《The Horlock Chronicles》 Prologue ¡°I¡¯ve told you a million times to absorb the damn book. Something is going to happen to it one of these days, and then what will you do?¡± The words came from a man clad in heavy armour, every inch of it etched with intricate runes. A soft blue glow pulsed through them periodically, a clear sign that the enchantments were not only active but immensely potent. ¡°And my answer is the same as always; it¡¯s not complete. To absorb it now would be a waste. Being able to perfectly replicate a rune is godlike and I intend to maximise that benefit.¡± Answered a man dressed head to toe in blue robes. Like the heavily armoured man, he too had runes inscribed across his entire outfit, though his shade of choice made the runes less noticeable. Not that they would need the enchantments to be intimidating. There was a presence about them both that would have terrified most mortals. His companion let out a sigh at the blasphemy. ¡°I¡¯m going to ignore that you said that.¡± He answered with a glare, only getting a shrug in response. ¡°Seriously though. Is even now not good enough, Ondra? We¡¯re about to break into a hidden temple of The Lost God. The Great Traitor. The risk is obscene! We¡¯ll need every benefit we can get.¡± Ondra possessively clutched his bag to his side. ¡°Yes, even now Marcus. I won¡¯t be rushed. It¡¯s a Mnemonic Grimoire. How many of these do you think I¡¯ll ever see? Never mind get hold of. Besides, we¡¯ve handled these situations before and escaped alive. This will be no different.¡± He told Marcus dismissively. "And when we¡¯re done, I¡¯m sure I¡¯ll find some new runes for my collection.¡± Marcus rolled his eyes so dramatically, Ondra half-wondered if he might injure himself. ¡°Yes, yes. The Great Betrayer was a master of his craft and we¡¯ve lost so much, yadda yadda.¡± Ondra¡¯s brows furrowed deeply at his companion¡¯s dismissive tone. ¡°You simply do not grasp how brilliant he was! It¡¯s been thousands of years, Marcus. Thousands! Yet we¡¯re barely closer to deciphering some of the wards he used, let alone how he discovered those runes in the first place!¡± Ondra fumed, frustrated that even after all their arguments on the subject, his longtime colleague still could not appreciate all that was lost. Marcus gave an indifferent shrug. ¡°We¡¯re getting the Network back under control aren¡¯t we?¡± Ondra scoffed. ¡°¡®Getting the Network back under control¡¯. Again, after thousands of years, we¡¯re reclaiming portals one by one. Do you really call that a success?¡± Marcus'' expression remained unphased. ¡°Seems good to me. The Great Betrayer set us back significantly but we¡¯re getting back to where we were. Some might even argue we¡¯re growing stronger. Besides, aren¡¯t you supposed to be a master runesmith? I thought you and the other scholars were achieving huge breakthroughs.¡± Ondra shook his head. ¡°That¡¯s exactly the point I¡¯m making! Yes, we''ve discovered important things but they''re nothing compared to the complexity and brilliance of his work. If I discover something significant here, it could launch my research far beyond anyone else''s.¡± A small smile arose on his face as he thought of the possibilities. Ondra was practically giddy at the thought of what he would be able to achieve if¡ª no, when¡ª he uncovered runes The Lost God himself used. He¡¯d just need to copy them into his Mnemonic Grimoire and absorb it all. Then the knowledge would be with him forever. ¡°Enough you two. It¡¯s time,¡± calls Liyan, the leader of this nine man team. A grizzled woman with scars covering every inch of her body. It was a strange sight for someone at her level of power but when asked, she always gave the same answer; keeping the scars told the story of her life. Each one was a new tale. To erase them, would be to deny their existence. They gathered with the rest of the group in front of a temple dedicated to Fariba, The Betrayer. The Lost God. It had been discovered through a portal buried deep in the Khzgut Volcanoes, on Ashdan. A desolate planet lacking in both life and resources. The search had been long and arduous but after millennia, their efforts had finally borne fruits. They had ransacked every holy place they could find, chasing whispers and forgotten scriptures, all in search of one thing ¨C the Lost God¡¯s hiding place. Even after all this time, no one dared entertain the thought that he might be dead. They knew he lived. Somewhere. Hiding. Biding his time until he could come back to restart The War of the Gods ¨C a seismic conflict that sundered the pantheon. Now they had finally found a promising lead. A long sought after clue to where he might have gone. Each god had provided resources for the team, whether it be weapons or manpower. There was no question of the danger. Every target before this had been treacherous, and this one would be no different. The Lost God and his followers had left behind traps aplenty in their quest to remain hidden. More than one Blue ranker had died on this Crusade and everyone here today was selected because they could handle the risks. ¡°You¡¯ve all experienced enough of The Great Betrayer¡¯s tricks that I won¡¯t bore you with safety warnings.¡± Liyan tells the group. ¡°Besides, if any of you were the type to heed them, you wouldn¡¯t be here.¡± That got a few laughs and nudges from the assembled Crusaders. ¡°Keep your head screwed on, and have faith in your heart. For the gods!¡± ¡°For the gods!¡± They echo back before they charge into the fray. Marcus led the way, projecting a barrier powered by ten gates. Projectiles and explosions ricocheted around the entrance as carnage ensured. Golems and monsters fell to the combined attacks of the Crusaders. Tactical commands rang out from the group as they progressed deeper into the building, each step paid for with mana and blood. The backline hurled spells faster than a mortal could think, unleashing everything in their arsenal to tear through the defending creatures. The frontline wasn¡¯t slacking either. Their blades flashed, weapons a blur as they cut down anything that managed to slip past the shields. At last, they reached an alcove. One that, from experience, they knew could be used to deactivate hidden traps. ¡°Ondra, you¡¯re up!" Marcus shouted. The lanky mage doesn¡¯t hesitate for a moment, cutting off his casting and moving swiftly to the front. In the years since The War of the Gods, he had become the foremost expert on runes and wards. His knowledge fed by his many experiences plundering the Lost God¡¯s holy places. He curses as he unveils the hidden formation. ¡°This is a tricky one. I¡¯m going to need time.¡± ¡°Eyes!¡± Liyan shouts as she casts Supernova, her trademark spell. The Crusaders know to turn away from the explosion, lest they damage their own eyes. Intense white light shines through the room, matched only by the howls and screams of the surviving monsters. The team are well practised and immediately capitalise on the opportunity, going on the offensive to kill as many of the disabled enemies as they can. A good third of the wave has been wiped out in the seconds since Liyan¡¯s shout. ¡°How did they flood this place with so many Blues and Greens?¡± Josep asks. The burly tank is already using his thrice blessed shield to hold off an entire section of creatures but even he won¡¯t be able to hold the angle long. ¡°There¡¯s no end to The Great Betrayer¡¯s tricks, nor HIS TREACHERY!¡± Screams Alithont, a warrior nun zealously dedicated to her goddess, Miye. Her devout belief has pushed her to great heights and her holy vow upon leaving the convent was the utter annihilation of The Lost God and his followers. Her fellow Crusaders know all about this. Their previous missions have shown just how powerful she can become when fighting in step with her vow, against her greatest enemy. ¡°Alithont! Not yet!¡± Raul calls, his curved sword casting mirages with the speed it moves. ¡°Let us thin them out a bit more first.¡± ¡°NO! THE ENEMY WILL PAY!¡± She screams in response, her body growing grotesque in its transformation. The group curse as they realise it¡¯s too late to stop her. ¡°You shall be punished for your sins.¡± A sinister voice calls from Alithont¡¯s deformed mouth. The giant creature pushes its way to the front and begins wailing on the grouped up monsters. ¡°There are too many for her to handle,¡± Raul¡¯s panicked voice shouts. ¡°Delamare, help her out,¡± Liyan commands. Delamare nods and begins calling ice to the battlefield, freezing anything that looks like they might overwhelm Alithont. ¡°How long Ondra?¡± Lyan asks. ¡°Longer!¡± Ondra shouted back, frustration clear in his voice. ¡°They¡¯ve done something different this time and I need to make sure I don¡¯t trigger it.¡± ¡°We don¡¯t have much time,¡± Marcus says through gritted teeth. His pressure from the barriers are clearly getting too much for him to handle. Alithont¡¯s rampage has drawn the interest of a large number of the creatures but some of the golems are still beating down on his side with abandon. A gurgle sounds from within their midst and a quick glance is enough to see that Shailene has been killed. ¡°Jumper!¡± Fredrico cries too late, as a monster surrounded by spatial essence finishes ripping through his dead team member. This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. Liyan launches a crowd clearing spell into Raul¡¯s section instantaneously, freeing him up for a moment to combat the Jumper. It¡¯s not the first time this has happened to them so they know the Jumper will be stuck here for another few seconds before it can form a portal and get away. Liyan buys time with more big spells and after four swings, Raul beheads his target. ¡°Got it,¡± Ondra exclaims. ¡°Left door should be open.¡± ¡°Okay, let¡¯s carve through and pick Alithont up on our way.¡± There¡¯s no time to grieve. They¡¯re professionals and each of them have been through a situation like this thousands of times. Instead they move on, doing the best to thin the monsters as they make their way through the room to their target destination. Alithont¡¯s transformation reverts as they reach her and they¡¯re able to get through the door to the next room without losing anyone else. Ondra manages to lock the door as they go through but this room is also filled with monsters. ¡°They must have opened a portal. There¡¯s no way these creatures were living together! I¡¯ve just seen a panther and a minotaur! They don¡¯t live in the same climates!¡± Ondra laments as the grind starts again. They move forward like this for four more rooms until they finally find their destination. The apostle of Fariba¡¯s workspace. A veritable treasure trove of information on The Lost God¡¯s machinations. At least compared to anything they had found before. ¡°You know the drill. Don¡¯t trust anything in here to be as it seems. I¡¯ll Shine the Light. Ondra, can you go over the wards?¡± Liyan knew she didn¡¯t need to ask but felt the reinforcement of the order could only be a good thing. After hours of meticulous work they concluded it was free of any overly obvious traps and the team went about dissecting the place for clues. Ondra, fuelled by his insatiable desire to collect more runes for his warding, heads straight for the pedestal in the far corner of the room. He can see formations he doesn¡¯t recognise and excitement floods his body. As fast as he can move, he rushes to take the Mnemonic Grimoire out of his satchel so he can begin transcribing, all other thoughts evaporating from his mind when he sees the beauty in front of him. A ward so complex it boggles the mind that anyone, even a god, could have come up with it. The shining star of the formation is a five hundred point rune. A gorgeously mind bending piece of magic that has Ondra literally salivating as he thinks about what this might unlock for his research. He opens up his Grimoire to one of the last remaining pages, preparing himself and his pen for the challenge ahead. As he puts pen to paper he thinks of the people who believe transcribing runes to be an easy pursuit. They believe having high dexterity is enough. After all, they can all copy writing easily enough. Ignorant fools! He thinks to himself. Transcribing runes require precision the likes of which most will never grasp. For the higher tier ones like this, he would need to do it all in one motion. Every line would need to be exact in length and thickness. If it wasn¡¯t, then it would fail to work. Feeling the pressure, Ondra resorted to a long held habit of sticking his tongue slightly out of his mouth, pressed between his teeth. Slowly but surely the rune began to take form on his page. Each of the five hundred points were gradually added with care and patience as he blocked out all else. It was just him, his pen, the rune, and his Grimoire. Like he was back in his office. ¡®Nothing to worry about,¡¯ he told himself as he licked his lips before bracing his tongue between his teeth again. ¡®Just need to do the last hundred. Nearly there Ondra. You¡¯ve got this.¡¯ The closer he got to the end, the more his excitement built. His mouth watered again as he thought about what this might bring him. As far as he was aware, nobody had ever discovered a rune of this level. It was a huge breakthrough! ¡°Ondra! We need you over here.