Chapter 142
Lamberton Dormitory Building, Cornell Academy, City: Three Prongs Fork, Republic of Shantu, Continent: Barat, the Year 2038, Planet: Grimoire
Blowing away hours with friends was the best way to release tension. After enjoying two different shows, one musical and one theatrical, they walked through well-lit streets. None of them were going to take any chance of being ambushed.
However, as they headed to their various dormitory buildings, they made time to stop at the warehouse. There, they gathered for a final chat. This would herald the end of their rare night together, and they wanted to make it last.
Three lanterns were lit. Rain pattered on the warehouse walls, but they were snug inside. Grifton sighed. "Where should I begin?" He eyed them with amusement.
Half of them were falling asleep in the dimly lit section of the warehouse. "How about a few months before we joined forces?" Kyle blinked at Grifton.
"Mmm, right, that was when you turned into a dragon for the first time." Troy nodded.
"When was that?" Molly was fascinated.
"Uhm, about six years ago now, maybe longer." Lilac frowned. "That made the news, right?"
"Yeah, it did." Grifton shrugged. "It was one of the first blatant times the Crow's Heights members went all out in trying to kill me." He shook his head. "It was after that incident that I changed tactics from merely mischievous to brutal and fatally injurious."
Firenze shook his head. "I don't recall meeting you during those times." He sighed. "That must've been really rough." He made a sour face. "I only really remember you when those unofficial spars became a common gathering point of neutrality."
Grifton nodded. "Yeah, as I recall, it was the only time the Crow's Heights members were banned." He grinned. "They didn't appreciate that lack of invitation at all."
"Gee, I wonder why." Firenze curled a lip. "Oh, I remember because that's when they unleashed poisoned arrows into all the participants gathered." He shook his head in disgust.
"Yep," Grifton began regaling them with tales.
In the past, when he had no allies to back him up, Grifton had intentionally lured many of his enemies to their severe misfortune and disgrace.
Most commonly, they wound up severely beaten in back alleys. If they had really tried to make Grifton's life miserable, they would have ended up in filth-infested rivers that were solely sequestered and channeled waste and sewage into filtration systems.
The worst-case scenario was they landed in carnivorous fish-infested lakes. There were rare cases of survival, but not when he finished with them, a final time after they attempted retaliation. That's when their bodies washed ashore, worse for wear.
Grifton shrugged. "So, you see, I can be nasty as needed."
Kyle winced. "Yes, I remember all of those times very clearly." He shook his head. "So that's what happened to some of those sadistic jerks that were beating on both Omega and Alpha men and women." He shuddered. "I think you went too easy on them if their corpses were still retrievable."
Grifton shrugged. "Yeah, well, there was a limit to what I could do without going to jail as either a minor or an adult." He folded his arms. "So, I had to get creative in my endeavor to mete justice to international envoys and ambassadors who wanted criminals whose immunity wasn't going to be revoked any other way."
The others nodded in acknowledgment of his dilemma. "Well, I'm glad that we've learned new methods of dealing with power abusers from other nations." Troy's eyes glinted.
"To be sure, we can find new ways that hindered us in the past." Lilac nodded and yawned.
"Dunno about you all, but I'm bushed." Molly popped her neck and winced as her back, and joints also popped and crackled in protest. "Guess I'm also stiff from not doing any battling either, for that matter." She shrugged with a sigh. "I'll see you around."
Lendon frowned. "I'll walk you there. It is better to start walking in twos and threes rather than solo."
If there was one thing, they'd all learned from Grifton's experiences, it was never to wander alone if they could avoid doing so.
Molly nodded. "Fine with me. We're in the dormitories that're across from each other, aren't they?"
"Yes," Lendon nodded.
Gregory extended a hand to Lilac, who accepted it with gratitude. Then Gladys joined them.
The only ones who remained were Troy and Kyle. "If you don't mind, we'll walk with you two." Kyle glanced at Firenze and Grifton. "Since we have a similar arrangement with our dormitory and yours."
"That's fine with me." Firenze nodded.
