Fate's Deception: section XIV

XIV1

Finally having reached the town there was no mistake that it was anything but Prontera. The town was completely surrounded by a huge towering wall that defended the city when under attack. To the north you could see the castle looming over the town casting a huge shadow over it. Right in front of her was the drawbridge giving entrance to the city and the beginning of her new life. The pathways that inter-connected everything were more like roads built of cobblestone. The whole town was like a piece of art a dirty, crummy place that told the hard truths of life. Houses where built almost right on top of one another with only small alleyways between. Vendors filled the streets crowding around the center of town calling out their wares, each trying to outmatch the other both in yelling and in the price of their goods. 2

Startled from her interest in taking in the city atmosphere, a paperboy yelled from his corner, "Extra. Extra read all about it!" Curious, she approached to get a better look. "Sterling Castle taken over by the Seraphim Elite." Seeing an easy victim the paperboy targeted her, "Would you like to buy a paper, mum? 20 Zeny per copy. Best print in town, I can swear by that," he said, while giving the honor sign. 3

Feeling guilty about taking up his time and having no way to pay him she shoved her hands into her pockets. "I don’t have that kind of money," Blackett said, looking embarrassed, a slight tint to her cheeks giving her away. 4

Ready for a bargain the boy spat out the next number that came to his mind. "15 Zeny then." Reeling her in like a fish he then lowered his voice pleadingly, "Please mum? If I don’t sell at least a 100 copies by the end of the day my masters are gonna be after me." Unable to resist the poor boy now Blackett reached into her pocket digging for whatever change she could find. 5

"Amscray," A strange voice growled at the newspaper boy, "Don’t give that little thief anything." Jumping, astonished by the forwardness of the stranger, Blackett quickly covered up her look of shock and got ready to go on the defense if necessary. "Hi, the name’s Leaderan." She reaching out her hand in introduction. "You must be new around here." 6

Blackett nodded her head in response, ignoring the outstretched hand. "Blackett."7

Shocked by the niceties of someone in this town, Blackett just stood there with her mouth hanging open. "You know you could catch flies with that." 8

Pulled out of her stupor she made a come back, "Hey, at least it would be something to eat." 9

"Here this should fix that." She reached into her bag and pulled out a biscuit. Blackett caught the Biscuit as Leaderan tossed it to her. Blackett’s stomach growled with a fierce pain showing just how hungry she was. She quickly scarfed the biscuit down without even breathing. "Wow you weren’t kidding." In response Blackett just grunted, still to busy chewing up the remainder of her food. "Here," Leaderan said, passing her another biscuit. This time wanting to take her time savoring the biscuit, she tore pieces and slowly chewed them till they dissolved. The conversation dwindled between Leaderan and Blackett as they both munched on the biscuits and let their thoughts wander. 10

As Blackett’s mind drifted, she started to eavesdrop into someone else’s conversation. Passing by on the street were two old busy bodies wearing outrageous costumes. How anyone was supposed to get around in them was oblivious and so Blackett just stared. Their dresses were made out of the finest silk, but the colors they had chosen made her nauseous. Sticking out of their hats were these ridiculous feathers that constantly hung in their eyes, making it almost impossible to see. The women kept jabbering on and on totally unaware of the stares they were getting. They seemed to be talking about rumors related to the…assassin’s guild! Leaning in closer, Blackett started to pay closer attention to their chattering. 11

"Do you remember my neighbor, Mr. Thompson? The one who’s become a hermit now? They say he stays locked up in his house all the time," she added a mysterious note to her voice, drawing her audience in. 12

"That house? I could have sworn it was abandoned!" 13

Sighing the old biddy continued, "A few years ago his wife disappeared, just out of the blue one day she was gone. Nobody knew what happened to her. Mr. Thompson, the husband, must have known but he wouldn’t tell anyone. It seemed to have scarred him for life though because after that nobody ever saw him. Some think he killed her and hid her up in the attic when she told him she was going to leave. Others think she just ran away…nobody knows for sure though. Except, if you looked real close at night, you could see a light in the house just swaying back and forth in the upstairs window." 14

"Oh, my." 15

"Exactly. As I was saying though, he got a strange letter from Morroc the other day-." 16

"You opened his mail?!" Shocked by her forwardness. 17

"Somebody’s got to do it, otherwise how are we to know what’s going on? As I was saying he got a letter about some strange occurrences happening over in Morroc." 18

"Do tell you must." 19

"Well supposedly the guild’s been having trouble. The old guild master is dying and isn’t as strong as he once was. This gives plenty of opportunity to anyone who wants to take over and I guess someone did!" The conversation stopped momentarily as both ladies broke into hysterical giggling. 20

"You going to eat that?" Leaderan asked, pointing to the half of biscuit Blackett had left in her hand. Suddenly she felt her stomach doing flip-flops revolting the food she had so craved only minutes before. Blackett just shook her head in response to Leaderan’s question and handed it over. "Let’s go." 21

Startled by her directness, Blackett dumbly replied, "Where?" 22

Sighing Leaderan said, "Look, you seem like a nice kid, not too bright but nice. How about I introduce you around, show you the ropes before you try going it alone." Not wanting to admit that she was in need of help, Blackett just nodded her head in acceptance. 23