Chapter 44: A Man That Wants To Help
Solomon watched as the swords slid out of the vampires’ necks. Their bodies fell limply to the ground, landing in a pool of their own blood.
Ironic...
The moon shone down on them, bathing them in its light. Solomon felt slightly drained from using the restoration vein, but the gruesome scene drew him from his exhaustion.
Both guards turned their attention towards Solomon. They seemed on edge, wondering if they should stay on guard or not. After all, they had just watched the man use magic, regardless of whether or not it was used to help them.
Solomon waved a dismissive hand at them.
"Don’t worry, I’m not your enemy."
The words weren’t enough. They remained on edge as they watched him walk over to the woman slumped up against the chimney.
She had multiple wounds, but the most fatal one was the wound on her neck. It looked like a bite mark, but due to her struggle, the flesh of her neck had been torn more than intended. Blood poured from the wound steadily.
He placed his hand over the wound, and the woman watched him in confusion.
Suddenly, an array of flowers flowed from his hand and covered the woman’s neck in their colours and fragrances. She sat there and waited as the flowers knitted her flesh back together.
The guards on the sidelines watched in disbelief. One of them turned to the other.
"The vein of restoration... How? Didn’t Juniper abandon us?"
The woman was still dazed, as she was lacking blood. All he had done was seal the wound so that she did not die.
Done with his work, Solomon rose to his feet and turned to the stunned guards. Both looked at him in a new light.
"Take her to a hospital. They will need to keep an eye on her and make sure the rest of her wounds are properly treated," he said to them calmly.
The guards paused for a few moments before answering.
"O-of course... Sir, who are you?"
By the time the question was asked, Solomon was already preparing to descend the pipe and head back to the city streets.
"I am just a man that wants to help."
...
Back in the pink tent...
Solomon sat on his bed and thought on the events of the night.
He knew that the issue of the vampires was one that could lead to great troubles, but he wasn’t aware of just how great they were.
The vampires did not attack criminals or men capable of defending themselves. They seemed to be targeting women and perhaps even children.
He guessed that this was due to them being easy targets, but he had another hunch that their blood might be more pure and desirable to the blood-suckers.
How will these events play out?
...
As he thought this question, Solomon noticed a familiar figure appear in a seat in the stands. A prayer had been offered to him, and he knew who it came from.
Lucy Windelle.
He invited the woman to come and sit with him, and once she had, her figure was revealed. The orange-haired woman’s hair was wet, and she was dressed and properly covered by a white robe, leaving only her calves and small feet on display.
As always, the woman smiled when she saw the clown and sat in a proper manner.
"Thank you for answering my prayer, Mister Clown!" she said immediately.
Solomon smiled. "Thank you for the prayer."
...
The woman wasted no time expressing her reason for praying to him that night.
"Mister Clown, I’m sure you are aware, but I wanted to inform you of a great problem that has arisen in the city!"
"The blood-suckers?" he responded, which didn’t surprise Lucy. "I am aware, but I will listen to your information regardless."
Lucy nodded her head and explained the problem to him from the perspective of a princess.
She explained how ever since the god of restoration abandoned them, there had been an increase in crime. Most of this was merely petty crime, as the majority of the realm were still afraid of blaspheming their god and partaking in rituals or other evil practices in order to gain power. This left the majority of problems still manageable by the Restoration Order, even if they no longer had access to their veins.
However, with this new arrival of the blood-suckers, the Restoration Order was having trouble. At the moment, they outnumbered the evil sect; however, if they were allowed to continue growing in strength and numbers, the Council of Olaria believed that this could potentially lead to the collapse of their kingdom.
Hearing all of this, Solomon was not surprised. Again, it was as he had already known and gave him no new information on the matter.
However, after her explanation, Lucy had something else to say.
"Mister Clown... Do you believe that Juniper has truly abandoned us?"
She was unsure of whether she had overstepped her boundaries by asking such a question, but she so desperately wanted to know.
I have no clue, Solomon thought to himself, but he answered in a way that suited him.
"The gods are always there. No one has been abandoned. The greater question that the believer should seek the answer to is why she might have turned an eye on her people. How might they have disappointed her?"
In truth, Solomon knew that the real reason for Juniper’s abandonment was probably because she was simply spending time with family. He suspected that the realms that worshipped her brother Ba’al had also faced similar problems of abandonment.
Lucy nodded her head and took in the Clown’s words. Then she played with the ends of her robe nervously.
She spoke without meeting the clown’s eyes. "What if they had another god that they could worship? One that would hear their prayers and give them answers and strength."
Solomon’s eyes widened. He knew what the woman was suggesting.
"Unfortunately, I cannot be the god of this kingdom," he answered without hesitation.
