Standing far above the rest of the stadium, just under the perch of the crow statue, was a physical specimen of a thirty-odd year old man with noble features. Most notably, though, were the large black wings that sprouted out through his clothing at his shoulder blades.

Behind him was a large entourage of followers, including the elder who’d conducted the ceremony in the arena earlier that day. The followers were split in two columns—one of humans, and another of humanoid corvids.

As they were all standing behind their leader, none could see his expression. Worried that their superior had been incensed by what had just happened in the arena, they murmured quietly amongst each other, discussing what they should do, until the elder broke the silence.

“Oh Great Son of the Crow God, are you displeased?” The elder stepped forward and asked. “If you wish, we can have him captured and sacri—”

“No need.” Although his followers could not see it, and despite the sound of boos filling the stadium, the man was quite amused.

“He seems to be a strong warrior. Send him to kill the rebel warlord in Ogaden.”

“A-Alone, Son of Crow?”

“Alone. And if he survives, reward him with an invitation to the Order.”

“What?! After what he’s done here, the—” The elder’s outburst came to an abrupt and fearful stop as the man slightly tilted his head in his direction.

After a brief but extremely tense pause, the elder spoke again, “Your will be done.”

The man turned back towards the arena. In the stands below him, the boos had turned to riots.

“With Father gone, it’s time for some change. Spread the word. It’s time for us to make our move,” the winged man stated.

There was a slight pause.

“And find my dear brother. He’s wandered Emberos freely long enough. Kill him and bring me his head.”

***

Kandy waited nervously, seated in a chair at the only table in his assigned room. Two guards, strong-looking ones, stood on either side of the door, facing him.

Even he understood that they were here to keep him inside, not others out.

A little bit of him felt a familiar feeling. Was it the shame of letting the spectators down? If not, it was something close—like when he’d accidentally brought home poisonous berries and half the bandit camp had nearly died.

Or when he’d spotted a deer and shot an arrow at it, only to miss and hit his father’s second-in-command in the rear.

Or when…

The sound of several footsteps marching down the hallway towards his room jolted Kandy from his absentminded reminiscing.

Several soldiers, dressed to the nines in all-black armor, marched into the room and formed two parallel lines on opposite sides of the door.

Then, an overly-dressed young man, perhaps in his late twenties or early thirties, strode into the room with purposeful steps.

With two outstretched hands, he presented a parchment and read its contents aloud, “Kandy of the Desert, titled The Spear, you have been commanded by the Order to dispose of the false leader of Ogaden, Aiyuk. You will have two months to complete your mission.”

The messenger lowered the parchment to the side for a moment to eye Kandy before continuing.

“Bring Aiyuk’s head to any Ambassador Center and you will be rewarded as an official retainer of the Order. Fail, and you will be considered an enemy of Emberos and the Crow God.”

I mean, I’m already being hunted down… they just can’t see my face through the wrapping. Kandy thought to himself.

“Finally, a crate of supplies will be provided to you to assist with your mission. May the Crow’s shadow be with you.”

Without even waiting to hear Kandy’s response, the messenger turned heel and left with the soldiers in tow. The two guards left as well, finally giving Kandy the peace and quiet to relax.

He let out a long breath, one he hadn’t even realized he’d been holding.

“Well—” Kandy got up and went to close the door, which the others had unceremoniously left open, “—that could have gone worse. Fuck.”

Standing in the doorway, with a big, shit-eating smile on his face, was Jabari.

“Aren’t you going to let me in, friend?” Jabari asked in a forlorn voice.

“No,” Kandy curtly responded.

“So after all I’ve done for you, this is how I’m treated.” Despite Jabari’s words, his grin didn’t fade in the slightest.

“You overheard the order, then.”

“But of course! You did well in the arena, my friend. But Aiyuk… I am looking forward to seeing if you will be able to complete your mission.”

Kandy’s heart dropped. “You’re not coming with me. Not a chance.”

“No, I’m not. I would like to, but unfortunately I have other places to be.”

“Good,” Kandy muttered as he shut the door in Jabari’s face.

