Knock, knock. Knock, knock. Knock, knock.

Three sets of two successive knocks against an ominous wood door to the side of a building, in a tight alleyway. The stench was absolutely horrid here, though not surprisingly. The lower districts, with its narrow, claustrophobic streets through cramped, drab, wooden two-story buildings, was a sight less ideally picturesque than the open boulevards and squares of the upper district, where the Mage Guild proudly situated itself within.

After a moment of tense silence, the door opened just slightly, revealing an eye in the dark from within, noting the two of us carefully. A chain was visible, extending from the door to the wall, and limiting the extent to which the door could be opened. But such precautions were to be expected for people like them.

“Looking for something?” a harsh voice croaked.

“The guiding song of a little robin,” I responded, while showing them a black coin. Immediately, the door closed once more. Audible metallic clinks rang from behind before the door fully opened to reveal a rugged man with shaggy hair and a full beard, a couple scars on his face.

“Hmm.” As he curtly examined us, maintaining a neutral face, he let out an ambiguous grunt before gesturing us to enter the small, darkly-lit entrance room. I blinked my eyes shut, trying to adjust to the darkness while he closed the door behind us. “Everything down on the ground right here,” he said, kicking the wall next to us lightly.

We complied quietly. I lay my staff gently against the wall with my two swords and unholstered my bulky, leather rucksack, leaving it on the ground as well. There, gathered all together, was all I could claim in my name. Shara did as I had, settling her partisan down and leaving her own traveling pack, substantially smaller than my own.

“Can you guarantee us safe holding and return of our possessions?” I asked the man. His eyebrows scrunched ever so slightly at the question.

“Natur’lly,” he said, unflinching. “Now take out your merchandise, and slowly.”

I knelt down beside my rucksack and unfastened it open. My hands reached in to grab out a substantially large linen bag, requiring both hands to comfortably keep hold, and then I stood myself up and nodded at the man. I clutched the bag close to me, almost protectively so.

“That it?” he asked, his attentive eyes glued to what I held, as if almost trying to pierce through the fabric to determine what lay within.

“Yes.”

“Right. Now hold yourselves still. Don’t squirm. And when I start pushing, you walk.” My eyes shut close in anticipation. I felt a rough cloth drape over and wrap around my upper face, completely obscuring my vision. After it was tightly wound over my head, perhaps a little too tight for my own comfort, I felt the sensation of something wax-like enter my ear. My own pulsating heartbeat became pronounced to me while the world around me became silent.

Rough pushes and nudges guided us forward through the dark. I could tell we were being guided in-and-out through various doors, from time to time a door leading outdoors, a stale, dusty air replaced by a cool evening breeze, before going indoors once more after a few moments, the firm crunch of footsteps on cobblestone replaced with the squeaky creaks of wooden flooring. Twists and turns made it difficult to determine with certainty the direction of the final destination awaiting us, let alone attempting to reconstruct in my mind from start to end the path we followed.

But eventually, after what seemed to me a dull eternity, the path came to an end. The blindfold was ripped away from my face to reveal a dimly-lit intimate room, eight faces revealed by candlelight, not including the one who had guided us here. A table dominated the center of the room, at the center of which sat only one, a slit-eyed, scruffy, almost unassuming looking man, slouching casually at his chair. However, despite his appearances, the presence around him as well as the subtle deference shown by everyone else suggested it wise not to make hasty judgements on my part.

Following the hand gestures of our guide remaining by the doorway, the two of us took out our wax earplugs. Immediately, he left the room and closed the door behind him.

“So you two little ducklings mean to tell us that you’ve snatched yourselves a token of ours and found your way here, hmm?” the man at the table asked. His thin lips curved up slightly in cold amusement. “Either a couple of desperate, starving, thieving rats have burrowed here out of what they think is resourcefulness, or we have some puppets, dancing to a tune I can’t hear, and if such a tune is really playing, that would pose no good for both of us, right?” He tilted his head up at us slightly, awaiting a response.

“Or, maybe,” I deliberated, “today is the opportunity to acquaint yourself with two new potential business partners, offering something special.”

