1 1: Sand in Silver
Akaria was a street rat, at least that was what most citizens of Valar came to brand her. Her parents had sold her into servitude to a noble family when she was young in hopes that her future would be better than a life in the outer ring. They may have had good intentions for her, but not Akaria her heart was wild and a life as a maid was hell itself to her. The moment she saw the opportunity she escaped and made it back to where she felt her home would always be, the outer rings , the red dunes district. Red Dunes was a collage of tents and mixed dirt and sand buildings that riddled the south side of the great desert city of Valar.
Valar was a masterpiece within the vast desert. The city had an innermost city where the coliseum to the center most part of the district. Around it was where the noble families lived. The south part was closed off and was where one could see the black castle of the king of Valar stood. The castle was built as part of the southern wall and from its top king Sable could look down on their city.
Akaria jumped from roof to roof avoiding sight of the guards below. The day had been good to her; a few newcomers from the west had made it to the city to sell some merchandise to the spice market. She was able to get some of those spices with a pretty good discount, as long as they did not realize a bag was missing.
She stopped at one rooftop and swung the bag over her left shoulder before sliding down a pillar to the alley below. The sunlight never truly reached this area so it was a perfect place to stay away from sight. She ran down the Alley stepping over sleeping beggars and dodging hanging clothes from the local street dwellers. She turned a few corners before reaching the door. She knocked on it in a rhythm before whistling a tune.
Sounds of chains and locks could be heard through the other side of the wooden door. The door slowly opened to about a crack. A thin small green hand stuck out the door and began to slide his thumb against his middle finger, a sign known to many as, make a payment or where is the money. "Pay" the squeaky voice of a goblin trying to speak the common tongue of Valar could be heard.
Akaria sighed and placed a bronze piece on the goblins hand. The hand disappeared in a flashback within the door. The door slammed and more noises could be heard, more locks, more contraptions. Then it opened wide allowing her to step in. Akaria took her steps in and as she crossed the threshold of the door it shut behind her quickly.
The small creature took a quick glance at her and snorted. The little goblin was about three feet tall but he hunched making him even shorter. The little creature was quick; it ran up a small ladder and quickly locked all the locks and contraptions before descending down the ladder again.
"Go go, young tear boss is waiting for more" it shrieked as it turned to guard the door.
Akaria rolled her eyes and began to walk down the small corridor. The path was dimly lit and smelt of alcohol and vomit. She hated this fence, but they paid her well specially for spices from across the sands. Akaria had learned the best fences and what they held at the highest prices. The sound of music started to buzz around her as she approached the end of the corridor, along with the yells and laughs of the patrons. She entered the room, two guards stood at each side of the entrance man of the mountains they were known as. They were large both towering about seven feet tall and an amalgamation of muscles. Their head shaven and tattooed with their clan markings, The large men had large battle axes strapped to their side. The men did not pay much mind to her, she was a regular here and they had grown accustomed to her coming and going.
Their sights were fixed on the others within the room. Tables were set up across the room for those who wanted to partake in gambling. Akaria was not interested in the games. She held onto her bag of spices and made her way to the back of the room trying to remain as out of sight as she could. Her eyes darted from each direction making sure she was aware of her surroundings, The back of the room had a long bar set up, there were a few sitting on the barstools available, The bartender looked at her as she approached and took a seat. Akaria was short, only four foot four inches. She climbed the barstool and sat her bag in front of her on the bar.
"Setting sun marks the day and the moon rises slowly." She said as she smiled at the burly dark haired man across from her.
"Speak plainly girl, no need for secret script here, nothing to hide" The man grunted and looked at her with a stern glare. The man's glare slowly softened as he gave a loud laugh.
"I said. I have the spices and am here to trade. Come on Traven tell the boss I'm her" She said half annoyed. Secret scrip was a language shared by the thieves and shadows of the land. Akaria had picked it up in her years working for the black market.
" Okay okay, keep calm young lady I was teasing. Your script has come a long way, sounding a lot better than when we first spoke" Traven said as he chuckled. The man was sun kissed and tanned like the sands, like many of the citizen of Valar. He walked to the back of the bar. Traven made a few hand sign that could have been unnoticed by the untrained eye but, Akaria caught it.
Traven motioned for her, she nodded and grabbed her bag. There was not a second for her to make a move before a gentle hand was placed on her shoulder.
