The Arcane Trilogy: Better Call Paul - Book 1

Chapter 20: Friend of Zaun

Paul's arms continued to burn as he held the bags just over the ground, being extra cautious not to catch the underside on any jagged outcrops of pavement or sharp objects that often dotted the southside pathways. He was able to breathe a slight sigh of relief as he crossed over into the threshold of Piltover, gaining a few curious looks from the occasional enforcer out on a late night patrol. He ignored them as he continued to march up the path towards his destination. He briefly considered stopping by his office to rest for a moment, but he knew that if he stopped, he would not be able to push himself back up to keep going. However, this train of thought abruptly ended when a thought crossed his mind as his overcoat brushed against his arm as he stopped mid stride.

He was still wearing the overcoat.

As he marched up the path, he kept his eyes peeled for a bin or discreet dumping place, cursing himself for not disposing the coat in southside. After a few minutes, he spied a small alley out the back of smaller restaurant. He quickly darted in and shed his dirt and ash covered skin, and chucked it into the dumpster, allowing a horrendous waft of old food to rush his senses. After nearly gagging from the smell, he promptly picked up the bags once more and continued on the last leg of his journey.

Eventually the familiar Piltover badge loomed over Paul as he slowly trundled to a stop by the front door. After allowing himself a brief reprieve, he breathed in deeply before dropping one bag, opening the door, propping it open with one foot, picking up the dropped bag and sliding through into the quiet and virtually empty station. He looked up to see a half-asleep Artos rolling his pen back and forth, with Paul amused by the fact that Artos was going to soon become very busy.

Paul stopped before Artos and heaved the heavy bags onto the front desk, leaving a small gap for him to peer through to see Artos' confused face. The heavy clinking of the bags pulled Artos's focus fully back into the moment, eyeing Paul with a bewildered gaze.

"The bond payment for Mrs Matilda." Simply stated Paul with a smile.

Artos nodded and slowly pulled put a drawer compartment and began scanning through various files. Paul had a slight smirk grow on his face when Artos stopped, and his eyes went wide after scanning through a brandished file. Paul quickly hid his smirk as Artos looked up to him.

"750,00 cogs?" He asked in a mixture of astonishment and confusion. Paul responded by simply patting the two bags with a smile and a nod.

Paul was then led through the left-hand side door to a room where the cogs were counted to ensure the correct and claimed amount was present. Paul was left siting on a chair outside the room, occasionally peering through to see four of the enforcer staff hard at work calculating the quantity coin by coin. Paul was sat for the better part of an hour, patiently waiting for the due process to finish. As the time passed and as he was dusting off his trousers to pass the time, Antonio burst through the door to where Paul was sat and gazed through the window with a similar lock of bewilderment as Artos. He slowly looked back and forth between Paul and the counting of the cogs with small bags under his eyes.

"Hey Ant. You didn't need to pull yourself out of bed for little old me. I think they should be done any moment now." Added Paul with a dreary smile, evidently missing the comfort of his bed. Antonio looked back to the cog collection and Paul once more before speaking.

"750,000?" Asked Antonio, to which Paul nodded. "Where did this come from?" Questioned Antonio with a hardened gaze.

"Hey Ant, you should know that it's no place for lawyers such as us to ask a client where they get their money." Defended Paul before Antonio quickly jumped in.

"And who exactly is your client?" Asked Antonio with a suspicious tone.

"Matilda." Replied Paul plainly, adding a weak smile, trying to keep the conversation as relaxed as possible.