Almost an hour later, I finally finished cleaning the mud. My forehead kept pouring me sweat – I didn't like it so I wiped it with my sleeves.
"Hey, I'm done." I said to the old man at the reception.
He glanced at my face before sweeping the floor with his old and weathered eyes. He motioned me to come forward as he folded and released his fingers.
When I got close, he took out some shiny bronze coins and handed them to me. I was surprised and confused at the same time, I failed the job and got punished instead so why is he giving me money?
I subconsciously counted the coins in my hand as my eyes widened at each coin– twenty-five bronze coins! It's equivalent to a silver coin.
With wide eyes and an open mouth I forced myself eyes away from the coins when I heard the old man say, " Get yourself a bread, son." His voice heavy with kindness as pure as his heart. Or so it felt like to me.
I didn't say anything in return. I couldn't. I just nodded.
Rolling down my sleeves. Putting on my hat and coat, I stepped out into the street. As soon as I'm back in the streets the smog greeted me with its suffocating dance. I raised my head to see the bastard smiling at my twisted face– The sun.
'Of course he knew I was going to fail and still get rewarded. That's the only reason he is up there already.' I shook my head as a low sigh escaped my mouth.
" Let's get some bread." I muttered to myself. People trailed on the streets as some went to smoke in the factories and others…well…envying them.
Horse carts would occasionally clop-clop the cobblestones and would deposit some manure here and there so street kids could come and stick their fingers in.
"Hey! Get your finger out of there!" An angry mother shouted at her child. I chuckled softly at the scene before I continued my journey to get the bread from the main square.
Before I reached the main square I saw the sun being pushed around by the smoke from the factories. Gone was his annoying smirk at me.
"See who is being played around now?" I smirked as I mocked the sun.
A woman and child looked at me horrified before trying their best to not pass through near me, " Too many crazy people here." I heard the woman muttering.
'At least say that in your mind, not-so-crazy lady!' my eyebrows twitched at her words.
Bumping and squeezing through people and trying my hard not to breathe I finally passed the market and arrived back at the square. There wasn't as thick smog in the main square as it is in Brighthold.
The wind brought a playful breeze to my face as it searched my pockets, with it a strong smell of baked bread pinched my nose. I took a long breath in and held a second before exhaling back.
I know where to get the best bread!
I stretched my lips into a smile as I walked ahead. On both sides of me, different types of shops have already opened. Some sold puddings, tea, and snacks and meals while others sold time pieces, clocks, factory machines, and some weird machines that smoked cigarettes.
Horse carts would occasionally stop by my side, waiting for me to get in, but the best thing I can give them is a thumbs up or pat in the back.
'What else? Give horses an apple? Sorry, Mr. Cart driver doesn't have an apple with me.' I thought to myself as I saw the glare in the coachman's eyes.
The smell of the fresh baked bread intensified as I got closer and I saw a crowd before it a few distance ahead. My lips parted into a grin as I was happy to get a fresh baked bread.
The people gathered here were all from either Lomere or the homeless people, " Me! Give that to me!" One of them shouted.
"I was here first!" A short man shouted back.
"Shut it! Imp!"
"You shut it! Crook!"
The tall man was clearly enraged by this as he stowed people away and picked up the short man by his rags and pinned him to the wall.
'And the usual fights by the homeless people.' I shook my head in pity for the imp- I mean, the short guy. Everyone was busy by the legendary battle of the imp and the crook.
Seizing this chance I moved closer to the old woman who was selling the bread, "One medium sized bread please." I said with a gentle smile on my face.
The old lady looked at my face before blinking twice, "Ah, yes lad." She took a hot steaming bread and covered it in a newspaper.
"That would be ten bronze coins, lad." She said with a weary voice. I handed her ten coins as she demanded and got the bread from her.
The smell of fresh baked bread made me want to start eating it already but with great efforts I held back the urgency. Since there isn't anything else to do in the main square anymore I decided to go back home.
As soon as I turned to walk away from the bread shop, the wind blew heavily at me, causing my coat to flutter and block my view. At that moment, I felt somebody snatching the bread from me as they pushed me down.
I fell hard on my back, "Arghh.." I grunted as the impact of the fall jerked me.
"Thief!" I heard somebody shouting, "catch him!'
I looked ahead as soon as I could but I only saw a hooded figure running into an alley. I grumbled as I got to my feet and sprinted after the thief.
'I just got that bread too! No way I'm letting some smart-ass steal it!' while I was chasing the thief it was my only thought.
I turned into the alley before the thief had shook me off. There is that bastard, walking with that bread as if it's theirs.
"STOP HIM! THIEF!" I shouted at the crowd causing the thief to look back, I saw his half white painted face. And somehow that face felt awfully familiar to me.
'There's only one face I know which is painted.' My eyes widened at the realisation of the identity of the thief– the magician!
