Receiving new clothes from Binita, a bag, and some money, Ashwin stayed in a small hotel room in the harbor district. This area was usually looked down upon by nobles and rich people, so the rent was significantly lower than in houses within the capital's walls. When he lived in a mansion with his family, he only saw these kinds of unfavorable neighborhoods from a distance. He was full of hope for the upcoming meeting with Lord Singh and his daughter, but wasting little money that he had would be a reckless decision. Even if the room was far too simple for the heir of a noble family, it was still decent. The only thing that bothered him was the neglectful cleaning. Something that the teen never thought he would remember, but Bea was a meticulous cleaner despite having little resources.

He wasn't sure if he would return to this hotel after the meeting. Ashwin packed all his things and decided that, in the worst case, he would find another room. His mood was high after talking with Adwita. Singing a song to himself, the teenager walked slowly towards the capital. There was no hurry, and he was thinking about what he should say to Lord Singh. He still had some metal details from the nymph "tower", but maybe he should postpone telling the story about it until next time. This was one of his few, if not only, ace cards. The priceless information about one nymphs' facility and the possible location of the dryads' camp. He could not see the latter with his own eyes, but he marked the possible location on a skin map he drew during his stay with the apes and on the way to the outpost of outsiders.

'I hope Scarface will move his troop before Virat sends soldiers,' thought Ashwin, looking at the signs of shops and cafés. Surprisingly, unlike in the capital, there were only a few police officers in the harbor district. There should have been some soldiers at the towers guarding the bay, but none could be seen in the streets. 'It seems like Rajah's priorities are focused on his own safety.'

Ashwin turned his gaze away from a policeman yawning in front of a small grocery store and noticed a familiar figure on the other side of the street. For a second, he stopped walking and stared at a young Kean woman with a honey squirrel on her shoulder. The next moment, a wave of indignation swept over the teen, and he rushed towards the woman. He had forgotten about the policeman who might be interested in the fight and forgotten he had sold his spear to Varman captain – all he could think about was that, by some divine luck, the thief was right in front of him. Ashwin stretched out his hand to grab the woman's shoulder and exclaimed, "Caught you!"

But his fingers only grabbed air, and he stumbled forward, almost falling onto the pavement. The young woman stepped into the side alley just before he could actually catch her. She glanced at the teen and grinned, "Oh, what have we here? Assaulting innocent women now, are we?"

"What innocent?" Ashwin gasped at such impudence. "Give my money back!"

The woman snorted, "I've told you not to be late. Blame yourself."

"You thief! I will get my money back, even if I have to shake you," the teen made another attempt to grab the woman's hand, but she easily avoided his grasp

"What are you, some kind of royalty?" the woman grinned. The teen's feckless attempts to catch her made them both go deeper into the alley. "Well, at least you are a noble, no doubt. No commoner could be so gullible and naive."

The honey squirrel on her shoulder chirred in protest and clenched its claws into the woman's shirt. The irritated pet made its owner reconsider further actions. She caught Ashwin by the hand, twisted it to the back and pressed him against the wall.

Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

"Unhand me, you swindler," growled the teen, trying to shake off her grasp. But she was surprisingly strong. 'I didn't want to resort to this, but it looks like I have to use a knife.'

As soon as he thought about this, a group of men approached them, shielding the quarrel from the street.

"Something's wrong?" asked the tall man with short salt and pepper hair and a scar above his left eye. Ashwin wanted to reply, thinking that the man was addressing him. But as soon as he looked at the men, his hope turned into concern. All of them were Keans and dressed like sailors in a similar manner to the woman with whom he had a conflict.

"Looks like Ziana caught a rather lively one," said another man with long black hair and a thin face. He moved closer, carefully looking at Ashwin. The woman shrugged, still holding the teen's hand. The man laughed when Ashwin tried to break free again but failed. He pointed to the squirrel and said, "Yeah, much like this fellow."

Some of his companions scoffed, but the scarred man remained serious. "Who is it? What is he doing here?"

Ziana looked at the teen she was holding, pressed against the wall. "I am not sure myself."

"What?!" Ashwin flinched. Her blatant lie and refusal to admit her crime enraged him more than the humiliating and dangerous situation. "What do you mean you don't know?"

"I really do," the woman shrugged, "you caused a commotion and not to mention, you were stupid enough to attack me. I have no idea what we are going to do with you. It's not my decision to make."

She glanced at the scarred man like the rest of the group. Something told Ashwin that expecting mercy from such a person would be silly. 'I need to get out of here', a thought rang in his head like an alarm.

"I thought you were a good person," said the teen bitterly. "How could you say it so coldly?"

"Will it make you feel better if I say it with more compassion?"

"Enough." With a single word, the scarred man stopped the young ones' bickering. Then he started speaking in the Kean language. The group was discussing something without sparing a glance for the teen. Ashwin tried to listen, but his irritation kept growing like a small flame, given freedom to roam the dry rice field. Even apes seemed more considerate now.

Finally, the teen snapped: "How rude! I don't understand what you're saying!"

The men exchanged glances, and the scarred one said: "You are a prisoner. Why should we translate everything for you?"

"Because it's common etiquette."

Ashwin's remark made the whole group burst out laughing.

"That was a good one!" The one with long hair gave Ashwin a click on the forehead.

"Enough with wasting time," the scarred man said, taking a rope from his bag and throwing it to Ziana. "We need to meet with others first. Then we'll take him to 'Fenghuang'."

The young woman began tying Ashwin's hands. Things took a turn for the worst. He began protesting, hoping his words would convince the men. "Wait! I also need to meet someone. Please just take my money and let me go."

"And let you report us to the police? Yeah, right."

Ashwin's thoughts were racing around in his head. He had to escape somehow. Lord Singh was waiting for him. But these, these... He looked at the group again. Normally, they would have taken him to the police for assault or talked things over. They didn't want to meddle with authorities. He remembered the day he escaped from the pit. The Kean girl, who easily warded off the man-eating apes. And the sudden attack on the harbor by the pirate ships that started the whole chaos.

‘Great, just my luck,’ Ashwin thought bitterly with his hands tied behind his back. 'First Virat, then the apes. And now the pirates.'