#with gale either taking it in stride if you do pick those options or having some really good comebacks | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

hamfamss · 6 years

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RANDOM: MERI CHRYSLER

(Message to Random: I took some liberties with background and character? Sorry, I hope it is up to standards!!)

The streets had always felt cold and cynical to Mekulash, as if something were constantly lurking, awaiting his wrong move. The towering buildings of mixed bricks and wood, and the cobbled road filled with dirt where not a welcoming sight to his cautious eyes. The sun was either a blazing heat or seemingly absent, hiding behind the thick clouds and sending a dark splendor to rain down and shroud the streets into a darkening mist. It was impossible to see through; impossible to get caught in.

Meku knew the streets like the back of his hand by now. The darkness that swelled today was at no disadvantage to his knowledge of the large town's layout. The faint glow of lanterns that dotted the road, hinting at a warm light where no help to the visibility of the town, but it was enough for him to sneak his way from wall to wall, completely unseen. Besides, today was no different from any other day: scout the streets, find a victim, take the remains and stalk the markets for unwanted scraps and easy pickings of fresh bread.

But most importantly: stay out of sight.

Meku already had somewhat of an infamous reputation in these parts. 12 years of living as the most expendable part of society would do that to a kid. But it was all he knew and all he could do. His only other option was the small orphanage, and hell, he had escaped that horror once before. Sometimes he could hear the cries and whimpering of the captive kids whilst on the outskirts of town: he remembered those days too clearly and there was no way he was doing that ever again.

So it was that he snuck silently through the shadows, keeping his toes away from broken glass and flinging himself over large rocks and walls in an endless game of leapfrog, occasionally stopping to wipe the mysterious slime from his hands or pick up a coin or two from the ground: until he spotted his first target.

She seemed new to town, there was something about the way she looked around and held the light in her hand so far away. A dwarf, and an upper-class one at that. Mekulash could see the bulge of cluttering coins at her hip, and the tell-tale dragon scales that clung to her chest was simply half his luck. Her hair was a golden twine, a decorative mess of plaits, curls, and mats that sat just above her shoulders. She looked lost, somewhat confused, and most importantly: rich. The light in her hand would make a usual easy steal a little harder than he had hoped, but it would be an opportunity he could not miss.

Meku waited a moment longer as the woman looked around, possibly for some sort of postage or town map, possibly even just for some form of light that wasn't the small dim ball in her own hand. She walked along the street, confused, and slowly, Mekulash followed.

"Hello." He spoke up, his voice croaked a soft whisper and he cleared his throat quickly, it wasn't that he spoke, possibly days or weeks since his last actual words; He was accustomed to listening after all. "Hello?" he tried again, stepping into the range of her light sheepishly. The plan was in motion from the get-go, and with travelers, it normally went off without a hitch.

"Hello?" her voice was deep and her accent distinguishably posh. It was partially what he expected from a dwarf, but he was surprised how much he was sure he recognized the tone, but it wasn't possible that he could know her, was it? She was so clearly a traveler, perhaps she had grown up here, or passed through before. But live here? Well, her outfit said it all. This town was not somewhere for the rich to hang around, it was barely somewhere for the poor. There was no way she would know who he was unless the town had managed to put up another dozen wanted signs during the night, something he highly doubted. "Who are you?"

"Are you lost?" Meku asked, stepping forward slowly. His words were almost a stammer, partly for the act, and partly because his tongue was finding its way around words after being so dormant.

"A little," she admitted. "My name is Gale. Do you happen to know where the Red Centaur Inn is? I'm sure I've been going in circles for the past hour... this town is so dark!" she was smiling, looking rather relieved to have found someone, "Who are you, can you help me?" she asked.

"Gale," Meku stated, not missing a beat. "My name is also Gale. Gale Greenford." His face was deadpan serious, and the dwarf looked somewhat surprised by the occurrence. After all, Gale wasn't the most common name around.

"Gale, huh? Who would have thought! The first person in mystery town is also called Gale. You aren't my secret twin are you?" She laughed. Meku only offered a small smile and a shrug, Gale seemed pleased enough with the response.

