The old hunch-backed woman whose body was covered by stacks of torn robes bent down onto one knee, her face barely visible because of her rugged hood casting a shadow over it, only her old wrinkled skin and dry thin lips were visible, she looked to be at least in her late 60's, her height seemed to be a fair bit taller than the small boy who was only 121 centimeters tall, she was between 155 to 160 centimeters while hunched over, Yuri couldn't quite tell exactly how tall she actually would be if she were to stand straight.
"Are you ok child?" The boy felt no animosity from her frail voice however there was something strange about her 'kindness' that just rubbed him the wrong way, she had some sort of aura but the boy just couldn't understand what it was so he decided to test the waters a little.
"Yes, I am fine but my dad, he left me here." Yuri tried his best attempt at putting up an act of a hopeless and lost child, by widening his pupils like a begging puppy.
"Oh dear, what unfortunate fate you have met, do you have any idea where he could possibly be?" Her view seemed fixated on Yuri's crimson eyes as she looked up slightly revealing her soft brown eyes from the shadows of her hood.
There it is, now it was Yuri's chance to get the information he needed.
"Y-Yes, he said he was staying at an inn in the Red Light district, I-I was wondering if you could tell me where it was." His acting was pretty bad but it should be enough to fool an old decrepit woman, right?
A long silence followed, the old hag seemed to be studying the small boy's face now, however her expression was still kind and misleading.
"That is no place for children dear, however if you tell me your father's name or what he looks like maybe I could go and find him for you and tell him where you are so he can pick you up."
Yuri froze, had the old woman seen through his facade? He didn't want to take the risk but if he declined her it would look strange and that would basically make his lie much less believable.
"N-No, I wouldn't want to trouble you that much miss, he told me to meet him myself so if you would be so kind as to tell me-"
Just as Yuri was about to finish before he could utter his last words the old woman's weight shifted forward, her body very close to Yuri's, the boy felt something sharp pointing at his chest.
His head didn't move however his eyes shifted down to his torso where he saw the old woman's nails had grown very pointy almost like daggers ready to pierce his heart, they against the fabric of his clothing lightly however even so he could definitely feel they're sharpness.
The boy looked around, however the guards passing by seemed to net even notice this, her many layers of clothing hid her actions and from the outside it looked as if she was just talking to him.
"And why are you actually here dear child, and don't you lie because I can tell when somebody is untruthful to me." Her voice was calm and kind, however her actions proved otherwise, the old woman's wrinkly face now very close to Yuri's, he could see every detail and feature on it.
Strangely there was absolutely no killing intent or animosity radiating off of her, was she not planning on killing him or was it that she felt absolutely indifferent to killing him, as if murder wasn’t something bad, just another everyday occurrence for her.
"Shit Shit Shit, what the hell do I do now !?" Yuri's mind was in havoc, he was about to be killed by some random old lady on the streets like a rat, however if he told the truth maybe he could buy himself some time.
"So dear, what is it that you are trying to hide from these old ears of mine?" Her friendly smile was very creepy now and her sharp nails pushed deeper into Yuri's young and frail skin, he was starting to feel like the they were about to break through his skin.
Not wanting to risk putting himself in any more danger he immediately replied. "Wait! The truth is I'm here with my master." The boy felt as if death itself was gripping his heart.
"I see, so who is this master of yours child?" Her hands stopped pushing forward, the tension had come to a halt however it was still suffocating to the point it made Yuri sweat a little.
"Arthur, his name is Arthur, we're staying at an inn in the Red Light district." Yuri didn't want to divulge every detail that way he could have even the slightest bit of leverage, he might not be the brightest but he is good at surviving no matter what.
The old woman's eyes narrowed as she seemed to be studying Yuri's face trying to see if what the oddly calm boy had said was true or not before her eyes widened as if she finally solved a puzzle.
"Arthur you say, do you mean Arthur Marsh? The one staying at the Toothless Tiger?" She had slightly lowered her hand, her nails started shortening back to a normal length as they hid under her robes. "Oh my, he did say he had taken in a disciple but I never expected you to be this young."
Marsh? Yuri had never heard Arthur mention his last name, he just thought Arthur didn't have one like him, wait... why is a demon's name and last name so human? Something wasn't adding up, Arthur had a lot of explaining to do.
"Yes, you could say he took me as his disciple under some... strange circumstances." Yuri didn't trust anyone so he retained as many details as he could from her. "Now, will you take me to him?"
A silence befell the two figures while people walked by going about they're night on the street, couples holding hands, guard making rounds, in the meanwhile the two characters just stood there, the boy still sitting down on the cold cobble ground and the old woman kneeling right in front of him, minutes passed however the intensity of the situation did not diminish at all, in fact the more he waited the tenser the Yuri got, right now one wrong move and it might cost him his life.
Suddenly the hunch-back woman just stood up and started walking away, Yuri hesitantly followed, her pace was slow and her steps made no sound, she was definitely not somebody ordinary but that was pretty obvious after they're encounter.
