Chapter 3: Sinnerman, where you gonna run to?

      

            "Fuck"

    "That's a noble" sighs The Bum.  

He didn't regret killing him, the wretched  little bastard had it coming.  ESPECIALLY because he was a noble.

No, what he regrets is letting the squirrely one get away.  'Damn this worthless broke knee!'    He thought.

"What the hell was a noble doing out here anyway?  They never come to the slums..."

Lyalya looks worried "What?  He's- He's a noble?    Is that very bad?"  she timidly asks

"C'mon, I thought I had more time.  We need to go.  Now"

The old man gathers the makeshift rucksack and heads toward the street.                            The girl reaches down and grabs the dagger.    Truthfully the old man had forgot about it...

"Good thinking girl."  growled The Bum "It's always a good idea to have a weapon on you, especially in this city"

The girl jogs to keep up with the much taller mans limping pace, as The Bum heads down the street, looking both ways for even a hint of the guard.    

"What's so bad about him being noble? Lots of people die here in the slums, ive seen their bodies get tossed in the alleys..."                                   The girl asks.

The Bum stops for a moment, astounded.    "How have you survived here if you're this stupid?"   He said incredulously, rounding on her.

The girl flinches.     "If the city guard catches us for killing that noble, they'll throw us into the dungeon for a week where they will torture us and rape you, then when the trial comes around, they'll declare both of us guilty, it wont matter that you're innocent.  You're 'Daemon Kin', so that means you are guilty." He said while pointing a thick finger at her .         "Lastly they will draw and quarter me, and burn you alive in front of the church while the good people of Leitos cheer and laugh as we die"    

The girls eyes are wide.    "So, if you understand, then shut up and move"  The Bum growls.

She does.

As the duo make their way down the dirty empty streets towards the docks, they pass cheap ramshackle wooden houses with slate roofs.          They passed a drunken sailor, passed out, leaning against the side of a warehouse  he was supposed to be guarding from thieves. 

Normally The Bum would relieve him of his worldly possessions, but not tonight.

As The Bum & girl amble through the labyrinthine slums, they hear the denizens of the night, in the distance.   The sound of drunken laughter, the moaning of some back alley whore plying her trade.

The sounds were an indicator they were close to their destination .

And as they round a corner, they see it  'The Blooming Rose' a large three story wooden building painted a garish red, with cheap red paper lanterns for light.   It was still open, drunks still laughing inside.

" 'The blooming Rose', more like the 'Blooming Onion'  "   The Bum muses.   The place was disgusting, smelling of cheap perfume, stale pissy ale, sweat, poppy smoke and despair.            The Bum had visited many brothels when he was a soldier, but none like This...

The Bum turned towards Lyalya  "Umm, my room is just a block away from here... "   The girl says "You ca-

"This is where we part ways girl"   The Bum interrupts

"Now you need to hide out for a while, don't leave your room for three days, except to get food, until this blows over..."

"NO!"  The forcefulness of  her response startles The Bum     "Umm, if you leave now, i wont be able to repay you for saving me..."     She says while looking away.  "I'm  a Lycaon, even though im Mix Blooded i still follow the Rule of Twice!"   

 

The Rule of Twice.   It's a Lycaon philosophy. 

 'Always give back what you are given by twofold. Always' 

 If you give a Lycaon twenty silver, then they MUST repay you with forty.  If you steal from a Lycaon, they will take something double the value of what you stole. If you save ones life, they must give you two lives in return.  And if you murder one, chances are good that they would slaughter you and everyone in your family. The Lycaons are a close knit community, and every member of the clan will naturally want revenge for their loss... 

          ...Yeah, that's the Lycaons for you. They certainly do fit the Title 'Race of Wrath'.      Thought The Bum 

 Most of the mix blood Lycaons living in this city didn't truly follow the philosophy, they just followed a half-assed version of the philosophy, when it suited them.

"Ha! I didn't even mean to save you!  I just wanted to hurt those bastards!"  The Bum said with an ugly mocking grin, showing his yellowed broken teeth.             

  "Sorry kid, you don't want a guy like me around. Sticking around me will only get you misery"

Lyalya clenched her teeth, and put her chin up

"I don't care.  Wether you meant to or not, you still saved me!"  she said angrily

She continued "Look, i dont have much, but i have a room with a clean bed, and there's a water well in the yard, and even a bar of soap to clean yourself and your clothes.  Do you even know how much you stink?   Honestly, when's the last time you bathed?"  

She nagged as she wrinkled her nose at The Bum.

It HAD been a very long time since he washed himself...   And soap was a luxury that he hadn't had in an even longer time 

"Please, ill even cook for you. I have some dried meat & cheese that i took from the landlord for overcharging me rent..."