After making sure that Jabari wasn’t trying to break down the door, he took two steps toward his bed and leapt onto it, covering himself with a thin blanket as he tried to hide from the world.

“Fuck.”

***

Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation.

The best service provided by the Crow’s Nest to those who reached the third ring, by far, was the ability to request a private, heated bath at any point of the day or night.

Servants, or perhaps slaves, would prepare an exquisite bathhouse of clay, stone, and gold. All sorts of perfumes, cleansers, and even narcotics were available to aid with the cleansing and relaxation process.

“I’m going to miss this,” Kandy mumbled from just above the water.

The rest of his body was submerged in the bath, warmed by a small fire just under the tub.

If only I could stay here forever, he thought.

And he nearly did, as it finally took three full hours before Kandy finally accepted that he had to get going. Not just out of the bath, but out of the city altogether.

True to their word, the Order of the Crow had been kind enough to send him a care package the previous night. It’d consisted of a few meals worth of food, water, and a map.

From what little Kandy knew of reading maps, Ogaden looked mighty far away. It’d probably take him two or three weeks just to get there, and that was if he pushed himself.

On the bright side, the special town where he’d seen the beautiful girl was only a slight detour.

And so, Kandy had clothed himself in a decorative white cloak that he’d acquired in Boomtown, and made his way to the biggest market in Arundu.

From what the bandits of the Mountain Dagger gang had said, he knew a few things about pursuing girls, though he’d never done so himself.

For one, apparently it helped to be clean, or at least not smelly.

For another, apparently they liked shiny things, like money.

And finally, apparently they charged by the hour.

Kandy pulled a bag of coins out of his hair tie, the holding item that Tin had made for him, and hefted it towards his face. “I hope this is enough for me to talk to her.”

Enraged shouts pulled him out of his thoughts, and he saw a particularly angry man scream at two fleeing kids, spittle flying through the air. “Ingrates! If I see you again, I will skin you like the pigs you are!”

“And he’ll do it too!” a woman muttered from Kandy’s left.

“That rat bastard,” she scoffed before walking away.

Kandy glanced at her, then at the stall owner. He did look overly sweaty, and his temper was explosive, to say the least.

He then looked at the stall itself and noticed the many shiny trinkets on it. He’d seen rings, necklaces, and earrings before but there were some other objects that he didn’t recognize.

Whatever the case, it was full of small, shiny things—no wonder the backstreet kids couldn’t keep their hands away.

A memory came to mind of his father bringing him into a village when he was but a child.

Back then, his father’s group numbered only a handful of lowly thieves. With crude daggers, and a bit of skill, they’d managed to secure a name for themselves. As for Kandy, well, he’d been their little helper.

Not a good one, to be fair. He’d always gotten distracted by some thing or another. One time his father had caused an entire commotion in a butcher shop, one loud and chaotic enough that a half dozen town guards had gotten involved.

In the midst of it all, Kandy had been given the task of stealing a week’s worth of meat. A difficult task to be sure, but back then Kaen still had faith in his little kid.

Faith that had absolutely crumbled once the two had excused themselves from the situation. Kaen couldn’t be faulted for this, of course, as Kandy had somehow only managed to steal a single chicken wing tip.

Yes, not an entire wing. Just the tip.

To his credit, however, he’d only been three or four years old at that time.

Perhaps it was time to make his father proud.

He walked towards the stall, smiling brightly until he realized that the angry man wouldn’t be able to see his expression, as his face was—as he had grown accustomed to at this point—completely covered in bandages.

“What under the Crow’s wings are you looking at, weirdo? Unless you’ve got money to spend, scram!” the stall owner shouted.

Oh, it’s going to feel absolutely wonderful stealing all this guy’s stuff, Kandy thought as his smile widened.

“No need to worry, I have coin. I’m looking to impress a young lady, what would you recommend?”

The owner’s annoyance quickly shifted into a mercantile demeanor.

“Well, dearest customer.” He waddled forward and rubbed his hands together. “As you can see, I have numerous beautiful trinkets for you to browse. May I ask what the lucky lady’s relationship with you currently is?”

Kandy felt as if he were standing at a fork in the road. He could either answer honestly, that the girl was a stranger he’d only met once, briefly.

