Sometimes, the Cabin Boy nearly toppled to his knees upon the cobbled roads. It was a strange ailment that Jamie had never felt before: an unsteadiness and unease while walking upon the solid earth, due to the fact that he had spent a majority of his life on the back of a ship upon the ocean, and so he was used to compensating for the tips and turns, the bibs and bobs of the waves. Jelly legged, Jamie carefully plodded up the slightly inclining city streets, preferring alleyways less-trodden by the common folk, for he felt he might be easily overwhelmed within a crowd. At the very least he was comforted that he could place a hand upon a wall to support himself, something that he found himself doing often as he journeyed.
Finally, Jamie rounded the next corner which led onto the main streets. Jamie still kept a hand upon the wall as he continued up, less now to keep himself upright, but moreso to maintain an idea of where he was, for the density of the crowd and the noise intensified a hundredfold here. Still though, this had been his destination. The mission given to him by Cook: go down to the marketplace and bring him back a hot treat.
Taking a deep breath, the young man finally pushed off of the wall as if he were swimming, and began to slip and slither through the crowd like an eel, using his small size and natural deftness to his own benefit, until he reached one of the nearby market stalls.
Jamie’s eyes grew wide with excitement, he had never seen such a place before! There were carts, counters, and tents all around that were selling all manner of vegetables, foods, or fancy crafts. Old women hawking handmade jewelry, loud men bellowing advertisements of their gambling games, where drunken fellows cussed and cried at each failed attempt, and cooks hard at work grilling or frying up aromatic delicacies!
Suddenly, the Cabin Boy forgot all about his anxieties and his overwhelming, carefully plodding his way throughout so that he could gawk and dazzle at each passing product. He had no idea that the shore could hold such amazing experiences! Time flew by in a flash, though to him it only felt like a couple of minutes, as he laughed and played, the merchants were all more than happy to accommodate him, not having seen such wonder and enthusiasm in quite some time. It was only when the sun had begun to dip down towards the far off roofs and turn an orange-yellow that Jamie realized that he was still on an assignment! He hurried over to one stall counter in particular and pointed towards several grilled skewers of meat, covered in a sticky sauce.
“Two of those, please!” He called to the middle-aged woman behind the counter, who looked back over at him suspiciously.
“Ya gots any money, love?” She asked him.
Jamie gulped nervously before he replied. “H-He said, ‘Put it on ol’ Cook’s tab!” Doing his best impression of his compatriot's accent.
The old woman laughed heartily from her belly. “That is indeed ol’ Cook!” She cried. “Here, take these to him, and one more on the house!” And she leaned over to hand him three of the skewers.
“Th-thank you!” Jamie said, astonished. Gratefully he took the skewers with either hand.
“Did someone say ‘ol Cook’?” Came a pair of voices from behind.
Jamie turned, and towering over him he saw two women, caked in makeup, and wearing scandalously tight and revealing dresses which showed off either of the bountiful cleavage! Surrounding him swiftly, one of the harlots placed a hand upon his shoulder and head each, whilst the other knelt down so that her bosom pressed against his shoulder, sending goosebumps all up the young lad’s neck!
“Why, what a cute lil thing you are!” Jeered one of the ladies.
The other one smiled and spoke very close into Jamie’s ear, so that he could feel her breath upon his ear. “You be sure to tell Cook that his favorite girls are waitin’ for him at the bordello, now won’t ya lad?” And Jamie nodded vigorously in response.
“You two leave that poor boy alone, ya skanks!” The stall worker shouted at them across the counter, waving a stirring spoon menacingly at them.
“Eh?!” One of the women cried. “Who’s this old broad?” The other sneered back at her, and all three began to argue loudly. Taking this opportunity, Jamie slipped out from beneath the two women’s grasps and disappeared amongst the crowd.
