Chapter 5

Morning came as it always did and with it the Bazaar came alive, sounds and voices filling the town of Uliaz, along with delectable scents that came from the many food stands. That was ultimately what woke Naro up, his stomach reminded him that he still hadn’t eaten anything.

For a moment he didn’t move, he didn’t want to open his eyes because he knew was going to see the alley he had fallen asleep in, not the light blue wallpaper in his old room.

“Hey! You can’t sleep here.”

Naro opened his eyes, noticing a guard was staring down at him. The man rested his hand on his sword and Naro for a moment considered closing his eyes again, but the reminder of yesterday’s pain caused him to slowly climb to his feet, pushing through the dizziness he felt.

He stumbled out of the alley doing his best to ignore the mutterings of the guard behind him.

He stumbled in a random direction, moving away from the Bazaar and the scents coming from it. He just wanted to find a place to lie down and shut his eyes again. Splashing reached his ears during his search and turning he noticed a small group of people reaching into a small stream that flowed down a small canal, drinking from it.

Naro wasn’t sure where he got the energy, but before he knew it he was kneeling in front of the water and quickly shoveling it into his mouth, devouring it as if it was his last meal.

He hadn’t had any water since yesterday and the cool liquid flowing through his body reinvigorated him to the point he could feel tears running down his cheeks.

It was only when he wiped away his tears that he looked over to see the people staring at him.

“...sorry.”

While they gave him looks that were a mix between pity and disgust they returned to drinking the water, those upstream at the very least.

Naro started walking through the area once he felt he had drank enough. Having a water source to rely on gave him a bit more hope when it came to survival. Even he knew he could survive for a decent amount of time without food, though that didn’t change he needed to find a way to eat as soon as possible. The area he was in seemed to be a housing district, there were very few stands around, while there were houses in the Bazaar there were far more where he was. He also noticed the houses weren’t in the best shape and there were less guards around.

Cracks lined the walls of most of the buildings and the wear and tear was clear once one got closer.

The people however didn’t glare at him, or move away they just ignored him. Their clothes were far less flamboyant then the other districts, he could see patches on many clothes, and dull colors everywhere he looked.

It wasn’t difficult to figure out what kind of place he was in, a place for the downtrodden, perfect for him.

“I doubt anyone is hiring around here though…no I should still ask around.”

Naro turned down an alley and passed a tarp covering the front of a building, he looked over at it since it was different from the other houses only to stop when someone walk out of it.

A familiar pair of ears twitched before wide eyes met his own.

The thief from yesterday was beside him, he seemed just as shocked as him but that faded quickly. The boy immediately lowered his body spreading his arms he bared his fangs at him once again getting into a pouncing stance. Naro immediately raised his arms in front of him and took a step back.

“What are you doing here? You still trying to catch me?!”

“N-no I was just passing by! I swear I’m just walking around.”

The boy lowered his body a bit more and seemed moments away from tackling him when a voice came from behind the tarp.

“Nefi? You okay I heard yelling.”

A voice mimicking a weak songbird drew the two’s attention, especially the boy’s.

“I’m fine sis! Don’t worry about me go back to sleep!”

The voice went to speak again but loud coughing soon followed, Nefi turned and moved towards the tarp only to stop remembering Naro.

“You. Don’t move from there,” he said before vanishing completely behind it.

After a moment the coughing stopped and he came back outside, Naro had no idea why he hadn’t just run away, probably because he felt this Nefi would catch up if he tried.

He saw what happened to Beso and he didn’t have potions or anyway to treat himself.

“You didn’t see anything.”

Nefi spoke narrowing his gaze at Naro who quickly nodded his head.

“I didn’t see anything…”

Nefi furrowed brow show he didn’t fully believe him but it seemed to be enough for him to drop the matter. Naro let out a breath he was holding before looking back at the tarp.

“I…guess you were stealing for your sister then…”

“My life is none of your concern human. Get out of here before I change my mind, and just so you know should you tell anyone and people find my base…I know your scent…I will find you.”

“Got it! Your secret is safe with me.”

The boy motioned with his head and Naro promptly left the area.

Unsurprisingly, he had no luck finding a job in this district either. The people here were barely surviving on their own, they couldn’t afford to give away much if anything. He ended up wandering back to Bazaar, deciding to try once again. Naro was forced to realize the kind of world he was in as he walked around. This wasn’t a place where he had much security, the guards didn’t care about his well-being, the people didn’t like that he was here and made efforts to ignore him as much as they were able. Those with power would beat on him just because they could, he had nothing to his name and the moment he gave up it was over.

He hoped his efforts would lead to something but the sun was starting to set and once again he had come up short, he didn’t bother visiting the guild since they made it clear he had nothing they wanted. The few people who acknowledged him essentially told him the same thing.

“You again.”

Naro turned and noticed the man who had his wares stolen the other day.

“Can you not come around here? You’re scaring away customers.”

He wasn’t sure how many times he had heard that today but he doubted he could count it on his hands. He watched the stall owner turn his head and start digging for something behind him.

Naro’s eyes went to the man’s stall, the food on display resting just within arms reach, the scent tickling his nose. His hands twitched at his side, shutting his eyes he took a deep breath and, clenching his fist turned and walked away.

He got a few feet away when he heard Beso’s voice.

“Hey Belik, I’m here for that protection we talked out.”

“Right on time Beso, I know I won’t have to worry about thieves with you around.”

Naro moved a bit faster away from the area not wanting to deal with either man today, he made it to the edge of the Bazaar before he knew it.

“...well no luck today, better find the most comfortable corner I can find I guess.”

“Excuse me young man.”

Naro kept walking wondering if there was an alley he could live in.

“Young man in the tattered clothes, would you mind stopping.”

Naro froze and turning looked towards the voice, an elderly gentleman was standing in front of a small stall, a gentle smile resting on his face.

He was dressed in what seemed to be a long brown cloak, hiding most of his body except for the tip of his brown shoes. His wrinkled on hands poked out of the long sleeves, one of the hand stroking the long beard hanging from his chin.

Naro found himself staring at the old man, mainly because of the pointed ears resting on his head, the trademark of elves.

“You’re…talking to me.”

“That I am young man. May I know your name. Ah you can call me Venilis, that name works in your language.”

“My name is Naros…”

“Well Naros would you keep an old man company for a moment?”