The silver moon shone with undiluted radiance, as the sound of crickets and cicadas reverberated through the forest.
The leaves and branches swayed with the gentle breeze, creating a calm and natural feeling, making the forest resemble a peacefully still painting. The sound of measured footsteps rang out as the shadows in the area seemed to come alive, creating a path for the owner of the footsteps to follow.
The sight of a man in a deep purple robe, garbed in a black hooded cloak could be noticed slowly strolling towards the site of the crash, the luminescence of the sky drowned by his dark and imposing figure. He walked towards the carriage at a measured pace, seemingly not in a rush for time.
Upon arriving in front of the collapsed body of 2nine, the man studied all the victims spiraled around the carriage, noticing that a couple of them were still breathing. He then allowed his gaze to land on 2nine, his hands extending upwards as the shadows around him took the form of numerous blade-like silhouettes above him.
As he was about to will the swords to impale the unconscious DSS officer, a serene and calm voice reverberated within his mind.
"Don't kill him. He is an important part of our future plans."
"That is what ‘He’ wills."
The man's hands swiftly halted, an air of hesitation surrounding him as he slowly dissolved the shadow blades he had crafted in the air. He turned his gaze back towards the other bodies, his hoarse voice asking in a low voice, "What about the rest of them?"
The person once again replied, an aloof tone flowing through his voice, "I shall leave that to your discretion. The rest of them aren't important to us."
The man once again remained motionless, his eyes fixed on the unconscious survivors for a fleeting moment before shifting to the open wooden container resting beside them. His hands slowly reached inside it, eventually emerging with an eerily beautiful ornamental box within its grasp.
"I hope we can count on you to uphold your end of the bargain?"
The man continued to study the beautiful box, not offering an immediate response to the question posed by the voice as his hand traced over the numerous mystical engravings adorning its intricate structure.
"Of course you can, after all…"
He slowly walked back into the depths of the forest, his tone shifting to one of piousness and solemnity as he slowly declared,
"My Lord's arrival is nigh."
The sound of footsteps moving away in the opposite direction of the hooded man suddenly echoed out, an amused chuckle following its departure as the lush scene was once again overcome with the calming silence of the night sky.
…
The scorching afternoon sun hovered above the horizon, its reflective rays creating a beautiful ordinance with the image of the bright blue sky. People of different works of life trailed the busy streets of Lowe, their faces glistening with sweat as they hastily tried to get to their various destinations, seeking respite from the intense glare of the sun.
The hands of a grand municipal clock that stood in the center of the city hit it's 12th-hour, causing a loud chime to sound out, reverberating and echoing in all the boroughs and districts within the city. It marked the commencement of the lunch period, a time for leisure and relaxation!
Civilian workers from different industries and sectors all filed out of their various workplaces in an attempt to beat the afternoon lunch rush in different parts of the city. The bustling chatter of footsteps and voices instantly caused the entirety of Lowe, particularly the central district of the city, to be plunged into a vibrant and lively atmosphere.
The Central district of the city had the highest concentration of workforce and industrial production, causing it to be very active during all 7 days of the week. The district served as the backbone of the employment sector of the city, as it is seen as the link between the Nobles and Elites who live in the upper district and the commoners and low-class civilians who stay in the less privileged areas of the city.
At the back of a good-looking, modern bakery that sold yummy-looking bread and other popular pastries at the heart of the central district, a hardworking young man was offloading bags of flour and sugar from the back of a transportation cart, moving with swift efficiency despite the scorching heat from the sun.
The young man was rigorously concentrated on his current task, his head beaming with reflective drops of sweat as he didn't seem to notice the chime signaling the start of the lunch break, or maybe he just didn't care. The young man offloaded bag after bag of flour and sugar from the cart and after putting the last bag in its designated pile, crashed to the ground with his chest pulsating in steady, but rigorous heartbeats.
As the young man was contemplating the idea of standing up to transport the offloaded bags into the bakery, an outstretched hand offered him a glass of cold water, giving him some much-needed respite after the round of tasking activity. As he gulped the glass of water down his throat, the owner of the hand that offered him the water, a burly man in his late 50's, said after some thought.
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"I don't know how you do it, Elias. You do the work meant for three people more effectively and even in less time! Who would believe me if I said that only one person offloaded a cart with almost 30 bags of sugar, salt and flour in fifteen minutes? Just fifteen minutes!"
Elias offered a genuine smile with beads of sweat dripping down his face, seemingly used to these types of overreactions from his employer. "If you paid me as much as you complimented me, Mr. Abernathy, I might be a Baron and maybe own a small villa in Clifford Street by now!"
Clifford Street was one of the more relatively affordable, but enticing parts of the upper district of the city. Because it was centered in the Upper District, it could generally only be occupied by aristocratic politicians and elites of the society. Not just anyone could live there. But because it was more affordable than most streets in the upper district, it was the point of reference for most commoners and civilian workers, as well as their dream.