But after spending some time with Sanchi in Boomtown’s jail cell he’d grown a creative side, and this felt like the perfect time to exercise it.

“Well you see, we were childhood friends, we were. Did everything together. Honestly, I didn’t think of her as much more than a friend until—”

“Ah, the early years. Classic, young love.” The stall owner interrupted and patted Kandy on the back. “I have just the item for you. Here, look at this ornate bracelet.”

The stall owner handed Kandy a colorful beaded bracelet, made of rocks and shiny azure stones. “I’m sure she’ll love this one. The beautiful shades of blue are sure to pull the heartstrings of this wonderful girl.”

“Oh? How much?” Kandy asked as he ran his thumb over each bead.

“Ah, my friend! How can you put a price on love! But of course my friend, I have a special deal just for you. The usual price is four hundred. But for you, only two.”

“Two coins?”

The stall owner’s face contorted for just a split second before recovering its friendly disposition. “My friend! You are quite the jokester. Haha! No, the bracelet is two hundred coins.”

“Two hundred?” Kandy quickly did some mental math. Two hundred coins was enough to buy a month’s worth of meals. Certainly a lot, but the bracelet was worth it—and that didn’t make sense.

People like the stall owner, Kandy knew them well. They were swindlers. Or if they had a bit more of a conscience, they were accomplished salespeople. They’d never sell an item for its actual worth. They’d find a way to buy it for half the cost and sell it for double the price.

In short, Kandy was sure that the stall owner was scamming him somehow, but the method by which he was being conned wasn’t quite clear yet.

Still, he looked up at the stall owner and nodded. “I guess I can do that.”

“Splendid! Wonderful!” The stall owner grabbed the bracelet out of Kandy’s hand and walked behind his stall. “I’ll package it up well for you, my friend!”

His movements looked fluid and in good form, but Kandy had focused his mana into his eyes. With that, he could see the stall owner surreptitiously drop his hand behind his stall, pick up a similar bracelet, and drop that into a tiny elegant wooden box.

The stall owner then lifted the wooden box and presented it to Kandy. “See, my friend? Your childhood love will be very pleased by this gift. It’s beautiful, yes?”

“Yes…” Kandy racked his brains for something cheeky to say as he received the box. “It’s… deceivingly so.”

What the hell does that even mean?!

“Haha! Good joke, my friend. Now please, I would appreciate payment for the bracelet.”

“Ah, sorry about that!” Kandy fumbled around and handed two gold coins to the stall owner, whose eyes lit up as he snatched the coins with the speed of a striking snake.

“Thank you very much, my friend! Please, come again!”

“Oh, I will!” Kandy grinned behind the bandages covering his face, then waved as he began walking away.

He wrapped his ears with mana, just in time to hear the stall owner mutter to himself, “What a fucking weirdo. What kind of girl would ever like someone who’s so ugly he has to cover himself in bandages? Still, if he’s got money…”

I’m not ugly, dammit! I’m just a wanted man! Well, I guess that’s not a good thing either.

Kandy ducked into an alley and swapped his elegant coat for a dusty, worn, brown one. Then, he stooped down and picked up a pebble off the ground and held it in his right hand.

He walked out of the alley and back up the street, in the direction of the stall he’d just shopped at earlier.

Once he was within ten paces of the stall and the stall owner, he used his thumb to flick the pebble toward the stall owner.

It hit him right in the temple, knocking him out instantly. The stall owner slumped and fell backwards into a convenient sitting position against the side of the building he’d set the stall up against, almost as if he were taking a quick nap.

Kandy surreptitiously raised his left arm to his head, and with his right hand, tapped the stall. The entire thing, including all the merchandise on it, disappeared into his Holding Item, as if it’d never been there in the first place.

Without breaking stride, Kandy disappeared into the crowd and made his way down the street, out of the marketplace, then out of the city as a whole.

As he walked past the city’s gates, the sun was setting behind him. Kandy looked back at Arundu, at the peak of the Crow’s Nest.

“Against all odds… I think I’m going to miss this place.”

And then he walked away.