¡± Marcus shouted from across the room. Ondra jolted, head whipping around instinctively. A startled breath escaped his lips, and before he could stop himself, a single droplet of saliva fell onto the rune below. He froze in horror, watching as the droplet of mana-infused saliva hit the rune, which instantly ignited into a vibrant, ominous indigo glow as it began fueling the ward. ¡°No. No. NO!¡± Ondra begins panicking, backing away from the pedestal. ¡®How have I let that happen?¡¯ He thinks to himself as he quickly shoves his book back into his satchel. Knowing time is off the essence he begins going over the ward, looking for a way he can stop whatever it¡¯s about to do. Suddenly a person appears. The group panic for a moment before Liyan raises a hand. ¡°Stay your hands, he¡¯s only a Red. We¡¯re moving too fast for him to be aware we¡¯re here.¡± Liyan tells them. Turning to Ondra, she calmly asks. ¡°What did you do?¡± More people begin appearing. Some solo some in groups but the numbers increase dramatically. ¡°Ondra!¡± Liyan shouts, her temper beginning to rise now that the situation is getting out of control. ¡°Shit,¡± Ondra whispers, looking at the ward on the pedestal. ¡°Shit! Shit! Shit!¡± ¡°Quickly Ondra! Fix it¡± ¡°I¡¯m trying!¡± He replies as he tries to work out what the Indigo graded ward is doing and how he can disrupt it. Suddenly a presence appears behind him. It¡¯s slightly distracting but he¡¯s not worried. At his level he can feel them. He knows their positions and he knows they¡¯re not even out of Red yet so they¡¯re not a danger. His mind is mostly devoted to the wards. He knows there is some sort of sequence involved but he¡¯s not sure exactly what. It¡¯s all going too quickly for him and the power level ¨C that¡¯s something he¡¯s never seen at this scale before. If he wasn¡¯t so terrified, he¡¯d be ecstatic. A small part of his mind stays focused on his surroundings. He has no doubt a kill order will be issued if he can¡¯t figure this out quickly. It would be a shame considering the low levels of everyone here even if it is necessary. Especially the two behind him, locked in some sort of embrace. No, grappling. Fighting maybe? The tiny sliver of his mind still processing them is wondering why they tumbled through a portal whilst fighting. It¡¯s extremely slow to his ramped up mind and he doesn¡¯t want to devote more power to figuring out trivialities. He finally spots the pattern and curses The Great Betrayer and his Apostle for making it so complicated. ¡°Got it!¡± Ondra shouts, placing his hands on the first rune and running mana through it. It¡¯ll be a slog but he¡¯s grateful they won¡¯t have to murder the kids. Though when he thinks about it, he wonders if the two closest to him will kill each other anyway. It¡¯s an extremely odd way to travel through a portal. He¡¯s sure that¡¯s what¡¯s going on now. The Lost God had set something up to divert people from their chosen teleports to instead come here. Ondra marvels at the ingenuity of it. ¡®Truly, nobody will ever match Fariba¡¯ he thinks to himself as he knows it¡¯s not something he would be able to say out loud. He devotes a bit more of his mind to the couple behind him now that he¡¯s found the rhythm to turn the teleporting off. They¡¯re falling towards his back and Ondra winces on behalf of the boy. The girl has the upperhand in their conflict so she¡¯s going to get lucky and be able to use the boy¡¯s body as a shield when it smacks into Ondra. He feels bad for the kid. To a level two, his level sixteen back will feel like a wall. ¡®Better hurry up and send him back then¡¯ he thinks to himself, speeding through the wards as quickly as he can. It was draining his mana fast but it wasn¡¯t as if he¡¯d need it for anything else now that they were done. ¡®Huh¡¯ he thinks to himself as he reaches the final runes in the ward. He¡¯s noticed that the boy is running mana through his whole body. His aura is practically screaming that he a body morpher. A rare power to see. ¡®Perhaps that¡¯s why they¡¯re fighting. Strange that he¡¯d be losing the fight though.¡¯ He thinks before reaching the final rune. His mana pumps into it and he begins thinking about the rewards again. His mind goes over the sheer number of runes in front of him. He would surely fill his book¨C ¡°No! My book!¡± Too late Ondra realises what was happening. He hadn¡¯t secured his book in the bag after he had activated the trap. It was sticking out behind him and the boy was about to touch it ¨Cwhilst running mana throughout his body. With all the speed of a level sixteen, Ondra turns to prevent the loss of his most precious possession. His Mnemonic Grimoire. One of the rarest treasures in existence. A literal gift from a god that he has spent a thousand years filling. Unfortunately his speed is no match to that of teleportation and as he turns, he sees nothing there. No grappling couple. No book of runes. ¡°NO!¡± He screams, falling to his knees. In a world so far away it was separated by universes, two bodies collapse on a teleportation platform before rolling apart. The girl, a beauty, is the first to get up. Darting to her feet and launching another attack at her foe. Quicker than she can think, a man steps between them. ¡°Woah there friends,¡± he announces, trying to placate them. His hands firmly rested on the girl¡¯s shoulders. From his position on the ground, Brandon Horlock sees his enemy push against the guard without budging him a millimetre. Satisfied he isn¡¯t going to be attacked again, he lets out a breath and relaxes. Going through the portal has left him with a splitting headache. It felt as though his brain was expanding, like it was trying to escape his skull. To make it worse, he could have sworn he had hallucinated a chamber filled with people. Once the guards were sure there was no risk of further violence, they took Brandon and his attacker to a private room. To get a handle on the situation. ¡°If you could both sit down, that would be great,¡± the man said, gesturing to the seats provided. Exhausted, Brandon happily took him up on his offer, earning a glare from his attacker who made a point of walking to the opposite side of the room and crossing her arms. The guard blew out a big breath as if he couldn¡¯t believe he was the one who had to deal with this situation. ¡°Why don¡¯t we start with an introduction? He asked hesitantly, knowing how even that could spark a teenager¡¯s fury. ¡°My name is Geraint. I¡¯m a member of the City Watch, and it¡¯s my¨C¡± he tilts his head down and whispers the next word ¡°-unfortunate- duty to deal with issues surrounding portal travel.¡± Seeing Brandon was the friendlier of the two, he looked at him next. ¡°I¡¯m Brandon. I¡¯m-¡± ¡°A criminal!¡± The girl shouts from the corner ¡°-not currently employed but hopeful I can get myself a job with some HONEST and FAIR people. Not like the corrupt thugs I was previously surrounded by.¡± ¡°That was because you were in PRISON!¡± The girl shouted back, throwing her arms wide like she couldn¡¯t believe his audacity. ¡°Yes, because of a corrupt judiciary system.¡± The girl scoffs. ¡°Corrupt judiciary system?! You hijacked a train!¡± Brandon frowns, thinking for a few seconds. Right as the girl starts to think she¡¯s got him to shut up, he replies. ¡°That was actually a political action on behalf of the resistance which was necessary due to the unfair persecution of my people,¡± Brandon told her, flashing Geraint a smile to show how proud he was. ¡°There is no ¡®unfair persecution¡¯ of your people,¡± the girl shouts back. ¡°You¡¯re just making stuff up!¡± ¡°No I¡¯m not!¡± Brandon says, turning towards her. ¡°Yes, you are! You¡¯re a liar and a thief,¡± she tells him, brandishing her finger like it¡¯s a weapon. Seeing the escalation, Geriant steps in between them once again. ¡°Thank you for the introduction, Brandon. What¡¯s your name?¡± He asks the girl. ¡°Alicia. Now, will you let me take him back through the portal? I know we may be enemies and I appear to have come through as part of a Challenge, but you seem like a reasonable person. Surely you can let me take this criminal back with me and out of your hands?¡± Brandon could see that Geraint was visibly confused from Alicia¡¯s words and it confirmed what he¡¯d been thinking all along. This wasn¡¯t a Challenge. These weren¡¯t demons. They¡¯d travelled to another world. He¡¯d escaped. Well, he¡¯d been betrayed but what did that matter? He could start again. Forget about that shit world. This was a fresh start. Geraint let out a sigh. ¡°Look, why don¡¯t you explain exactly what¡¯s going on? I¡¯ve got a horrible feeling you¡¯re not ordinary travellers. Don¡¯t spare any details. Let¡¯s get to the bottom of this.¡± ¡°Well,¡± Brandon said, looking at a blank patch of the wall as he reminisced. ¡°I suppose I better begin at the very start...¡± Chapter 1 It was the three of us back then and we were thick as thieves. Which I suppose is apt because that¡¯s what we were. Thieves. Morgana was the black haired beauty who broke hearts wherever she went. The perfect decoy. She was always on distraction duty and never failed to get the target¡¯s attention. Dillon was our orange haired bookworm. He dreamed of being a merchant, but for the time being he was putting his burgeoning appraisal skills to use by helping us pick out targets. And me? I suppose I was the big blonde brute. I was always tall for my age and as I¡¯ve got older, my muscles have filled out to match. I won¡¯t pretend to be the sharpest tool in the shed and most of my value comes down to my physicality. At the end of the day, we were a decent team. Our thefts usually followed a simple formula. Morgana would serve as either a distraction or a lookout. Her good looks and natural people skills allowed her to get a minute or two of conversation from anyone. Dillon would usually pick the targets and sort out any of the loot. A tremendously useful skill when compared with someone like me who wanted to keep everything ¡®just in case¡¯. I would generally be the physical element of any plan. If it called for scaling walls, picking locks, or just brute forcing through something, then I was the guy. Morgana, Dillon, and I were the cliche orphans turned crooks. Well, I wasn¡¯t technically an orphan. I mean it depends on your definition. My mother was definitely dead but my father was technically still alive - if you could even call what he did living. He¡¯d tell you he was a ¡®veteran¡¯ which to some might mean he was a hero but if you spent longer than an hour with him you¡¯d find out the truth. Brian Horlock, my father, was a drunk and a bully. He had ¡®fought¡¯ in exactly one battle against the invaders before having to remove himself from service due to the stress. Officially, he had seen such harrowing sights it had driven him mad and he had been given an exemption from state service. This exemption came with a tidy purse of ten coins a week funded by the crown for services rendered. The price of a choice wine bottle was around fifty chips, which was half a coin, and so my loving father was able to keep his mind addled and tongue wet whilst having change left over for whatever food the tavern was serving. Not that I ever got a taste. The unofficial story was that he had caught a commanding officer doing something untoward with a noble¡¯s wife and had blackmailed the offending parties to get signed off. They capitulated out of fear and my daddy got himself a pension before seeing a lick of action. You might respect him for acting in such a way. War is brutal and life is hard so securing a wage off the back off of another¡¯s misdeeds was simply a shrewd manoeuvre. Especially as he had a wife at home who had just given birth to his only child. Let me, Brandon Horlock, tell you right now that my father is in no way deserving of your respect. It had been sixteen years since he started claiming that pension. Sixteen years since he returned to my mother with fantastical tales of all he would do with his steady income. Sixteen years of custom to Jim¡¯s Tavern. Sixteen years of buying bottles of wine every single day. Sixteen years of abusing the people closest to him. Fortunately my mother got away from him eleven years ago. Unfortunately she did that by dying. For the next six years my dear father used me to prove his manliness and when I was eleven I left home to live on the streets with Morgana and Dillon. So although I¡¯m not technically an orphan, my father is essentially non-existent in my life. Morgana, Dillon and I first met at the Turnstone Academy, a school set up by King William to ensure a basic level of education for every child. Say what you will about the reign of the Mustovats but they definitely had an eye for social reforms. We must have been about 9 at the time and we bonded over our love of history - especially when Master Shen would teach us about The Fracture. The source of Radan¡¯s greatest troubles but also our greatest strengths. The Fracture was a portal that opened up every twelve months for a time we called ¡®The Challenge¡¯. Seven days where demons, beasts and monsters would pour out like a plague on the land, stripping everything they could. These invaders would be met by the full force of the Radanese army resulting in bloody battles for the entire week. Most of the time we won which meant we got huge influxes to the economy. After one Challenge a decade ago, we killed so many beasts that we had enough meat to feed the entire population of Radan. It got to the point where all the King¡¯s mages had to learn freezing spells so that it could be preserved. The rewards from killing