The must of mildew permeated the air. At first, Talon found it unpleasant, but over time she had grown to take a liking to it. The strong, earthly smell had become comforting, the one familiarity in the ever-changing days among the streets.
For the past couple weeks, she had been staying in an alleyway in an old part of Tenebris that had long since abandoned. Whenever possible, she tried to find secluded, relatively sheltered areas to stay in. Any unnecessary interactions with people only complicated things, and more than that, just annoyed her. The beggars who tried to slyly make their way to her belongings with deceitful words were the worst of them. She especially hated them.
The ground beneath had been taken over by grass and weeds. Its dirt was soft, still slightly damp from the overnight rainfall. Her head rested against an old building’s brick wall where moss crawled all along the length of the structure, serving as a decent cushion for her to lie against. Nature had crafted her a temporary sanctum, for which she was grateful.
All together, Talon thought she had managed to find a pretty decent spot to stay this time around. It was at least better than her last spot. The nights there were noisy, and the place had been host to a number of other people over her short time there. But this alley suited her preferences much better, and it was even somewhat insulated against the cold, making the nights much more bearable.
Grumble.
Talon winced from the pain as her stomach tortured her, begging for food.
Heeding its call, she grabbed her nearby bag and rifled through it, despite already being aware of what the outcome of her search would be. The last of her food had been gone for a little over a day by now. She tossed aside the empty sack and looked towards the morning sky, deciding whether she should muster the willpower to get up and do something or just sit there.
Talon knew the formula by now: find more food before running out, so that there was no chance of starving. Sometimes though, she wondered if she should just let herself starve, just to see how she would react. What was the point if things weren’t getting any better? She just wandered the city, occasionally stealing food and otherwise doing her best to avoid running into trouble, but she was already in trouble, and nothing was improving.
Breathing a deep sigh, she crawled over to her bag, picking it up by the neck before she lifted herself from the ground onto her feet. Talon gave herself a little laugh.
Okay, you’ve done this plenty of times before. This time is just like any other.
Talon had been making due with what she had exhausted from the previous area of the city before getting here. She didn’t like staying in one place for too long, but she thought she would return here if she could remember the way back. With how long she’d stayed in her last location, people were starting to notice her, but she predicted she wouldn’t have that problem here, or at least it would be a while before that happened. She was hoping to squeeze at least a couple of months out of this area, because she was starting to run out of places in the city she hadn’t been to before. Although she considered the idea of returning to former areas, she wasn’t sure how safe that would be, considering she’d stolen from every market inside of them.
Making her way to the nearby street, the sunlight flooded into her eyes, and she squinted as her eyes took a moment to adjust to the harsh light.
Although this section of the city was rundown and mostly uninhabited, many people still traversed through it. Luckily, it was fairly early in the morning, which was when she had noticed the markets were busiest.
Leaning against the edge of the alley’s rough walls, Talon analyzed the activity of the street in front of her. She observed where people were going to, where they were coming from, and what they had with them, especially keeping an eye out for any emblems indicating status or wealth. She stayed in the shadows of the alleyway as much as she could, and she maintained a nonchalant appearance as she gauged each passerby, trying not to draw much attention to herself.
Most of the people walking by appeared to be of common descent, evident by their clothes, their mannerisms, and the ways they walked. A larger flux of people seemed to be heading in one direction as opposed to the other, and she noticed that most of them going that way were carrying empty baskets, satchels, and other containers. She wasn’t familiar with the area, but it was evident that all she needed to do was follow the flow of people, and she would find what she was looking for.
Talon casually slipped out of the alleyway and into the street. Although people almost never tended to bother her, she still preferred to remain as inconspicuous as she could. She’d rather not risk a confrontation.
In front of Talon was a couple, and she kept her distance so as not to disturb them. They each had with them a woven basket underneath one of their arms, holding hands with the other. Talon didn’t care much for their conversation, but she had nothing else to do, so she listened in a little.
“I heard King Bel’s grandson is unable to use magic,” the woman said.
“That’s ridiculous,” the man dismissed, shaking his head. “They’re just rumors.”
“But they’re corroborated by a former member of his royal counsel.”
“Then they’re lying,” he suggested, “probably mad because they lost their position. The Fiairi bloodline is strong. It just doesn’t make sense.”
