The city was devastated, its wealth was plundered and the rest burned to the ground. The streets were dyed in red, blood streamed and pooled into small pools on the cobbled streets and corners. A lot of deceased were still waiting for a proper burial; there were too many of them. It was a day of mourning and despair and on this day Guardian was asked to pick a side, the ones who do nothing but cower or the rebels who resist their fate.

However, Guardian did not see it like that. He wondered why he should care about these people. Why does this side need to be mourned and not the other? The Islanders had a reason to invade this town and they too suffered casualties. People died all the time and it did not concern him unless it was one of his own. If he was asked on which side he wants to stand, the winners or the losers, he would pick the winners. But there were no winners today, only losers. It might not appear so at the first glance because he was seeing direct results of the attack on a city, but he knew that Islanders too suffered considerable loses. There were very few of their kind and every death to them was devastating.

Guardian finished his thinking about pointless things and finally gave his answer.

“I can't. I do not want to pick sides.” He knew that this wasn’t the answer Cynthia wanted to hear but still he said it.

“Why? Why is that?” She questioned him again.

“I am a traveller, remember? I might have settled here for a while but still, this is not my city and not my homeland. I have little to gain and a lot to lose if I pick sides now.” He tried to explain his reasoning.

“Look around you! How can you tolerate such slaughter and remain neutral? You could help me to stop this.”

Cynthia looked at him, anger was burning in her eyes.

“…” Guardian remained silent, he has already given his answer.

“I thought you are better than this!”

“In that case, you do not know me.”

Cynthia turned away from him and stomped to attend her tasks angrily. Guardian let out a sigh of relief; he was here to do business and not to argue.

It took him only a few hours to sell all healing items he had. He was very pleased seeing the overflowing bag of gold and silver. There was so much coin in it that a normal human would find it straining to carry such a heavy treasure, but he was no mere human. There was no reason for him to be here so he headed back home clutching the money he had made.

At home, he did not have much time for himself. Minutes after he came back Tiramisu approached him. There was a big smirk on her face, she was waging her tail.

“Guardian, certain someone wants to see you outside.”

“And why are you so happy about that?”

“Look at this.” She showed him a gold coin. “I got this just to get you.”

She clearly had been grossly overpaid, and also, he tough that Tiramisu does not care about the money. She seemed too excited for someone who is not interested in coins.

“I know you like money and this mysterious stranger clearly means business! I did well to find him, didn't I?” She handed offered him her coin.

Guardian took it. Maybe, she did not care about the money after all.

“Let’s see this person.” He already knew it will be someone of suspicious nature, otherwise, why else the stranger would try to show off like that. Guardian just hoped that it will not be some noble trying to bribe him to serve under them.

Tiramisu led Guardian outside. The surface yard was still overfilled with people. The battle was over but the people still refused to go back to their homes. Guardian wondered if it was because they felt safer in a large group. It was not an easy task to find someone suspicious within a crowd of other suspicious people but Tiramisu seemed to know who she was looking for.

Guardian was led to an individual who stood out amongst others. Their body was hidden under a thick cloak which dangled loosely stretching all the way to the ground. On top of a strangers' head sat a funny conical hat which stretched wide and high above. The face was hidden completely under the black veil, only a narrow slit was left for eyes.

“So? What do you want from me?” Guardian asked the shady person.

“Let’s go somewhere more private.” A womanly voice rang behind the veil.

He led her inside into the hall where he lived. This was not the best place for guest but the dining hall was full of people.

“Hmm… you do indeed have a lot of people living under your roof. They all work for you?” She made a guess.

“You could say so. I assume you are here to hire me?”

“Yes. And we are willing to pay for your assistance very handsomely.”

Guardian reassessed his opinion about not taking sides. If there was a sufficient compensation maybe he could help out after all. But it all depended on the risk and reward.

“How much exactly are we talking about? And what dhoao you expect from me?” He asked her.

“Before I go into the details can she be trusted?” the woman pointed at lizard woman standing beside him.

Tiramisu looked at the Guardian, he nodded in agreement. The stranger took off the funny hat revealing a pair of horns. It was a distinctive feature of Islanders. Guardian now knew with who exactly he was dealing with.

“You had less of a reaction than I have expected, but this might be because I find it hard at reading your face... So?” She wanted to know if he was still up for it.

“So… how much are we talking about?” It was clear for him what she wanted by now.