the monsters and the demons were the best though. Every time one of those Challenges were won, we¡¯d gain new potions or inventions. The monsters always had body parts you couldn¡¯t find in Radan, and the invaders often had gear that far surpassed ours. Still, Master Shen said that even in a good year tens of thousands would die. Most would be in the army, usually the conscripts doing their national duty but some would be civilians. The Mustovats had long ago set up fortifications surrounding the Fracture but it never fully stopped invaders, and some would always slip through to cause havoc in the closest settlements. These demons would usually leave before the Challenge was over but if they couldn¡¯t make it back through before the end of the seven days, they¡¯d be trapped here. If we managed to fight back the invaders, then after the Challenge was finished, we¡¯d be able to leave through the Fracture and start our own Challenge. As far as I was aware, this had not happened for almost a hundred years. Master Shen had told us that going through the Fracture was a death sentence and so King William had stopped anyone from going through when he took the crown. There were also instances when we lost. Most of the time the Fracture was red but sometimes it did become the dreaded Orange. When the colour changed, it meant Radan was about to be ravaged. Never in our history had we managed to fight off an Orange Challenge. It didn¡¯t matter if it was led by beasts, monsters, or demons - they¡¯d tear through our defences and pillage the land like we weren¡¯t even there. Luckily one hadn¡¯t happened for a couple decades. We¡¯d still lost some Challenges in that time but they weren¡¯t totally devastating losses. Despite the downsides, Morgana, Dillon, and I loved learning about the Challenges. Especially when it came to the loot. Radan gained so much from all of the foreign substances, and we¡¯d dream of being the ones to find the next revolutionary item. Morgana was obsessed with the invader beasts and her dream was to capture a unique herd and start a farm. Dillon always agreed with Morgana but thought we should also be trying to tame the monsters or at least breeding them. It had been tried over the years but monsters were very different to beasts and rejected domestication at every stage. I honestly just wanted loot and thought the best way to get that was by killing the invading demons. Yeah, the beasts and monsters had value but you needed to know so much to be able to use them. What do I know about poison glands? When it came to the demons, well they always carried weapons and you didn¡¯t need any knowledge to know that they were useful. So we¡¯d bond during Master Shen¡¯s classes. Each of us talked about what we¡¯d find when it was our time to do national service, dreaming of riches. Over time we became close friends, and I learned they had both lost their parents - Dillon¡¯s had died during a Crusade and Morgana¡¯s had succumbed to illness - they¡¯d met each other on the streets and started watching each other¡¯s backs. By the time I met them, they were living in an abandoned tunnel under the city. One day when I was eleven my father came home angrier than usual and hit me so hard I thought I¡¯d die. The next day I asked if I could come live with them and luckily for me, Morgana said yes. We¡¯ve been inseparable ever since. The tunnel honestly wasn¡¯t too bad to live in. Sure it was dark, smelly, and had the occasional rat but it was safe. We¡¯d managed to get some old sheets and poles to divide the area into 3 bedrooms and a shared area, and over the years we¡¯d lifted some pretty nice furniture. Nice for an abandoned tunnel anyway. We got by stealing and begging for each chip and coin. It was a life of crime for us and there was no question of morality for younger me. As far as I was concerned, a rich target could afford to lose some stuff. If you really think about it, in a way we were performing a social service by taking from the wealthy to give to the poor. It¡¯s just that we were the poor. Occasionally we would have jobs or paid errands but they were few and far between. It honestly was hard to work as kids. The most common one we could get was usually delivery type jobs where someone would need a message or a package taken from A to B. These were easy enough considering how familiar we were with the city streets. There were times when Dillon told us how he¡¯d happily do those jobs for life, and how it was a shame they were so inconsistent. We could have tried to get a consistent gig doing it but all the regular delivery jobs were always for businesses, and required some mode of transport we simply couldn¡¯t afford. Morgana sometimes helped out in the taverns when they were busy but it was always on the poor side of town so the tips weren¡¯t great. If it was a particularly rough one, the customers could get too familiar and well, that got me and Dillon riled up. You see over the years I¡¯d started to develop feelings for Morgana. She was gorgeous, and kind, and funny. It was honestly hard not to. And then Dillon was a loyal friend, like a brother really, so seeing men flirt with her brought out our protective instincts. Much to our chagrin, we weren¡¯t exactly capable of beating down adults so we had to settle for getting our revenge by picking their pockets. It wasn¡¯t the most profitable of exercises and we both received a clip or two round the ear for our attempts. Luckily the tavern gigs weren¡¯t too regular. The biggest earner for us was when we got a job from Marky the Fence. Marky was an old bastard who had his fingers in all the wrong pies. Rumour had it that he used to be big time in a gang but stepped down and entered retirement. This was mind blowing on its own because everyone knew there was only one way you left a gang; death. It was well known the criminal underworld would kill anyone who tried to get away. In their view, by not being in their world any more you were a risk. If you left you didn¡¯t have skin in the game. If you didn¡¯t have skin in the game, how could they trust you to keep their secrets? That was a big part of why we had never sought out any of the known groups. Once you are in, you might never get out. For Marky to be a supposed big shot and retire meant that he was not to be messed with. Either he was owed some serious favours or he had the respect of some serious people. Not that it mattered too much to us really. As far as we were concerned, Marky was our all purpose store. We could take him anything of value and he¡¯d buy it off us and shift it on. There was no doubt that we got the short end of the stick when it came to pricing but at the end of the day, it was reliable money and that was hard to come by. The other big benefit of being connected to Marky were the odd jobs he¡¯d send our way. That¡¯s how we met him actually. It was years ago now when we were going through a rough patch when it came to financial acquisition. We had some gear we were sitting on from a series of burglaries but nobody was interested in buying them, and things were looking incredibly bleak. It got to the point where we were getting a bit desperate and decided to chase any rumour of income, no matter how credible. The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. After a couple nights roaming around the nearest traveller camp we heard about a guy in a pawnshop towards the edge of the city who needed help. The rumour was that he¡¯d lost something down a pipe and needed someone small enough to crawl in there to get it. Apparently the pawnshop owner, Marky, was offering three coins to anyone who¡¯d get it out for him. The kicker was that only someone small would fit in the pipe, and the pipe itself wasn¡¯t on Marky¡¯s property. The whole situation was quite suspicious. Afterall, why would some random travellers be talking about these details in public? Truthfully we were a bit too naive to realise just how strange that was and so off we set to find this mysterious pawnshop owner who was offering a couple days pay for a simple job. We found Marky¡¯s pawnshop after an hour or two of searching but by then the sun had firmly set. Looking back, it seems obvious that you wouldn¡¯t approach somewhere dodgy in the middle of the night but honestly, it didn¡¯t even come to mind as we started casing the place. Casing the place? You¡¯re probably thinking. Well yeah. We were thieves. Our first instinct when coming across anywhere new was to work out how we¡¯d break in. I mean, what if there was something nice we needed to borrow without letting the owner know? The pawnshop was a detached three story building in the middle of a cobbled street. It was very odd looking as it had a turret on one side that wouldn¡¯t have been out of place on a castle. Well it would have looked out of place because of the size difference but you get what I mean. Surrounding the building was a two metre sand moat. It was the strangest thing. A sand moat. Why would anyone need a sand moat? It was only recently that I figured it out actually. After years of knowing him. Other than the turret and the sand moat, the only other interesting feature about the building was the bars on the windows. Four windows in total and all of them had big metal bars going horizontally behind the glass. It was clear that the owner valued his security and breaking in wouldn¡¯t be easy. It was on our third lap of the building when we finally met Marky. ¡°You lot are making me nervous,¡± came a gruff voice from the now open pawnshop door. ¡°Are you gonna try break in or what?¡± All three of us froze and Morgana took a step back ready to run. I stopped any potential retreat with a hand on her wrist. ¡°We¡¯re here to get a job, remember?¡± I whispered to her, keeping my eyes trained on the man in the doorway. He was taller than average with the flattest shoulders I¡¯d ever seen. I remember wondering if I could use them to hold a drink. He wore a nondescript dark top with a loose neckline that showed off a thick gold chain, and on his waist must have been ten daggers. It was clear to me at that moment that even if we had wanted to, it would be a bad idea to break into this guy¡¯s building. Dillon must have come to the same conclusion because I felt him move in front of Morgana. ¡°We¡¯re here about a job?¡± I said to the scary man, my voice breaking slightly. ¡°Is that a question or a statement?¡± He replied, the corners of his mouth raising slightly. ¡°A-a statement¡± I responded, trying to get my nerves under control. ¡°We heard you need help getting something from a pipe?¡± ¡°You did, did you? And what makes you think you¡¯re the right people for the job?¡± His eyes roved over us as he unholstered one of his daggers, using it to clean bits under his nails. It was unnerving and it took me a second to realise I wasn¡¯t responding. ¡°Well we¡¯re good at getting things¡± was my answer. Real articulate of me. You¡¯re probably thinking I¡¯m a natural salesman but give me some credit, I was only thirteen or so. Marky laughed. ¡°Right, well you better come in then and we can discuss the details.¡± With that he disappeared into the building. ¡°We should leave,¡± Dillon said, tugging Morgana¡¯s hand to lead her away. ¡°I don¡¯t want to go in there.¡± Morgana looked like she agreed with him but I didn¡¯t want to give up that easily. After all the payment was meant to be three coins. I kept hold of Morgana¡¯s other wrist. ¡°Come on guys it¡¯ll be okay. Think of the payment. Where else would we be able to make such easy money?¡± ¡°He¡¯s strapped up with daggers Brandon, this can¡¯t be some normal job,¡± Dillon said, tugging Morgana slightly harder. ¡°It¡¯s three coins. It¡¯s worth the risk. If anything bad happens, I¡¯ll distract him and you two can run.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know Brandon, look at the bars on the window,¡± Morgana interjected. ¡°How would we even get out?¡± She wasn¡¯t wrong. I didn¡¯t really have a plan to get out if he locked the door but my mind was occupied by the thought of making money. ¡°Guys, it¡¯s a pawnshop. If we play our cards right here, we might be able to offload some of the gear we¡¯ve got back home.¡± That gave them both pause. Like I mentioned earlier, it was hard to shift certain bits we¡¯d stolen. Generally our fences would only buy off us when there was demand for a specific item and a lot of the time we just stole whatever looked valuable. ¡°I hate to say it but why don¡¯t you go in on your own, and we¡¯ll wait out here so we can get help if anything goes wrong?¡± Dillon suggested. I really wasn¡¯t enthused by the idea but Morgana and Dillon had both been inching further away from the building and it was clear they weren¡¯t going to enter any time soon. ¡°Yeah, we can call for the guards if you¡¯re not out in an hour or two.¡± Morgana added, placing her hand on my arm. The feel of her touch sent electric shocks through my body and my heart started pumping. ¡°I suppose that makes sense. It¡¯s probably good for us to split up anyway in case of any issues.