“I hope you’re right. He’s still a child, after all. Maybe his magic will come with age.”
“Maybe.” The man lowered his voice. “But be careful with what you say. If the wrong ears hear us, we could end up answering to the royal guards.”
Talon mostly ignored what they had to say, but once they started to talk about what they were planning on buying and what they’d have for dinner, she at least knew that she was going the right way.
The path they were walking on had been paved with bricks, fairly new she guessed from the condition of them. The buildings alongside the road were definitely older, noticeably worn down over the years. Like the alley where she was staying, many of them appeared to have been taken over by plants that had climbed their ways up the walls.
After following the couple around for a while longer, an ease washed over Talon as she set her gaze on the area that laid in front of her. They had finally arrived at an open square crowded with people bustling around and haggling for deals. A plethora of stalls littered the area, with some vendors selling dishes and others selling items like weapons and trinkets, but a majority of the merchants were selling fresh produce.
With a quick analysis of the situation, she took a deep breath and calmed herself.
This should have been easy enough.
The square was small, and with how many people there were filling it, getting whatever she needed would be trivial as long as she wasn’t greedy. With such a large crowd, she could easily grab an item here or there without anyone noticing, and if they did she would just lose herself in the mass of people before they could do anything about it.
Before getting too close to any of the vendors, Talon stayed back and took a minute to survey the area and plan out her route. Aside from where she had entered from, there were three other main exits out of the square, two of which were significantly busier than the other one. She calculated a rough path that would cycle her throughout the square, ensuring that she would leave through one of those two areas, but she also planned a couple contingencies in case the situation changed any.
A majority of the stalls belonged to food vendors, which also happened to be where most of the customers were clustered around. Though there was also a somewhat large section where garments and jewelry seemed to be sold, Talon made a mental note to avoid that area. As much as she would’ve enjoyed something other than her old rags, she didn’t want to take any more chances than she had to. From her experience, merchants selling those types of goods were usually more watchful of them.
Seeing her first target turn away to attend to a customer, Talon made her move. Sidling her way up to the food stand, she dropped a couple apples into her sack as she casually walked by it, not missing a beat.
As she strolled past the merchant, she watched for any signs that he might have noticed.
Even the slightest glance at her could’ve spelled danger.
She internally sighed in relief as he motioned another customer forward.
Talon found that there were three extremely useful aspects to large crowds.
Firstly, the more people there were in an area, the less they seemed to care about what anyone else was doing. Whatever her actions were, whether she was walking or stealing, people tended to focus more on their own objectives when crammed together with hundreds of others than what hers were. After all, they couldn’t keep an eye on everybody, and they would much rather make a sale than keep an eye on somebody like her.
Secondly, it was easy to disappear into a crowd the larger it was, and especially easier at her short stature. The high density of people made it difficult for any pursuers both to see and chase after her, meeting barrage after barrage of people who didn’t take too kindly to being pushed aside.
Thirdly, it was difficult for anybody to single out her actions against the rest of the crowd’s actions. Even if she was the only person stealing, when placed in the middle of hundreds of others, noticing her at the exact moment she stole something was tantamount to identifying one bird in a flock of others. Too many pieces all moving at the same time simply made them blur together, so as long as she always kept herself moving, there was practically no chance of getting caught.
Talon made her way around the market, pocketing an item or two every few stalls. Although she briefly considered making off with an article of clothing when she noticed people starting to accumulate in that area of the square, she resisted the temptation. She estimated that her current clothes could last at least another month, provided no unexpected chases happened and she was mindful of her surroundings.
Soon enough, she had made her way through the square and emerged on the other side with her bag filled. Giving herself a little smile of self-approval, she left the area just as nonchalantly as she had entered it. Turning a couple of corners, Talon found a secluded alleyway and sat down. She would try to make it back to her earlier spot when the sun started to set, but for now she could finally relax and catch her breath. Ironically, being quiet and suppressing her presence took a lot of energy and effort.
She had managed to acquire a fairly substantial haul this time around, pilfering a variety of fruits, vegetables, and even some bread. Although it would have been nice, meat would probably remain a craving that she wouldn’t be able to satisfy. Not only was procuring it pretty risky, but she didn’t have any way of cooking it. The smell also attracted creatures, and she already had enough troublesome run-ins with people; wild beasts weren’t something she was looking to add to the list.
