Dawn broke across a landscape enraptured in billows of smoke. The town as it seemed had a darkened air surrounding it and the buildings that were part of the town had soot clinging to its exterior walls and its paved roads. Despite the dawn’s bright clear light the town looked ashen and the smoke continued to rise, coagulating in the air. The many chimneys that jutted out of the houses were one part of the source of the smoky atmosphere but there was just upwind of the town, black grounds which were also part of the town. These black grounds formed the base for coal mining in the town. Firedweller Township was the largest coal base in Grifort Kingdom and the mines had people working around the clock, hence the reason why the town had such an obsolete atmosphere. In the darkening dawn at the very top of the township on a manor similarly darkened by the soot much like the rest of the buildings, a window opened on the top floor. Soon after that a set of sheets were strewn down, all tied together to form a rope. Out of the window climbed a boy, no more than fourteen years of age, despite this he looked abnormally large. He wore a long brown tunic, one that went down to his knees and slightly frayed grey pants along with leather boots. Attached to his side was a longsword which he pulled back to climb over the ledge and clinging to the sheets tightly, he slowly climbed down and landed on the ground with a light thud. He combed back his long copper hair which had fallen over his face, covering his eyes during the climb down and he looked around cautiously. He ran through the back garden of his manor and saw a guard making his familiar rounds around the house and acting quickly he jumped behind a set of bushes, hiding himself. As the guard moved past he rose from his spot and rubbed his hands on his tunic getting rid of the soot he had gathered from touching the plants. Using the tree as cover he quickly ran to the large walls surrounding the manor and with superhuman power and agility he ran up the wall and latched onto the edge and swung himself over, landing safely on the other side. Just then a horse cart came by and recognizing the boy the man on the cart quickly stopped his horse.

    “Young master Eduard?” said the man respectfully as he stood on his cart and bowed.

    Eduard blanked out, he had not expected anyone to see him exit but he quickly found reason.

    “Uh…nice to meet you too…” said Eduard, he would’ve liked to add the man’s name as well, save for he forgot the name, he didn’t even remember when he had the met the man or if he had met the man.

    Saying that, Eduard leaned casually against the large wall as if he was waiting for someone.

    “Pleasant morning isn’t it,” said Eduard wishing the man would move on already.

    The man looked up towards the ashen sun causing Eduard to look up and realize that morning and days were never really special or pleasant in Firedweller Township but the man seemed to have tact enough to not correct one superior to himself.

    He instead answered, “It is indeed a pleasant morning, young master Eduard.”

    Eduard nodded and then he realized that the man wasn’t going to leave, he was actually planning on starting a full blown conversation with him and so he took the initiative.

    “I’ll need to go, I’ve got something of a job to do.”

    Saying that Eduard politely nodded towards the man and moved past the horse cart. The word’s the man was about to speak got caught in his throat and he nodded politely and bowed once more at Eduard’s back.

***

    Eduard moved through the township and every so often someone would stop, bow and attempt to initiate a conversation but he had learned his lesson the first time and he would strike quickly before they could start and tell them he had to be somewhere quickly and like that he would move past. Eduard noticed the blackening on his tunic and this was just from a few minutes of walking in the township but it was something he was already very used to, he would however place blame on the blithering idiot that decided to start a township downwind from the coal mines. After a few more minutes of casual walking he had arrived at a closed store front. He raised his hand and curled it into a light fist and then paused to remember the code his father had used to gain information from the owner of the shop. Three light knocks in quick succession followed by two heavy slow knocks and a small hole opened at the bottom of the door. From inside his tunic he took out four silver squares and placed it next to the hole and a hand reached out and snatched it up and seconds later a note was placed there.

    “Kroff Helvyn is the man’s name,” said a soft voice from the other side. “As suspected he is a slave trader, he runs a shipping company down at the docks and he has a gang, he usually sends out his people and capture lone people walking during evenings or the nights unless he needs people with specific criterias, several shipments of slaves have already occurred and his primary focus is on young girls, ranging from twelve to fifteen.”