The Bum crossed his arms  "I said NO girl, now go on home."

At that moment, his stomach let out a low growl.

It had been a couple days since he had any food. And Cheese.  How long had it been since he ate anything that wasn't scavenged or hunted rat dog or cat, or fished out of the filthy sewage waters of the bay...

Even The Bum had to look away out of embarrassment.

Without saying anything more, The Bum turns & steps out of the alley towards the brothel

He takes two steps before something jerks his new coat.    He turns and sees Lyalya, pulling on the bottom of his long coat.

"Grrr, fine, wherever you go, i'll go too!" She growls through clenched teeth, trying in vain to hold back the large man.

"I'll follow you until i've repayed my debt for you saving me!"

A couple of drunks see the spectacle, and point and laugh at what looks like a young girl trying to keep her elderly father from entering the brothel.

The Bum turns, looming over her, long greasy hair covering most of his face, which gave off a hooded, ominous look. Especially at night.

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His voice is frighteningly quiet 

"I can Make you stop little girl" 

It was easy to remember how this man had brutally murdered two men in under a minute, looking up into his cold dark eyes.

Lyalya pales as her big eyes widen even bigger. "Y-you s-said you didnt hurt children" she stammers.

"Maybe I was lying"

'By the gods, is this what I've become? Frightening a child who just wants to help me'   The old man thought shamefully.

The girl is silent for a couple moments, looking down towards her feet.   Then she looks back up, narrowing her eyes and putting her chin up.

"You weren't lying"  

"Look, just let me repay you for one night, ill cook for you in the morning and you can be on your merry way.  Besides, my room is much cleaner than that opium den anyway".  She said exasperatedly.

*sigh*

"Fine"  The Bum sighed "Its late, and I'm too tired to argue about this anymore"

He was.  It had been a long time since The Bum had fought, his bad leg was killing him, and he was both physically & mentally exhausted from the day's labors, and this dramatic event.

"Wha-0h, uum its a block and a half behind the brothel, that way"  Lyalya said, slightly surprised.

"Lead the way"

 

 

******

Meanwhile....

 

     In a richly decorated office, sat an older man in his fifties at a desk piled high with ledger books and scrolls. 

From the soft golden light of the Manastone desklamp, one could see the finely crafted dark furniture of the desk and shelves.  They were made of blackwood, a rare type of tree that was incredibly valued for its hardness and durability.

At the man's back, one could see out of a large window into the courtyard of a lavish estate, well lit by manastones and patrolled by his guards.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      To the Man's sides, the walls were covered by gorgeous tapestries of his family crest, in prominent display.

Two hawks fighting, one above the other, on a field of red.   

The symbol of his family, the Pendrake Dukedom.

 

The man at the desk was older, but not old.    His well muscled frame easily distinguishable, even when he was hunched over a desk.

His hair was red, with white at the temples and a large red horseshoe moustache.  

Duke Friedrich Pendrake  frequently worked into the late night.                  When you were a Duke, the work was never completely done.            There was always just one more thing to do.   

There were petitions to be looked at and signed, household affairs that needed dealing with, budgetary issues, keeping up with all the political events of the capital, (he needed a whole ledger book just to list all the birthdays of the important nobles in the capital) and finally, Family issues.

*Sigh*     His Family was the only thing that could cause him this level of stress.  All the other issues were just minor things to be taken care of.      

'Well, just one family member really...'  Thought Duke Pendrake

His younger son Byron had continued to cause him nothing but headaches.

First, he refused to train as a warrior, despite the fact that the Pendrakes are a military family.   

Second, was the... Incident with Baronet Kimbolts daughter.  Luckily he was able to cover it up fairly well with a few threats and bribes. However the rumors still persisted.

'The SHAME of it!!!'  Thought the Duke.

The mere thought of it making his thick eyebrows draw down and causing his face to go red as he reaches into a drawer of the desk to pull out a bottle of brandy, which he took a large swig of, not bothering to use a glass.

And Thirdly, he frequently went off gallivanting at night with low-born scum, into the slums.  The Same area where those filthy Daemon-kin make their homes!  

'Can he not see what the mere accusation of covorting with Daemons will do to our family name?'  Thought Duke Friedrich.

'I must discipline him harshly when he returns,  I must-'

At that moment, his door was slammed open, and in rushed a man wearing full banded mail armor, with the crest of  a red hawk on his chestplate.

Duke Friedrich shot up, out of his desk reaching for his family sword, which was always near him.

"Captain Rainer!"   "What is the meaning of this intrusion!!!"  The Duke demanded

Rainer quickly salutes, and apologizes 

"Sorry my Lord, but its an emergency.  Its your son"

 

 

 

 

 

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