Two men quickly approached and started to drag Sir Gorou away, but the woman raised her hand and they let him go. Her face was stern and watched him very closely, but she was intrigued by him. Holding up one finger, she waved a ‘come hither’ motion for him to sit in the chair next to her.
“N…not…(hiccup)...interested.” He turned onto his hands and knees, pushing himself off the floor.
The two men crossed their arms and blocked Sir Gorou’s path to the exit. He turned wobbly to the woman and she patted the seat next to her.
He turned back to the two determined men, before retreating to the seat next to her. He plopped down, leaned against the table and supported his unstable head with his hand.
“I’m Maligun, and who might you be?” Her pitch was seductive.
“Rogen.”
“Are you from around here Rogen?”
He shook his head. “Nope.”
“Where are you from?”
“Everywhere!” He swung his arms open wide and chuckled.
“And what are you doing in the middle of the desert?”
“The woman…the woman I love…ran away to marry another man.” He mumbled. “So! I go wherever I can to…(hiccup)...run away.”
“Awe, you poor thing.” She scooted her chair right in front of him. “Come here.” She pouted with her big dramatic lips and embraced him into her bosom, rocking slightly.
“No.” He lightly pushed her away. “I…I still…love her.”
“I know baby…” She said with a pouting face. “I’ll make you forget all about her, come on.” She stood up and the two men nearby made a move to approach, but she waved them away. Sir Gorou leaned on her as she led him up the stairs, through the inn and into her room.
Tsugi has never been so shocked to see his father behave like that.
‘Was that really him? Or was he acting? On top of that, what am I supposed to do now?’
The merchant was his target, but he wasn’t sure if he should follow the two men instead. Since his father was with the merchant, he decided he would follow the men.
They left to the edge of the town, glancing around nervously before entering a barn near the outskirts.
Carefully traveling through the shadows, he sneaked up next to the barn and peered in through the cracks in the wall.
He saw a man shoving his swollen member into the limp bodies of the half naked women in the carriage. They were so drugged up, they could do nothing but stir uncomfortably to the movement.
Tsugi’s eyes bulged with disgust and his fists shook with fury.
“Knock it off.” One of the men leaning against the wall hissed. “Someone’s here.”
Tsugi had accidentally leaked a little bloodlust and immediately concealed it. He quickly took off in a flash and hid nearby. The men went out and searched the area, but returned when they didn’t find anyone.
Tsugi exhaled in relief.
‘If they didn’t kill me, Sir Gorou definitely would have, for my little slip up.’ He continued to the barn and peered inside again. Whether he liked it or not, he had to observe. He chiseled every little detail in his mind, to include the noises and smells. If they were to move in the morning, that meant that, unless they could somehow trail them through the desert undetected, he only had tonight to prepare everything.
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The lean man, who was talking to Maligun earlier, had entered the barn. “Stop messing around Arti.”
The short bulky man lifted his head up from one of the woman’s bosoms and grinned. “Why not? It’s late and we’re taking forever to get back.”
“And who’s fault is that?” The tallest of the men barked. “You were the one who lost the kid from the last town, because you were doing this and not doing your job like you’re supposed to! Listen to the captain and knock it off.”
“Yamo ain’t our captain. We’re mercenaries, we don’t have a captain.”
“Did you want to take him on?” The tall man cocked an eyebrow and smirked. “I would love to see you get killed right now.”
“Shut up Volgan.” He pulled himself away from the woman and drew up his trousers.
“Don’t get mad at me.” Volgan crossed his arms. “You’re the reason why we had to kill the kid. Why else do you think Madam Maligun is so angry? We just lost a product.”
Arti scowled and locked the women back up into the carriage.
Tsugi only made it back to his room to shut his eyes for a few hours before a knock came at his door.
Tsugi groggily opened the door.
“So what did you find out?” Sir Gorou stepped in and gazed around the room before sitting by the fireplace.
Tsugi peeked outside, but there was no sunlight streaming in yet. He rubbed his tired eyes and sat on the couch next to Sir Gorou.
“There are three men, and approximately three women. I’m not sure how many are in the carriage. They lost a kid, which ended up dead, and that’s why they were behind on schedule, but they are leaving before sunrise.”
“Are you ready?”
“No. I don’t think I have enough information on them yet.”
“Some things you need to process at the last moment. For example, you won’t know what the inside of the carriage looks like, until you get inside. Right now, they are not too familiar with their surroundings.”
Tsugi’s heart raced. That statement meant Sir Gorou wanted him to infiltrate tonight.
“But how am I supposed to prepare before sunrise? If anything, they are probably preparing to move now.”
“I bought you one more day. They won’t be leaving for another day. Gather whatever else you need before then.” He got up and left the room.
Tsugi gazed puzzledly at his fathers back, curious as to what he did that postponed them.
‘Only one day?’ Tsugi scratched his head. ‘What happened to being well prepared first? Although, it does make sense to do it while they are in an unfamiliar place.’ Tsugi sighed and dragged his tired body over to the bed.
Upon waking, Tsugi decided, the best chance is to get inside before they plan to leave.
He meandered around town like a homeless child. He actually looked the part, with his worn out tattered clothes. Even though he had a little more muscle in his body now, he was still very skinny and malnourished.
Hiding himself, he noticed Madam Maligun strolling through the market, accompanied by Yamo.
“Why are we not leaving today?” Yamo trailed behind her and glanced around.
“I might have found someone else to help us. I just need another day to persuade him. If he’s not on board, we will leave tomorrow.”
‘Does that mean, father is going to go with me? Or are they talking about someone else?’
Tsugi approached behind them and bumped into her. “Sorry.” Tsugi said in a soft voice and continued walking.
“My coin pouch!” She yelled.
Tsugi darted down the road, dodging pedestrians and turned into the alleys. He found himself stuck at a dead end and turned around, only to see Yamo approach and block him in.
“You’re pretty fast kid, I’ll give you that.” His face showed no emotions. He held out a hand. “Hand over the coin pouch and I’ll let you keep your hands.” His sword was tied to his waist and rattled with every step.
Tsugi clutched the pouch closer to his chest and glared dangerously at Yamo.
Yamo now stood in front of Tsugi and waited patiently. Tsugi hesitantly placed the pouch into his hand.
All of the sudden his vision went blurry.
‘What happened?’ Tsugi tasted blood in his mouth and looked around, dazed.
Yamo had a sinister look on his face. He had punched Tsugi so hard that the air left his lungs. It all occurred so fast, Tsugi wasn’t expecting it. Had he dropped his guard a little too much?
He collapsed to the ground clutching his stomach and hurled up all the delicious food he ate the previous night. As delicious as it went in, it was also delicious coming back out.
Yamo tossed the coin bag into the air and caught it again before placing it in his cloak. “Looks like you were able to sneak some food recently too huh? Or did you go through the trash?” He knelt down next to Tsugi and whispered in his ear, “Next time, learn to target the right people, kid.” He ruffled Tsugi’s hair and stood back up.
“Arg!” Tsugi charged and threw a punch toward Yamo, but he dodged and kicked Tsugi hard enough to throw him into the empty pallets nearby, breaking the wood into pieces.
“I like the spunk in you kid. What’s your name?” He grinned.
“You dare to try and steal from me?” Madam Maligun approached and stared down her nose at Tsugi. “You will learn what happens when you steal from the wrong people. Take him.”
“It’s broad daylight.”
“Then figure it out. You fools already lost one, so take this one to make up for it.”
Yamo nodded and launched a hard punch into Tsugi’s face.