¡± I tried to sound more eager than I felt. If anything went wrong, would it even matter if Morgana and Dillon found help? I trusted my friends but if the pawnshop owner decided to harm me, I doubted they¡¯d be able to get to me in time. My decision was made though and I walked over to the pawnshop. Just before I entered, I turned back and saw Dillon take Morgana¡¯s hand and pull her further into the trees. A good decision I thought, as they¡¯d be hidden and further away should anything come up. I took a deep breath and steeled my nerves. Sure, I was about to enter a building that looked like a fortress so I could strike a deal with a man who could use me as a toothpick but what was the worst that could really happen? In the years to come I¡¯d ruminate on that decision a lot. How much different would my life have been if I hadn¡¯t entered that building? If it was Dillon that went in instead of me? If all three of us went inside? If I knew then what I do now, would I have still gone in? Because one thing was certain, unbeknownst to me, my life was about to change. The inside of the pawnshop was honestly exactly what I¡¯d expected. There were trinkets lining shelves, freestanding, and hanging from the rood. Pots and pans shared space with vases and cloaks, knives and forks were lined up next to swords, there was even a clothes rack filled with childrens clothes. Curiously, everything had a price tag. I knew all sorts would be getting sold but even the display cases had a price which took me by surprise. What would he do if someone bought all the items he used to display the actual goods? ¡°You finally worked up the courage to enter then?¡± The man called out to me. He was sitting on a stool behind a counter, using one of his knives to carve what looked like a frame for an hourglass. Looking around, there were multiple hourglasses of varying quality and size dotted about the place. It must have been a hobby of his. He was younger than I thought he¡¯d be. Looking at his face, I would have guessed he was no older than forty five. ¡°We heard you were paying three coins for a job?¡± I said to him, my eyes still darting around the room. ¡°You heard right,¡± he said with a grin. This close I could see the glint of gold in his mouth. ¡°Do you know what the job is?¡± ¡°You need to retrieve something from a pipe¡±. He laughed, ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s right. And you think you can do it?¡± I shrugged my shoulders ¡°Sure. We¡¯re good at retrieving things and we know the tunnels well.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not that sort of pipe,¡± he said, eyes locking onto mine. ¡°What do you mean?¡± I asked. I knew the situation wasn¡¯t going to be straightforward but I thought it was going to be breaking into some sewage tunnels or something. He tossed me something from under his counter. I fumbled it twice but caught it before it hit the floor. Don¡¯t judge me, it was a weird shape and I wasn¡¯t expecting the throw. I turned it around in my hands and realised it was a smoking pipe. What could we need to get from inside one of these? The confusion must have been written on my face because he put me out of my misery. ¡°Feel the bottom of the bowl. Can you notice the indentation?¡± I did, it was barely noticeable but there was a difference in the feel. I pressed it in and a container popped out. ¡°That¡¯s what I want you to retrieve for me. The pipe belongs to a man known as Bobby Drewing, and the one you¡¯re holding is an exact replica of the one he has.¡± He got up and walked around to stand next to me. ¡°It¡¯s very important that you don¡¯t read the note that¡¯s stored in Bobby¡¯s pipe,¡± he said as he put his hand on my shoulder. I felt the weight of his arm and understood the implication. ¡°Er. Understood. I won¡¯t look.¡± I stammered out. He smiled again ¡°What¡¯s your name kid?¡± ¡°Brandon. Brandon Horlock.¡± I told him. ¡°Well Brandon Brandon Horlock, my name is Marky. If you¡¯re able to retrieve the message from Bobby¡¯s pipe then this could be the start of a business arrangement between us. Would you like that?¡± ¡°What sort of business arrangement?¡± I asked him. He gave me a flat look, ¡°Don¡¯t ask dumb questions kid. I¡¯m a pawnshop owner and you''re a thief. What sort of arrangement do you think we¡¯d have?¡± He shook his head and went back to his stool. ¡°Bobby hangs round the docks most mornings and spends his evenings in that godforsaken tavern on Miralder Street. Do you know it?¡± Miralder Street was notorious in Radan for being one of the most violent places you could go outside of The Fracture. Every metre of the road seemed to constantly be covered in blood and there was always at least one fight going on. We¡¯d always tried to steer clear of it because it was so dangerous. As far as we were aware, not even the authorities spent time there. ¡°I know it. It¡¯s dangerous there.¡± ¡°Does danger scare you Brandon?¡± I thought about the answer before I replied. I wanted to seem brave so my instinct was to lie but there was something about the way he looked at me that made me think that would be a bad decision. ¡°Yes,¡± I answered, locking eyes with him. For a brief moment his lips downturned. ¡°But money makes it worth it.¡± ¡°Ha!¡± he boomed. ¡°Yeah, I think we¡¯ll get along well. If you¡¯re clever about it you¡¯ll be able to avoid going to Miralder Street. The docks have their own dangers of course but they should be safer for someone like you.¡± He looked me up and down ¡°Though you are quite big. How old are you? Fourteen? Fifteen?¡± ¡°Thirteen,¡± I replied. He nodded, ¡°You¡¯re big for your age. Show me your arms.¡± I pulled up my sleeves and rotated my arms for him. He beckoned me closer and gripped my muscles. It was like I was in a vice though he didn¡¯t squeeze so it wasn¡¯t painful. ¡°You¡¯ve got some muscle as well. Do you know how to fight?¡± ¡°Yeah I can fight,¡± I told him, lifting my chin up. He laughed again and pushed me away ¡°Good, that¡¯ll help you in this business. If you¡¯re not already learning a martial art at the Academy I suggest you do so. Street fighting is one thing but nothing compares to mastering a style.¡± His words made me think that was something he had done and I once again reaffirmed my decision to not steal from this man. He described Bobby as a bearded old fool who¡¯d stand out because he¡¯d be the ¡®only lamppost smoking a pipe¡¯ and then sent me on my way. He wanted the contents of the pipe within the week or the deal would be off. Not only that but he said he¡¯d be unhappy if we failed as it would have wasted his time. I took it for the threat it was but at that point I felt like I was already committed. Morgana and Dillon were still in the woods when I exited and thankfully hadn¡¯t called the guards. I¡¯d later find out that it wouldn¡¯t matter even if they did. The guards round here were all on Marky¡¯s payroll and they wouldn¡¯t lift a finger for some street rats. It was quickly agreed between the three of us that we¡¯d target Bobby at the docks. Miralder Street was simply too dangerous and we¡¯d stand out like sore thumbs just being there. Never mind the fact we¡¯d need to skulk about trying to rob someone. The others weren¡¯t too enthused about the job but I let them know Marky had all but said he¡¯d be willing to fence our stolen items if we managed it, and he¡¯d let me keep the replica pipe which should help with whatever scheme we came up with. We headed back home to the tunnel as it was already far beyond the reasonable time three kids should be on the streets and went to bed with the plan of stalking the docks looking for Bobby in the morning. Chapter 2 ¡°There!¡± Morgana said, pointing at a man wearing a long leather cloak, a puff of smoke surrounding his face. We¡¯d been on the docks all morning searching for Bobby and after three hours we had finally found him. He was a completely bald man with a long, unkempt grey beard. His eyes were covered by small black sunglasses, and he had on a long leather cloak that stopped just below his knees. You could tell from his shins that he was a thin individual but the ankle high boots he wore seemed to accentuate his skinniness. The orifice where his foot entered the boot seemed like black holes. I couldn¡¯t understand how he even walked around in them. They looked like they should fall off his feet with every step. We moved to sit on the edge of the wall near the sea so that we could keep him in our periphery. We had a sort of arrangement when it came to scoping out targets. Dillon would always sit on the side closest to them but looking away, so he could pretend to be looking at me and Morgana but was actually looking for any guards. I¡¯d be at the end looking towards the target, and then Morgana would be in the middle looking back and forth between us. We always figured this was a good set up because to an outsider, it would seem we were just looking at each other as we had a conversation. Dillon always got nervous when keeping an eye on a target, Morgana would get distracted and want to actually talk to us so she was best suited to the middle, and I was typically focused on the task a little too much and thus drew less suspicion by looking across Morgana and Dillon. Our plan was to scope him out for two days and then on third, we would go about robbing him of his pipe. Honestly, we wanted to do it quicker than that but we worried that if we blew it we wouldn¡¯t be able to use Marky as a fence, and would likely have to face retribution. Luckily for us, it was summer so the docks weren¡¯t too cold or wet and a trio of kids hanging about wasn¡¯t suspicious. It was actually quite a nice couple of days. Bobby didn¡¯t really do much apart from watch the ships that came in, occasionally he¡¯d make notes in a little pad, or talk to one of the sailors but other than that it was uneventful so we were able to just relax in the summer sun. Dillon would talk about how he wished it was him who owned the ships. How he¡¯d set up trade deals across all seas. Bringing in ores from Travellia, and textiles from Dunneen. He reckoned if he got a single ship, he could start off making deliveries before moving onto his own import/export business. Morgana jumped in and talked about how she could do all the logistical elements. Hiring the right dockworkers and ship crewmen to ensure a functioning business. She said she¡¯d get deals on crates or even source a way to create them in house. ¡°I could be the captain,¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯d take the hardest routes and chase down the pirates.¡± ¡°You can¡¯t endanger the ship!¡± Dillon admonished. ¡°We¡¯d lose money from the repairs.¡± ¡°We¡¯d get money from the pirate bounties or by selling the ships,¡± I said excitedly. ¡°Pirate hunters and salesmen don¡¯t mix. What if you had fragile goods in the hold and you took a shot from a cannon?¡± He replied. ¡°The insurance wouldn¡¯t cover pirate hunting I don¡¯t think, and we¡¯d have to hire fighters rather than just sailors,¡± Morgana added. I remember thinking that I¡¯d not even thought of insurance. I knew it was a big deal because we¡¯d been taught about it by Master Shen earlier in the year but it seemed boring. ¡°I think we¡¯d make more money by playing it safe,¡± Dillon said looking at Morgana. ¡°Plus then you wouldn¡¯t need to risk your life¡±, Morgana told me with a smile. I didn¡¯t really have much to contribute to the fantasy after that so I left them to it. Don¡¯t get me wrong, I liked the idea of having a business and they made good points, I just didn¡¯t think I could settle for a quiet office life. What¡¯s the point in going on the sea if you¡¯re not going for an adventure? At the end of the second day we came up with our plan to get the pipe from Bobby. Morgana and Dillon would cause a distraction by walking into him. They¡¯d both profusely apologise whilst keeping his attention on them and away from me and the pipe. As that was happening, I would sneak up and replace his pipe with the exact replica Marky had given me. During the time we had been watching Bobby, we had confirmed that it was - if not an exact copy - then enough to fool someone at a glance. As we went home that day, I swiped some tobacco and light from an unsuspecting mark and filled our pipe. I figured it would be noticeable if Bobby just finished smoking and his pipe was suddenly empty and cold, so this way I could try and match the contents and heat so he wouldn¡¯t instantly clock the issue. The morning of the robbery I woke up feeling nervous. I¡¯m not exactly sure why. Perhaps on some level I realised it was going to be the start of a new life. Maybe it was just the threads of fate pulling together. Whatever it was, I didn¡¯t feel like my usual energetic self. I made breakfast for the three of us and noticed that the larders were getting empty. The money from this job couldn¡¯t come soon enough. We ate our porridge in silence and then set out as we had the last couple days. The plan was to do the switch around midday when activity on the docks had increased and Bobby was a little more relaxed. We found a place on the sea wall and made small talk like we usually would. Just random bits and pieces but no talks of dreams. I could see it in their eyes that they were getting nervous but I was worried mentioning it would increase the nerves rather than settle them. As the hour approached, I filled the pipe with tobacco and then lit it, letting it smoke a bit behind my body. Hopefully Bobby wouldn¡¯t notice. At around midday we finally began. We knew from past experiences that it was still important to not really look at the target so that they couldn¡¯t work out what was going to happen. We each made terrible jokes and laughed at them so that we could flap about a little. The plan was to make any odd body movements seem like a natural occurrence of our laughing fits. As we got close to him, I noticed he¡¯d separated his arms with his pipe being in his left hand, a little away from his body. I nudged Morgana, who in turn fell into Dillon, and he smashed straight into Bobby with a big ¡®oof¡¯. Morgana immediately started fussing over them both, seemingly trying to pull Dillon up but was actually pushing him back down. Dillon was apologising profusely but it was as if his feet were made of butter and he kept slipping further into Bobby, who was forced to take his weight. Whilst this was going on, I expertly palmed the fake pipe and snatched the real one. Just as Bobby looked over to me, I made a big deal of ¡®catching¡¯ his pipe before it hit the ground and handed it over to him. Of course the replica is what he got and I secured the real one in my inside pocket. ¡°So sorry about that,¡± Morgana said. ¡°Yes, terribly sorry,¡± Dillon added. ¡°Good thing I caught that pipe!