Chapter 14: 14. Port Town Sayavila

Sayavila was a very busy town, strangely so during the dwindling hours of the evening. Even as late as it was, the streets were crowded with people who were bustling back and forth, in and out of buildings, and in every which way. 

Desmond found his eyes jumping from one thing to the next; taking in as many sights as he physically could as Arika led him through the main gate. He ignored how she slipped a partially-armored guard wielding a spear a small handful of coins, only for the guard to nod and then pass her a small leather tab in return. He then turned away, as if he hadn’t seen them at all, as they rushed into town.

Inside Sayavila, there was a constant stream of noise and foot traffic in every direction. Each building was made from a completely different combination of stone and wood; some with stacked stones at the bottom and strong wooden planks built upon them, and others with a layer of neatly cut stones, then similarly cut wooden planks, so on and so forth. 

No matter what kind of building it was, they all followed that strangely inconsistent design scheme. He watched as a group of people stumbled out of what looked like a tavern, chattering amongst themselves as they began to drunkenly stroll down the cobblestone path of the main street. Similarly, an older man stepped out of what looked to be a butcher’s shop, his hands still covered in old blood. The burly, bearded man sighed heavily as he flipped the large ‘OPEN’ sign against the front of the shop’s window over to the ‘CLOSED’ side. 

Even though it was still busy this time of day, it would surely calm down and grow quiet as the night descended over Sayavila. 

‘But I bet there’ll still be a ton of people out here.’ Desmond thought as he continued to follow Arika and Euric. They strolled casually down the road, much like everyone else around them, as if they had no real destination in mind; before they immediately veered off of the main road and into the alleyways, with Arika steering the young boy along with a steady hand on his shoulder. 

“Stick close, Des.” She told him. Desmond wondered where she’d gotten the nickname from, but didn’t say anything about it yet as she kept moving forward and he followed. “Don’t talk to anyone. Someone talks to you first, don’t respond.”

He nodded in understanding, watching as Arika and Euric casually slipped from one alley to the next without hesitating; as if they were used to these paths. 

‘Though I guess I shouldn’t be surprised.’ Desmond thought, following after them as they cut behind another tavern, then a small boutique, and then wrapped around the other end of a bakery. ‘They’ve lived here for years, apparently, so it makes sense.’

Eventually, after moving from alley to alley and crossing over the main streets on at least two more occasions, the group finally stopped at a secluded, almost hidden door that was wedged into the wall between two large buildings in the middle of a dark and empty alley. 

Euric leaned against the wall on one side of the door and crossed his arms, looking away as if he were minding his own business. Arika leaned against the wall on the other side, then rapped her knuckles against the door quickly. 

Knock Knock. Knock. Knock Knock Knock. Knock. Knock Knock.

Desmond raised an eyebrow, standing at Arika’s side and looking off down the other end of the alley as if he was paying no attention to what was happening at his side. 

‘That’s a pattern, alright,’ He thought, glancing up at Arika. ‘They must come here often. Now that I think about it, they were talking about selling their merchandise.’

Before he could continue the thought, he heard a loud drilling noise; followed by several other clicks, the sound of metal grinding against metal, and the distinct sound of a chain falling limp. 

The seedy door cracked open before them and, from the darkness inside, a single eyeball popped into view as it looked over the three outside casually.

“Whose come ringing about this time of day?” Said a deepy, gravely voice from within. Desmond glanced up at Euric and Arika, both who wore calm and collected expressions.

“No one special, chief.” Euric started, continuing to look away as if he wasn’t involved. Desmond thought he was doing a poor job of looking nonchalant.

“Just a pair of workers, looking to unload after a hard day’s work.” Arika finished with a small nod. The face behind the door began to move before its gaze flicked down to Desmond. Arika huffed in response. “Plus one.” 

The man behind the door made a displeased noise before the door slammed shut. Euric huffed, shaking his head. He opened his mouth to say something, but Arika held up a finger, shushing him.

A moment later, more clicking noises rang out into the quiet alley, followed by another chain going limp before the door was yanked open in full, leading into a dark hallway. Standing in the doorway was a portly man about a head shorter than Euric with a scraggly brown beard, bald and red cheeks. His one brown eye was sunken, while a black eyepatch covered the other, and Desmond could smell the stale alcohol on his breath, even from a distance away. 

He gave a two finger salute to both Euric and Arika before stepping to the side and gesturing for them to enter.

“Even the lowest workers deserve a place to relax at the end of a long day.” He burped out. Then his eyes landed on Desmond once more and narrowed. Desmond squinted at the man in turn, but neither of them said anything as Arika put a hand on the boy's shoulder.

“Behind me, Des.” She whispered, patting his shoulder once before stepping into the darkness. Desmond glanced at the old man once more before he followed after her, making sure to keep an eye on her sword so that he didn’t lose her. He heard Euric’s heavy footfalls behind him before the door shut quietly and plunged them into total darkness.

For a short time, anyway, as a yellow flame quickly popped into existence above a torch on the wall next to them and illuminated the short hallway they were in. Wooden floors and walls with no distinct features about them, the hallway continued forward for another three meters or so before it very quickly declined into a steep stairwell leading downward. 

‘...This is ridiculous.’ Desmond thought. ‘Father would have my head if he could see me now.’ 