    Eduard took the note which was a receipt for the payment and a card fell out which he picked up. It was ornately printed with fancy writing ‘Helvyn Traders’ and the address was written there as well ‘Northern Warehouses Unit 16, The Docks.’ Eduard cheerily looked at the card, perhaps if he could capture this Kroff Helvyn then maybe his father would reconsider his decision and allow Eduard to adventure, something he had wanted to do ever since he saw a profligate rogue swordsman visiting Firedweller Township at the age of six, the old storyteller Hordus also had something to do with his desires. He moved away from the storefront and moved through the town slowly walking towards the entrance to the docks. As the entrance to the docks moved closer fewer and fewer people appeared. This morning was a good morning, he had not specifically chosen this morning to complete what had set out to do but it was his luck. No ships set off or docked on this day, tomorrow several large ships would dock bringing everything that was necessary for the ‘Celebration of Inferno’, which would be the day after. It was a festival that lasted a day and night and celebrated the founding of the township by the first Firedweller Master after the continent was freed from the demonic clutches of the ‘Tyrant Queen’ and her dark empire. Owing to this very few traders were at the docks today and even fewer sailors. Eduard entered the docks, a place with tightly confined small huts and large warehouses to the side, it was always a very enclosed space, tightly-packed on a normal morning or day when the ships left and docked as they normally would.

***

    Upon Eduard’s entrance into the docks, through a very intricate message passing-on system, a message reached the ears of a man who was pacing back and forth across from a table, in one of the warehouses at the docks. The precise reason would be owing to the fact that one of the slaves he had to cart off, a good-looking young girl for whom he would get a very niche price from his employers had hanged herself and now he was down one on the slave-count. What his employers appreciated the most about him was his strict adherence to numbers, especially in matters such as these and they would not be pleased if he suddenly let them down now and what’s more he was desperate for some money as the Firedwellers had begun paying attention to his business and it was time to move like always. The message that a sturdy looking boy with bronze hair had crossed into the docks was music to his ears. Kroff Helvyn turned with a hardly suppressed glee on his face and looked at the man sitting on the ground like he was about to nod off. He walked over to the man and kicked him.

    “Cole, get up!” said Kroff and the man looked up, his face would be considered normal save for the large burn marks and scars that made up one side of his face, even the hair on that part was burned off completely leaving a fleshy scalp.

    Cole yawned once and then he decided to nod off again until Kroff kicked him harder.

    “Get up you fool, we have some excellent news.”

    “Oh,” said Cole sleepily and he got to his feet, he was a giant, an absolute giant standing around three or four heads above the five-foot-ten Kroff Helvyn and to top it off he was very muscular as well.

    “There is a boy, bronze hair, carrying a sword, he looks fighting fit,” said Kroff with malicious glee. “Capture him and bring him back and then we can set them off from the west side, avoids trouble from the guards patrolling the docks to the see if there any ships leaving.”

    “Why don’t you just ask one of the other guys to do it?” asked Cole. “You said it yourself, he’s just a boy.”

    “You blithering idiot!” shouted Kroff. “Didn’t you just hear it when I said bronze hair.”

     Cole’s eyes suddenly opened wide and he hissed, “Firedweller.”

   “Yes,” said Kroff nodding. “This is a way to meet the count as well as get revenge.”

    As Kroff said this Cole’s hand unconsciously reached up and touched the burnt part of his face and he gritted his teeth.

    “Firedweller!” hissed Cole again more maliciously this time and he cracked his fist.

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

    He moved to the door of the warehouse, grabbing a longsword from the side as he did so. There was some concern etched on Kroff’s face but he sighed.

    “Don’t break him!” yelled Kroff after his brother.

    Kroff turned back to his desk and nearly had his heart jump out of his chest. Right in front of his desk there stood a tall lanky figure draped in black cloak, wearing a hood as well as a scaly mask.

    “Hell, can’t you say something!?” swore Kroff as he patted his chest to calm down.

    “My work involves secrecy,” said the figure in a silenced voice.

    Kroff nodded. “Well yes…” Kroff then looked down at the table, where there lay a stack of papers, he pretended to scrutinise them, all the while thinking slowly.

    After it all he suddenly looked up at the black figure, “I want you to go after my brother, capture the target, use that poison or something and just knock him out before my brother beats the him half to death.”

    “I will need extra,” said the man. “Killing is my job, capturing requires more.”

    “More!” Kroff guffawed out a laugh. “I’ll be bloody rich after this job man, I can pay you however much you want.”