"Well, Gale, the Inn is this way." Meku led on, finding the back path to the Inn. Of course, he could just take her somewhere completely different, but it was easier, less likely that he would run into her again if he took her where she needed to go. So he led her on, through the darkest alleyways and dirtiest streets. She occasionally made exclamations of disgust at the green goo dripping down the walls or the black squelching spots on the ground. As annoyed as he was with her constant chatter, it was somewhat entertaining for him.

"So... Gale. How old are you?" Gale asked, trying to strike up a conversation. It wasn't very successful and Meku continued on in silence. Gale tried again, slipping slightly as she misguided her foot on a slippery cobblestone. "You seem, well, sort of young to be out on your own." she pressed. Meku leaped over a spiky shrub, only half listening to her. The sooner they got to the tavern, the sooner he could take his payment and escape.

"Are your parents around?" Gale pressed again, bouncing alongside him. She sounded slightly concerned, Meku didn't care.

"They own the tavern in town." Meku lied, taking a sharp right and inspecting the area. They were close to the Inn now, close enough to hear the sweet folk songs and the strumming lute hum inside. Soon enough he could get his good and go. It was all a matter of timing now.

"Tim and Janice?I didn't know they had a son." she murmured.

"You know them?" He asked, coming to a halt and narrowing his eyes, not looking at her just yet. His cover could be blown in seconds with the wrong word. But he could feel something in the atmosphere begin to shift. The small retract in Gale's voice or the way that her strides had become a little too confident for his liking.

"Oh yes, I know everyone in town!" She smiled, her voice dripping with an emotion that Meku could not place. Something was seeming off about Gale, and he swallowed quickly. He had thought he had recognized that voice... but where from?

"Everyone, huh?" Meku asked, keeping his voice even as he continued on, leading Gale towards the Inn, though he wasn't sure that she needed to know where to go anymore. He had to keep up the act, but maybe this hadn't been such a good idea. He'd show her the Inn, and he'd leave. Ths was starting to get too risky for his liking, and if she knew people... it means she was higher up in some system than he thought. Which meant she probably knew exactly who he was. There were no exits along the narrow path, and the sudden whirl of his mind only made the darkness cloud his thoughts as well as his direction. For once he wished he had taken the open road.

The journey was silent from then on out, they both knew the other knew something, but neither knew the specifics. The heavy footsteps on the sludge and stones where the only things left to listen to and Meku became uncomfortable with the silence- something that didn't happen often. The lute was getting louder, and the bard's words were becoming somewhat distinguishable. Meku could see the light lanterns of the street, the Inn was just around the next bend, and he wasn't too keen to be entering the light with Gale.

"Well, huh, take the next right and you will be at the, urgh, Red Centaur Tavern. Have a good time, Gale. Hope we see each other again, yeah?" Mekulash turned to face her, offering a small smile as he moved to squeeze down the narrow path around her, perhaps make a dash back to the safety of the slums. But it was to no avail. Before he could pass around her, she quickly snatched at his bare arm, her leather gloves pinching and rubbing against his skin.

"Not so fast Mekulash." Galed pulled him in close with a harsh snarl. Meku instinctively bit his lip, closed his eyes tightly as she twisted his arm, a spike of pain ran through his veins and he let out a small hiss. He knew where he had heard that voice before now. She was the Sheriff. He had seen her once before, not met in person, be he remembered her. Sherrif Alba.

"You won't get away that easily." She hissed, "Now, we can do this the easy way, or the hard way. What do you say?" She asked.

Meku gritted his teeth as she gave another sharp twist to his arm.

"So?" she asked again, her voice demanding. With a mustered effort Mekulash spat up at Alba, his face in a scowl.

"The hard way it is. Alright, come on." The Sheriff pulled him along towards the entrance of light, clicking her fingers and extinguishing the ball in her hands as they reached the lantern filled plaza. Meky could see the faces of the guards cornering the exit. With a rough shove, he was pushed to the center, landing in a pile of knees dirt and dust. Turning around, he faced the circle of posting guards and in seconds the guards were on top of him, tying back his hands as he kicked and attempted to resist. He was useless against the guards and soon enough two strong hands grabbed him tightly, lifting him off the floor with ease.