Yuri found himself looking at the old woman from time to time while she seemed to pay him no mind just strolling through the dimly lit streets flawlessly dodging out of people's way as if she were floating, almost like a ghost.
"These tall lamps on the sides of the road, how is it that they all lit up at the same time when the night started?" Making idle conversation might be a way to get her to drop her guard or even acquire some useful information, of course Yuri didn't expect to get much out of it since he wasn't experienced in this kind of thing.
"Oh deary, did Art not teach you anything? These are all artifacts, during the day the guards that pass by infuse small amounts of mana into them while patrolling the streets and when the darkness covers the sky these lamps automatically light themselves up, then when morning comes and they can feel outside light penetrate the glass they extinguish."
It's true, while walking during the day and following around the two guards they would sometimes put their hands or lean against the lamp poles for a few seconds or minutes before moving on.
"I see." Yuri looked up at the tall black steel lamp poles which had an intricate twisting design as if they were decorated springs with a round lamp on top that was inside a cage of black iron which gave out a white light through the large openings. Well it made sense that artifacts would have been bought from the dwarves and installed to make everyday life easier for the citizens.
.....
After what seemed like almost half a hour of walking they reach a very questionable street, the entrance was like a tall wooden arch which looked to be heavily decorated with signs and promotions for inns and brothels, as they walked down it the lighting changed, there were no more street lamps, instead the road was illuminated by paper red lamps that were hanging from the buildings with thin almost silk like strands of rope, they give off a low red color glow to the street.
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The small boy took a whiff of the air, it was very different from anywhere else he had been before, enchanting scents filled his nostrils each coming from a different brothel or inn.
Yuri looked around and felt awkward there as grown women and men were dressed very provocatively while calling out to people passing by, he looked around a little more and saw this area was filled with brothels and inns and nothing else except 'entertainment'.
The boy kept his head down trying to hide his slightly flustered face as this place was filled with beautiful women who wore barely any clothing trying to attract patrons however Yuri didn't know or understand why dressing like that was necessary or what the women did with the customers.
The old woman glanced at Yuri and let out a small chuckle after seeing the boy's flustered face before turning her gaze back onto the road. His innocence was definitely something rarely seen in these streets.
Finally after a few minutes of embarrassment Yuri got to his destination, the old woman stopped and so did he, turning his head towards a sign that said Toothless Tiger Inn. The entrance was nothing more than a metal door made of the weird matt black metal he had only seen in this city, over the entrance hung a rotting wooden sign 'Toothless Tigre' which looked plain in comparison to the other inns and brothels however Yuri had learned that looks could be deceiving, this hole in the wall was sure to be dangerous.
He looked up to the old hag. "Can I ask you your name?"
The old woman gave him a kind smile. "Just call me Granny deary, just like everyone else does." She walked off blending into the crowd.
Yuri took a deep sigh filling his lungs with confidence before walking in front of the towering door, he now noticed it had a small slit near the top, each step forward felt as if he was stepping closer to hell itself, he knocked on the door and after some time a person finally answered, a pair of large menacing blue eyes locked onto Yuri's small body through the slit in the door.
"State your business here, boy." The voice sounded manly and demanding, this person definitely was somebody who was an experienced warrior like Arthur, Yuri could tell just by his tone.
Trying to keep his cool he answered. "I'm here to meet Arthur Marsh, he's expecting me."
The man's eyes narrowed, he was judging whether or not the strange boy had told the truth or not, Yuri could feel as if his heart was being weighted.
Finally after an intense staredown the man just opened the door and let the boy in, Yuri stepped inside.
He looked at the man who was tall, muscular, with an open brown leather vest that revealed his countless tribal tattoos, deep scars and giant white wings coming out of his back, wearing some niche black leather pants and boots, his head was bold however he did have a nicely groomed beard.
Yuri felt a sense of dread and pressure increasingly grow with each step.
The bar was filled with many different dangerous individuals and a few booths with equally intimidating characters, this was more of a den for criminals than anything else.
The interior had a rustic yet polished feeling as most of the bar was made from the dark stone that seemed to be used for many buildings around here except for the dark wooden floor made up of countless well worn planks and some of the furniture that looked pretty old but still sturdy.
The space was dimly lit by a low red glow like the outside street.
Passing by the bar and the booths Yuri could feel the gaze of men and women there falling onto him as they all nonchalantly glanced in his direction, fortunately Yuri heard a familiar and annoying voice.
"Yo kiddo you finally showed up, come here!" It was Arthur, he was sitting down at a table alone in the corner of the room and his glaive resting on the wall next to him, Yuri spotted a staircase near where the hooded man was sitting that went up, he presumed it was just a staircase to the rooms, this was still a inn after all so it needed places for people to rest.