¡± I said, ¡°It looks like it costs a pretty penny. I¡¯m sure it would be a hassle to replace.¡± ¡°Yes, quite¡±, Bobby replied, his eyebrows narrowing. We were already on the move though so there was not much more he could say as we all burst into laughter. Just innocent children laughing at their embarrassing bumble into a random citizen. We quickly exited the docks and headed to Marky¡¯s shop. We¡¯d done it! Our first robbery as part of a job. After the tense morning, the relief was almost palpable and we played through the streets on the way to Marky¡¯s, jumping up and off walls like we were cats. It was agreed that it would just be me going inside again. Although the others were slightly more trusting now, there was a fear that he¡¯d just snatch the pipe, us, and keep the money. By having Morgana and Dillon outside, we hoped to at least be able to get help if things went sour. It looked a bit less oppressing in the daylight but it still wasn¡¯t particularly inviting. Inside, Marky was sitting on the same stool and carving a piece of what looked like the same hourglass. He was wearing a different tunic but still had the same gold chain. I noticed his long auburn hair this time, although it was pulled back and tied with something. ¡°Back so soon?¡± He asked by way of greeting. As he did so, he tipped an hourglass over so the sands started falling. ¡°We¡¯ve got it!¡± I announced, the excitement clear in my voice as I showed off the pipe. ¡°Well give it here then.¡± I did as he asked and handed over the pipe. ¡°Have you looked at the contents?¡± I shook my head to indicate I hadn¡¯t. ¡°Lesson number one,¡± he said to me, ¡°always check to make sure the goods are where you think they are.¡± If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. ¡°You said not to look,¡± I whined. ¡°I also said I wanted you to retrieve what was inside the pipe. How do you know that¡¯s what you¡¯ve done?¡± My heart dropped as I realised he had a point. What if it wasn¡¯t in there? Would we have to track Bobby down and pilfer through his belongings? Luckily my panic was short lived as Marky opened the secret compartment and a rolled up note fell out. He proceeded to unfurl and read the contents before lighting it on the nearest candle, destroying it forever. ¡°Well done. You did the job and succeeded before the deadline¡±. He threw three coins at me, causing me to scramble. I caught two but the third rolled under a display case. As I was on my hands and knees picking up the third, the door chimed. ¡°Get off her!¡± Came Dillon¡¯s cry followed by the sounds of a small scuffle. ¡°Shush now, there¡¯s no need for that. I told you, you¡¯re not in danger.¡± I jumped to my feet and took in the situation. A man wearing a black cloak with the hood over his head was holding both Morgana and Dillon. Strapped to his waist was a thin sword - a rapier I think the name was - and in the handle a red jewel glinted. He was a big man that would tower over me and Marky. The only detail I could make out under his hood was a viscous scar that started at his jaw but was lost into the shadow of his hood. It was much lighter outside the shop than inside so it was difficult to see into the darkness. I almost got the feeling it was magical in nature because of how obscured his face was. ¡°Ah, Rhodri, you¡¯ve brought the other two. Excellent.¡± Marky said as he got up from his stool and came over. I was unsure what exactly was going on but nobody seemed particularly threatening, despite the situation so I decided to wait for Marky to explain. Besides, there wasn¡¯t much I could do. ¡°Settle down now,¡± he said to Dillon. ¡°There¡¯s nothing nefarious going on. We just wanted to make sure you all knew what was what. Especially now that we¡¯re doing business with each other.¡± ¡°Let Morgana go! You don¡¯t need her!¡± Dillon cried, trying to break out of Rhodri¡¯s hold. Marky rolled his eyes and locked the door. ¡°Nobody¡¯s going anywhere yet. There¡¯s still one more person needed before we can start this meeting. Why don¡¯t we go somewhere a bit more comfortable?¡± He asked us although it was clearly rhetorical. ¡°Oh don¡¯t be thrashing about any more because if you break something, you¡¯ll have to pay for it. One way or another.¡± The threat got through to Dillon but only after he sent a look Morgana¡¯s way. She whispered she was okay and we all set off into the next room. I was truly perplexed at this point. It felt like there should be some danger as Morgana and Dillon had been manhandled into the building but Marky had given us the coins already. I couldn¡¯t really think why he¡¯d do that if he was planning to kill us. Then there was the issue of the person we were waiting on. Did Marky think we had an accomplice? The room he led us into was like a luxurious study. Sandstone sculptures lined the walls and alternated between showing animals and weapons. At the head of the room was a luxurious wooden desk, the wood a chocolate colour, with intricate patterns carved on the outside which appeared to depict a hunt. On the wall behind the desk was an assortment of weapons. There were swords, knives, flails, maces, bats, arrows, and even a glass bottle. The odd thing was that all of them looked used and worn down. In the centre of the room was a wooden coffee table and to either side were leather sofas. Marky instructed us to sit on the left one whilst he sat in the chair behind the desk, and Rhodri stood by the door. The sofa was pretty big so the three of us on one wasn¡¯t uncomfortable. Dillon and I both saddled up to Morgana though as she was in the middle, with Dillon wrapping his arm around her shoulders. ¡°Whilst we wait, shall we talk about future business?¡± Marky asked, a smile on his face as he looked between us. I was still a little shocked at the situation so I just nodded rather than speaking. ¡°Good. As I¡¯m sure you can work out, running a pawnshop comes with the risk of selling stolen goods. Despite my best efforts to prevent it, sometimes ill gotten gains end up on my books,¡± he told us with a shake of his head. The seriousness of his statement was somewhat belayed by the fact he was still smiling and the very nature of our being there. ¡°So feel free to bring me any items you¡¯re looking to sell and I¡¯ll be happy to assist. Just make sure none of them are stolen. Okay?¡± ¡°But how will you know if they¡¯re stolen?¡± I asked him. He smiled ¡°Now there¡¯s a good question. I suppose there¡¯s no way for me to check so I would just have to trust you now wouldn¡¯t I?¡± ¡°And if we brought you stolen goods?¡± ¡°You wouldn¡¯t. As far as I am concerned, any and all goods you bring my way will be from your own homes that you¡¯ve unfortunately had to pawn to generate some income. Is that clear?¡± He said, his smile slipping from his face. ¡°But-¡± ¡°What did I tell you the other day about stupid questions?¡± He gave me a pointed look. ¡°You¡¯re a smart kid, I¡¯m sure you can figure anything else out for yourself.¡± It was at that moment there was a knock on the door. ¡°That was quicker than expected. Rhodri, can you let him in?¡± Rhodri nodded and disappeared back into the shop area. When he returned, he had Bobby next to him and my heart went wild. Thoughts ran through my head at a mile a minute. I felt Morgana tense up next to me, and I could see a panicked look in Dillon¡¯s eyes. I looked around for escape routes but couldn¡¯t see any. Maybe I could cross the distance, jump off the desk, pull down a weapon, and then fight off three grown men so that we could escape? Nah, probably not. We¡¯d been set up and now we¡¯d have to pay the price. ¡°Boss, sorry I-¡± Bobby stopped as he realised we were in the room. He looked at us with confusion before looking at Marky, then back to us, and then realisation dawned on his face. ¡°Sit down Bobby you prick.¡± Marky told him, pointing at the other sofa. Rhodri made it clear it was an order and not a request by gripping him on the shoulder, all but throwing him down. ¡°Do you want to explain yourself?¡± Marky asked as he drew a leaf shaped dagger from his belt. Bobby looked around like he could find a suitable answer somewhere in the room but in the end he just let out a big sigh and it was like his body deflated. ¡°I let my guard down, boss.¡± Marky nodded as he looked at Bobby. ¡°That¡¯s right, you did,¡± he said. ¡°Three amateur kids managed to rob you no more than three days after first seeing you. Do you think that¡¯s good enough?¡± ¡°No boss.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right, it¡¯s not. You were warned months ago that you were being lax. You¡¯re lucky this was orchestrated by me and not someone else.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I¡¯ve got no excuses,¡± Bobby said with his head down. I had to respect the guy. He¡¯d clearly messed up but he was taking responsibility for it. If it was me, I¡¯d have probably brought up the fact Marky had provided all the details to at least shift some of the blame. ¡°Did you know that I spread the word that I was looking for someone to do this job? I let people talk about how I wanted something retrieved from a pipe and yet it seemingly didn¡¯t even come to your attention.¡± Marky was on his feet now and walking towards Bobby. ¡°It¡¯s sloppy. Really sloppy.¡± He punctuated his point by stabbing the dagger straight into Bobby¡¯s thigh. ¡°Ow! Shit!¡± Bobby cursed, his hand going to the wound to put pressure on. ¡°You¡¯ve embarrassed and endangered my business. Where do you want the next one?¡± I couldn¡¯t believe what he was asking, and from the intake of breath, neither could my companions. ¡°S-¡± Bobby took in a breath, ¡°Same again please boss.¡± Again the dagger stabbed down into his thigh. This time Bobby managed to keep in his cries by managing his breathing. The pain was written all over his face though and I knew it must have hurt like hell. Marky looked him in the eyes, nodded, and then walked back to his seat. ¡°You¡¯ve messed up Bobby but it¡¯s recoverable,¡± he said with a sigh as he sat back down, ¡°I want you doing double shifts on Miralder Street for the next few months. Is that understood?¡± ¡°Yes boss,¡± came the strained reply. He was clearly unhappy about the assignment but wasn¡¯t going to voice that opinion right now. ¡°Good. Now go bleed somewhere else and think about how you¡¯re not going to make sure it doesn¡¯t happen again.¡± Bobby gingerly got to his feet and hobbled over to the door as we all watched. His blood leaving a trail behind him that Marky eyes with disgust. ¡°Oh and Bobby?¡± ¡°Yes boss?¡± Bobby asked, turning back to face him, the pain clear in his eyes. ¡°This was a warning. You won¡¯t get another.¡± ¡°Thank you boss, I won¡¯t need one.¡± Nobody spoke until the bell on the door jangled, indicating that Bobby had exited the shop. ¡°Shall I clean up?¡± Rhodri asked. ¡°Yes please. I hate it when blood seeps into the floors, It''s always such a pain to get out.¡± Marky looked at the blood spatters with disgust before using a piece of cloth to wipe the dagger he¡¯d used to stab Bobby. ¡°Now kids, I¡¯m sure you can work out what just happened but just so we¡¯re all on the same page, let me spell it out for you,¡± Marky said, making eye contact with each of us to ensure we were listening. ¡°Bobby is an employee of mine but he¡¯d gotten a bit too relaxed in his duties lately and left himself open to abuse. This is not acceptable. As soon as someone loses discipline, it becomes a weakness, and if an employee of mine has a weakness, that can be exploited which in turn threatens my business. I can¡¯t allow that, can I?¡± I shook my head but Marky just gave me a look that made it obvious he wanted a verbal answer. ¡°No Marky, you can¡¯t have that.¡± He nodded at me ¡°Good. I¡¯m glad you understand.¡± He reached into his pocket and pulled out nine coins, before throwing us three each. ¡°Consider that a bonus for a job well done.¡± My eyes widened because I couldn¡¯t believe it. So much for so little! This time the coins all stayed together in the air - though I¡¯m not sure how - and we were each able to catch them. Which was a relief because it was embarrassing when I was crawling around before. ¡°You¡¯ve proven yourselves capable so I¡¯m going to have some errands for you to run occasionally. Is that okay?¡± ¡°Yeah that¡¯s great,¡± I said excitedly to which Marky chuckled. ¡°Good, good. You know how high my standards are when it comes to work and I will be expecting you to meet them. Okay?¡± ¡°Yeah of course. We wouldn¡¯t dream of becoming a weakness, would we guys?