    “Then I shall perform to your wishes,” said the man and took leave, disappearing just the way he came, into the shadows.

    Kroff breathed in a sigh of relief as he sat down on the chair next to the desk. He hadn’t spent a small amount to invest in the purchase of an assassin, the snake as he was called. He was a tribal warrior with secrecy being key, of his person and his skills. Nobody knew much of anything about the man save for the fact he killed with poison. Kroff was now confident of getting the young Firedweller walking around in his docks. With any luck, such a high profile slave will be able to raise his prices and make him more money than he was supposed to make and this would make him a very happy and filthy rich man.

***

    Eduard’s confidence seemed to have risen after a few minutes of wandering around in the docks, he now had a confident swagger to go on with the large sword he hung by his side. He looked at the card he had obtained from the store again and coughed twice. It was all very well and good, the address was here but this was his first time here at the docks and he had no idea what he was even looking for him. He shut eyes and controlled his urge to punch wildly. He just needed to find someone, someone to ask for the whereabouts of the precise address written on the card. He took out the card to scrutinise it again and the fancy writing now hurt his eyes. He moved forward looking at the card and nearly ran into a wall and then he decided to look around for someone, there was no one, no one at the docks. In frustration he crushed the card in his hand when a figure came into his view. It was a large muscular man’s back and Eduard was elated.

    “Excuse me!” shouted Eduard from across the street as he ran over, finally there was someone he could ask about the Helvyn Traders’ warehouse.

    The man turned around and Eduard jumped back with wariness. He had a large burn scar on the right side of his face and hairline, it was a horrid sight and Eduard had remembered this man. How could he not, it was after all in front of him his father had burned part of this man’s face off. He didn’t get the name of the man but his father was particularly angry back then.

    “You…” said Eduard and his hand went to his sword.

    “Firedweller,” said Cole and he licked his lips as his good eye narrowed taking in his prey.

    Cole drew first in a straight sharp line and Eduard dodged sideways from the first blow which cut into the stones laid on the ground quite deeply. Eduard drew his sword as well and tried to get in sideways but the man’s open arm came around and shrugged his sword away. He was ridiculously strong was the conclusion Eduard could come up with. He was at a severe disadvantage both in strength and physique, the man’s reach was longer than his. He slowly ran his palm along the flat of his blade and from the center it slowly lit up red at the center and orange around the side and it seemed like the sword had been in a furnace.

    “You’re not the only one who has pulse,” said Cole and he gritted his teeth and right in front of Eduard quite visibly his muscles bulged up.

    Cole pushed down on the ground with his foot and dashed forward at an inhuman speed. Eduard barely had time to register the attack but nevertheless he brought his sword up, there was a slight ringing and then a *boom* as both their swords met thanks in part to Eduard’s elemental fire variant discharge pulse which in essence a pulse power that focused on explosions. They were both enveloped in black smoke and Eduard flew back from the sheer strength of the strike. Cole still stood there with a slightly smoking body and a smirk.

    “The other Firedweller could do it better,” said Cole his smirk widening. “You’re not very strong.”

