(The stranger)

My first impressions upon seeing him were “How could such a man get caught?”

This place was fairly remote from the main cities, and his clothing looked... so out of this region. His upper garment resembled a short coat of dark fabric with shiny, reflective lapels, a material that’s quite rare, at least in this area.

The lower part of his clothing consisted of tight-fitting trousers that seemed to cling to his legs like a second skin, the pristine white color in stark contrast with the dark blue dye.

Suddenly, he twisted his head towards me, then winked, a smirk accompanying his devilish eyes.

Somehow, the smile had reminded me of my brother’s. We always smiled and played together, bustling through our village as if there was no tomorrow.

Until one day, there really was no tomorrow.

That day, the republic’s troopers had marched into our homestead, allegedly in search of a spy in our community.

They had even stopped by our house, the very place where I had spent countless hours learning the art of blacksmithing from my father, and scoured the place for anything that could help in discovering the truth.

Though, it’d be more accurate to say their own truth.

From a singe book found in brother’s room that contained a foreign language, the commander, Jenie, had made the decision to take him back to the republic’s capital, to, probably, give the order to execute him.

The news spread like wildfire through our humble community, and voices of protest rose like a gathering storm. We, the villagers, could not bear to see one of our own condemned in such a way.

Jenie, however, was furious about having his authority be questioned. he silenced our pleas with brutal force, his orders to subdue our men met with fists that left some senseless on the ground.

And on that day, as the first snowflakes began to fall in the bleak midwinter, I’d say my final goodbye to my brother indefinitely.

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I’ll never forget Jenie face, resembling that of an arrogant rat, as he dragged him away from us.

Some time later, as the ice began to thaw, I had said my goodbye’s to what as left of the family as I travelled into the world outside of my comfort zone.

To fill my stomach, I started to indulge in banditry and blacksmithing.

Although successful at first, I soon earned a bounty on my head after stealing from a group of... unsavory individuals.

I was able to escape from their clutches, though my greed knew no bounds, and soon I found myself stealing from the adventurers before us.

After breaking my ankle, they took me captive, no doubt on their way to pocket my bounty.

“Viya, why did you take that guy prisoner, anyways?” The swordsman asked.

“He’s clearly not around here, and he looks like a filthy Warian. Besides, his physical attributes should catch us a pretty ducat in the slave market.” She answered, giving a side eye to the stranger.

An unintentional snort escaped my mouth, loud enough for them to hear.

“What are you laughing at, piss punk?” Viya said, her glare full of daggers.

“It’s quite amusing how the role of ‘adventurer’ is supposed to be a noble one held in certain regard, yet you guys abduct a man for all you know could be an innocent-” The end of the archer’s bow found its way towards my nose as I said that, bleeding ensuing mere seconds later.

I yelled in pain, to which he responded with “Learn to keep your mouth shut next time.”

“Warians deserve worse after what they did to us in the last war... they’re animals with no redeeming qualities whatsoever.” He added.

“You got that right, Mars.”

The real animals are standing right in front of me... I thought as I caressed my bloody nose.

“Come on thief, we haven’t got all day. Or should I help you with your little wounds first?” Viya said in her mocking tone.

I began limping forward.

“The city of Lykos...” Viya muttered, her eyes going over all the beautiful architecture and landmarks visible from the outskirts of the city.

“Well, boys, looks like you reached your destination.” Mars said, a smirk growing across his face.

As we made our way towards the heart of the city, we passed through the grand gates that marked the entrance to the bustling metropolis called Lykos.

It’s good to be back... I thought as I looked around the stalls and markets placed right at the entrance of the city.

This place practically started by thieving career as stealing was just to easy.

It would be a crime to humanity not to steal from people who deserve it! And yet they had the gall to put a bounty on my head, as if we should just condone those who lay their precious belongings out in the wild.

“Alright then,” Mars stopped in his tracks.

“we’ll go to the slave market. Deliver the thief to the bailiff, and lets all take a feast with the highest quality food that money can buy in Miracle pub!”

“Alright!” His two other companions yelled in unison.

With a subtle nod of acknowledgment, we parted ways in the busy city square. I couldn't help but feel that our paths were destined to cross again, one way or another.