¡± I said, turning to Morgana and Dillon. They both looked a little taken aback at the situation but after seeing my look, they quickly gave their affirmations. Marky looked at us and slowly nodded his head. ¡°Right off with you then. I¡¯ll be in touch when I have something for you.¡± We got up clutching our money tightly and headed back to the main part of the shop. Just as we were about to exit, Marky called out to us again. ¡°Oh, there was one more thing actually, kids.¡± That stopped us in our tracks and I immediately went to the worst case scenario. Had he just been toying with us and now he was going to kill us to cover his tracks? ¡°Make sure you keep our affiliation a secret. As far as anyone else is concerned, the only dealings we have are the buying and selling of wares. Is that understood?¡± Relief flooded through my body ¡°Yeah of course Marky. We won¡¯t tell a soul.¡± He smiled ¡°That¡¯s good. See you soon.¡± Chapter 3 So that¡¯s how we ended up working for Marky the Fence. Three thirteen year old two-bit thieves getting into business with someone who rumour had it retired from a major criminal organisation. For us it ended up being a bit of a dream. Marky would usually send at least one job our way a month. Sometimes it would be simple delivery, other times we¡¯d have to stake out and rob a place. We learned very early on that you shouldn¡¯t ask too many questions. It was better that way so the actual impact of the work was never really known. We could have been robbing anyone really but the money was good and that¡¯s what mattered. Over a three year period, our thieving made massive strides. We were committing some sort of theft on a daily basis. Whether that was burglary, pickpocketing, or snatch and grabs, we were becoming experts in the five finger discount. This all resulted in a tidy nest egg of sixty gold coins being accumulated. An unthinkable amount to have saved when I¡¯d first started living with Morgana and Dillon. Admittedly it was split between the three of us but it was still a monumental sum. It wouldn¡¯t be too long until we could afford to buy their own place. We¡¯d already realised we had enough to probably move out of the tunnel into an actual dwelling but had opted against it as nowhere in our budget looked especially appealing. Plus the tunnel wasn¡¯t actually that bad once you were used to it. We had added more furniture over the years plus upgrades like better chairs, tables, and sofas. We¡¯d even got lucky and landed our hands on some good board game sets, real high quality pieces. Though the crown jewel in my eyes was the gym equipment. I was out and about one day, checking out potential spots when I¡¯d come across some rich guy¡¯s personal studio. Not one to pass up the opportunity, I broke in and found he had a bunch of stuff just sitting there gathering dust. Good stuff as well. Chief among them were training dummies. Real high quality ones. Not the ratty, half broken sort we got to use in the academy. These bad boys were so good, they even had a small enchantment that allowed them to fight back. The ones that typically got trotted out at the academy were knackered. You¡¯d hit them a couple of times and straw would start falling down. When we practised with blades, I was scared that I¡¯d chop right through them. They were also pretty much stationary which meant there was much less of a challenge compared to the ones I¡¯d picked up. Dillon wanted me to sell them to Marky because they were undoubtedly worth a fortune but I convinced him to let me keep them. I argued that the potential gains we¡¯d get from their use would outweigh any coin receive. I¡¯d taken my martial training seriously since going into business with Marky, signing up to any and all classes I could at the academy. They were mostly duds taught by veterans of a Challenge but every little helps and all that. I figured if I knew a bit of everything, nobody would be able to catch me off guard. A jack of all trades so to speak. I ended up doing classes on grappling, striking, and using weapons but in all that time, I¡¯d not encountered anything like the training dummies we¡¯d acquired. It always felt like a challenge when I fought them, as if they were constantly at the top of my skill level. It was amazing for my growth. That growth massively helped with Dillon¡¯s requests to sell. He¡¯d bring it up every so often but they somewhat went away after he realised I had improved by leaps and bounds compared to the rest of the regular class takers. I mean I wasn¡¯t out-and-out the top of the classes but I was consistently top three, which was still impressive when you thought about the amount of one trick ponies that would come for a class on their specialty. There was this one kid, a heavy lad called Tomas Mundo, he would only turn up when we did a class that involved grappling. He thought he was a bigshot because his dad was a prison guard and had taught him some of the moves he used to subdue prisoners. We were the same age so we were always in the same classes which meant I got to witness first hand the effects of early training combined with a heavy bodyweight; spoiler, it wasn¡¯t fun for the class. He abused his tricks and weight against everyone he could, including me. Until around the time I turned sixteen. Since getting the training dummies, I had been keeping an eye on all the future combat classes with the intention to practise for whatever was coming up. So when I saw that there would be a grappling class, I decided I would put my heart into getting good enough to put Tomas in his place. Although the dummies weren¡¯t intelligent, they did have settings that allowed me to select a grapple mode. This put them in a sort of crouched position that I learned early one meant it was easier for them to take me to the ground. It was very similar to the moves that Tomas pulled so I spent three weeks acquiring bruises trying to master it. Boy was it worth it. At the end of each combat class we would inevitably have a round of fights. Some instructors had tried to avoid it in the past but that only led to us fighting outside in uncontrolled environments, and so now we all knew it was coming. The standard procedure would be to get into two lines, and whoever was your counterpart would be the person you fought. After the grappling instructions were done, I eagerly got into the opposite queue of Tomas, lining up so that I would definitely be against him. When we finally got into the circle, he looked over at me with a smile on his face. He¡¯d pummelled me a few times over the years so I imagine he was looking forward to doing so again. Only this time, I also had a smile on my face. He knew something was up but the dumb brute only had one move in his repertoire. I ducked his right arm, took a step and threw that sucker down. The pin was easy and the first point went to me. We reset and went again. He was more cautious this time and we circled each other for a few seconds before someone in the crowd got bored and egged us on. Nobody wanted to see a boring fight after all. I was happy to oblige the crowd and careened into Tomas before he knew what was going on. Whatever moves his dad had taught him didn¡¯t get a chance to appear before I had him with his arm twisted up his back. Two points to me and match over. I went and stood next to Dillon, giving him a high five. After that point my confidence shot up and I felt pretty good about my fighting skills. It was fortunate timing because Marky had let us know he had a new job for us - and this one would get violent. ¡°I still don¡¯t think it¡¯s worth it Brandon,¡± Dillon complained for the hundredth time that day. ¡°You heard what he said Dillon. All we need to do is stick up a cart carrying some rich kids.¡± I told him again. ¡°Just think about all the goodies they¡¯re going to have stashed away. You¡¯ll be starting a business in no time.¡± A train was to be going through Radan to take the children of the upper echelons to their posh academy on the other side of town. For whatever reason, Marky had asked us to rob it. I was actually a bit surprised to find out that was how they travelled to Anshew Academy, as the wealthy districts were no more than a day by foot. I supposed only the best would do for the children that would grow up to lead Radanese society. The job was actually to rob a very specific person, Rolando Mykov. Son of Lord Mykov, the head of the Brutan House. No reason was given as to why we were targeting Rolando but Marky was clear that we needed to give him a smack or two. He said not to go as far as seriously injuring the little lordling but enough that he knew he¡¯d been hit. I wasn¡¯t really sure what that would mean but I figured I¡¯d work it out on the day. The reason we were doing the robbery on the train was because it would be the only time Rolando would be without his guards. If he was out in the city, at least two bodyguards would be nearby. If he was at home, then his father kept a small army armed and ready. Due to the ever present threat of the Challenges, war was not common on the Radanese continent. Most other countries saw it as being too much of a problem in case it weakened the protection around the portals. The only people that really fought were the Houses and even then it was sort of like a game. They weren¡¯t full scale wars but a series of battles that often dictated the warring parties positions for the next Challenge. The wars were usually sanctioned because the crown viewed it as a way to hone the blades of their armies. So as long as things didn¡¯t go too far, the Houses would be allowed to do as they pleased. Of the ten main Houses, Brutan had historically been around the bottom in terms of strength but during the last few Challenges, they¡¯d started making a name for themselves. From what I heard, this was mostly off their elite defensive unit, the Wallowhackers. Not too many years before the train job, the Wallowhackers had volunteered to occupy a guardpost on the north side of the Fracture. This guardpost was traditionally a weak point in the defences surrounding the Fracture, and had seen more invaders breakthrough than any other spot. It was so bad, it was often referred to as ¡®The Invader¡¯s Gate¡¯. The crown had attempted to fix things multiple times but none of the powerful Houses wanted to be stationed there. Until the Wallowhackers that is. Since they took control it had gone from seeing the deaths of tens of thousands, to hundreds. It was a monumental shift in the warfront and had catapulted the perceived strength of the Brutan House into the top five. I imagined this was why we were targeting the heir to the Brutan House but I wasn¡¯t sure what Marky¡¯s angle was. It was clear he wasn¡¯t anywhere close to being retired but I couldn¡¯t see how this would benefit him. The only thought that came to mind was that he was getting paid to facilitate it. To be honest it didn¡¯t matter much to me. Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions. What did matter was that only the crown could provide guards for Anshew and the train that took them there. The thought process was that none of the kids would get special treatment, and none of the House wars could spill over into Academy life. The plan was for us to slip onto the train during boarding where we¡¯d blend in because of our age. Once everyone was relaxed and the train was on the move, we would make our way to Rolando¡¯s carriage and rob them blind. Marky said he wasn¡¯t interested in anything we stole, it was just the act of stealing and the beating that was important for him. The agreed price was thirty gold coins. Considering the task at hand, it wasn¡¯t the best of rewards but we¡¯d been assured the schoolkids would be carrying an equal or more amount with them. We¡¯d also be able to lift their equipment if we had time which was no doubt worth a lot. Even with the potential gains from the thieving, Morgana and Dillon were still hesitant. The only reason we¡¯d got them to agree was because Marky had promised to help us get away after the deed was done. The train to Anshew Academy would go over Sea Drop Gorge. Eloquently named for the sea water that¡­ you guessed it, dropped into the gorge that went through the east side of the city. People said that the gorge had been created by a single invader hundreds of years ago but I¡¯m not sure I bought that. Yes, people had some powerful abilities but even the King couldn¡¯t cause something like the Sea Drop Gorge. To escape from the train we were going to jump off the back as it began crossing the bridge. We could obviously do this without Marky¡¯s help but he was going to arrange it so that there would be someone to smuggle us back to our side of the city during the ensuing manhunt. Afterall, you can¡¯t attack and rob the city¡¯s richest kids whilst they¡¯re under the crown¡¯s protection and expect to get away without a fight. So there we were, heading to the platform that would begin our greatest crime. The streets were consistently flat on this side of the city which was a nice change compared to a lot of the cobbled paths that made up our district. Whenever we were running around where we lived, there was a constant risk of rolling your ankle. It¡¯s so uneven, I¡¯m convinced it¡¯s the reason my balance has become so good. Where we lived, the city just replaced the path with any old rock they could find. Whereas in the rich area, I bet they ensured everything was as flat as possible so no lords could risk a slip. ¡°Have you noticed the smell here?