    Eduard landed on the ground and slid and hit a wall. That strike was abnormally powerful, too powerful to think of blocking head on and Eduard realized what Cole’s pulse was, over the top of that heavily muscular body he had an enhancement pulse, a common pulse but strong nonetheless. If it was his father Cole would be the one sprawled up on the ground and with that, gritting his teeth Eduard got up. His sword still glowed reddish orange, slightly less though was the glow this time around. He closed his eyes to calm himself down and raised up his sword again. He had been training constantly for the last five years with a sword, in terms of sword discipline very few his age would outstrip him. If a slave trader could take him out using raw strength then it would put a severe dent in his pride. The light on the sword strengthened as he reached in and grabbed the necessary strength to finish this fight in his favour. Cole’s smirk widened as he moved in again to strike but this time Eduard was prepared. Despite the speed Eduard quite thoroughly dodged the first strike from Cole, designed to cleave a man in half vertically and struck Cole on the right of his neck which bulged for a second and repelled his sword but Eduard wasn’t fazed. He spun on his left foot and got inside Cole’s guard and elbowed the man straight in the gut and for extra measure, used the butt of his sword as well. Cole staggered back looking dazed. With the slight opportunity given Eduard closed in but Cole raised his sword to block the vertical jumping slash down from Eduard and what followed was a flurry sword slashes and parries at near superhuman speed and each one put Eduard at a disadvantage, pushing him back slightly. Cole seemed to have regained his confidence with the flurry of exchanges and parried Eduard’s diagonal thrust and swung his sword towards the boy’s neck. Eduard ducked and simultaneously moved back at the same time but still the longsword left a scratch on his face and he could feel the place heat up as blood came out. It was not his first injury in a swordfight but it was first in real life or death match and fury welled up inside him as the heat that radiated off his sword intensified. He planted his sword quite easily into the stoned road and slashed up flinging with it some stone and dirt at Cole who raised his arm to block the rubble. Eduard moved sideways and slashed at the man’s waist which the man blocked quite effortlessly. He regrouped as the rage built up further and he moved up again for another flurry of blows this time with the fire of rage fuelling him. Cole raised his sword to parry a slash and Eduard’s eyes flashed. He swung down his blade and his hot metal cut straight through the man’s longsword, much akin to a knife cutting through butter and at the same time his blade exploded in the man’s face. There was roar of rage from Cole as he backed up with his broken sword. Cole had covered his face with his hands trying to staunch the pain and the blood at the same time, the many splinters from his broken piece of blade had embedded itself into his face. Eduard calmly stood up and pointed his sword at Cole.

    “Do you know where Kroff Helvyn is?” he asked.

    “LIKE HELL, I’LL TELL YOU!!” roared Cole gripping his blade tightly as his muscles bulged again and with a step he closed in on Eduard again.

    Eduard found himself unusually calm, perhaps he felt that victory was in his grasp. He moved back and swung his blade with both hands, light but firm, as his father had taught him and he again cut through the remainder of the man’s long sword and cut across his chest both cutting and  burning the wound at the same time and Cole fell back screaming, a mountain of a man had fallen into such a pathetic state. Eduard levelled his sword at Cole’s neck lightly touching it with his hot blade making Cole cry out in pain.

    “Where’s Kroff Helvyn?”

***

    The Snake watched the proceedings from the shadow. He saw the mountain of a man Cole with an even bigger sense of self-importance level up against the young Firedweller. At first he was less than impressed by the boy, there was nothing of worth the boy could do despite receiving the elite education of the sword that Firedwellers had to offer. Then things slowly began to change, the tables began to turn as the young boy turned the match in his favour and finally cut through Cole’s longsword. The sword itself wasn’t worth much and had shown its weariness of being used over and over again but. The Snake now viewed the young Firedweller as quite a troublesome bud, if he grew he would no doubt become stronger. He took out his blowgun and and reached into his pouch. For a moment he considered taking one truly poisonous and killing the boy then putting it up as an accident, getting rid of troubles before they matured was his style but then he remembered the pay he would receive and shrugged the notion aside. For assassins like him, great paydays were more important than getting rid of possible enemies, and after all he was the snake, he had many ways to kill even if the boy fully matured and was strong and anyhow the boy was going to be sold as a slave, he wouldn’t have any place to grow. The Snake took out another poison dart, one that would merely knock out the target without doing damage to the body. He placed it in and took aim and with a light blow the dart fired out and embedded itself in the target who had his sword levelled to Cole’s throat and was in the process of interrogating. The Snake watched with great interest, the target twitched as the dart struck home, he was familiar with that movement in many other targets he had killed and now there was realization as the boy’s hands went to his back from there he plucked out the dart, then the horrified face as he looked around and then the poison set in. The boy’s sword dropped and he fell to his knees but he seemed to be resisting it. This boy was quite strong, it most likely was fire elemental variant pulse that he possessed, it was working hard to get rid of the foreign element in his body. Well, anyhow the Snake had plenty of time. He casually loaded his blowgun with another dart and again with a light blow he fired and it stuck home in the boy’s neck this time and again there was that familiar twitch. The boy’s mouth opened, perhaps it was to scream and then he fell forward, next to the bewildered Cole and the Snake revealed himself to the light as he walked up to Eduard Firedweller and took the boy as Cole sat there looking as though someone had smacked him over the head with a club.

Note*: Little long? I think so too. I wanted to write it from the viewpoints of different characters hence the length but maybe it's not long for some people (I don't know). Most of the web novels I've read aren't this long, some are and some are even longer.