Talon figured she would be able to stretch the food for a couple weeks or longer.
Clap clap clap.
Talon jerked her head around towards the sound. A man of tall stature was walking towards her from the other entrance of the alley. At first she thought it might’ve been one of the merchants coming to retrieve his goods, but he didn’t look anything like any of the people she saw at the market. He wore an elegant black suit, laced with red and white accents, nothing that any commoner could afford.
She quickly scrambled onto her feet.
Not good.
Nobility tended to look down on people like her. While usually they just pretended like she didn’t exist, sometimes they straight-up insulted her, either walking past her or to her face. They never did much more than throw around harsh words, but she might get into actual trouble if this man knew about the food.
“Wait just a moment,” the man insisted before she could run away. “You were most impressive back there.”
Impressive?
“What do you mean?” Talon responded, still unsure of what exactly was happening.
Who was this man?
“The way that you procured that food,” he pointed at the bag Talon was holding. “Those people didn’t notice a thing.”
She shrugged. “No idea what you’re talking about.”
He chuckled. “Come on now, little one. I saw what you did. But relax—I’m not here to turn you in. Just admiring your skill.”
“Could’ve fooled me.” Talon chided.
Damn it. He does know.
“I suppose so,” he chuckled at the remark and bowed slightly, causing Talon to clutch her bag tighter.
Talon couldn’t understand the situation. If he was here to get the food back, then what was he waiting around for? Twisting her head around, she surveyed the area behind her. Maybe he had backup in case she ran.
“Worry not, it’ll just be the two of us here, unless you happen to have anyone else you’d like to invite,” the man teased with a retort of his own. “Seriously, though, I would prefer to continue this conversation with just the two of us.”
Conversation?
It didn’t seem to Talon like he was lying, but that only furthered her confusion. For the moment though, at least he didn’t seem hostile. If all he wanted was to talk, then Talon had some questions of her own.
“Why were you following me?” she assertively questioned. “How did you follow me? I thought no one saw.”
“As I said, you were impressive,” he praised. “I can tell you’ve practiced—perfected it, even. The average person going along with their everyday life wouldn’t have noticed, but I’m not just any commoner. I’ve trained for this.”
“So you’re with the police, then?” she asked, a tremble escaping her voice.
“No, no,” he said, unfolding his arms in a placating gesture. “I’m not foolish enough to join their ranks. Tell me, child, what’s your name?”
“Yours first,” She narrowed her eyes.
“Still don’t trust me? Fair enough,” he replied with a small shrug. “But I’m just a simple man looking for good students to teach. Call me a teacher, if you will. I’ll share my name—if you share yours. That, I promise.”
She hesitated but eased up slightly. He didn’t seem hostile, nor did he carry himself like a threat. “T… Talon.”
“Greetings, Talon. A pleasure to meet you.” He clasped his hands together, almost like a conductor preparing an orchestra, “You can call me Dukran.”
“H-hello, Dukran,” she stammered. “Nice to meet you.”
“Thank you, Talon.” He stepped forward. “Now, let me explain why I’m here. I have an opportunity for you.”
“What?”
“You heard me. I see potential in you, and I believe with the proper guidance, that potential can flourish.”
Potential? What was he talking about?
“Simply put, you have an innate talent. You’ve taught yourself a lot already, but I can bring you up to my level.”
“I don’t really understand…” Talon’s face showed concentrated thought as she struggled to decipher Dukran’s words.
“Perhaps a demonstration would help to explain.”
Talon had merely blinked, and he was gone.
Although her gaze never left him, she didn’t see what had happened. It took her a few seconds to even register that he had gone at all.
Darting her eyes around the scene, Talon looked for any traces of where Dukran could have gone. Finally turning her head around, he appeared behind her, at the same distance away from her he had been before.
“Magic” she whispered, jumping back in response.
“A little bit of magic, yes; I certainly wouldn’t be able to move that quickly without it. More importantly, however, was stealth.”
“So, you’re a mage.” Talon wasn’t sure whether to feel reassured or terrified. What she had just witnessed was difficult to process, but if he could really move that fast, then at least some of what he claimed had to be true. And if he wanted to catch her, she wouldn’t stand a chance.
