Chapter 1: Across the Top
Max'Sall hated walking across the rooftops atop of Kursoon. He hated when he had to stand above the rest of the city, always afraid of whether or not he would fall. He would have rather taken the back roads of the city near the edge of the city itself, but if he had done that, it would have meant he would have had to walk past the Kursoonian guards, and he couldn't have afforded that either. Thus, he stuck to the painful method of walking across the high city's many flat-topped rooftops and carried the brown satchel on his left shoulder, keeping to his right side.
Max'Sall took a look towards the city itself. Kursoon was a unique city, at least from what he had heard from passersby and travelers. The city had a color all its own that the other villages that passed by the Rainbow Road couldn't begin to believe. In a way the people were right. The city itself shuffled itself between various colors; each building was a swirl and a mixture of colors that no other building could mimic. One building he could see nearby bore a distinct orange and maroon-like color, almost giving a jam-like look. Another building, an almost high-rise style of store, kept a translucent golden color, with thick smears of light blue that gave it an almost pleasant feeling. He didn't really understand why each building was colored so differently, but it was helpful when you didn't really know where to go. You could just ask someone, and they would tell you exactly what the color and the shape of the building were.
That was another thing he never understood: it was one thing to have many different hues and shades, but it was another thing that buildings all had a very different look. There was a saying in Kursoon, "Don't know where to go? Looking at everything is half the fun of being lost!" He understood that it meant that because of each building's unique look, it made looking at everything much more fun. But he never understood why. The buildings of Kursoon all folded and shaped themselves so differently than others. Not a single building looked the same; even the small differences of each made a difference to everyone.
One building, a name of which he didn't truly care to remember, was shaped like a spiral. A flat building where the rooms themselves were long and interconnected that spun around in a flat part of Kursoon. Another building was built like a small rubber top. Like a cork but made of a strong brick-like substance that the other buildings were made out of. He didn't remember what color it was; he didn't want to think about the things that made him frustrated with his own situation.
"Anyone that had to do what we are doing right now wouldn't want to think about buildings you can't even go into for Creation's sake." He thought to himself as he noted a small gap in the buildings and skipped across with a light jump. As he finally looked towards the extra far gap between the next building. It was a wide, almost twenty-foot jump between this thin gray building and the more rectangular-shaped building that led into the alleyway that he had been told they were to meet. Whatever was in this satchel must have been valuable; why they gave it to him and Dormion to handle, he did not know.
When he remembered the mission itself, Max'Sall looked back to his right, where he came from, to see Dormion take the same small skip across the building as he stumbled a bit before fixing his posture and walking towards him.
"This is the building, right? Caelen said that it was the prison building with the thin alleyway next to it near the butcher. This has got to be" Dormion had a thin voice, like he was constantly waiting for a reprimand every time he spoke. Dormion wore thick, brown, layered clothing that covered most of his skin with a large, almost tunic-like shirt that went down to above his knees to his thin, tan trousers. His face, without the hood and mask that covered most of his face, was thin and dark tan borderline brown with a tinge of grey that covered a lot of his skin. The only thing you could really see without knowing him beforehand was that his eyes were a stark grey; most Dulls were.
"I think so, though a map would have sufficed instead of just word of mouth," Max'Sall said, knowing that, in part, that request of his would never really get to Caelen, too busy smuggling other things most people shouldn't have.
"You got that right. Maybe next time he'll just give us something nearby. Maybe not so farr out into the main city." Dormion said with a hefty sigh. "As if regular people would be in so far close to the edge of the city, you know what they say about it." Max'Sall said with little emotion.
"You might go Dull just stepping foot inside. I make it a point to remember the things that just make us look bad." Max'Sall said with a small anger that just barely bubbled out of his lips. He hated living in Kursoon, everything from the obnoxious colors to the self-fulfilling idea of uniqueness that came from each individual person. Yet, as he looked down into the crowd of people below, he saw none of that.
Every human down below wore different clothing, their skin etched in different colors and their eyes all shining at the things that were hanging up in the shops or the jewelry that the others in booths across the street were selling... and yet. They all walked the same. Their clothes, while often different in many unique ways, only seemed to blend into the others from the top-down view that Max'Sall looked from. In that way, they looked not like people, just blobs of colors that blended into each other like the sunset, its rainbow hues all collecting into a single hour of the day. How could this be what it means to be something different? Standing in the formless, amorphous crowd meant that you were just the same as everyone else. They all looked different, but when they all stood together, everyone was the same.
"You're not wearing the tunic again. You know that this could have been easier if you had just worn it like me." Dormion said, a slight annoyance in his voice. "You know I don't like wearing that thing," Max'Sall replied with a similar annoyance. "Yes, but we could have just walked past in the city. Sure, we would have had some looks, but we could have just made it to the delivery point."