Confusion and shock gripped my heart as the beautiful magician started running again. With wide eyes I also picked up my pace after her.
She moved swiftly through the crowds while I struggled and bumped into many, which caused me to be slower.
"Move it!" I grumbled as I pushed the crowd away. The magician has already reached the other end of the alley before turning into another one. How did she get there so fast!?
"Aaaaaaaarrrrrgghh!!" I shouted as I ran, making people move out of my way. I ran and turned hard right following the magician.
This alley was even darker and stinkier than even the market. And straight ahead was a wall blocking the path ahead– a dead end. Standing before that wall was the thief of a magician.
"Give it back!" I demanded, taking one step at a time closing the gap between us. "I thought you were a good magician but who knew you had more than one trick up your sleeve....or skirt."
She didn't say anything nor did she smile. She took a step back away from me as I walked towards her. I didn't dare lower my guard as I was prepared for an attack.
But at that moment, she jumped up and stayed in the air, before running above me as if the air was bending itself for her to step on it.
My eyes widened in disbelief as I couldn't understand what was happening before my eyes. A woman was running in the air!
But what was even more shocking was when she jumped over a tower and disappeared.
'What the hell..?' I couldn't even trust what I was seeing. 'She is a real magician!'
With no other choices left I decided to continue my chase. Surely someone would have seen where she went.
I saw people with widened eyes and mouths opened as if the air around them showed them something unbelievable, truly looking like fools – like how I just was.
"Was that a god?" Someone asked in a shaking voice.
"No, it's the demon." Somebody else said.
I didn't say anything as I ran to the tower she jumped over. It was a hundred metres ahead of me. All the way I was only thinking one thing, "What was that?"
Soon I reached the tower, it was the place where she did magic tricks earlier! My eyes darted around but not just the ground, I also searched the air as wind loved to carry her and play pranks on me. However, there was no one. At least no one who looked like a magician or someone in the air.
But there was something covered in a newspaper lying on the cobblestones.
'My bread?' A simple thought came to mind as I slowly approached the packet. Worry and concern holding my hand back from touching it. Slowly my hands touched it– there was bread inside!
My heart felt relaxed all of a sudden as I exhaled deeply, "Did she drop this or the wind dropped her?" I muttered to myself as I tore the newspaper slightly to see if it was still bread.
"Pheww..still bread.." I sighed once again, "What's wrong with–" I couldn't finish saying when I felt a grip on my arm. My eyes narrowed and I curled my arms into fist as I got ready to take down the magic-thief!
"Waaaang..sniff..sniff.." But what my ears heard wasn't a threat but a cry of a child, I relaxed my fists lightly before turning to look at the child crying. Her eyes red from rubbing and crying.
I knelt in front of her as I asked, "What's wrong?" But the child didn't say anything except for crying.
"Where's your mother?" I kept asking, I made sure to keep my voice gentle and calm to sooth the child.
" They took her.. sniff.." the child answered.
"Took her?...who?"
"Sniff…the people…from..sniff..saltend.."
'People from Saltend are the worst to get into trouble with…I should let the child find some police officers.' I thought as I chose a rational decision.
"Listen child, I will try to get you to some police officers, they will bring your mommy back." I said in a gentle voice.
"No..police will..take her away.." the child said, but her crying had stopped.
"Why?" I asked, my eyebrows furrowed as thoughts played around in my brain.
"She does..magic..and they hate us.."
'So this poor child's mother is a magician wanted by the police? Wait– magician…female magician it's her!?'
"Listen kid, I don't think they hate her because she does magic –" I couldn't tell her that her mother was a thief and it's hopeless to bring her back, as I saw the hope of that child in her eyes.
"Sir,.. please.." she asked me, with an almost squealing voice.
'How can I– what am I supposed to do? What can somebody like me even be able to do? And how can I tell this child no? Especially when she is like me…' My thoughts caused a chaos in my head, I was momentarily unable to decide.
After a while I sighed in defeat and smiled at the little girl, "Alright, let's go get your mommy back!" I said with a smile.
The girl's blue eyes gleamed at my words. She rubbed her eyes a few times before nodding.
"Before we leave, I'd like to ask you some questions…" I said slowly, earning a nod from the child.
"What is your and your mommy's name?"
"I'm Lali and mama is Laura."
"Mmm…do you remember what those guys from saltend looked like?" I asked her again. This was the most crucial part. If she said something like a tattoo, or dressing style…it'd be very easy to find who they are.
"They had bald heads and big muscles with red shirts."
My eyes widened and my heart plummeted at that description, it was the Scarlet-thew. They were, as heard, the biggest and most violent thugs in the saltend.
I swallowed hard as I glanced up at the sun, but he had already gone hiding behind the
thick black smoke.
And here I was when I thought this day can't get anymore eventful, I'm going to confront the biggest gang in all of Varaden– I'm fucked.