The roaring of the fire and the clanging of the wok were drowned out by the uproarious chatter of the rowdy customers.
Dusty miners, sullen hunters and raucous bandits alike sat in groups of four or five across a spread of tables across the uneven earthen floor. A skinny Malay boy in his teens weaved his way between the tables, carefully avoiding the upturned bowls, loose chopsticks and shattered wine bottles littered on the ground to drop off steaming plates of food and pick up dirty ones.
The shoddy restaurant, located not too far out from the heart of the Nameless Town, was a crowd favorite and the bustling lunchtime scene was a familiar occurrence. Here was a rare sanctuary where people could come and eat without fear of being poisoned or split across the back of the head with a hatchet; as long as you could pay, of course.
The boy waiting the tables slipped behind the ramshackle kitchen, carrying bowls and plates all the way up to his shoulder. He deftly dropped the dishes into a massive container full of water and started washing the plates.
A long shadow slowly inched closer to the boy, its owner blocking off the light from the lantern in the distance. The boy kept his head down and continued washing dishes, pretending not to notice the sudden change in lighting, except his hand under the water had latched onto a shard of broken plate he kept there.
“I’m surprised you still have a job here. I thought Old Fatt fired you after you broke your one-hundredth plate.”
The boy’s eyes lit up with surprise and immediately flickered upward. There, smiling down at him, was a familiar and handsome face that begged to be punched.
“Vardan!” The boy stood up and hugged his friend with a smile. The plate in his hand dropped to the ground and promptly shattered into a thousand pieces.
A large, gruff man with an apron around his waist stuck his head out of the kitchen, glowering at the skinny boy. The boy turned around and nodded apologetically. The gruff man's eyes stopped on the person fraternizing with his worker for a brief moment. He then grunted and looked away disinterestedly, as if he hadn’t seen someone there at all, slinking back into the kitchen to fry up another plate of braised meat.
“Your face!” said the boy in shock when he saw Vardan’s ugly brand.
Vardan had not made any effort to hide it. In fact, he had tied his long hair back, which made the mark on his face more visible than ever.
He flashed a grin and said, “My face is still attached to my head. No need to worry about it. How’ve you been?”
“How have I been? I should ask you that question. The customers can’t stop talking about Rayyan’s death. Killed by kids, they said. I didn’t believe it at first, but here you are,” said the boy.
“Here I am. Seems like you’re doing good, Adil, if you’ve still got a job like this.”
Adil shrugged and said, “Well, Old Fatt’s stuck with me. I’m the only worker in the past year that hasn’t tried to kill or steal from him.”
Vardan chuckled and said, “What about Ming? He works faster, complains less and breaks a lot less plates than you do.”
Adil’s face darkened at the mention of their mutual friend. He paused for a moment and said, “Ming’s dead.”
Vardan fell quiet at the news.
“How?”
“The flood six months back. He got a new job digging a mine on the south end for one grain an hour. Didn’t even have time to react before he was swept away by the current. I only heard about what happened in the mines a month after it happened.”
Vardan’s smile had vanished.
“And the others?”
Adil gave him a dry smile and said, “Not many jobbers left these days. Money is running dry with the Darktide approaching and very few places are hiring. Most of our old friends either sold themselves off or are running with gangs and triads. It’s hard to make an honest living down here anymore.”
Vardan sighed and said, “There wasn’t a lot of us to begin with. Your mom doing alright?”
Adil nodded. “Just fine. Your dad’s been kind enough to look out for us as well.”
“That’s good to hear.”
“So you coming home for good now, Vardan?”
“Not quite. I’m just visiting. In fact, I’m here for business reasons.”
“Business reasons?” asked Adil, tilting his head doubtfully, “What kinda business do you have with me?”
“You’ve been waiting tables here at Old Fatt’s for the past year, right? Have you seen a group of three bandits with rats around them?”
Adil raised an eyebrow when Vardan mentioned rats.
“Rats? You’re looking for the Rat Brothers?”
“Maybe.”
“What for? They are bad news. The leader, especially.”
Vardan nodded his head and said, “What do you know about them?”