"You can't do this!" Mekulash howled. This couldn't be happening. He couldn't do this now.

"I'm afraid we can." Alba smiled, folding her arms happily and looking quite pleased with herself. "Do you know how long we've been searching for you, halfling?" Alba asked, walking up to him with a devious smile, clearly unable to hide her excitement as she paced slowly.

"A 17-year-old, escaping the guards for what, 10 years? That's a bit ridiculous don't you think? But, well, here we are. No more running, halfling. None of that now." she stopped in front of him with a bright grin, "Maybe sometime in jail... some community service, I've been talking to the Thane, and Adrea may need some more military recruits." She laughed and Mekulash struggled against his restraints once more, lashing out with a forceful kick right into the sheriff as the guards held him tightly.

Displeased, Alba turned her head to look at him, her eyes narrowed as she reared back, striking his face with her fist in one quick motion. Meku groaned, already starting to tase the blood in his mouth.

"Take him away." Alba huffed, turning swiftly as Mekulash ceased his struggles, falling limp in the arms of the guards until finally he was thrown into the back of a wagon, the bar closed and locked from the outside, and his arms still bound behind him.

----

For the most part, Meku's stay in solidarity with the large manors cell was uneventful. It was only legally meant to last a day or two, but then again, legally, the Sheriff wasn't exactly meant to punch unarmed civilians. Besides, he was getting more food and shelter here than he was on the streets, and the only downside was the lack of activity. He sat on a hard, wooden bench, starred through a singular barred window, a large tree blocking his view. He was no longer able to even try to make conversation with the guards- although he wasn't very talkative- he had had his voice quite literally taken away by the court wizard after he had excessively shouted at the guards at unreligious hours, hoping to keep the rest of the manor awake. By the outcome, he assumed it had worked well and was rather pleased with the result.

The door to the cells room opened with a rather large shifting clang, something he was now accustomed to over the weeks he’d been here. He didn’t bother to look up, but the recognizable voice of a dwarf changed his mind rather quickly.

“You are to live here, to sleep here, but to work for Timothy and Janice at the local tavern with no pay for another five months. You’ll be accompanied by a guard and until you have completed your time, you will not be receiving any special treatment from the other prisoners because of your age nor will your voice be returned, is this understood?” she asked, pacing the doors before him and coming to a stop with the last word.

Mekulash slowly turned to look at her but didn’t respond. He had no plans to cooperate with the dwarf, with the guards or even with Timothy and Janice.

“Is that understood?” she repeated, her gaze like ice down upon him. Meku did the math in his head quickly and gave a slow nod, making it known he was not happy with this at all. “Good.” Alba turned, nodding to one of the guards who unlocked the door and undid the ropes on Meku’s bound hands. The skin underneath was a raw, bloodied and bruised mess, it hurt to look at, even more so to touch.

“Your work starts now. I’d hope to it if I were you, halfling.” She grunted, starting out of the room. The guard beside him shrugged slightly, removing his helmet.

“Time to go to work then, Mekulash. I’ll be escorting you to and from the Tavern.” He was clearly trying to sound warm about it, but he was failing. Mekulash simply gave him a harsh glare before making his way up the stairs, the guard's feet echoing behind him.

Exiting the manor was possibly the easiest thing Mekulash had ever done. Exiting the town was the second. The guard wasn’t exactly as smart, or as quick as Mekulash was, and it only took the teenager a good couple of excuses once he was at the tavern to get going. It wasn’t like he had anything to take with him, nor was it that he would keep serving this sorry excuse for a town. With a bathroom excuse and a window escape, Mekulash was out of the tavern only moments after he had stepped in, running down the dark streets and out of the gates with a bat of an eye.

He wasn’t sure where he was headed now, but he wasn’t planning on a return.

Maybe he’d go to Mala... If he could find the way. He had once heard the people there were rolling in coin. He hoped that was bloody right.

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