“That’s not all.” He smirked. “In ten seconds, a young couple, eastbound, talking about dinner plans. In twenty-two, an elderly woman, westbound, carrying a basket of cloth. In forty, a soldier, also westbound, just making his rounds. But don’t worry, he won’t notice us.”
“What?” Talon scrunched her face, struggling to take in all the information at once.
“Come. Just watch the street behind me.”
After a short moment Talon noticed two people cross past the alley’s entrance, their fingers interlocked together and in the middle of a conversation.
How did he…
Shortly after, an old woman passed by in the opposite direction, carrying in hand her numerous textiles. The soldier followed suit some time later, not even turning to look in their direction.
It had all played out as Dukran foretold, and Talon didn’t know what to make of it.
“Are you a psychic?” She couldn’t take her eyes off of him, dumbfounded by the spectacle.
“I believe the proper term would be a ‘seer’, but no, that’s not what this is. I see using my two eyes, the same as you.”
“Well, I definitely can’t do anything like that,” she scoffed.
“Perhaps not yet you can’t, but like I said, given some time and guidance, I am positive that you could.”
“You want to teach me how to do that?”
“Indeed. You have an aptitude for the art of stealth, and I’d like to see how far you can develop it.”
Talon studied him in silence, intrigued. She had seen his movements, but keeping up with them was another matter entirely—they were flawless. His perception was razor-sharp, his motion precise. She couldn’t imagine herself pulling off such a feat when she could barely track what he was doing. And yet…the possibility intrigued her.
“But what will it cost?” she asked. “There’s always a catch.”
“Just your time,” he said with a smile. “And a bit of your loyalty.”
“Loyalty to what?”
“Tell me,” Dukran continued, “do you have any parents? A person with skill such as yours, surely they wouldn’t leave you in this condition.”
She hesitated. “Not anymore. They’re gone now.”
“I see…” He nodded, his tone softening. “I’m sorry to hear that.”
“Thanks…” she muttered, her mind drifting elsewhere.
“As I told you, I’ve had certain training. I’d like to teach you the same, Talon.” Dukran outstretched his hand towards her, with his palm facing upwards. “In return, you’d be given food, new clothes, a place to live, and an education. At the very least, I’d certainly call it a step up from your current situation.”
Unsure of what to think, Talon paused. His words were idyllic, but an apprehension still held tightly around her. It almost seemed too good to be true.
Was there something she wasn’t aware of?
She tried to rationalize any reason he would be lying, but Dukran had already proven that he could outpace Talon; if he wanted her to come forcefully, he was more than capable of making it happen.
“How much longer do you think you can survive here on the streets?” Dukran added. “You’re barely making it as it is, and you’ll only keep needing more food as you continue to grow.”
“Well, I’ve made it this long.”
“Perhaps, but soon enough people will start to catch on. That chance creeps closer each day,” he affirmed. “Had I been somebody else, this encounter may have been your last. I won’t turn you in, no matter your choice, but someday… somebody else will.”
He was right, and Talon knew it. She had already gotten chased out of a couple markets before. Too many times more and there wouldn’t be any more places to get chased out of.
“So what?” She replied, “I’m just supposed to believe you’re my savior?”
“Perhaps the term ‘savior’ is an overstatement,” he said, his tone calm. “I’m merely looking for students with potential. If it’s not you, I’ll find someone else. Life is full of important choices, and today, you’re presented with one of them.”
If he was telling the truth, then this was an opportunity she couldn’t afford to refuse. “Your words… they sound like a trap.”
“Well, that’s the beauty of it, isn’t it?” he replied. “People live their lives bound by distrust, shaped by what they see. But I see something in you that you don’t see yourself. I’m only offering to bring that out. Whether you want it or not, that’s up to you.”
Talon looked down at her feet. Was she ready to believe him? She wasn’t sure. Her heart quickened, a subtle beat of hesitation. But what if he was right? What if he could show her a world beyond the one she knew? She was tired—tired of the streets, of the endless cycle. Could there really be something more?
She exhaled, steadying herself. Then, she stepped forward and took his hand.
“Alright,” she said. “Show me.”