Militades took some time to find the small compartment by the side of the city entrance. After placing his official’s badge inside and closing it, he pushed the compartment deep in the wall.
A few moments later, the gates moved to the side.
A team of guards came out to check their identity, around their neck a small fragment of brown crystal emitted a faint light, illuminating a small area of the dark tunnel.
Nobody spoke as they walked inside the city; the guards searched the gatherers’ bodies one by one. After making sure none of them hide anything on them, they were allowed to queue up in front of the counters where the guards examined the content of their baskets.
Depending on the quality and quantity of the resources they brought back, the value of their basket changed, so as the amount of money they could earn.
A guard emptied the basket of one of the gatherers, weighing the stack of yellow grass on a scale that used round beads as an instrument of measure.
[4 plis and 6 lis of low-quality herbs. 3 sinic twigs. 1 plis of furred moss. Congratulation, you’ve made 5 darkiron coins and 16 coppers.]
The man seemed overjoyed at his results. As soon as he received the money, he went to retrieve the possessions he had left in the guards’ custody and trotted towards the slum.
The one who made the most money in their group was an old man who had spent all his time digging up the ground at various spots.
[2 oplis and 2 plis of earth crystals. Igoras, you’re getting better at it with age, even I, am getting jealous. 19 darkiron and 8 copper coins.]
The old man’s basket had been full of these rocks during their whole journey back, many times he could be seen swaying at the far end of the group.
However, now, he gave a wide smile, showcasing his yellow teeth as he took the money and ran away in the direction of the slum.
A small commotion followed his departure, it appeared to be a lot of money, many envious stares followed the old man’s back. But a single glare from the guards made them lower their heads or look in another direction.
After coming back from the Silverpine Forest, not everyone in the group of gatherers looked happy with their harvest.
Some had returned with a heavy basket pressing down on their shoulders, while some took light steps, walking without difficulty.
This was the case for the silver-haired woman who had spent most of her time wandering at the edge of the forest, chased by the other gatherers when she came too close to their spots.
The forest was large enough for all of them to forage, but the farther one went from the group, the more dangerous it was.
She gripped the basket with tense fingers. When it was her turn, she placed the basket on the table without looking at the guard’s face.
[Eh, what’s this?]
The guard looked dumbfounded at the content of the basket. There were only a few strands of yellow grass at the bottom of it.
He turned over the basket, the yellow grass flew down, falling to the ground.
[Where did you put the rest? Are you hiding it?]
The old guard came to stand by her side, forcing her to face him.
The woman made a pitiful face as if she was about to cry.
[Tell me, what the hell did you do, why are your basket empty? Did you join their group to take a nap in the wilderness? Are you making fun of us?!]
His hands started searching all over her body, he did not avoid her private parts, groping her bulges with rough hands in a forceful manner.
She whimpered and tried to justify herself, a combination of pain, fear and shame rippled in her wet eyes.
[My luck was not good, I did not want to go too far from the group, I really tried my best…I did not hide anything, I swear.]
The guard made a disgusted face at her words. He pushed her body and continued to scold her.
[You’re useless, you know that? Why are we feeding you? Why can’t you even pick the damn grass?! Is your head damaged somewhere?]
His face was right in front of her, spit reached for her face as she sobbed, not daring to raise her head.
The other gatherers looked on the side-line. With limited resources in the city, the beggars seemed to see each other as rivals. There was no kindness or sympathy to be found in their eyes, only cold detachment as if they were watching a play.
[It’s enough! Rather than scolding those who survived, show respect for those who died for your city.]
Ocelio voice was freezing, a trace of anger surfaced on his face as he looked at the group of guards. From their actions, he seemed to understand that they were more interested in counting the harvested resources than investigating why their group was missing 7 people.
Militades stood nearby, he was talking to a guard when he heard Ocelio’s voice.
He ran to the scene in panic and scolded the guards before giving a few copper coins to the silver-haired woman.
[Sir, please forgive these rough guards. They are really no good, I’ll make sure to report their lack of regard for human lives. It will only be a matter of time before they are replaced.]
Seeing no change on Ocelio’s face, he lowered his voice.
[We will of course investigate the reason for the strange disappearance of the gatherers, but sir, the Silverpine Forest is full of mysteries and dangerous magical beasts. Even our Bloodrainists must be alert at all times when leaving the city. It is already a blessing that so many of us returned after going to forage outside the city.]
[Alright, I’ll be leaving then.]
Militades bowed to him. Behind him, the guards followed the example and lowered their heads.
[Thank you for protecting us sir, I’ll make sure to inform the Warrior Association of your mission’s completion.]
Ocelio walked on a path along the slum district. He did not seem to be in a rush to return, rather, he whispered to himself, trying to find answers to some unsolved questions.
[How come that plant had a face? Is it common in this world? Why did the camouflage stop working, did I run out of energy? What was that thing that appeared in my vision for a moment, was it the creature’s doing?]
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The more he voiced his doubts, the more his eyebrows creased.
His feet came to a stop in an abrupt manner, he appeared to have heard familiar voices from nearby.
In normal times, the slum was deserted as most of the residents did not return to their homes until night. The slum had no establishment, nothing to entertain or sustain yourself with.
[Look, I earned some copper coins, we’ll be able to eat our fill today!]
A joyous voice, unlike what he had heard just a few minutes ago reached his ears. It was the same voice but the emotion contained within couldn’t be any different.
Peeking at a row of shacks by the side of a mud road riddled with potholes, he noticed a silver-haired woman sitting on the entrance of her tiny hut. A silver-haired child with brown eyes sat on her lap, she stared at a bunch of copper coins in her hands as if they were treasures.
[So much money, mom, did you catch a magical beast?]
