Novels2Search

Chapter 1: Mogi

Mogi tilted his head, glancing at his unassuming figure within the unpolished mirror. His red eyes gleamed as he yawned while blinking his eyes. His black hair was a matted mess that starkly contrasted his mischievous smile.

The old building was rotting away. The musty smell of mold haunted the building and old floorboards creaked at the slightest bit of pressure. A ray of light illuminated part of the ground like a spot light with frayed edges due to the gaping hole in the ceiling that contrasted the dark inside of the dusty building. Surprisingly it was holding up well compared to the slums surrounding it. It was an abandoned church turned into an orphanage, though said orphanage currently had no keeper of a suitable age.

Mogi sighed as he stretched his back. To be honest calling this place an orphanage was just a lie of the past. Long gone were the days where this place was actually an orphanage. The care giver disappeared more than a year ago abandoning the three kids left behind, but its not like she left much behind. Just three teenagers, each around 15 to 16 years old at the time.

'Damn I wished someone had adopted me.'

Nobody had wanted him. Probably because they could tell at a glance that he would be trouble. His sneaky smirk and laughter dancing across his eyes were a red flag to those who wanted a normal kid. The other two could have gotten adopted easily enough yet they wanted to stick together and refused to leave unless all three of them were taken. Mogi didn't understand it though. If anyone had wanted to adopt him he would have packed his bags in the blink of an eye. Not like he had any bags to pack though...

He glanced over at the two other boys.

The ray of light gave Victor's dirty blonde hair a shimmering outline and his piercing emerald green eyes demanded respect despite his disheveled appearance. His slender yet built figure filled Mogi with jealously. He wished he could be as tall as him. Hell even if he had a few more inches he'd be ecstatic. He knew that 5' 6" wasn't that short yet he couldn't help but feel dwarfed by his two friends.

Vic's serious face was quite aggravating to Mogi. Victor seemed to always be focused, driven to fulfill his ambitions of 'rising to the top', whatever that meant. It's not like any of them had must of a chance to make it in life anyways.

'He needs to loosen up and stop acting so virtuous. He's just an orphan not some prestigious noble.'

His gaze then shifted over to Marsh. His timid presence contrasted his handsome appearance. His deep blue eyes illuminated his face, complimenting his dark hair that almost seemed to have a navy blue tinge despite being black. It was annoying how his smooth face seemed to always shine despite being from a humble background. What was even more annoying was how Marsh was completely oblivious to his own good looks. Mogi didn't know if he could handle another girl approaching them just to flirt with him. Yet he realized he shouldn't be too harsh. Marsh was the biggest of introverts, so talking to girls or anyone for that matter seemed to be a huge hurdle to overcome.

The two glanced at Mogi as he approached the table they were sitting at.

This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

Victor sighed, giving Mogi a critical stare.

"Look who finally decided to wake up."

Mogi smirked pulling out a chair to sit down.

"A mans got to sleep."

Victor gave Mogi a disappointed look.

"How are we supposed to make a living if all we do is laze around all day?"

Mogi widened his eyes raising his hands up in innocence.

"Woah chill out buddy. If the sun can take a break in the middle of the day I can take a break in the middle of the week."

Here in Casadonia everyone knew that day-time was split into two pieces. Early in the morning the sun rose from the east and by late morning it disappeared again behind the top of the sky, in all of its dark and looming glory thousands of meters above in the sky, only to appear in the mid afternoon and finally disappearing by the evening in the west.

The world was peculiar after all. Like the big thick pillar that looked like a trunk of a very old tree reaching all the way up to the top of the sky. The castle was nestled against this pillar and so was the sprawling city of Casadonia, yet the trunk was so massive that one could barely discern the curvature of the pillar from the city. Mogi did not exactly know why the beautiful blue sky was sandwiched between the ground and the top of the sky, but it didn't really concern him. The world worked how the world worked. There was nothing he could do about it anyways.

A smile escaped from Marsh's mouth as he saw the playful banter between Mogi and Vic.

"It's okay we found food to eat without you, we just got back."

Mogi looked down at the table. Various nuts and edible greens were sparsely laid across the table, his stomach growled as he dreaded the incoming feeling of an unsatisfying meal. Victor and Marsh had just come back from foraging all morning and afternoon. There efforts were in vain though because the sparse amount of food was hardly enough to satiate three teenage boys. Mogi was struggling to realize how the three of them had survived for the past year without starving. The only reason they had lasted this long was because of Mogi. He was constantly stealing food from various places throughout the city, and although he had been spotted and yelled at a few times, he himself had never been caught. His efforts sustained them much more than foraging or scrounging waste could ever.

Mogi picked up a suspicious looking leaf, sniffing it, raising an eyebrow while giving Marsh questioning look.

Victor palmed his face clearly too tired to deal with Mogi's antics.

"Dandelion green. Just eat it its good for you."

Mogi gave Vic an apprehensive look slowly chewing the disgusting leaf in his mouth. Vic had always been mature. Mogi could have sworn there was no diffenence between him and an actual mom. Thank goodness he could freely tease Victor. Other wise he would have gone crazy by now, not that he wasn't slightly crazy already.

"There. You happy now mom."

Victor clenched his teeth giving Mogi a deeper glare.

"How many times do I have to tell you that I'm not you mother."

Marsh looked away giggling with his right hand covering his mouth.

Mogi grinned widely failing to control his laughter. He then ate a nut, a serious look appearing on his face.

"Look there is something I want to talk to you guys about."

The other two glanced at each other, slowly nodding for Mogi to go ahead.

"I'm tired of being broke, I'm tired of being hungry, I'm tired of struggling to survive, and I'm sure you guys are too. Luckily, I have devised the perfect plan to free us of our troubles."

Mogi slowly leaned back with a mischievous glint in his eyes.

"You know the Vargas?"

He was referring to a noble family that owned am impressive manor just outside of Casadonia as well as a large amount of acreage. Although they weren't the royal family residing within the castle, they were known to have close relations with the king and were second to none among the prominent noble families. The three orphans could have easily sought out work under the Vargas, but nostalgia for their orphanage kept them firmly anchored within the city.

Mogi smirked putting his hands behind his head.

"We just need to rob them."