He sighed, though, and followed after Arika as she began to move forward and then descend down the stairs. He heard Euric following behind him, but not the old man.

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‘But he isn’t here.’ He glumly finished the thought, crossing his arms as he began down the stairs. ‘So who cares what he’d think. If this gets me what I want, then it’s fine. It’s fine.’

After what felt like several minutes of walking down the stairs, it eventually opened up into a larger, brightly lit room. The walls changed from the regular wood to a dark red wallpaper, though the floors stayed the same. Against the room’s right wall, there was a long bar with shelves of glasses and bottles of brightly and strangely colored liquids hanging up behind it. Stools lined the outside rim of the bar, and plush red loveseats and armchairs were scattered around the rest of the room, surrounding round wooden tables and all facing the left wall.

On that far left wall, there was an elevated wooden stage. Dark gray curtains covered the back wall, and the stage extended out in a sort of walkway. In one corner, there was a small band, all playing stringed and keyed instruments and, standing in the middle of the stage, was a woman.

People chatted here and there, seated at the bar and in the couches. Some of them were eating, and most of them nursed drinks, but all of them had one thing in common: They were all watching the woman on stage with rapt fascination.

Desmond was just a kid, no matter how much he didn’t want to be reminded of it. But even he thought that the woman was very pretty, at the very least. 

She wore a sparkling red dress, accompanied with a fluffy white coat and heels to match. Her light purple hair was kept long, smooth and wavy as it hung down the front of her left shoulder. Pale and smooth, unmarred skin with bright purple eyes, bright red lips and a pair of sparkling silver earrings hanging from her ears completed her appearance. 

As they reached the bottom of the stairs and stepped into the club, she began to sing in a language that Desmond didn't know. It echoed across the club, sweetly bouncing off of the walls and reaching Desmond's ears in an instant. It flowed throughout the room like a soft sheet of snow, or a warm blanket that covered everything all at once and wrapped around each person comfortably.

The band kicked in soon after; playing a slow, rumbling, and echoey song that filled in the background space of her higher, sweeter voice. Cheers and whooping whistles erupted from the seated patrons across the bar, and it was then that Desmond noticed her ears.

He could only see one that wasn’t being covered by her hair, but it was enough for him to be able to tell that they were long and pointed.

‘An elf?’ He thought. Before he had a chance to watch any further, though, he felt Euric and Arika both take him by the shoulders and steer him in the opposite direction.

“Nnnnope, this definitely isn’t a place for kids.” He heard Euric mumble under his breath. Similarly, Arika quickly sucked air in through her teeth, her voice tense and uncertain.

“Yeah. Let’s just hurry up and see Tevin. We can take the back entrance out.” She muttered shamefully. 

Desmond managed to glance back behind them once more, only catching a glimpse of the elven woman swaying her way across the stage as she continued to sing, before his two companions shoved him through an open doorway covered by a curtain that he didn’t see before. They quickly continued to push him forward until the music from the main room faded quietly into the background. 

‘I dunno what got into these guys. Maybe they don’t like elves?’ Desmond complained in his head before shrugging. ‘Well, whatever. At least this hallway isn’t as dark as the one from before.’

Much like the room before, the hall was lit up with crackling yellow torches. This hall, though, was much shorter than the one that led them to the club in the first place, as Desmond could see three doors at the end of the hall as soon as they entered; One on the left, one on the right, and one directly in the center. 

The thieves very briskly shoved him toward the one on the left, where Euric very promptly rapped his knuckles against it. At the same time, Arika bent down to Desmond's eye level and dropped a hand onto his shoulder.

“Same as before, Des. Don’t talk at all, you hear me?” She said, pointing a finger at him. “If Tevin talks to you first, just don’t respond. You don’t need to get involved with a man like him.” 

‘Seriously? I’m double your level, you know...’ He thought. The serious look on Arika’s face, however, made him bite his tongue. “...Okay. I’ll do my best.”

The woman let out a tense sigh before nodding, a small smile slipping onto her face. 

“Good boy. Now,” She moved to stand up and, at the same time, the door slowly creaked open. Standing in the doorway was a short, portly man that was just barely the same height as Arika herself. At the sight of him, the woman’s smile grew strained. “Tevin. Nice to see you again.”

The portly man snorted, reaching a stubby arm up to pull the cigar from his mouth as he looked at her with a smirk. His greasy blond hair was oiled back against his scalp, and the wispy goatee he had on his chubby chin was patchy and uneven. 

He wore simple pants and a button down shirt that left the top half of his chest exposed, showing the pastiest white skin Desmond had ever seen and a shocking lack of chest hair. The man’s bright blue eyes shined as his smirk grew and he gestured backward toward the room.

“Rika! Euric! My two favorite little thieves! I knew y’all would be back sooner or later, hah?” His voice was high and grating on Desmond's ears, with an undeniable accent that he didn’t recognize. He then paused, looking at Desmond with an almost greedy look in his eyes. It immediately made Desmond want to sock the man between the eyes, but he was able to hold himself back. 

“Oho? A kid? Looks like y’all really brought me some interestin' merch tonight!” The man exclaimed and Desmond couldn’t help but grimace.

‘I don’t really know what I was expecting,’ He thought, clearly disappointed as he stared at the man silently. ‘But it definitely wasn’t this.’

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