“Really, hehe?” he asked, chuckling slowly. His laughter spread to the seven standing behind him, a miscellaneous group of hard-eyed, widely-smiling vagrants, arms crossed or hands fidgeting with daggers or busy cracking their knuckles or leaning against the wall cooly. “We’ll see about that. Come now, seat yourselves, we don’t bite. Or rather, at least, I don’t.”

Shara and I shared quick glances, an uncertain, questioning look on my face and a grin too amused on hers, before I looked away to sigh and approach the table. If I were to be asked if I had any regrets about today, at this present moment, my answer would be finding myself here by listening too eagerly to that suspicious woman.

***

Back at the Cathedral Square, in front of the Mage Guild, right after my failed attempt to register there, a stranger had posed us a tempting offer.

“You two are interested in selling monster parts, right? In ‘breaking the rules’ as you said. May I suggest something that may be beneficial?” she asked.

“…Tell us more,” I responded after a lengthy pause, in which I studied the woman’s intent. However, her expression seemed unreadable no matter how much I strained with my examining glimpses.

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

“Well, before I do, keep in mind you heard this from no one, and from nowhere,” she said as she leaned in and gestured for Shara to lean in closer as well. “But, rumors speak of a place in an outer part of town where a gathering of… merchants are open for such business, business more profitable than at the Adventurer Guild. No one knows the exact location, but, at certain places, at certain times, a few friendly birds may be willing to fly you there.”

“Uh, huh,” I could only say.

“And, rumors also say that a certain token makes those friendly little birdies just that tad bit more friendlier in their song and stride,” she continued. Her fingers reached into a pocket to show off the metallic glint of a coin, completely black in color, and offered it out with an outstretched palm.

“But why would you offer us this? What do you seek from us?” I asked her.

“Trust me, I find joy in spreading such stories to newcomers as seemingly capable as you two. I will benefit from this, more so than you two potentially could, so see this as something… mutual, from one traveler to another,” she said, a subtle smile tugging at her lips. A quick side eye to Shara was responded by an eager nod. So, according to the self-professed proud gryphon, this woman wasn’t necessarily lying to us, though her words did not ring out quite earnestly gold-hearted to begin with.

“Fine, if you say so,” I said, peeling the coin from her palm and taking it with a tight grasp, “what would be an example of a ‘certain place’ and ‘certain time’ for these birds you speak of to gather?”

“Of course.” Her slight smile became a grin, displaying sharp white teeth. “Listen closely, and take heed if you find yourselves truly at their doorsteps…”

***

Thud.

The goods I carried resounded in a satisfying thud as I lay it at the table. I was seated, directly face to face with the slit-eyed man. To my slight dismay, Shara left me to be the only one seated facing him, showing me a faux coy smile as if to cheer me on.

“Alright,” the seated man said, “first, would you two mind sharing some names? It’s a bit distasteful to jump straight to business without even being acquainted, no? Ah, thank you, Roger.” While he talked, a stocky man of large frame lay three empty small cups along with a large bottle of honey-colored liquid on the table. The man named Roger promptly opened the bottle and filled all three cups two-thirds of the way through.

“Right, you’re not wrong,” I said. “My name is… Ersham and my companion over here is named Clara. Pleased to meet you, mister…?”

“Jude, just Jude, please. Nice to meet you, Ersham, now could I please offer you a drink to celebrate this meeting of ours? This offer naturally extends to the lovely, beautiful Clara as well.” The way he stressed over the word ‘please’, along with the stern, intimidating looks from the quiet men behind him, suggested that it really wasn’t an offer.

“…Gladly,” I said. In response, his lips tugged upward, and he slid forward two cups towards me. I took one while passing the other back to Shara – to ‘Clara’.

“Now, come,” he implored, raising his cup up, “a bit of cheers for the supposed new ‘business partners’.” The three of us clinked our cups together, before the man drank it down with an energetic swig. I sipped at it hesitantly. A harsh, bitter, metallic taste spread through my mouth, leaving a burning aftertaste with a hint of sweetness. “That’s the stuff, isn’t it? Always the little connoisseur you are, Roger.”