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For the following several days, the young Cabin Boy enjoyed a variety of pleasures that of which he had been unaware that they even existed before. Good food, better liquor! Gambling games, wherein coin was wagered over contests of luck and skill, and which Jamie discovered he had a particular knack for, much to the chagrin of Cook and some of the other crewmates. One time, Cook showed him to a large building in the center of town, where beautiful women fed him drinks and fawned over him all night. Cook had slipped off somewhere with two other women for… something, Jamie was not sure, but the shy lad found himself gradually coaxed from his shell. Perhaps it was the poison, but soon the young man found himself regaling the women, and several other guests as well, with various stories and tall tales from his voyages. Many were, in truth, straight from the mouth of Helgi, and outright embellished, but his audience was enraptured by the emotion and enthusiasm with which he pulled them along upon these adventures.
They departed late, late into the night, Cook himself appearing strangely disheveled, Jamie thought, while the women who had kept the Cabin Boy company waved fondly after them with calls of “Come back when you’re a little older!” Whatever that was supposed to mean.
It was on the fourth such day of relaxation that Jamie decided to take a challenge of courage. Alone, and with no direction but his own adventure, he set out onto the streets of La Ciudadela. He had much recovered since his first foray to the markets, and he felt that he was just now on the cusp of finding his land-legs. It had not even crossed his mind how much more well he was now in health after a few days’ rest unperturbed by Dark Magics and malignant visions, as he hadn’t seen a lick of that old shrunken head since he had been dragged off of the ship.
Soon the lad was darting hither and yon amongst the bustle, gawking and wares and staring into windows, and getting himself truly lost in the process until he knew not even remotely of his bearings any longer. The sun set, oil lanterns began to glow, but the bustle did not wane in the slightest. In fact, it became denser and louder as the night dragged on as workshops closed and the workmen were freed to their own devices. Minstrels made music on street corners and people would dance before them, it was as if every night in this city an impromptu fair would spring out from amongst the populace, and Jamie was swept right along with it. The lands beyond the shore did not feel like such a foreign or alien place to him now as they had the week before.
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Alas, a full day of joyous cheer takes its toll. As the young man’s head began to feel a bit heavy with exhaustion he ducked out of the crowd, around a corner into a dimly lit alleyway which appeared empty. The Cabin Boy leaned back against one of the walls to support himself.
“Now I’ve got to find my way back to the Inn, I suppose.” He mused to himself through a hearty yawn.
He stared up at the night’s sky, rubbing his chin and clenching his teeth in a funny way as he tried his best to recall roughly where he would be now in comparison to other places that he had visited in the nights before.
“A left, and then a right… and then, no no! It was straight! Ugh!” He grumbled to himself quietly. “At this rate I’ll have to walk all of the way to the docks just to get back on the right foot, and that’s on the other side of the city!”
Finally settling to take a look about first in case he recognized some part of the topography, Jamie slipped his hands into his pockets and began to saunter down the lonely corridor towards the next street down. It felt eerie to be so alone, at least so suddenly after having been nearly overwhelmed by so many around him just a few minutes prior. Something about it felt… off, thought. There was a wriggling in his gut that made him look over his shoulder every now and again.
Finally emerging from said alley, he found himself on a road lined by workshops and warehouses. No lanterns were lit, so it appeared quite a bit darker than the thoroughfare wherein the majority of the festivities were taking place.
“I think if I go through here, and then around to the left..?” He directed himself aloud, peering about nervously at the many shuttered doors and windows.
The feeling of unease in his stomach grew worse as he continued. He couldn’t help but keep a keen eye about at every little shrouded nook or cranny as he passed them, half expecting some wild-eyed thug to spring out at him and accost him with a jagged blade or a broken bottle. However as he reached the end of the block unhindered he breathed out an exhale of relief, the tension leaving him as he realized he had worried for nothing.
“What a silly notion-” He murmured to himself, absent-mindedly turning over his shoulder to look back at whence he came.
