help me with that ? Don't worry, it won't be too difficult, I'll handle most of the work by myself." Nem was now staring at them with his dark-red eyes, which he had changed back to their natural color at some point.
He gave them a warm smile, which happened to reveal his sharp teeth. However, the two orphans didn't take a step back or look frightened at all. Rick, who was looked like a local, normal poor teenager, seemed to have pulled himself out of his confused behavior. With a determined look, he asked :
"You're saying this for real, right ? Are you one of those guys from the Church of the Glorious Sun ? The kind with powers ?" Hearing this, Tio's face became a bit strange, and he stared at Nem silently.
Nem's smile widened, becoming the same as the one he couldn't help but show to the people of the monastery all the time, mischievous and devilish.
"Me ? No. I'm the opposite."
This time, they both seemed to tense up and show signs of caution.
'The two of them seem to have interacted with a Blessed of the Glorious Sun before... Maybe they were helped by them or maybe they just thought they were. I have trouble believing the important people of one of the most prominent church in the continent would randomly come to Lunhart and help children.'
'They also seem to know a bit about the existence of the Cursed. My guess is that they were both caught up in a case involving powerful people but didn't interact too much with them.'
He decided to ask more questions.
"Relax, I'm only after the bad guys here... When did this man from the Church of the Glorious Sun come here, exactly ?"
"Why should we tell you ?" Rick seemed to be really on his guard for some reason, and he frowned heavily. But he still answered. "It was years ago anyway."
'Ah, no luck on this side I suppose. I now have no clue who that dangerous individual is at all, since it's not Tio, judging from his reactions.' There was also the possibility that he was a very good actor, however, other than his appearance, they was really nothing wrong with him. Nem almost started to believe he was having some kind of hallucination again.
Nem sighed.
'Sometimes, you just have to ask ?' He thought in a hopeful tone.
"Tio, did you ever notice that they was something wrong with you ?" Nem suddenly felt he was being a little harsh. "I mean, a little... special ?"
The teenager only frowned and crossed his arms, then threw an interrogative glance towards Rick for a second, who signaled that he didn't know what Nem was talking about at all with his facial expressions.
"What do you mean ?"
"Forget it, I don't really know either." Nem's answer was quite infuriating, but the two teenagers oddly seemed a bit more comfortable after hearing it.
'Those two really are good kids... Especially Tio, he only got on the defensive when I pretty much insulted him instead of getting angry. That's interesting.' He didn't have any idea why that would be interesting though.
"Well, anyway, we have no time to lose, so give this message to someone you know and come with me to Big Kor's turf. You'll decide if you want to help on the way."
Nem had several reasons for telling the two of them all those things. First, it was of course to figure out what was so odd about Tio and if was a powerful individual. Unfortunately, he was not. Or if he was, then Nem didn't know what to do with this fact at all.
Second, he needed them to guide him to where his target was. Obviously, time was of the essence and he didn't wish to get lost trying to get somewhere he didn't know for the first time.
The third and final reason was that he simply enjoyed telling the truth and didn't like lying. Since he was going to kill someone in a very dangerous manner, it would help ease his conscience a little bit and therefore make him more decisive.
As for why he asked for their help even though he would normally never take the risk ? He did that on a whim to explain why he told them about all of this, after all, they needed a reason for themselves. Also, he really might need a bit of help to get to a leader of a criminal organization undetected.
Nem waited until Rick gave the "letter" to someone he didn't know and immediately started to walk. He didn't want to risk asking the two orphans if they accepted or not, since if they didn't he would have to somehow get there on his own.
'I just have to hope they'll follow me and then... Oh, they aren't following me.' He turned back with an interrogative expression.
Tio made a hesitant gesture towards a nearby street :
"Isn't it that way ?"
Nem throat seemed to have one of its usual issues and he suddenly coughed before saying in a very dignified manner :
"Of course, it is... Please lead the way."
***
The two friends came with Nem into a part of the southwest area Nem never went to before. It looked just like the rest of the area, though, a complete mess of half-destroyed and poorly maintained wooden buildings. If there was a difference, it was that the people here were mostly young and full of alcohol and the still habitable houses were small and packed together.
A lot of people were sprawled on the ground, either beaten up or in alcohol-induced comas. Or both. There were also a fair number of women, but they were mostly prostitutes or in large groups.
This place truly seemed to be full of youthful rivalry and treacherous relationships.
'This reminds me of the college campus I was in.' Nem thought while looking at the wreck of a neighborhood in front of him. 'Good times.'
He turned to Rick and Tio :
"So, do you know where he is now ? Big Kor, I mean."
Tio thought for a bit before answering :
"If what you said is true, he would be in his headquarters, it's a well know place around here." Seeing that Nem was looking at him a bit strangely, he added : "I lived in one of those houses a long time ago, with a few others. The refuge wasn't always here and surviving here requires to get close to those people once in a while."
Rick and Nem both nodded, one because he could relate and the other simply because he accepted the explanation.
"It's right over there, the entire block of 5 houses is the headquarters. It's big enough to rival a rich guy's house."
They walked a bit until the building came into view. To Nem, it looked like one of those housing complexes with multiple apartments surrounding a common courtyard. Of course, it still looked extremely shabby, but it truly seemed a lot better than most places in this area, if one didn't count the dangerous criminals that inhabited it.
After looking for a while, Nem got the general idea of what he was going to do. He turned towards the two teenagers, who were frowning in concentration and agitation. For them, being close to here was already dangerous enough, but now that they knew Big Kor was going after their home, they were even more vigilant.
"So, have you made your choice ?"