Chapter 7: Duty & disturbance

He had patiently waited until the lights in the houses had gone out. Until no person was awake, quietly whispering the occurrences of the day to their partner or wandering around inside the house, finishing the last chores before sinking into their bed to rest.

Since the marketplace had begun to empty, he had hidden away in the shadows. He had stood there for a long time, entertaining himself by observing the merchants and vendors packing up their goods.

Person after person cleaned up around their store and either made their way home or took a trip to the bar.

Oh how he longed to follow them, take off his coat and warm himself inside the inn while enjoying the pleasant feeling in his chest every time he would take a sip of his beverage.

He loosened his coat a little, around his neck the fabric had started to cause a rash. No wonder, he thought. He had owned that coat for a long time and it had gone through various incidents that had lessened its quality. Once it was smooth and seemed like a cloth cut right out of the night sky.If you want to say it in a euphemized way. It had helped him multiple times, allowing him to become one with the shadows and hide from enemies. Now, the fabric had worn off, lint had formed on the surface of it and the black colour had turned to more of a darkish grey over time.

The last ray of sunlight disappeared as the marine blue colour of the night covered the sky like spilt ink. He would remain hidden a few more hours until every livelihood of the day was gone and silence reigned in the town. In other words, it was the moment when every light had gone out that he stepped out of his hiding place and put on his mask.

It restricted his view, which was annoying, but it was necessary and also an order so there was nothing he could do except endure it.

He looked around, just to be sure, and then jumped on the boxes nearby. Using them as a staircase he got himself up on the tilted roof of a small store and ran towards a balcony of another house. If it had been a normal person they would have lost their balance already or tripped because of the angular curving of the roof. But in his numerous years of training, it was child's play.

Between the balcony and the roof, there was not only a distance in length but also in height. Even now it scared him, to see the end of the roof getting closer. It brought up many unpleasant memories of the jump that was about to come.

Nevertheless, he didn't hesitate. With his right leg, he pushed himself forward and with his hand he reached out to the balcony, grabbing it at the highest handrail. Before his hands could get tired he swung and pulled his legs closer. At the same time, his grip around the handrail strengthened and he pushed himself up, making his feet land safely on the outer part of the balcony. Antoher swung and he got over the railing.

With no time to rest he climbed up the ladder that was meant for chimney sweepers and got onto the roof of the building. From here on forward it would be easy to proceed with his duty.

Before meeting up with his lord at the statue in the centre he had to look around the area, not just because he had to make sure no unwanted eyes would witness their meetup but also because if he could spot anything highly criminal or suspicious then that could give him a chance to suck up to that lord of his. Maybe he could then finally get a new coat, he thought while grinning to himself as he was running over the houses.

His coat flattered in the wind, if he had been several years younger this would have thrilled him. But now it was a hassle as he knew the dangers of being found out and the consequences of not paying attention to what he was doing while being lost in the enjoyment of the moment. Or maybe he was just getting old after doing it on almost a daily basis.

As he jumped from one building to another, an act that surprisingly didn't bother him as much as the first jump to the balcony, he thought about the thing she had to be wary of and whatnot.

He didn't necessarily think that any robbers or people of such kind would roam around the marketplace at night. It was too much of an open space. One only had to wake up at night because of thirst and catch sight of what was happening outside.

That was what they feared, rightfully so. But then again what are the odds of that? No one would be able to know who they were anyway and even if they would, one wouldn't dare to go up against the duke.

He had decided to explore the surroundings within one kilometre of the marketplace. After some time, he entered the area the pub was in. When he balanced over a plank of wood between two houses he caught sight of two drunk people throwing fists. The wood creaked as he sat down for a bit and watched.

It wasn't really a fight but their clumsy way of doing it was fun to look at. It could be cute, considering the fact if he were to join, their fight wouldn't last long. That made him chuckle. But he had to move on and left the drunkards to themselves.

The drunkards could be a problem though, they didn't have anything to hide and where they would walk to was not predictable.

And what about the people that wouldn't be drunk?

No, today the meetup at the bar was planned so that everyone could enjoy themselves to the fullest. Everyone would be drunk. And as far as he knew, none of the staff lived near the market.

Well, if he would find drunkards lingering around the statue, depending on how drunk they were he would have to use the rest of his moonflower powder. He didn't have much left but it should be enough.

For the rest hours, he investigated the town all over and over again. Not necessarily because he was slow or was very petty but because every time he found suspicious silhouettes in an alleyway he had to follow them just in case they were valuable enough for him to make a profit out of them.

When revisiting the area around the bar he would often see familiar faces. People he saw most were the two flirts, an old man, a big group of barely standing boozers and also the singer, the very loved and outgoing Jonathan and a girl. Once, while holding himself onto a windowsill he saw them performing a weird dance.

It was now time for the meetup, and as the loyal servant he was, he would be there before his lord would show up. That man laid a lot on punctuality. Nothing was allowed to go wrong. It never was.

He clicked his tongue while thinking about his master's nagging behaviour. Nothing would happen, no one would be there, and he wouldn't have to use his precious powder. Inside his cape the letter he had carried around all day rustled. This was his chance to get a better spot, a higher ranking. He even had put in the extra work to look around just if the oh-so-important notice he had to give him wasn't enough to impress that arrogant bastard!

His steps on the houses unconsciously became louder.

When he saw that girl at the statue, he was filled with anger. Anger at everyone and everything. But also at himself. How could he have been so stupid? Why did his foolishness and carelessness make him treat the duty so carelessly? Were his comrades right, when they looked down on him and told him to always put the task and his lord's wishes first, by making him the highest priority of his life?!

So he jumped with all his might, using a quick simple spell to support the act.

Like an idiot, she looked at him. And with the calmest voice, he managed to bring out he asked her:

"May I ask what you are doing here?"

And would you fuck off?

As if she could feel his anger she backed away. But being clearly very drunk the gibberish coming out of her mouth made no sense. She told him something about wanting to take a bath but subconsciously realising how implausible that sounded she changed her reason various times more. Knowing that soon he would arrive he was relieved to see her friend, the singer in the back shouting for her. He was willing to let her go but he had to make something clear to her, even if she was drunk.

"If I find you or your friends roaming around lord Richards's statue this night again, believe me when I say that I won't let you go unharmed"

For a second her eyes seemed to clear up and she looked at him in a way he couldn't comprehend. But he didn't have time for that.

"Now go, will you?"

When she was far away enough he pulled out the paper. He would deal with her friends later, luckily the effect of the moonflower powder was very strong so tomorrow they wouldn't remember anything that they could have possibly sawn. And if he was lucky (at least once today) he would only have to apply it to the person that was the least drunk in their group.

He looked away and saw from afar already the silhouette of his lord. His heart was still racing but he had to hide it behind a calm face, signs of weakness wouldn't help him and make him seem suspicious. It was for the best if his lord wouldn't know about the girl that almost ruined their meet-up.

But really, what an arrogant lord he had. Wanting the encounter to be at his own statue.