He startled, eyes growing wide, as his gaze fell upon a lone silhouette standing some fifty meters back at the other end of the street. Though a bit small and lanky, it was a menacing sight nonetheless, not to mention their stance was rigid and firm, and their fists clenched at their sides, as if this fellow was preparing for something… unpleasant.
Jamie gulped. “Perhaps I should just turn away, act like I haven’t seen them?” He mumbled to himself. Unfortunately, however, he was too unsettled to turn his gaze off of this figure.
Then, whoever they are, this person began to move. The marched forward dutifully, and with a quickened pace, heading directly for him! Jamie turned back and began to walk as well, his hands in his pockets and his shoulders hunched, matching their pace as to keep ahead of them. As he did so, however, he noticed that the clacking of their heels from behind him began to grow more hurried as to overtake his own, which in turn caused him to increase his speed even further! He looked back again, and to his horror he realized that they had entered into a run! He did so as well, dashing as fast as his legs would go! Desperately he wished for somewhere to return to the main street, with all of the crowds and the noise and the bright lights where someone might intervene, but at the end of every street he would find no more ways back! He was cut off!
His lungs burned, he stumbled and tripped several times upon large stones or refuse, usually whenever he looked back over his shoulder, skinning his knees and his hands, and allowing his pursuer to gain even nearer to his back! He dared to peek back one more time, and a cold wave crashed over him as he spied the knife clenched in his persuer’s grip! He wanted to scream and cry for help, but it took all of the wind he could muster just to stay even with this dark figure, lest he become breathless and unable to escape any longer!
The coming street came to an end at a high wall, and split off to the left and to the right. Desperate for aid, Jamie slid and scampered around the left bend back towards the thoroughfare, only to come to another wall, as the left street was actually a zig-zag which continued on the same direction as the last!
“Damn it all!” Jamie cursed as he sprinted again for all he was worth.
Then he saw it; About halfway up the next street, a narrow alleyway which would return him to the populated area, and where he could cry out for help before it was too late! With nary a thought in his mind, he made a sudden and drastic turn off to the left and into the dark!
“A fence?!” He cried horror, as he collided with the old, rickety vertical bars which rose up above his head into jagged points, which cut the alleyway in half! “No!”
He looked back in time to see the dark figure slide to a halt before the entrance to the alleyway, catching themselves upon one of the wall edges for support, lest they continue to slide with their momentum, before charging directly at him with their knife-hand raised high!”
Jamie barked out a horrified cry and then threw himself up onto the old fence! He had but seconds to spare, and he recalled seeing Santiago do such a thing to an even taller and sharper barrier in one of his visions. With but seconds to spare, and no consideration for his comfort, Jamie groaned heavily with exertion as he pulled himself over the top and to the other side, his shirt, and the skin beneath it, tearing from one of the barbed tips, before he fell with a painful thud to the other side! It took him a beat to catch his wind again before he could scramble back to a stumbling jog to continue his escape. When he looked back, however, he watched with dismay as his pursuer refused to relent, and used their sprint to throw themselves clear over the top of the pikes, landing gracefully to their feet on the other side, and then continuing on after him without losing any stride! With the delays that he endured at the fence his pursuer was now barely more than an arm’s length behind, but so too was the coming exit to the alleyway! If he could only just make it..!
Suddenly, he felt the full weight of this stalker thrown against his back, their arms wrapping a tight grip across his chest, and the two of them were thrown together in a painful, somersaulting roll across the cobbled road! Jamie landed onto his back, and the pursuer atop him, and in the light of the street he looked up at what looked to be a young person about his age, all but their eyes covered with some towel or turban so that their identity was obscured! They glared down at him with a horrible fury through baggy, blotchy eyes of terrible bloodshot miosis! Jamie went to scream, but as he opened his mouth he found his voice caught in his throat! It felt as though time began to slow, and he could only watch has this person raised up their downward-pointed blade, ready to come down like a gavel upon his brow!