The small boy sat down opposite of Arthur while looking at him dead in the eyes. "Yo, Arthur Marsh." Yuri didn't care what his reaction would be to this because he was very angry at Arthur for keeping his full name a secret all this time, had it not been for Granny he might have never found out.
".....Who told you that name Yuri?" Arthur was trying very hard to control his anger as the mug of ale he had in his hand started shaking violently.
"That doesn't matter now doesn't it Arthur MARSH! What matters is that you kept your last name hidden from me for no reason, I thought as your 'disciple' so at least I deserved to know that much don't you think so MARSH?" Yuri was almost standing up on the chair, the rage between the two of them was building up even drawing the attention of some of the other customers, things were getting heated.
"Sit down boy." Arthur's tone was low and full of pent up rage making the whole room quiet, the boy's eyes widened in terror and he quickly sat down properly while keeping quiet.
"Yes..... master." Yuri looked down at his lap, his hands balled up tightly into fists, he looked around a little and saw everyone was looking at them for a good few seconds before eventually going back to doing whatever they were doing before.
Arthur let out a big sigh. "That last name... it isn't technically mine, it's my wife's name or at least it was, I just took it." His mood seemed to have become very sour.
"You have a wife?"
The hooded man drowned his sours with a gulp of ale from his mug.
"Had..... and a kid too, a boy who would have been just around your age..." Arthur fell quiet again as he just looked into the mug of ale, his eyes protruding his own reflection as his face twisted in sorrow.
"What happened to them?" It might not have been a very tactful question at that moment however Yuri hadn't learned much about manners or the emotions of others and how to react to them.
Arthur scoffed at the boy's blunt response however he knew this day would come the moment he decided to take Yuri under his wing, he couldn't just keep his past a secret forever so he decided to tell Yuri the truth about his life..... especially since he was near the end of it.
"My wife Lara and I, we uh, we met on the battlefield around 11 years ago, two years before the end of the war. At first we fought on opposite sides, both as proud captains of our squads, she was a human fighting for the Overworld and I was a demon fighting for the Underworld."
"So how did you end up starting a family?"
"I'm getting there, anyways, my squadron and I were supposed to stake out a human army camp in the middle of a canyon that served as a checkpoint and burn it to the ground at night along with the humans in it, little did we know we were walking into a ambush and we didn't even realize it, and there I met her."
Arthur took one more swing of ale before letting out a burp.
"And then?"
"At first we both hated each other however, she started speaking about politics and honor which were pretty much new concepts to me but I couldn't stop listening to her speeches finding it intriguing and even having private talks as equals from time to time and our bond started taking shape, without us even realizing we were both ambushed by love, the worst curse disguised as the biggest blessing."
Curse? From what Yuri knew love was supposedly the best thing that could happen to somebody.
"Anyways I started noticing her more and more, her sharp and fearless blue eyes, her long and unruly brown hair flowing endlessly that looked like a sea of waves, geez I could go on for days about her beauty and bold personality but that's besides the point, long story short we fell in love during our talks and I decided to join the Overworld army and fight against my own kind and so did the rest of my squad."
"So how did it go? Why did your relationship end?"
The mood turned a little sour after Yuri's inconsiderate comment however Arthur snuffed it out.
"After the war was over we immediately retired and bough up some land and a flock of sheep with the funds we earned during the war and since she was born in the capital the church gave her a last name, we got married and thing were looking peaceful, she gave me a human first name and I took her last name when we married, shortly after we had a child."
"What was his name?"
Arthur was quiet for a few seconds however it felt like an eternity for Yuri due to the suspense. "Isaac, Isaac Marsh."
The boy just nodded waiting to hear the rest of the story Arthur had.
"Anyways as you know after that war demons weren't seen in an exactly good light, not that we ever were but it was way worse now."
"Yeah so?"
"-Sigh- Around two years ago I was gone from home for a few days to a neighboring village to sell some lamb meat and wool however when I came back..."
Yuri could hear the pain seeping through Arthur's tough exterior, just what could have happened for him to show this much emotion.
"...The Church of Blasphemy had visited to my home whilst I was gone and had killed both my son and wife, when I came back I found them hanging by a tree next to our house, they're bodies were covered in burns and scars, they're limbs torn apart or broken and they're faces, they were mutilated almost beyond recognition." Arthur's tone was barely louder than a whisper as a grim mood set in, just imagining such a scenario would make even the braves of heroes feel saddened. "Marrying a demon and conceiving his child was considered by them a horrible sin that deserved a death as painful as possible."
Yuri knew a very similar pain as something like this is what forcefully set him on his journey, he knew keeping quiet was the best thing.
"Church of Blasphemy, I guess that's something I should avoid." Yuri thought.
Without exchanging any other words Arthur went up the stairs that were close to they're table and Yuri followed, it was a long hallway with rooms on each side, finally after walking down the hall for a bit Arthur stopped and unlocked a door to one of the rooms and entered, naturally the boy followed him in.