Max'Sall pointed down towards the alleyway where the delivery point was. Dormion looked over and saw what he had already seen. Three guards wearing the Kursoonian cyan, silver, and blue were walking and talking towards a woman in front of the alleyway. Their heavy plated armor shined in the glorious sunlight of Lutana, that far-off ball of light in the sky. Kursoon soldiers were all the same; Max'Sall knew that no matter how many gave their phony smile. Beneath them was the cruel last cusp of judgment that meant they were to protect some and remove the ones that just wanted to live their lives.
"They shouldn't be too preoccupied with us. Just a simple jump over to the roof. It's lower than this building; just make sure that you jump at the very edge." Max said, simply and unembellished. "You are insane! If one of us falls— "We won't fall. I won't let you fall." Max'Sall interrupted Dormion before he could say any more. Max'Sall knew that Dormion had a reason to be afraid; one interaction with a Kursoonian guard was bad, no matter who you are, even worse when you were a Dull. Even worse, Dormion wasn't as strong as Max'Sall, and both of them knew it. Dromion, as Max'Sall knew, had a dexterity to him. He could work locks and intricate details into grabbing and taking; he was an expert thief, as much as he didn't even look the part. Where Max'Sall, as he figured, had a decent muscle to his frame, at least as much as you could when your portions grow smaller and smaller by the day. Leaping that distance would be proved difficult for both of them, but much more for Dormion.
"I mean what I say, Dormion. I'll go first, fast and simple. Max'Sall waited for Dormion to reply, but he simply sighed in failure and gestured towards the building. Max'Sall nodded as he took the satchel and secured it closer to his body. With a small start he walked back towards the edge of the building and sprinted forward.
Max'Sall loved the feeling of the wind in his long black hair as he ran, though he never liked the implication of whenever he was running fast enough to feel it. He kept running for only a few seconds before he had made it to the edge of the building and sprang forward into a strong leap. For a few moments he felt like he was flying as the wind picked up graciously into his hair, only for that feeling to fall through as the weight of the wind began to quickly try and throw him back down to the ground. A sudden doubt filled his mind as he stared back at the building he was trying to leap towards, and just when he almost felt like he was going to miss, his foot struck against the rough rooftop of the other building as he rolled forward a few feet and was kneeling as he breathed in quickly, trying to slow his heartbeat.
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He looked back to Dormion, who was already looking at him with worry in his eyes as he gave him a thumbs up towards him, carefully trying not to give anyone any clue that they were up there. Max'Sall gave him a small rushing motion with his hand meant to show that Dormion needed to hurry up. Dormion nodded slowly towards him as he backed up the same way Max'Sall had before and began to take off.
Max'Sall quickly stood up near the rooftop as Dormion ran towards the building. He noticed he wasn't moving as fast, which would be bad unless he started to pick up. Dormion looked towards Max'Sall as he leaped forward, drastically slower than Max'Sall believed he should have been moving. With quick reflexes, Max'Sall quickly made his way towards the very edge of the rooftop. Dormion was falling too quickly, and he wasn't close enough to the building. Max'Sall leaned down as Dormion approached the building, but he wasn't high enough to make the jump. Max'Sall leaned down as half of his body was on the building and the other was leaned down out into the streets below, and with just barely enough space, he grabbed Dormion's arms as his body hit against the front of the building.
They both stared at each other, looking at the worry in their eyes, as Max'Sall pulled him up onto the rooftop in a small struggle. They both got onto the rooftop as Max'Sall looked down towards the crowds below. They had seen them, but most of them went back to their day-to-day lives, not caring too much about what the lives of others might have been. He went back to looking at Dormion, whose hood was down to show his ragged and shaggy brown hair.
"You really hate that tunic, don't you?" His breath was ragged, but there was a small smile on his face. Max'Sall couldn't help but roll his eyes as he stood up and held out his hand to help Dormion up. "Told ya, you wouldn't fall." Max'Sall said with a small smirk to lighten the mood. "You were right; I didn't fall. I almost went splat against the front of some poor man's store." Dormion laughed a large belly laugh that always made the tension melt away, and Max'Sall didn't feel much but a slight joy in his heart.
Dormion fixed his hood again as he brushed off his trousers and walked forward towards the alleyway. "Should be close to when they will be there; might as well head down." Dormion said with quietness coming back to his voice.
With a nod, Max'Sall agreed as they both walked across the rooftop. The alleyway down below, they looked forward as they saw a small pipe that led down towards the ground within. Dormion already began describing, holding both hands to the pipe as he crawled down slowly into the alley below. After he went down, Max'Sall made sure the satchel was secure and grabbed onto the pipe and simply slid his hands down as he fell much faster, as the rain they had yesterday made the pipe wet and slick, which made it easier to slide down.
Max'Sall landed down near a puddle as he kneeled down to look at his face; it had been a few days since he had seen it. He looked through the puddle to see his still dark tan and grey skin almost darken into the puddle, as his grey eyes bore deep into the mirror the puddle gave. His simple dark blue and amber tunic had small dirt marks, but that could be cleaned later. He stood up, wiping off any remaining dirt off his dark brown boots, the only gift he had, and began walking into the alley.
