The Old City

0.3: Uncertain Loyalties

Marcus threw a few Kaits on the table and stood, stretching. "I need to do this. And I need you to do this. Think tonight about what you want from the rest of your life. Are the docks it? I recall a far greater ambition when we were kids but if that fire has died then I will need to rethink everything."

Seneca grabbed Marcus's wrists. "You're real, right, not some figment of my memory?"

"I'm here and I'm not going anywhere. Let me take you home."

The night air was cool and carried on it the last remnants of spice from the Bazaar, which had just shut down for the day. The streets were still busy, but in the spotty lamplight was a quiet tranquility, one of Soran's charms Seneca had forgotten. He guided Marcus back to his place but hesitated upon his stoop.

"Will you be able to make your way back to The Mermaid's Wing?"

"I will manage somehow. These streets grow more familiar by the moment. Think about my offer, old friend. Think about how rotten this city is and how much better we could make it. Think about something you actually want."

Marcus turned and walked back down those shadowy roads.

Something I want...I just want to be left alone...don't I?

"WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN!?" Angelica shouted as soon as he opened his door.

"I ran into Marcus."

"Marcus who?"

"Our Marcus. He didn't die in the war. He didn't just run away. He...just couldn't get back."

"You're not making any sense...that can't be."

"Go after him yourself then. He's at The Mermaid's Wing. But if you can wait until the morning I want to talk to you and then we can talk to him tomorrow."

Seneca threw himself onto his bed and turned to face the peeling ceiling. "He said he wants to change things, make Soran a better place."

Angelica scoffed. "Of course he did. He's gone for a decade and comes back with a savior complex."

"He looked pretty confident."

"He always did."

"He's gotten stronger."

"He was always strong but that doesn't matter. There are some opponents you can't beat no matter how much strength you have. No one can change the First Ring."

"What if we could though? People have come close in the past. We'd need to unite the gangs and reform the Enforcers, gain control of the docks so that commerce ran through us, and then leverage that to negotiate with the Senate."

"At a minimum, and none of those things are easy."

"But it should be possible...it's happened in the past, if in isolated incidents. If we could control the East Gate too, then we would own all the commerce in and out of the city."

"That has never been done as far as I know. Not many laborers work at the East Gate, so it's hard to put the right people into position."

"If we set up bases in the Underground, we could access every corner of the First Ring – and at least parts of the Second – with ease. The East Gate may never have fallen to invaders, but it is not impervious from the inside."

"You are gettin' ahead of yourself. Did you already sign your soul away to Marcus's insane effort?"

"No, I told him the world could sort itself out."

"Very good! Then let's put this talk to bed."

"I can't get it out of my head. The more I think about it, the more I see the paths to makin' it a reality."

"Be quiet! He has been gone for years and thinks he can just come back into our lives and upset our whole balance? I'm glad you're finally getting out of your shell, but not if it's because you're preparin' to do something stupid. We don't know anything about this Marcus. How do you know he even has good intentions?"

The notion of unsavory motivations halted Seneca's train of thought.

"He said he was captured by the Magnarians during the war and held prisoner for several years. None of us were treated well growing up or in the military...if they turned him and offered some salvation by overthrowin' Soran from the inside..."

"I am not saying he is a spy, but we need to think about that possibility. Marcus was powerful before, charming before. If he has new goals and motivations and powers, we need to understand them and be cautious. Don't give him a step-by-step plan to overthrow the city two minutes after reuniting."

"I can do caution. He said he didn't have a plan either, but even he is not such a fool as to try taking Soran without at least some strategy."

"It sounds like he was relying on you to come up with most of it."

"I couldn't have been a guarantee though. He needed at least one backup plan, I just can't see what it was."

"Maybe he's still goin' through with it while waiting for your response. If we followed him, we might find out what it is."

"I don't want to make him suspicious if he does have bad motivations. If he catches me followin' him, he'll clamp up."

"What if I went? I could just say you told me he was still alive and I wanted to see him for myself."

"That might be dangerous."

"Only if he has bad intentions or he's meetin' with someone who doesn't like me."

"Well, there aren't many people like that. Can you track him?"

"He was outside a few minutes ago? If he's still in the over-city, I'll find him."

"Just remember – cautious, right?"

"Cautious." Angelica nodded and donned her cloak. She seemed to be caped in darkness as she walked out the door, leaving Seneca alone to his thoughts.

This is just extra-precautionary. Marcus is a good guy. He'd never betray us...

Seneca was confident in his oldest friend, yet as he looked around his living room, filled with the detritus from years of solitude, he remembered that the war changed everyone. Marcus certainly had scars, be they on his body or in his mind, yet seeing him had birthed a kernel of hope.

I know you're on our side, Marcus...help me fight my demons and I'll help you fight yours.