Adil frowned but told Vardan what he knew, “There’s three of them: the leader Zhang Mo Yu and his two followers, Chen Lin and Ah Gou. They come in to eat about once a month. Ah Gou’s a bit dim and Chen Lin is your typical roughneck, but Zhang Mo Yu is cunning and exceedingly cruel.
There was an incident a few months ago. Old Fatt really hated them here after that, not that he liked them in the first place because of the rats.
“What did they do?”
“They got into an argument with another group of bandits because they ordered the last of the river fish. Things got heated and blood probably would have been spilled if not for the tacit agreement that no fighting is allowed at Old Fatt’s place.
You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.
The leader of the rival bandits was a mean guy; they called him Tatu because he was covered in tattoos from head to toe. One for every kill, he always said. He liked boasting about it when he was drinking. The other patrons at the restaurant were ready to spring at them if they started fighting, so instead, Tatu spat into the Rat Brother’s food. He then snatched one of Zhang Mo Yu’s rats, snapped its neck and threw it into his bowl.
Zhang Mo Yu didn’t say a single word throughout all this. When they came in the next month, Zhang Mo Yu had this heavy sack by his waist. They ordered their food like usual and as they were eating, Zhang Mo Yu stopped and reached into the sack. He took out a few scraps of meat and gave it to his rats to feast on. Everyone at the restaurant stopped eating, because the scraps of meat still had skin attached to it. Skin covered completely in tattoos.
Everyone lost their appetites after that and business was down for a few days. No one picked a fight with the Rat Brothers again. I don’t know what you want with them, but I would avoid them if I could.”
Vardan’s expression was grim after hearing the grisly story. If Zhang Mo Yu could do this to a battle-hardened bandit, what would he do to a group of defenceless children? And if he was the type to hold grudges, what would he do to Ru Meng, who outsmarted him and made him look like a fool?
Vardan thought for a moment and asked, “What else do you know about them? Do they have any enemies? Rivals?”
Adil shook his head and said, “Not since the incident at the restaurant. Like I said, people try to steer clear of them. Plenty of thugs around here that can fight well and don’t mind dying, but no one wants to get turned into rat food.”
“How do they make their money usually?”
“The Rat Brothers? Usual bandit things. Robbing whoever they come across in the outskirts. Raids on smaller mining operations. Sometimes the gangs will hire them for skirmishes. They aren’t heavy hitters, but they have a reputation for being sly.”
“So they don’t have a lot of money. His two followers, Chen Lin and Ah Gou. Do they know magic?”
“I don’t know about that. I mostly just listen in on conversations when I’m waiting tables.”
“Do you know where I can find them?”
“You’re gonna go look for them?”
Vardan paused and said, “I have a business proposition for them.”
——————————————————————————————
Vardan’s hand brushed over the hilt of the dagger on his waist. He was restless, unsure if he was doing the right thing. He was taking a considerable risk in coming here, potentially showing their hand to the enemy, but this was the best solution he could come up with. If he played his cards well, things could be resolved without bloodshed.
Despite everything that had happened, Vardan found that he still preferred peace over violence. He still faintly remembered the sensation of the chain in his hands slicing through Liao Hua’s neck. It was an eerie feeling. It was too easy.
A pair of red eyes glowed behind him and a multitude of light pattering steps could be heard all around him. Vardan stopped fidgeting and straightened his back. He was well within enemy territory now.
The cave ahead was lit dimly with a small fire. Vardan emerged from the tunnel into a small and narrow clearing, overshadowed by a tall platform-like space to his left. The platform was not tall enough to be called a cliff, and the narrow clearing Vardan was in wasn’t deep enough to be called a valley. Two men sat by the fire, roasting meat on their swords.
Suddenly, a pair of arms grabbed Vardan from behind and a knife was pressed against his throat. A swarm of a dozen rats scuttled past his feet and scampered up the steep wall.
“Boss, I got him!” The man behind Vardan shouted.
Vardan could feel his pulse keenly against the cool surface of the knife, but he did not let his anxiety show on his face. Instead, he simply smiled and looked up at the two men by the fire.
“Looks like I’m just in time for lunch,” he said in Mandarin.
The skinnier of the two bandits above stood up and took a bite from the meat, tearing off a small chunk and feeding it to the rat on his shoulder. The man had yellowed teeth and pock marks all over his face.
