Chapter 3
The sun bursts over the horizon, swinging wildly at the darkness that thrives in its absence. Replacing what gentle illumination the moon gave, the sun’s empowering rays wash over a titan of stone -- a tower, ascending from the heart of a collection of buildings that it dwarfs. Wrapped in the secure embrace of high-reaching walls, the city is alive with the chatter of folk on the street. Discussions of earlier affairs mingle with the heated bartering between experienced merchants and experienced customers.
Having left the horse hidden away, Ryuden idles in the sea of conversation. He sits on the rim of a fountain, discerning voices from the gentle gurgling of water. Most of the conversations hold nothing fruitful. They have not for a few hours. Then, just as he stands up, a phrase catches his ears.
“He is still snuffing out that inn out in the country, then?”
Turning to face the speaker, Ryuden peers past the civilians moving about. He spots a couple walking through the market. An entourage of four or five men clears the way for them, while keeping them protected. Taking a similar pace, Ryuden tails the guarded couple from a distance. Pushing gradually closer, he keeps listening for their conversation.
“Mascil,” the male says, looking disdainfully at one of the citizens shoved to the ground, “ I can assure you that my cousin has everything under control.”
The woman glares at him. “Regardless, what he has done now is unethical -- it is unlike him to do something this… barbaric!”
“Keep your voice down. The innkeeper crossed a line he shouldn’t have, and since robbing him with overpriced goods isn’t working fast enough, this will.”
Ryuden’s focus shifts back to the guards as they stop before a large, iron gate. Invoking every squeak and screech possible, it swings open, and the couple proceed as their escorts stand watch at the gate.
The walls surrounding block any view of where the couple has gone, leaving Ryuden to find out the hard way. However, the difficulty lies not with the walls themselves, but rather the guards nearby. Before attempting to bypass the guards, he carefully draws his dagger. Embedded to deep in the surrounding crowd for it to be noticeable, Ryuden carefully palms a stranger’s coinpurse with his offhand. With a careful stroke of his blade, he severs the string binding the bag to its owner. He loosens the coin purse’s neck, then flings it into the air.
As the coins rain down onto the street, the crowd erupts into chaos as it surges forth to collect them. The sudden flocking of citizens leaves the guards overwhelmed, and Ryuden with his chance.
Keeping his distance from the mob, Ryuden uses the aid of a vendor’s stall to reach the height of the wall. He pulls himself up and over the wall, landing in the soft soil of a garden. Keeping low, Ryuden silently creeps through vegetation and floral brilliance. He raises his head to look past the plantlife.
A lone guard patrols the front of a small yet well built house. His lack of enthusiasm shows in his lazy, reluctant gait, his feet barely lifting from the ground. “Bloody Void,” he grumbles, “I’m always the one pinned at the door.”
As the guard mutters further gripes under his breath, Ryuden uses the garden to conceal his approach. Like a predator waiting for its prey, he watches the guard come close. And, when the guard turns around, Ryuden strikes. Dagger in hand, he closes the distance with a few quick steps, and covers the guard’s mouth. His dagger sinks itself into the back of the guard’s neck.
A stifled scream fails to travel far as the guard raises his hands out of a natural mix of instinct and panic. Within seconds of the daggers intrusion, the struggle dies down, and the guard limpens in Ryuden’s hold.
Lowering the corpse, Ryuden pulls his dagger free and wipes the blood off on the snow-white petals of nearby flowers before sheathing it. Glancing at the gate to ensure that his victim passed without raising any alarm, Ryuden then pats the guard over. Taking a silver band, a few pieces of silver and copper, and a piece of fine cloth, Ryuden tucks them away out of habit. Taking a key stringed to the guard’s belt, he slips it into the front door. A twist evokes the most satisfying of mechanical clicks, and he pushes the door open. But, before slipping through, he reaches down and grips the hilt of the guard’s sword.
Being drawn away from its previous owner, an elongated fang of steel reflects the daylight clearly. Its weight distribution makes it unwieldy in Ryuden’s grip, but manageable. Despite a niche in the blade, the sword’s quality is admirable; whoever the couple is, they are not of any lower status.
Sheathing the sword in a spare band protruding from his belt -- host to his previous sword -- Ryuden enters the house and shuts the door carefully. The sudden isolation from the city’s boisterous ambience sets him on edge immediately. Treading without making unnecessary noise lets him only listen to the beat of his own heart. Stalking through a short hallway in his manner, he listens through each of the wooden doors that line the walls. When he hears voices behind one of them, Ryuden peers through a keyhole above the door’s handle.
In a candlelit room -- concealed from the light of day by crimson curtains -- the couple stands in each other's embrace. The man’s hands trail down the woman’s sides, taking his time as he caresses her lips with his own. The woman’s arms snake around the man’s neck, pulling him close before breaking the kiss.
“I can’t,” she murmurs, looking away from his eyes.
“What is it--” The man frowns, noticing her facial expression. “Even if I could force him to listen, what can be said? You would are his wife, he would listen to you before me, and if he won’t listen to you…”
Pulling away from him, the woman rests back against the wall, her eyes shut. “I don’t know, but this isn’t right.”
“Then what is?” The man takes an advancing step, eyes steadily locked onto hers as his lips curl into a frown. “Is what we have been doing for years right?” His frown twists from one of disappointment to irritation. “He can’t undo it, anyways, that isn’t how it works!”
The woman slumps slightly, wiping her eyes of erupting tears. “I just…”
“It’s my cousin’s decision, not ours.” Taking a few deep breaths, the man pulls her into his embrace again. “Everything will be okay, I promise.”
As the man meets lips with her again, Ryuden pushes the door open. Not immediately gaining the couple’s attention, he gets close before being noticed.
Pulling away from the woman, the man glares at Ryuden. “Who’re you? Why did my guards let some beggar through? Answer for yourself!” Suddenly, his aggressive greeting screeches to a halt when his eyes drift down to the hilt of the longsword in Ryuden’s grip. Taking a step back, he manages to feign a grin. “I can tell you’re a motivated man. What is it you desire? Riches? Favors? Anything, if it will appease you, just --”
“Quiet.” Ryuden draws the sword, his eyes piercing into the man’s soul. “The man you speak of, your cousin -- I want information.”
“Ah, I’m afraid he does not tell me much --”
“I can either find him where he lives, or at your funeral.” Raising the tip of the blade to the man’s throat, Ryuden takes a step closer. “I will make progress in either manner.”
“Let’s just settle down,” the man requests pleadingly. “I can’t just give such vital information, you see. He pays me and surrounds me with guards to keep my mouth shut.”
“Just tell him,” the woman says. Her face holds an interesting blend of fear and irritation. “No amount of coin can buy a life.”
The man turns his eyes to glare at her, before looking to Ryuden again. “Sea Wolf’s bay is host to the most vital of his operations. If you can’t find him there, I don’t know where. It’s at the opposite end of the city, in a large warehouse. You can’t miss it.” When Ryuden moves his blade away, the man exhales. “Will you please let us be, now?”
No comments:
Post a Comment