Elias clocked the fresh meat from his window and yanked the curtain like it was on fire. No thanks—keep that circus at arm's length.
Had to game the what-if: real Arthur bounce-back. Less mug-memories now? Gold. Fake "Arthur Blackwood" blur-fine, long as he ghosted zero stick. Years out? Mediocre hopeful chit-chat? Brain-fog forget-me-not.
Gig? Specter life. Quiet, solo grind.
Tick-tock, foot-falls halt door-side. Curious murmur: "Arthur Blackwood?" Then shuffle-on.
Days stack, hopeful-flood. Elias? Room-regret city. Prime perch? Traffic-jam central—endless door-peek occupied-checks.
Endgame: bunker-mode total.
Other eggheads? Squire-slave for grunt-gigs, errand-runs, chow-fetch Repose-Hall style. Elias solo-slog? Spotlit like a damn beacon. Squire-less stragglers? Chill-strut easy. Him? Con-man itch, gnaw-relentless.
Life's roughest stretch, bar none.
Day fourteen: foot-stamp voice-swarm door-rally.
"Arthur Blackwood? Ring any bells?"
"Nope. Not top-thirty county cut."
"Rumor: 175 newbies, 143 retreads. 318 cap-bound total. Repeater maybe?"
"List-drop. Hunt it."
What fresh BS? Elias, dead-to-world snooze, bolt-bed upright.
"Gotcha. Arthur Blackwood. 106th slot."
Quiet-snicker ripple, smug as sin.
"Heh. 106? Why drag? Home-hump books smarter."
Mock-base real. Eldoran grind? Tens-of-thousands Trials scrum, couple-hundo knight-slots. County 100+? Odds? Lottery-laugh.
Outliers? Myth-rare.
Elias auto-pony-snag—bun-blunder. Arms-cross, ice-silent huff. Nob-kids? Minor win, fluff-rank, realm-lord strut? Scroll-stack teach zip but ego-bloat?
Hush-hiss group. "Gents, zip it."
Giggle-grind halt. Tick: door-rap trio.
Knock. Knock. Knock.
Ignore-itch? Nah—"Arthur" duty. Sigh-drag, crack-open.
Fine-thread pack, door-jam bow-sync.
"Brother Blackwood," lead-dog tag. "Sullivan Thorne here. Meet Phinneas Wexler, Julian Croft, Preston Vance."
High-roller hopefuls. Starstruck expect? Nah.
Elias? Clue-free, care-zip. Arthur-auto: crisp bow-formal. "Gents. Favor-call?"
Fawn-flop no-show. Quad freeze, script-stuck throat-glue. Plan A: butter-up room-yield. Now? Crickets.
Hesit-spot, Elias door-nudge. "Pardon—grind awaits."
Can't spit "rank-trumps, vacate." Academy first-dibs rule? Favor-dodge fair-play.
Shut-snap near, Sullivan jaw-clench shove. "Favor-ask, Brother Blackwood."
Elias polly-dodge itch. "Kit's light. Low odds assist."
"Easy lift for you," Sullivan silk-slide. Step-side, yard-jab. Crowd-core: grace-handsome kid, fan-swarm adore.
"That," Sullivan boom, "County Prime Jameson Morrow. Fresh wheels. Lords-mags inbound visit-buzz. Prime digs entrance-snag? Back-bunk force. unseemly haul, lord-wait? Bro-duty support, yeah?"
Trio nod-grin sync.
"Solid pitch," Phinneas tag.
"Spot-on," Julian echo.
"Peer-think key," Preston wrap.
Horse-poo parade, Elias inner-eye. Suck-up squad, top-dog curry. Half-mind stair-kick parade. Out-face? Nod-flat.
"Fine."
Zero yap, sack-sword snag, plaque-door-yank.
Quad glee-easy-win, in-strut. Stun-slab: bare-bones. No tome-trunk, bunk-bundle, cloak-spare. Dude + steel only.
Pathetic, disdain-spike.
"I'll walk Brother Blackwood," Sullivan task-dump tidy-duty. Elias-tail hustle.
"Pushover pro," Phinneas desk-rock heft.
Preston sneer. "Nah, self-sniff. Place-knows. Low-rank beg? Doubt yield-sweet."
Julian nod. "100+... luck-lottery. Home-post hunt smarter."
Stair-sync, Sullivan catch. "Brother Blackwood, room-hunt assist?"
"No sweat," Elias curt-brush, fake-vibe sniff.
Sullivan lone-wolf spot, no-push. "Cool. Re-link post-settle. Join vibe." Stair-base quick-dip, crowd-dash.
Elias peep: Morrow swarm-approach. "Brother Morrow," Sullivan grand-boom, "Garden prime-pad locked for you!"
Jameson bask-beam, grace-smile. "Too generous, Brother Thorne."
Puff-pack self-swell, prize-pad strut-peek.
Elias pivot deep-dig hunt. Prime cut, that one. Grace-gift, silver-spoon—rom-play lead, cap-road maiden-meet tales.
Once grilled Arthur real-deal? Laugh-blast.
Cap-trek? No swoon-stroll. Hopefuls? Crown-knight bait. No lone-wolf roam. Guard-herd haul—County Prime tag ("Jieyuan," first-deliver vibe). Zero charm pit-stops.
Elias sigh-drag. Crash-pad hunt?
Prime-picks? Snagged swarm. Far-flank forage. Gig sprawl; spot-hunt eventual. Just grind-gripe.