¡± Morgana asked us, her nose pointed up to the sky, nostrils twitching. ¡°Smell?¡± Dillon responded, his eyes scrunched in confusion. ¡°What smell?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t smell anything either,¡± I said. ¡°Exactly! There is no smell. No faeces. No urine. Just clean air.¡± She told us, her tone dreamy. ¡°You¡¯re right there¡¯s nothing,¡± I said, a little shocked. I couldn¡¯t remember the last time I walked down a public street and didn¡¯t smell something awful. ¡°Is this how they live here?¡± Dillon asked, ¡°If so, I could get used to this.¡± I was in agreement with him. It would be nice to live somewhere without any stench but getting to that point would be a lot of jobs for Marky. A lot of things would need to be stolen. If I wanted that sort of life, I¡¯d need to move up in the criminal world. ¡°I¡¯d live there,¡± Morgana said, pointing at a house with crenulations like it was a castle. ¡°It¡¯d be my own mini castle.¡± I laughed as Morgana did a haughty wave like she was royalty, throwing her shoulders back in an exaggerated pose. ¡°That one there would be mine. The archway would have my name above it, and the purple tree is where I would read,¡± Dillon told us, pointing out a house that must have at least ten bedrooms. A real upgrade from the tunnels. I could see Dillon living in a house like that one day though. The guy was a natural businessman and would have killed it if he had been born into wealth. ¡°I could totally see you sitting under there reading the latest trade reports. Deciding your next business move whilst you look out on your garden,¡± Morgana gushed as she clung to Dillon¡¯s arm, a smile beaming on his face. ¡°What do you think it¡¯s like on the inside?¡± Dillon asked. You couldn¡¯t really see through the windows because they were so far back and the sun was shining on them but we took turns guessing what might populate a lord''s manor. ¡°Do you think it''s got its own games room?¡± I asked. ¡°I¡¯ve heard that every big house has its own games room. Sometimes they even have a whole wing dedicated to it.¡± Dillon answered, much to my disbelief. Just how many games could they be playing to need a whole wing? Then again I¡¯d definitely have a whole wing if it was me. ¡°I¡¯d like my own games room. And my own stable.¡± Morgana said. It made me think that I¡¯d never actually ridden a horse. It¡¯s not like I could store one anywhere if I managed to buy one, and I never felt the need to steal one because I got to most places just fine by foot. ¡°We¡¯d definitely have to get our own stables. Maybe two so that we could have mounted guards,¡± came Dillon. Mounted guards were very common amongst the wealthy. It was seen as a source of pride to have them because the cost of having a horse was exorbitant. None of our jobs had ever taken us into a confrontation with them but I felt like they were mostly for show. What could they really do if I climbed up a building? I have to give it to them though, they did look impressive. ¡°Yes! A stable for guests as well. They can have their own because we¡¯ll be that rich,¡± Morgana told us, trying to speak our wealth into existence. They continued on for a bit longer, discussing various things they were going to do when they were rich. I didn¡¯t really.take part though. The more they spoke about money, the more aware I was of how much we needed to gain. If they wanted to live in big manors, I¡¯d need to make sure they could afford it. That would begin with this mission. ¡°Here it is,¡± I said. We¡¯d been able to hear the crowds for a while but now the building itself came into view. It was one of the longest buildings I had ever laid eyes on. It was so long, it wouldn¡¯t have surprised me to learn multiple trains were in there. ¡°Wow,¡± Morgana exclaimed. ¡°I doubt we¡¯re going to struggle sneaking in,¡± I said. We had been worrying about how we would get onto the station itself during the planning phase. Now that we could see the massive open door, all our concerns were eradicated. Don¡¯t get me wrong, there were lots of guards around but with the amount of people pouring in, there was no way they knew everybody. Besides, to them the biggest threat was probably a fight between the House members, not some random children trying to sneak a ride. ¡°How is security so lax?¡± Dillon commented. ¡°It must be because they take their oathsworn with them,¡± I posited. Oathsworn were a lord¡¯s closest knights. In the culture of the upper echelons, they raised their knights alongside their children so that they could form lifelong bonds. Then when they came of age they would swear an oath to the lords and the Houses. ¡°I don¡¯t know why I assumed it would just be the lords, of course their oathsworn would be with them,¡± Dillon exclaimed, hitting his head with the palm of his hand. ¡°Don¡¯t worry,¡± Morgana told him, ¡°none of us thought about it. At least it makes things easier though.¡± ¡°Lets go towards the back,¡± I said. ¡°Marky said the lordling usually has a carriage in the lower middle regions of the train so we should be able to get to him fairly quickly.¡± The train itself was a metal monstrosity. I would have expected it to be sleek and refined but it looked like something that could bore through a mountain. If I didn¡¯t know its true use, I¡¯d have assumed it was a vehicle of war. Clearly no expense had been spared when putting it together but those funds were definitely favouring safety. From the outside, the only look that matched my expectations were the colours used for the paint; a light green for the bulk of it with a gold trim. No doubt it would be real gold. Maybe I could snag a handle or two to sell. Getting on did end up being incredibly easy. We were able to slip between two groups saying their goodbyes, and managed to get on board with no fuss. Straight into the monster''s maw. The inside looked much more like I had been imagining. Soft red carpets, chandeliers powered by magic, and art on the walls. Forget robbing the kids, just robbing the fixtures would be a score. I started wondering if I could actually hijack the whole train but the thought of selling it put a damper on my dreams. We settled ourselves down on a table at the edges between the carriages. There were some rooms still open but we were concerned someone would come to claim it and then we would be in an awkward position. The seats between the carriages were typically the worst in a train because of the noise and general foot traffic but we weren¡¯t too concerned about that. The fact that they were comfier than anything we had ever sat down on helped. ¡°How long do you think we should wait?¡± Dillon asked, his hands fidgeting with the table cloth. I shook my head to show that I wasn¡¯t sure. ¡°Maybe ten minutes after it gets moving. That should give them time to settle whilst giving us more than enough time to find Rolando.¡± Dillon nodded in response and continued fidgeting with the cloth. Morgana was also looking a bit nervous but as I was about to say something three boys carrying gigantic bags started coming towards us. ¡°Terribly sorry my friends, my idiot cousin here made us board further to the back than is proper,¡± the first one said with an apologetic smile. He looked surprisingly sturdy for a rich kid and I remember thinking that I wouldn¡¯t be surprised if it turned out this guy knew how to fight. ¡°It¡¯s not my fault! The letters are too small and that big lump Bosecco was standing in the way,¡± the second boy huffed, which I presumed meant he was the cousin. The first boy rolled his eyes before shouldering his bag and offering me a hand, ¡°I am not sure we have had the pleasure. I am Emmanual LaVeen, and these are my cousins Pierre, and Theirry.¡± Pierre was the cousin with the bad eyesight and Theirry was the one who hadn¡¯t taken his eyes off of Morgana. ¡°Lovely to meet you,¡± I replied, shaking his hand. ¡°My name is Brandon Horlock, my friend here is Dillon, and the beauty in the corner is Morgana.¡± He shook Dillon¡¯s hand next before giving Morgana¡¯s hand a dainty kiss which made her blush and me get my hackles up. ¡°Wonderful to meet-¡± he was interrupted by a whistle and the train engine starting up. ¡°Well I guess that¡¯s our cue to find our carriage. Apologies for this but we just need to squeeze by you.¡± With that the three of them awkwardly squeezed past us with their big bags, offering apologies as they did so but still managing to push Dillon into Morgana, much to the dismay of Thierry when he noticed. ¡°What was with those massive bags?¡± I asked after I was sure they were out of earshot. ¡°Could they not have put them in storage like everyone else?¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure they had their reasons,¡± Morgana said as she looked towards where they¡¯d gone, clearly smitten. ¡°Stupid reasons,¡± I muttered maturely. ¡°A big bag means a lot of goodies,¡± Dillon added, which immediately got my mood up. ¡°Hopefully we run into them on the way out then. A bag that size could do wonders for our net worth.¡± ¡°We can¡¯t rob them, they know our names,¡± Morgana admonished as she gave me a pointed look. ¡°Why did you tell them our names anyway?¡± Dillon asked. ¡°I figure they¡¯re not gonna know who we are anyway so what¡¯s it matter? I doubt it¡¯ll come up again.¡± With that the train picked up speed and we lapsed into silence. Chapter 4 The silence only applied to our lack of words because everything was actually incredibly noisy. Dillon had gone from fiddling with the tablecloth to tapping against the surface, Morgana was humming a tune to herself, and the chugging of the train was loud enough to wake the dead. Given all the other casual luxuries, I was surprised the crown didn¡¯t have some enchantments to make everything quieter. I¡¯d heard that a lot of the wealthy had them in their homes so they could keep their business a secret so they couldn¡¯t have been that hard to get. Although I¡¯d never come across one on our side of town. ¡°Okay, I think it¡¯s been enough time,¡± I said, partly to stop Dillons knuckles wrapping against the window. Morgana gave me a slightly nervous look before closing her eyes and taking a deep breath. When she opened them again her face was set. Dillon on the other hand jumped to his feet and paced back and forth. I honestly couldn¡¯t remember a time I¡¯d seen him this nervous. The guy looked like his head would fall off. ¡°It¡¯s alright Dil,¡± I comforted him, putting my arms on his shoulders. ¡°Just take a deep breath. We¡¯ll be in and out, and before you know it, we¡¯ll be rich.¡± I gave him my biggest grin, squeezed his shoulders, and set off into the next carriage. The layout of this one was the same as the one we¡¯d just been in. A corridor in the middle was bordered by three private rooms on either side, before tailing off into a solo table near the exit to the next carriage. There were small windows on each of the rooms so that you could see if they were taken - which is what we would use to find Rolando. ¡°Marky¡¯s intel indicates he¡¯ll be a few carriages towards the middle from where we are now. Apparently he always sits on the left side,¡± I recapped for the two of them. Not that it was needed really because I knew they had it memorised as well. We moved through the first carriage quickly, not bothering to stop at any of the windows as it was unlikely our target would be in any of them. There were a couple of stodgy looking guys at the end table but they were too engrossed in their game of Kings and the Mob to spare us more than a glance. ¡°Okay, he¡¯s probably not in any of these but from here we might as well check. Morgana, you¡¯re on watch duty, Dillon you check the right side, and I¡¯ll take the left.¡± The first window I checked contained three couples kissing and one boy that looked like he was seventh wheeling. Poor guy. The next one over had a group of girls reading some hefty, ancient looking books. ¡®Is that what they had to read for homework in this place?