[Of course not. Mommy isn’t that strong. I walked outside a forest far away from here, it was full of tall yellow grass reaching until here. The trees were so large, I thought I would be swallowed by them, and the smell, it smelt really good.]
The woman made all sort of gestures as if she was recounting a tale.
She indicated how tall the grass was, what the other gatherers had picked, how one man had dug the ground and became rich.
The little girl listened to the story with excitement reflected in her eyes. She puffed her cheeks when she heard about the man who had become rich.
[Next time, I’ll also go. I’ll make us rich and we’ll live in the city like the rich people.]
The woman hugged her child, burying her head in her silk-like silver hair.
When they heard footsteps heading in their direction, both of them became tense. They looked at the same time, their eyes glowing with the same wariness.
[If you wish to become rich, why are you staying here?]
The woman widened her eyes when she saw the familiar young man. She looked at him with respect and shame, she lowered her face as if she didn’t know what to answer.
[Sir…I was just joking…]
[You survived; you were lucky. You are still lucky; money fell on your lap. Now, you can remain here and pretend you are just dreaming, or you can seek ways to make use of that luck so that this dream can become closer to reality.]
She made a confused expression; she did not appear to understand half of the meaning of his sentences.
[I’m just an uneducated woman…]
[Can mommy really become rich? How?]
Unlike her mother, the girl did not seem as anxious in his presence. Hearing that he wasn’t here to steal their money, she relaxed her grasp on the copper coins. Curiosity overflowed from her eyes.
Ocelio smiled at this sight. The girl had a pure appearance that could only be found in children.
The mother was about to punish her child for being impolite, but noticing Ocelio’s reaction, she stopped.
[Follow me.]
Ocelio led the way, ignoring the glances he received from the people in the street. They had already crossed the poorman and hardman’s districts and were walking down a commercial street in the trading district.
Ocelio did not care, but the mother and child appeared overly aware of the attention they were attracting by walking right behind him.
Their eyes were fixed to their feet, from time to time they would look up with a meek expression to make sure they were neither too close nor too far from the young man. The girl no longer showed the curious and naïve expression on her face, she acted just like her mother did.
Even though he did not say where he was leading them, he asked them to follow him so they did as ordered. They never questioned his intention nor showed any discontent.
When they arrived in front of a large establishment with a mug on an empty plate, Ocelio paused before entering.
Behind him, the woman seemed to hesitate. She had come to this place with her parents when she was little and knew the owner as he would from time to time give her food when he saw her begging with her daughter.
She looked around, all the people walking in the street wore clean, warm clothes. She looked down and saw a long gown that seemed to be made from rags stitched together. Recent stains of dirt and sweat covered the fabric on her lower part.
She looked afraid of being thrown out of the place if she entered in her dirty clothes.
[Mom, he’s waiting for us.]
She hurried into the shop and continued to follow Ocelio to a table.
[Sit. It’s been a long time since I shared food with someone, don’t make me uncomfortable by being this tense.]
She dropped to the chair, not touching half of it with her bottom. After a moment of hesitation, she slid a little further into the chair until her shoulders reached the seat back.
A few glances from the other customers made their way toward their table, but after seeing Ocelio’s red eyes, they did not look again.
[Sir, what can I do for you?]
A waiter hurried to their table. Like most of the people in the city, his eyes were muddy, containing many impurities. He gave a passing glance at the woman and child before fixing his eyes on the table.
[Bring us 3 good dishes and drinks.]
He threw a pursue at the waiter, which contained the last darkiron and copper coins he had. This came from the stipend he received from the Warrior Association after becoming a Bloodrainist, but his recent shopping in the city to buy clothes and magical ingredients to experiment with had pecked holes into his budget.
Though, he did not seem to be worried about not having money.
[Sir, it’s our honour to serve an esteemed guest such as yourself. There’s no need to pay, it’ll be a gift from our humble store. Please, enjoy your meal.]
A bald middle-aged man came from behind the waiter, he gave a polite smile before bowing to Ocelio.
[Alright, then make it fast.]
[Yes, yes, of course.]
When the two men left their table, Ocelio glanced at the silver-haired woman.
[See, that’s how you take advantage of your luck. They offered me a meal when I gave them money. So, I took advantage of it, they’ll serve us before everyone else.]
The woman kept her head low, her hands were hidden under the table.
In contrast, the little girl kept stealing glances at the other customers to see what they were eating.
[Yes sir.]
[What’s your name?]
Ocelio followed the girl’s stare, she was looking at a couple sharing a meal with their children.
[Synthea sir. This is my daughter, Monime.]
[Where’s her father?]
She appeared uncomfortable, she hesitated for a few seconds before opening her dry lips.
[He left with a group of merchants to another city. He did not return...]
Ocelio nodded his head without commenting.
Monime was glancing around everywhere but she couldn’t hide the sadness from showing on her face.
The dishes arrived just as fast as Ocelio had anticipated. The mother and child waited until Ocelio gave his permission to touch their own plates.
The meal was silent, however, the guests sitting at Ocelio’s table had a different experience and expressions compared to him. After taking the first bite of meat to their mouth, both of their bodies shook, their eyes widened in their sockets.
It was the first time they had tasted what meat tasted like.
They had seen the magical beast corpses enter the city but meat was the most expensive food in the city.
The rich aroma of the sweet sauce, the delicate texture that melted after chewing it once and the surge of comfort that emanated from their starving stomach from being filled created a smile on their faces.
Ocelio watched the bliss invading their faces and hearts with a thin smile. He took a sip of the fruity nectar in his cup, taking the time to savour it in his mouth.
[Do you want to tell me your story?]
He stared at the woman’s pale face and silver hair with interest, a mysterious smile on his lips.