Grifton shrugged. "I don't have a problem with that." He welcomed the company, as did Firenze.
Sometimes, they often ran into trouble simply because they were too well known. "We might've had to teleport to the dormitory's lobby otherwise," Grifton admitted with a sigh.
"Stupid fools thinking they could challenge you after having drunk too much, eh?" Troy remembered something similar happening in the past.
"Not as much as before when we were practically nobodies," Firenze shook his head because he almost wished that was the case. "Either that or angry vendors that want revenge because we hadn't made the profit they were expecting."
Kyle whistled in disgust. "Wow, which is nasty." He sighed. "I'll keep that in mind for the future when I have to deal with that possibility." He grimaced. That is really disinclining me toward the traveling merchant life."
Grifton couldn't really blame him. "Mmm, it isn't for the faint of heart. I can tell you that much." He shrugged. "I'm doing this for the extra credits I can obtain for other purposes."
Troy nodded because he remembered past conversations. "Ah, right. Early graduation is one of the goals, right?" He smiled. "Well, I think you're on the right track." He patted their shoulders.
"Let's extinguish the lanterns, lock up, and head out." Kyle glanced at them. "I'd like to get back before dawn rises." A sigh escaped him. "I'm fortunate that my dormitory doesn't have strict requirements about curfews and such."
Damn, Grifton and Firenze glanced at each other in dismay. "Curfews, drat," Grifton grunted. "I'll have to send a message ahead if I want them to let me in now that it's after hours."
Firenze shook his head. "You can stay at my place this time," he offered. "I don't want to leave you out in the streets."
"All right, that sounds better than what awaits me back at the dormitory building." Grifton grimaced. He didn't want to get scolded after everything that happened, especially not by the receptionist or Lamberton himself.
Firenze smiled. "Thanks," he sighed. "Just as Kyle suggested, we should get our stuff and go."
With that reminder of time disappearing, they conducted a thorough patrol of all levels of the warehouse. Then, the lanterns were extinguished. All possible areas vulnerable to entry were carefully battened and shuttered. The rain was pounding harder, and faint flickers of lightning made all of them shift nervously.
"Maybe teleporting might be the better option," Firenze admitted. "Do you need to return by a certain time, Troy?"
Troy and Kyle glanced at each other, and they shook their heads. "We'll take our chances in walking." They politely refused the offer of staying at Firenze's place. "We don't want to disrupt you two lovebirds." Their obvious amusement at his relief made Grifton roll his eyes.
"It would only be to get you nearer to your dormitories," Grifton told them mildly. "I know where there's a sheltered area, we can land in that won't be open to the elements."
"Just the same, no." Kyle shook his head and realized that neither Firenze nor Grifton knew why they were refusing. "Troy, tell them what has happened recently, okay?" he pleaded with Troy, who was listening to them argue with a frown.
"Oh, right. I guess you hadn't heard about the latest messes happening." Troy rubbed his temples because he was getting a nasty headache from having to explain so much to them. "There have been incidents when people who teleported to a safe place wound up somewhere else because someone fudged with the coordinates."
"Okay, you've made your point." Grifton wasn't going to argue further. Nor did he want to encounter something like that, either. It would be just their bad luck to have that happen to them.
"Onward we march," Grifton locked the main doors behind him. "Were the other exits also locked?"
"Yes," Troy told him. "I did a check right after the others took off to their dormitories."
"Good," Grifton was relieved to hear that.
Now that they were certain there would be no problems departing, they all began the trek to Firenze's dormitory, which was conveniently close to Grifton's and Troy and Kyle's rooms.
It took them only a short time to reach their destinations. Although soaked to the bone and sneezing from the unwonted chilliness that came with the refreshing rain. Grifton and Firenze waited to ensure that Troy and Kyle walked into their buildings without problems.
Then they headed to Firenze's rooms. Once they showered and warmed up sufficiently, they collapsed into the two beds, pushing them together so that neither of them would fall off on either side.
"Night," Grifton mumbled.
Firenze wrapped his arms around Grifton and curled around him. "Night."