"No need, tear of the sands. Let us do business here" the soft spoken yet chilling voice of Pero reverberated down her spine. She shivered as she turned to look at him. Pero was a thin man with pale skin. He did not have an intimidating physical form. He stood about five feet nine inches tall, an average height for his race. The one thing that made the Hyarch intimidating was his eyes. Hyarchs were a race known for their eye colors. They either had deep violet eyes that almost seemed to glow, or more rarely shining silver eyes that resemble pools of mercury. Pero's eyes were the violet variety. He had a way of looking at a person that seemed to stare into their souls.
"Well if that is the case, I have two pounds of spices straight from Alomin and a small bag of coffee from Almurf. You know that alone is worth gold if sold to the right buyer. I say seven silver covers it all." She says, Akaria smiles at the man.
"Pushing it, but we have been in business a long time. I will give you five silver" Pero responded as he tilted his head much like a dog would if curious about something. The room was still filled with the sounds of various instruments being played. The people seemed to get louder the more the time passed and a few had already been taken away by the security.
"Six silver, boss, you know that coffee is drunk by royalty in the sands so let us not fool each other" she says as her arms fold against her chest.
"Very well, I miss when you were younger and naive. I made more money that way. Look, Akaria, keep your head down for a while. I have been hearing stories of little shadows like you dissapearing in the night time.I do not know what is happening and slavery is illegal across Helios and that includes our little home here in the desert. Whatever or whoever is taking these kids are not slavers so it is most likely they are no longer breathing.
Akaria went silent for a sec, her bright green eyes seemed to dull with the news. She knew no one would dare break Champion laws so slavers were out of the question in these lands. Akaria knew if that was the case, these missing people were being taken away from Helios or killed. She had to warn her spotter.
"Thanks for the heads up boss." she said in a soft tone. Pero tossed her the coin pouch, she caught it as she slid down the barstool and disappeared again in the mass of people standing next to the gambling tables. This would be a perfect place to explore some of these people's pockets. Akaria knew better, if she was caught here she would lose her fence and the respect of the others in this community. Akaria quickly made it past the tables and through the corridor that led back to the alleys. The corridor had a few people sitting on the floor passed out from the alcohol. She stepped over them and towards the door where the little door man stood guard. He quickly unlocked all the locks and motioned for her to leave.
She paid no mind to the rude creature as soon as she crossed to the other side of the door, there was a loud slam behind her as the door closed. That slam marked her sprint like the gun on a sprint race. As soon as she heard the noise she took off like a wild animal chasing its prey. Akaria jumped up and landed on an empty box in the alley before lunging towards a beam above her using her acrobatics skill to launch herself upwards towards the roof. She knew she would not have made it to her target. She adjusted herself to miss and roll out of a fall. Akaria missed her mark and saved herself from a bad fall by twisting her body and rolling out of her fall. She kept her momentum from the fall and propelled herself forwards into an elegant leap. The young girl twisted in the air embracing herself to make her a smaller target just enough to fit through a hole on one of the stone walls. Akaria closed her eyes as she made it through the hole. She then opened her eyes, planting her hands on another wall to push herself up the next level of the building in front of her. She was an expert free runner able to parkour most environments in the city. She sped up now that she was on the highest part of the roof tops in the Red Dunes. The maze of buildings below her could be a pain to traverse if you did not know the way. Akaria ran to the edge of a building and gracefully jumped while turning around so that her back landed safely on a tents roof made of thick hide. She slid down before reaching the end she kicked off the tents roof backflipping down into safety.
Akaria landed then quickly took off towards a black tent with Elven writing, even though she had known Marian for a long time she never took the time to learn his language. She burst through the entrance of the tent and yelled out.
"Marian, where are you? We need to talk now!" she yelled. In a second a tall and slender man walked out of the back of the tent. He was about six feet in height but his slender body was riddled in muscles that made the few clothes he had on seem too small for his size. His pointed ears gave his race away. He was a desert elf bronze skinned and dark blue eyes that resembled ice. His hair was cut short and buzzed on the sides.
"Relaxe little Aka, why must you always yell?" Marian said with a wave of his hand. He then held onto the front of his vest the only thing he wore to cover his top. It did little to hide his thick chest and muscular structure. He wore commoner trousers that had a few holes along the thigh and knee. He seemed to take care of his hair more than his clothes. The elf had golden blonde hair that was kept neatly cut.