“You,” he said.
“You recognize me?”
“You killed my rat.”
“In my defense, it looked like it was up to no good.”
“Why are you here?”
“Surprised to see me? I suppose we started off on the wrong foot. Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Vardan, and yours?”
Zhang Mo Yu sneered in amusement and said, “You know who I am. If you’re here, you’ve already done your research. And I know who you are. You and your merry band of friends. An impressive feat, taking down Rayyan. No one’s been able to touch him for years. I tried raiding his mines once and almost died to an Abyss creature after getting lost in the tunnels.
Now, I’m gonna ask you again, why are you here? And keep in mind, your life is in my hands now.”
He waved his hand and the skinny man holding onto Vardan chuckled. The blade dug into his skin. A thin line of blood was drawn.
Vardan grinned and replied, “Aren’t you curious? I’m surprised you haven’t already slit my throat.”
“Don’t be so sure,” Zhang Mo Yu said, before spitting on the ground. “Why are you here?”
“Relax. What could I possibly do to you? I’m just a kid going up against three adults armed to the teeth.”
“A kid that took down one of Fang Chen Yu’s most trusted aides.”
“I’m here alone. Because I would like to talk. I have a proposition for you.”
“What proposition?”
“I’m aware that you have prior history with one of my companions.”
Zhang Mo Yu grunted in response.
Vardan continued, “I assume you figured out who we were after seeing us through your rat. You are probably planning a raid right now, aren’t you?”
“And?”
“You won’t raid us.”
“And why shouldn’t I?”
“Because of this,” Vardan reached for his waist and the man behind him immediately tensed up.
“Let him, Ah Gou,” said Zhang Mo Yu.
Ah Gou reluctantly dropped the dagger from Vardan’s throat. Vardan casually pulled out a small pouch and threw it at Zhang Mo Yu.
The bandit opened the pouch, only to find a small pile of magistones within.
“Is this a protection fee? You want me to look the other way because of a few stones? A few stones I could have gotten if I raided your little mining operation and killed all of you children?” Zhang Mo Yu scoffed at the offer.
Vardan simply smiled.
“I know you know as well as I do that it won’t be quite so simple. We took down Rayyan, remember? And you’ve already had a run-in with one of our companions. He’s a kid too and he threw you for a loop. We’ve already killed three slave masters while cast in chains. Three more bandits won’t be much more difficult than that.”
Zhang Mo Yu remained silent and expressionless. Vardan knew he had caught his attention. He pushed the issue.
“How do you think we survived after killing Fang Chen Yu’s right-hand man? That’s right, we work for him now. And how do you think he’s going to feel about the person that cuts off his supply of magistones?
You’re a bandit, Zhang Mo Yu. Do you have the manpower and resources to run a mine? Can you defend yourself from everyone that’s going to come after you?
It’s true. There aren’t a lot of magistones in that pouch, but I can guarantee you it’s more than you will get if you try and raid us. Fang Chen Yu has a monopoly on magistones, but you have your channels. I’m sure you will be able to sell it for a good profit on the black market.”
Zhang Mo Yu wasn’t smiling anymore. He opened his mouth and said, “If you’re so sure you can defend against our attack, why come here and bribe me?”
Vardan grinned and replied confidently, “It’s not a bribe. It’s payment for your services. There are plenty of other bandits like yourselves out there and everyone wants a piece of the new kids on the block.”
“You want us to be your security detail?”
“I want you to find out who intends to come for us. Of course, if you’re willing to deal with them yourselves, we would be willing to pay you more for that. Like you said, I’ve done my research and there’s no one better for this job than you and your rats.”
The bandit was oddly quiet. The fire crackled lazily as the silence hung in the air.
At last, he chucked and said, “Fine. But no more magistones. You pay in rice next time, and always in advance. A hundred grams for every day of our service.”
“Fifty grams.”
Zhang Mo Yu leapt down from the elevated platform and shook Vardan’s hand, “Deal.”
When all was said and done, Vardan turned and walked back the way he came. He felt a small amount of relief, but he thought back to the conversation and something gleamed in his eyes. It had been a little too simple.
The matter was concluded for the moment, but he knew there was no trust between jackals. This wasn’t over.