Max'Sall walked together with Dormion as the dark edges of the alley gave off a small, chilling cold where Lutana didn't shine. Dormion held up a small bead of light, which he claimed to be a gem of pure Blot, which they both knew wasn't possible, but it was fun to think it was anyway. The bead gave a small light as they saw three men standing across the way. With the light now shining, the men looked away slowly as they adjusted to the light. Each man was wearing simple but elegant clothing with swirling colors and designs. Each man was almost a dark blue; each varied between the shades, much harder to tell because of the darkness of the alley. Just as Caelen described.
"Seems like they were right on time; Caelen knows how to use 'em, I suppose." The man in the front said he had a small scar above his forehead. All three of them walked forward, almost as if they walked together like puppets. Max'Sall simply looked towards the few. They were of decent height, and since he was much taller, he was almost as tall as them, while Dormion stood a few inches shorter. They weren't as scary as they were unnerving, like in a moment they could turn into something more violent.
"So, is the satchel what we asked for?" The smallest of the three men asked, a little nervous, which didn't help that he still had a face that made it hard to look like a smile was any more genuine. The man then began to try and reach for the satchel before Max'Sall took it off his left shoulder and grabbed the leather straps and held it back from him.
"What gives?!" The final man, the strongest of the three, almost shouted out into the alley before the first man slapped him on the head to quiet him. "Quiet, Barlow! Think before you speak," the first man said to the now-identified strong man, Barlow.
"Let's see the receipt first." Max'Sall said. He had been in these situations before; he needed to know that they had the proof. The ones that didn't have it were typically more violent, and he hated having to deal with that.
"Well, Rylander, show him," Barlow had said as he looked towards the first man. Rylander pulled out a small slip of paper and handed it to Max'Sall as he grabbed it quickly and looked at it. Max'Sall read over the paper, which was to say that he just looked over the scribbles and marks of letters he didn't know. He didn't care that he couldn't read, but he knew what he was looking for. A small symbol in the bottom of the paper knew exactly that these were the men. A small winged glyph that was covered in a red shade only those who knew Caelen or dealt in his business would have. That was enough.
Max'Sall took the paper and showed it to Dormion, who had simply brushed over the paper and nodded as Max'Sall tossed the satchel over. Rylander took the satchel as he began to dig through it as he almost broke open the small silver belt buckle that held it together.
"See, not so bad," Max'Sall said to Dormion as the other boy just shook his head as they began to walk towards the alleyway; the guards were gone, which meant that they could just quickly head back to Caelen's store. He began to move as he heard a sudden stomp behind.
"Hold on just a moment!" The voice of Rylander squawked out before Max'Sall looked back at Dormion with suspicion. They both turned around as Barlow was looking into the satchel, trying to find any other remaining thing within. Rylander held up only one large, fleshy fruit in his hand; it was the size of his hand, and it was bright red, as red as a fire in the dead of night. Rylander looked angry as he held up the fruit, his brow furrowed and jaw clenched.
"This is all? We were promised three Jewel Fruits! Where are the others?" Rylander had said, as each word simple to boil and bubble out. That calm and collected personality he had was now gone in a flash.
More? Max'Sall was already confused at the question. He was given the satchel by Caelen; there was nothing else that he told him to grab. Was there supposed to be more? Max'Sall looked to Dormion, who gave him a look of confusion. Did they forget something?
"Huh?!" The man Barlow, already enraged, was beginning to move unseemly as he towered over the other two. The three men looked towards the both of them as Max'Sall knew that, whether or not they had forgotten the item, this would not be good.
"There must have been some sort of mistake!" Dormion said quickly, trying not to escalate the situation. "We must have forgotten them; we can just go back and—" "You forgot them!? How stupid can you be?!" Barlow responded in even more rage that bolstered out as a scream. Max'Sall was already worried about the screaming from him, as he had walked back slowly.
The smallest unnamed man was looking at the fruit with a hunger, a different hunger that looked like he would do anything to get that fruit out of Rylander's hands. His hand reached up as he saw his Embody, the small tattoo mark every human had. He could tell that there was a remnant left behind of a soft glow on its already intricate design. It was the shape of a flowing waterfall and a small flower right beneath, which was already softly glowing a faint blue, which went from his elbow to his mid-forearm.
Max'Sall noted that hunger in each of their eyes. What was with them?
"I think they're hiding something. Show us what you have in your pockets," Rylander had said to both of them. Dormion was trying to empty his pockets as Barlow began to approach closer. In the small glint of the light, Max'Sall noted a small gleam in this man's pocket. He saw the outline of something sharp, a knife-like object; he knew that it would be bad.
"Creation's end," he thought in his head as he quickly looked towards Dormion, who was trying to show them he had nothing. Max'Sall grabbed his hand as he moved back towards the front of the alleyway in a sprint.
"You Dull bastards!" Rylander had screamed out in a rush.
This would be bad...