“As you can see, I am an Islander.” She looked at Guardian’s eyes trying to gauge a reaction once again. There was none so she continued. “As my contact ensured you seem to be fine with that. I will ask for a very hard thing, something very treacherous. ”

“Just get on with it.” He was getting tired of all this beating around the bush.

“I need you to hire as many men as possible to overthought current rulers of this city. For that, we will pay a king's ransom.”

“Hmmm... I would need a lot of money to even sway people here to rise up against their own.” He wondered just how much is that king's ransom.

“As much as you need. Money is not a problem for us; time is. So can you do it? Do we have a deal?” She needed his cooperation urgently, nobles will waste no time and money to hire more mercenaries.

Guardian weighted this proposal heavily. But in the end, he decided to do it. He wanted the money, enough of it to ransom a king.

“Deal.” He stretched his arm for a shake. They shook it and then went through finer details of the deal.

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He was fully aware that he will need to do a very dirty job indeed and that he will be paid in blood money. The same money the islanders plundered from the city. He was completely fine with that.

To get the necessary funds to raise a band of men he will have to go to the seashore to collect it. The Islanders controlled the sea and the City Harbour so this will be the easy part of this. The hard part was to convince the men to rebel. Once he had the manpower he was meant to overthrow the noble’s through the revolt of the people. Any mention of Islanders pulling the strings was not a good idea. He had to make it look as if the locals did it themselves through a revolt.

At that night, as promised, Guardian got the large chest brimming with coins and went straight back home with it. He went to the dining hall where those who supposedly worked under him were still gathered. The feasting stopped at some point during the evening but it was picking up again. He found a good spot in the middle of the room and began to speak.

“Everyone!” This was all he needed to get their attention. “Do you not find it frustrating to be living like this? Having no coin to buy even the simplest sort of food? Having to work all day every day so that you can afford a measly morsel barely enough to satisfy your hunger?”

His words were truthful but everyone knew that this was just how life was; hard and unfair. They wondered where he was going with this. Guardian continued his speech.

“Having no one to turn in your hour of need. In a dire situation like this who are the ones who help you? Well, what I can tell it is clearly not the City Guards. When was the last time they did anything for you in the slums? Never! Nor is it the masters you serve. They do not care about you.”

This too was known to the people gathered here; they nodded to him in agreement. A single woman in a crowd braved a shout. “But you are different, Guardian. You let us in, you fed us. You shared with us. You do care!” Iustitia did her best to convey what she taught about him, and also what she was told to tell.

“Yes, yes I do. Also, I am not one of them, else I would not live in a slum district. I am not from a noble family. It is the nobles who neglect you. They are the ones who take everything from you. You do their dirty work and receive next to nothing in return. All while their already plump asses get even fatter with money and food they eat daily. The money and food they have all because of your hard labour.”

The men started to shout in agreement. Some of them still wondered what they could do about this; they knew that there were very few options open. Nobles were wealthy and powerful. Even now they had armed men protecting them at all times. Guardian noticed small kindlings of anger the eyes of the people.

“The money they have is all because of you and they hoard it all for themselves alone, unwilling to share. Let’s go and take a fair share of what should be ours!”

This was a very bold proposition and men knew this. To even speak such things was a death wish, hence the room got uncomfortably quiet.

“Do not lie to yourselves. You want it. You want to live a rich life just like the wealthy. I say let’s do it. This is the time for you to rise up and reach for a better life. Both for you and those around you.”

“But what can we do against them? Against the whole army?” One of the beastmen asked. Men here knew that it would be not just guards they were against but many mercenaries the nobles had hired.

“Ohh, there is plenty of things we can do. If you follow my lead and work under my command I will guide you to a better life. And to convince you, let me show you this!” Guardian pointed at the large chest he had dragged all the way here.

The men wondered what was inside. He opened it in show-like fashion presenting the contents for all to see. The chest was full to the brim with coins, and it was not just any coins it was gold coins. A lot of people here have never seen an actual gold before in their entire life. A few of them reached instinctively drawn by the glittering coins. The offending hands got slapped and the men pushed away from the treasure. Guardian was not ready to share it, not just yet.

“Hold! See this?" He pointed at the coins. "That is what the nobles have hidden away from you. Their houses are full of riches you helped them to get. Yet you have nothing... Of course, I am not one of them and I will share this. But, there is a very big but. You have to do exactly as I say. Otherwise, all of this will be for nought.”

The greed took over the men and women who had gathered here. They were shouting in agreement ready to be told what to do so that hey can get their hands on the precious gold coins. After all, the ones here were bandits or harbour girls, their morals were already loose.