¡¯ I muttered to myself. The final room on my side had six boys that must have been close to graduating based on the size of them. Each of them were around my height, and a couple were a lot wider. I swiftly moved on before they took notice of me. Not looking to get into a confrontation with anyone that size this early. The lone table at the end was populated by a group of four this time - three boys and a girl. Again no words were spoken, just a few polite smiles from either side but this group also had an athletic build. It was strange to me because I thought the rich kids were all just layabouts that spent all day spending their parents money. Perhaps these were the oathsworn? They likely had to do some exercise for the roles. The next carriage had the same layout but was a lot fancier. The carpets were plush underfoot, thick enough to sink my heels into. A faint scent of lavender? Maybe mixed with something sweet? Like a pastry? I wasn¡¯t sure what exactly it was but it smelled nice as it wafted from the rooms. It wasn¡¯t the sort of thing I would expect on my side of town anyway. The trimmings were finer, each finished with a care that spoke of an artisan¡¯s touch. When I looked into my first window, the rooms were also a marked step up. Sure, the previous carriages had been luxurious¡ªat least compared to anything I''d ever known¡ªbut here, the cushions were plump and inviting, the blankets looked like woven clouds, and the polished tables offered trays piled high with fine pastries and crystal decanters filled with amber drinks. The occupants glittered with jewellery, flaunting enough gold and gemstones to tempt me into abandoning our mission right then and there and simply robbing them blind. I reigned in my troublesome thoughts though and took a step back, looking at Dillon as I did. The gleam in his eyes made me think he was going through a similar struggle and we both shook our heads, moving to the next one. This room had the curtain drawn over the outside window with the occupants bathed in the light from the chandelier. A strange choice considering it was light outside and the exorbitant cost of mana. Magic wasn¡¯t common in Radan but it did exist. It was rare that we¡¯d come across anything that contained it - which is a big reason why Dillon wanted to sell the training dummies, and I wanted to keep them. There were magic items that you could buy, however the more useful they were, the more likely it would be that they required a mana battery to fuel. The issue was that those relied on actual mages to fuel them up. You could hire mages to fill the batteries for you of course but the costs were so eye wateringly expensive that it wasn¡¯t even worth thinking about. I suppose that didn¡¯t apply to the occupants of this train but it was still a shocking display of wealth. It¡¯s not even that I knew any mages I could ask to do it as favour either. As far as I knew, there hadn¡¯t been a mage born outside of the upper echelons for generations and even then they were rare. It was rumoured the Houses all had some as either contractors or permanent members, and the king was definitely one, but none of them would be around to fill up a mana battery for the likes of me. There were three people inside this carriage, two boys and one of the most beautiful girls I had ever laid eyes on. Her hair was platinum blonde and she had pale white skin. Both of which served to accentuate her piercing blue eyes. I knew the colour because they were looking right at me. She tilted her head like she was looking at a curiosity and I struggled to remove my eyes for a moment before moving on to the next room. ¡°These people have so much money,¡± Dillon whispered. ¡°I just saw a dagger made of Mendirian Steel. Do you know how much those things cost?¡± ¡°No, and I don¡¯t want to. At least not until we¡¯ve completed the main objective,¡± I replied. ¡°The ones in here had mana lamps active.¡± ¡°What?! In the daytime?!¡± Morgana gasped, hew jaw dropping. ¡°Just how rich are these kids.¡± I gave them all a knowing look. Avoiding temptation was getting harder and harder. Looting any of these groups would be the biggest payday we¡¯d ever had but I had to hold faith that Rolando Mykov was holding onto similar items, or at the very least that I¡¯d be able to get back to these rooms on the way out. The final room on my side again featured a group of kids displaying goods so expensive it made my head spin but I had to be good and move on because none of them matched the description we had for Rolando. There was nobody sitting at the lone table this time so I felt free to make sure Morgana and Dillon were prepared. ¡°Okay he¡¯s very likely to be in the next carriage. Are you two ready?¡± Both of them nodded to indicate they were, and we went into the next carriage. The most likely location for our target. There were no noticeable differences between this carriage and the last, with the trimmings seeming just as exquisite. It was a bit of a relief to me because I was concerned I wouldn¡¯t be able to hold back if they got even more excessive. Though the first room I got to showed that these occupants were just as wealthy as the last. One of them was going through a bag, holding up fine silk clothing for the others to inspect. Going by the gushing looks his fellow occupants were given him, I figured they were both expensive and fashionable. Not that I¡¯d know. I always favoured practicality over anything else. Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on. The second room had just one person inside. A pudgy boy that must have been around my own age. He was wearing what looked like a velvet blazer and the tightest pants I had ever seen. There were no books or any other kinds of entertainment around him, and he was just staring out the window. It was disappointing that he wasn¡¯t surrounded by riches but at least it would be easy. ¡°Found him,¡± I told my friends. ¡°What really?¡± Morgana asked as she ran over to me. ¡°Look for yourself. There¡¯s a boy about our age who¡¯s a little fat and likes tight trousers. It has to be Rolando Mykov.¡± She looked in the window and then came back with wide eyes and a wider smile. ¡°He¡¯s on his own.¡± ¡°He¡¯s on his own.¡± I grinned. ¡°Dillon, how¡¯s it looking on that side?¡± ¡°Nothing out of the ordinary. I mean, they¡¯re all ridiculously wealthy but none of them seemed like they were on guard.¡± ¡°Okay great. Lets storm in there, I rough him up, you pilfer his belongings, and Morgana keeps watch at the window. Sound good?¡± They signalled their agreement and after a count of three, we burst through the door. Rolando turned to us as we disrupted his solitude, surprise written on his face. Before he could get a handle on the situation, I crossed the cabin and punched him in the jaw. ¡°Don¡¯t say a word and this will be all over soon,¡± I threatened, my hand around his throat. I was aiming for menacing but my voice broke halfway through which I think lessened the effect. Fortunately he was clearly too shocked at the goings on because he didn¡¯t try to fight back. ¡°He¡¯s got a trunk and it¡¯s locked,¡± came Dillon¡¯s voice from behind me. Looking his way, I saw he was pulling a massive chest from underneath the opposite sofa. It was locked with a padlock and I had no doubts Dillon would be able to crack it but why waste time with that when Rolando had the key? I confirmed Morgana was standing in front of the door, blocking anyone from looking in and turned back to our target to continue menacing him. ¡°Where¡¯s the key?¡± I growled, emphasising my words with a slight squeeze and a shove towards the window. ¡°Ach-¡± he choked out before I released some pressure. ¡°It-it¡¯s in¡­¡± he was fumbling with his hand towards his right pocket. Taking the hint, knocked his hand out of the way os that he couldn¡¯t pull out any surprises, and moved my own to get in there. I was actually quite proud of how nimble my fingers were on a day-to-day basis. After years of hard work, I believed myself to be capable of pickpocketing anyone I came up against. There wasn¡¯t a time in recent memory that I failed. That was until I tried to get my hands in this guy''s pockets. ¡°Why are you wearing such tight pants man?!¡± I cried out, withdrawing my hand and pushing him further into the window in frustration. ¡°Dillon it¡¯s in his right pocket but they¡¯re too tight for my fingers.¡± ¡°Could Morgana get them?¡± He asked. I shook my head. ¡°Probably not. They¡¯re practically painted on. I think we¡¯ll need to cut them.¡± Rolando began vigorously shaking his head ¡°No, please! I¡¯ll get it! Don¡¯t stab me!¡± I gave him a look of disdain as tears started pooling in his eyes. ¡°We¡¯re not going to stab you. We¡¯re experts. But fine, you get it. Don¡¯t even think of trying anything though.¡± I gave him another quick squeeze to show I was serious and then let him go. He took some relieved breaths until he met my glare, then he hurriedly began trying to force his hand into his pocket. It was honestly pitiful. I couldn¡¯t understand why he would wear his pants so tight nor why he would keep things in his pockets. It must have taken him a minute to actually get his sausage looking fingers into them and when he finally pulled out an iron key, his fingers were red raw. I quickly snatched it from him and threw it to Dillon so he could begin getting the loot. ¡°Now Rolando, this is going to hurt but unfortunately it must be done.¡± I was gearing up to give him another punch. He was really quite pathetic and I was starting to feel bad about what we were doing so I was hoping to give him one good hit. Something that would leave a mark, and then we could be done with it. That should be enough to appease Marky and we¡¯d also be able to target another cabin or two before we got to our exit point. We¡¯d be so rich! The boy looked at me with confusion. ¡°Rolando?¡± He asked. ¡°I¡¯m not Rolando, I¡¯m Hugo.¡± That stopped us all dead. ¡°What do you mean you¡¯re Hugo?¡± Morgana asked. ¡°Don¡¯t try to play games with us, it¡¯ll only make it worse,¡± I growled. He cringed back, ¡°I¡¯m not! I promise! My name¡¯s hugo. My school documents are in there¡±, he said nodding towards the trunk. Dillon quickly rifled through all the clothes and pulled back some sheets of paper. One by one he threw them to the floor, each time he did so his eyes grew heavier. ¡°This book belongs to Hugo¡­ Report card of Hugo¡­ Letter addressed to¡­ Hugo.¡± By the time the last one was done, he gave me a grim look and a shake of his head. ¡°No!¡± I shouted as I kicked the sofa. ¡°Why are you wearing such tight pants! ¡®Rolando is a tubby boy with black hair who wears tight pants. He sits in a cabin in this section of the train and is probably wearing a velvet blazer¡¯. That¡¯s what we were given and you match it. You have to be him!¡± I practically shouted, getting right in his face. ¡°I¡¯m Hugo! I promise, I¡¯m Hugo.¡± He cried, leaning further into the window. ¡°Rolando¡¯s my cousin. I¡¯m not him. We just look alike and have the same nanny that picks our clothes.¡± I lifted my head and closed my eyes. This was a mess. ¡°Where¡¯s Rolando?¡± ¡°He¡¯s¡­¡± Hugo stuttered, looking at each of us and then the door. ¡°Spit it out.¡± ¡°...It would be a betrayal if I told you¡­¡± he said, trying to shrink his body. I slapped him on the side of the head. Not too hard but enough that he felt it. ¡°Tell us or I¡¯m going to get angry. Trust me, you won¡¯t like it if that happens.¡± ¡°Okay! Okay! Just please don¡¯t hurt me, I bruise easily,¡± he mewed pathetically as his tears poured. This was starting to make me feel really bad. I didn¡¯t expect him to start crying. I thought they¡¯d all be defiant and uppity. I was meant to be punching up. Taking from the rich to give to the poor. This just felt like bullying. ¡°Look,¡± I sighed, ¡°we¡¯re only after Rolando. Just tell us where he is and we¡¯ll leave you alone. We¡¯re not even going to do much to him.¡± He sniffled ¡°He¡¯s next door.¡± I let out a groan, throwing my hands up in the air and backing away. ¡°I can¡¯t believe you were trying to hold out on that. It would have been the first place we checked!¡± ¡°Does he have anyone else with him?¡± Dillon asked. ¡°Yes, he has three oathsworn in there.¡± That wasn¡¯t good but I still fancied my chances against them. Especially after Hugo. I was just crossing my fingers that they wouldn¡¯t break into tears after a couple of hits. I could handle a fair fight nor problem but beating on someone that was whimpering just made me feel bad. ¡°Why aren¡¯t you in there with them?¡± Morgana asked, a hint of sympathy in her voice. ¡°Rolando says I have to get used to being on my own or I¡¯ll never be strong.¡± He sat up straighter as he said it, like he¡¯d been reminded of a personal goal. ¡°Give me some of those clothes Dillon.¡± He knew what I intended and threw over some pieces I could use to bind Hugo in place. ¡°No! Don¡¯t! You don¡¯t have to kill me.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not killing you, you idiot. I¡¯m just tying you up.¡± After a second I added. ¡°And gagging you.¡± There wasn¡¯t any point risking him making noise after all. His face relaxed after realising I wasn¡¯t going to kill him but it was still a pain trussing him up. I ended up putting him on his belly, gagged, with his hands and legs tied together behind his back. It wasn¡¯t a comfortable position but it should stop him from doing anything stupid. ¡°Right, so this was a problem,¡± I said as I got to my feet. ¡°Please tell me he had something good to make up for it?¡± Dillon held up a purse ¡°We¡¯ve got thirty coins here. A quill that has a small enchantment on it, and this nice hat.¡± The hat was blood red and honestly did look quite nice. Hopefully we could sell it because I was getting envious looking at Dillon wearing it. ¡°Thirty coins is a result and I suppose we haven¡¯t spent too long here.¡± I thought for a moment. ¡°We should still be on schedule so let''s go next door. If it turns out Hugo¡¯s lied, we can come back and get the truth out of him.¡± Hugo began furiously shaking his head and let out a small whimper. Making me feel worse because of how desperate he looked. ¡°Come on. They might have heard something so I¡¯ll just rush in and start bashing heads.¡± ¡°Four of them could be too many, Brandon.¡± Morgana said. ¡°What? Four Hugos?¡± I scoffed. ¡°I¡¯ll be fine. If I¡¯m not and any of them prove to be a handful, you two do what you can to help out. Worse comes to worse and we¡¯ll just get a hit off on Rolando and run. Sound good?¡± They gave me halfhearted nods and we exited the room. Going over to the window of the third cabin, I uncovered our next hiccupy. ¡°Oh no.¡± ¡°What?¡± Dillon asked, coming over. ¡°Brandon, you idiot!¡± ¡°You two are freaking me ou-¡± She groaned, seeing what we saw. ¡°Oh no.¡±