“Yes, this is quite the vitalizing beverage, fiery yet honeyed at the same time. I thank you for the hospitality, Jude,” Shara commented from beside me, taking multiple eager sips unfazed.

“Yep,” I added between coughs, “that’s quite… good.” After the first sip, I settled for it being the last as well and left my cup resting on the table.

“Hehe, no need to turn up the flattery, though the gesture is very much appreciated nonetheless,” he chuckled. “I thank you for playing along with the dull pleasantries. And now, I hope you don’t mind me directly cutting through the foul smell you brought here, but,” he said as his eyes drilled into us, “how did two newcomers to the city, with no prior known relation to us or our accomplices, get their hands on one of our premium tokens, hmm? You must realize that such an instance as this isn’t regular. And a business like ours appreciates regularity, not exceptions.” The air turned chilling and his smile spoiled into a slight frown. Any pretenses of friendliness dissipated, leaving behind only Jude’s cold gaze, joined by the ominous eyes of his companions behind him.

The intensity of it arose an instinct to resist, to show that I was strong, that I wasn’t afraid of anything that this man and his entourage could offer us, that he didn’t know what he was dealing with. But I knew the moment I acted on this instinct, the foundations for negotiations would crumble.

And now, the seed of regret I felt earlier blossomed into a bitter, thorny, poisonous flower. During the deafening silence that descended into the room, the events of the day before quickly passed through my mind. My eager entrance into the city of Lefke to proclaim myself as an adventurer was met with failure, and I was sidetracked to another goal through the Mage Guild, which I promptly failed as well. And now I was sitting in a shady, dark room, face to face with an unsavory, shady man, who looked at us like we were roaches, considering whether he’d stomp us flat or not.

It all checked out for Luqa, the supposed Demon King reborn, to scrap together a shoddy plan and plummet into the abyss clutching to the plan. Here he was, hoping to get by with a bare-bones plan consisting only of fake names and a mysterious bag of monster parts he hoped was deemed precious.

In a way, the experience had been utterly humbling. Though, that could be said of the events of the past year.

Humbling… The word brought the late old Weaponmaster Paladin to mind, the old man eager to teach the reborn Demon King humility.

“Hehe,” I chuckled to myself quietly, my nerves fading at my thoughts. At the very least, despite my unfruitful attempts earlier today or the many failures of before, I could genuinely say that after all this time, I had learned a bit of humility. Only one small tangible change, it was, but a tangible change nonetheless. It could only be welcomed.

“Do you have something to say, Ersham, or are you going to leave me – leave us – curious? We aren’t very tolerant of those who play us for fools, unfortunately.” Jude broke the silence, the edge in his voice more biting.

The flower of regret slightly wilted. My composure returned to me after a few deep breaths. My lips curved upwards, somewhat in an emulation of the ever-so infuriating Shara. I stood up from the chair resolutely, a plan of battle forming in my head.

This man was tugging at us, testing out how much he can drag us through the mud. And as my admittedly-skilled teacher of armaments once said, in swordplay between two skilled fighters, one needed to meet provocations correctly, to be as strong, to be as fast only as necessary. Now, it was time to draw my own sword.

“I think that,” I said, “I will spare you the time and leave you curious about that matter. After all, more importantly, we seek gold, while you seek to get your hands on goods not readily available to you otherwise. Aren’t you more curious to ask what lies in there,” I remarked while pointing to our linen bag, “to lead us two little ducklings so confidently inside your den?”

“...Hehehe,” Jude snickered, his own tension relieving slightly, “I can’t totally disagree with you there, little Ersham. I’ll spare my questions then, just for the sake of this hasty, spirited young boy. Now, do you mind proving to us that we should be curious about what’s in here?” he asked, pointing a thumb at the large linen bag, still placed on the table.

“Not a problem,” I responded. I leaned over to unfasten the bag. “In the meantime, for some much-needed perspective, let me tell you about a curious place not traveled by many, a quaint forest far, far to the north.”