“Easy, easy now!” He was handing a single coin to the each of them. “There will be more. Now go and tell what I have told you to the others. Tell it to everyone living in the slums. After you tell them, show them the coin you got and tell them that if they want it too they have to gather here in prison ruins. And remember we will take back our fair share of things from the nobles; it will be not just coins, other things too. The poor have suffered enough.”

Once again the room rang in agreement. The people ran away to recruit others for the common cause. Guardian was pleased that the money was enough to set things in motion. However, the hard part of his plan did not even begin. He needed more money to get more men, he knew that Islanders will be more than happy to provide that.

A horde of people gathered around prison ruins, a lot more when there had been before. There were too many to count. The slum dwellers were here mostly for the money. They actually cared little for a common cause and an actual opportunity to improve their lives. Guardian went outside to speak with them. He climbed atop the rubble to be heard well. Lit torches and piles of burning wood illuminated the are where everyone has gathered.

“People! I assume you are here to claim your reward.” He addresses the ones here.

“Gold! Give us gold.” The folk bellowed at him.

“Now, now… What good will it be If I gave everything of mine before anything happened? I have already shared what I can. There is plenty of gold it is just not here. You will need to take it from the nobles. It is that simple.”

It was not that simple and he knew that.

“I know you are reluctant to go against nobles. But look at this, how many of us are here; look around. There is strength in numbers and I am sure you can feel it. This will be easy, believe me, that is if you do what I say. And If you do, you will find yourselves just as rich as those people living in the main city.”

The people here were still unconvinced. They did feel a lot stronger when in a mob but still what were they against armed guards, nothing but a lump of rotten flesh to be cut down and disposed of.

“As you know I am a man to be reckoned with. The nobles will feel my power. And I will do everything to help you in your goal to live better. You might say: what a lone man can do against an army? Without you, kind folk, not much but I do wield an overwhelming power. The power I am willing to use to help my you, my neighbours.”

Guardian stretched his arms towards the sky forcefully. With the motion came a blast of blue light. It was not just a light which hit the people but a shockwave of power. Everyone could fell the energy hitting their bodies. The pillar of light stretched towards the sky, briefly dispersing the darkness of the night. Guardian used the spell which had been used to destroy the golem. A certain blood tinted crystal powered the spell.

“I am a mage! With my guidance, we can do this. We shall take what is rightfully ours.”

There was a mixed reaction within the crowd. Some were impressed, others were scared but in the end, they were glad that he was on their side. Having a powerful mage reassured the people.

“Now listen, this is what we need to do...” He explained what they need to do.

First, they needed to gather even more people on their side. And not just battle-able men, women and children too. He instructed women and children to go into the town, under the guise of darkness, to loot the corpses. He told them to take all weapons they can find and bring them here. He also instructed his bandits to launch an assault on barrack and armoury and take everything they can carry. This should help him to arm the men to some extent so that they stand a chance in a fight.

All of this had to be done quickly. Guardian knew that the light show he just made attracted a lot of unwanted attention. Well, actually this was a part of his plan too but this will be used later. He has also formed a band of women led by Aiu, their task was to go to the forest and swaps to gather healing herbs. His stocks were out and he knew that he will need them, considering what he was about to cause. Another bloodbath was about to happen here and a lot of healing will have to be done.

Meanwhile, the Islander woman visited him again. She was very pleased with his ability to gather so many people. He did not do this for free and asked for more coin for his cause. He had also asked Islanders for basic weapons, spears and the like. The woman ensured him that he will get the money and the weapons in due time and went back to report to her superiors. On her way, she left another two large chests filled with gold.

He wished he could keep the coin, but he couldn’t. He needed it to convince the mercenaries to join his forces. He would pay double to what they were already getting, the inflated price for their service was even more inflated now. Guardian wondered if it was the mercenaries who were the true winners in all of this. He sent the harbour woman to bribe the mercenaries and even guards if they were willing to betray their masters. Before the fighting started he wanted as many people on his side as possible.

The last thing he did was to send the rest of bandits and thugs to cause mayhem in the city. They were to set buildings on fire and do everything in their power to distract the guards. He had also sent his little lizard friends away, they were led by Tiramisu. Their task was to find and assassinate the Guard Commander and anyone else in charge. This was a dangerous task but Tiramisu ensured him that she is capable of doing that. All they needed to do was injure the man and the poison will take care of the rest. This was because the lizard daggers were coated in deadly poison.

Everything was set in motion, all Guardian had to do now was wait for the chaos to rock the very foundation of this city.