"Tsk… here we go with that sly tongue of yours again young man. You know how bad the economy treats ordinary workers like us. If I could pay you that much, how would it make sense for me to be running a bakery, selling sweets and pastries? Do you think I like getting sugar and flour all over my hair?"
Elias cast a contemptuous glance at his employer, seemingly used to his usual routine of guilt-tripping to pay him less each day. "But I see the smile you have on your face every time you get your hands on a mixing bowl. That doesn't look like the smile of someone that doesn't like what they do, besides…"
Elias cast his gaze on the long line of people, mainly civilian workers and university students, lining up outside the bakery to buy some of the fresh bread and pastries adorning the bakery's shelves, their gazes containing longing and expectation. "You own one of the most successful bakeries in the entire city!
"I've heard that some highly placed nobles are part of your hidden clientele, even going as far as to send their servants to order a batch of pastries which you specially prepare for them after hours. I won't be deceived by your shabby techniques, I know you are loaded!"
Mr.Abernathy was a relatively successful baker in the city of Lowe and was quite popular too. He had made a name for himself about ten years ago after he stepped up to serve a specially made cake to a viscount who lived in the city for his daughter's coming-of-age birthday after the previous baker canceled for unexplained reasons.
The pressure was on the job was high, so none of the other city bakers wanted to take it on, fearful of incurring the wraith of the sharp-tempered noble if the cake was below standard due to the limited time. But Mr. Abernathy not only successfully delivered the cake on time, but the aesthetic and taste of the cake were without equal, totally shocking the noble and his family. After that day his fame and fortune would continue to grow, as he eventually became one of the elites in the field of baking in the city.
Mr Abernathy felt aggrieved at the fact that he could never beat this hardworking and calm young man in a battle of words. He wondered why this young man didn't pursue a career in law, as he felt like even the best legislators in the city council would have a hard time winning against him in a debate.
"I sometimes get the feeling that you are pursuing the wrong career path. With your brains and annoyingly calm disposition, it wouldn't be hard for you to get into the Law Department of Lowe University to study justice or even judicial law. Maybe one day you can become a lawyer and annoy someone else for a good cause instead of wasting your talents on me!"
Elias scoffed as he slowly stood up, an amused smile adorning his tired face. He then paused for a couple of moments before giving a response with a mischievous smile. This smile caused his employer's eyes to twitch, as he felt like he was about to experience yet another round of teasing from the young man.
"Sir, shouldn't you be inside tending to the customers? What if, pray tell, one of them snags some pastries off the counter without you knowing? Wouldn't that be be very, very sad?"
Mr. Abernathy smiled in amusement before his gaze froze, his head turning to the front of the bakery where the sight of a man in worn-down clothes could be seen with his hand slowly reaching for the pile of cheesecake and banana bread.
"Oh shit!"
He urgently darted back into the bakery, his loud voice echoing throughout the street as he chastised and chased out the quick-fingered thief.
The sight caused Elias to chuckle as he turned around, saying to himself in a barely audible tone. "Thanks for the save Lars, I didn't know how I would get him to go back inside the store so I could perform heal and finish up my work. Once he starts talking like that it's hard to get him to stop."
Lars' voice echoed a response to his brother, his tone laced with arrogance and mockery. "This much is nothing, I could have made him storm off in other numerous ways. You just aren't sly enough."
"What other ways?" Elias asked, clearly curious of his brother's other tactics.
"I could have gotten you to make an inappropriate joke about his daughter. Since he is very protective of her, this would obviously make him storm off in anger.
"You might be out of a job because of that though but that's alright, isn't today your last day here? Maybe ask him something about her cup size? That would definitely make him mad. She is definitely on the smaller end thou-"
"Enough!" Elias interrupted, clearly shaken by Lars' inappropriate remarks. That was just too much!
"What? You asked me, didn't you? I was just answering your question. I didn't even finish it, I have two more." Lars seemed aggrieved. He was just answering the question he was asked, did he do anything wrong?
"I'm not falling for that you snake! Go back and stop distracting me, I need to work."
Lars sighed like a person who had been wronged, his voice hesitantly trailing off as he pouted. "So this is what I get for helping… life isn't fair to me at all. What wrong did I commit in my past life to deserve such unappreciation?"
Elias had an amused expression on his face, obviously aware that his brother was just acting extra dramatic to guilt-trip him. As he prepared to use healing on himself and go back to work, a disturbance down the street drew his attention.
The image of a rough-looking, middle-aged man could be seen, hastily darting through the street, knocking down the stalls and pushing aside the people in his way.
He seemed to be holding a bag of gold jewelry which was glistening in the light of the sun. His face was covered in sweat and he had a fearful look on his face, like he was being chased by the devil.
Upon closer inspection, Elias could see a figure swiftly catching up to the fearful man, darting through the densely covered streets with speed and precision!