Dragon in Disguise

The sun was setting by the time Viren returned to the inn. After leaving Jim and his group Viren had taken some time to sit and clean his sword and buy a quick snack, though most shops were closed or closing so he couldn’t find any dinner.

Currently, he was trying to figure out how to get some dinner and sneak up to his room without the Black Bears noticing him. ‘Maybe it would be better to skip dinner tonight,’ he thought. The idea didn’t please him, but if the Black Bears were the type to hold a grudge, dinner wasn’t worth the potential conflict.

Viren yawned and rubbed his eyes. ‘I’ll just have to wait and see whether there are many Bears out tonight.’ He opened the door and looked around. The few Black Bear members on the main floor were gathered around something, distracted. One looked up when he heard the door open, but his eyes went straight over Viren.

“Hey, kid!” Viren jumped a little before he recognized Rickson’s voice. He turned. The Tiger Claw company was sitting in the same spot as yesterday. Most of the mercenaries were eating, though several looked up at Rickson’s greeting. Rickson waved Viren over, and after a moment Viren trotted over to join them.

“Long time no see,” Rickson greeted playfully. “What have you been up to today?” Viren shrugged.

“Nothing much,” he said. Just then, the door to the inn burst open, hitting the wall with a ‘BANG’. A man stumbled in, red faced and panting. He wore a huge grin.

“The Hawk’s been defeated!” he shouted joyfully. The inn exploded with noise as locals shouted in celebration or yelled questions to the messenger. The Tiger Claw and Black Bear companies looked confused.

“EVERYBODY QUIET!” a man who must have been the inn owner yelled. “Now, Goshe, explain.” The man nodded breathlessly.

“I came… straight… from the guard… house.” He stopped to catch his breath, and after a minute he straightened and wiped sweat from his forehead. Everybody in the inn was on the edge of their seats waiting to see what had happened.

“So, apparently, someone raided the Hawk’s base and took out not only the Hawk himself, but all his men! And they found proof so the city guard could arrest him right away!” the inn murmured in conversation. The messenger held up a finger. “That’s not all! Apparently, it was a bunch of kids who did all this!”

“You must be joking!” someone yelled.

“There’s no possible way!” another person contributed.

“But its true!” the messenger protested. “A bunch of locals witnessed the kids dragging the Hawk and his minions to the guardhouse. I heard it was three locals and a hired mercenary.”

“I’ll bet you it was Jim, his sister, and Gail. That group is always doing some crazy thing, and I heard Jim was in a tough spot with the Hawk,” a local said. Others nodded in agreement.

“Well,” a woman said. “Whoever did it, however it happened, I’m just glad the Hawk is gone.”

“Agreed!”

“Well said, Maertha.”

The messenger stepped inside the inn and took a seat, where he was promptly swarmed by ten or fifteen people. A man stood up.

“Hey! We’ve got two mercenary companies here right now! Was it any of you guys?” The Black Bear mercenaries scoffed and went back to their card game, but Brack looked thoughtful. He slowly shook his head.

“No,” he said. “It wasn’t one of us. Our youngest member is twenty-one.” He shook his head again. “I’m not even sure what kind of kid could be a mercenary. They would have to be capable far beyond their years, and totally alone.” His eyes narrowed as he said this, and he glanced at Viren, who did his best to look innocent and uncapable.

The inn was quiet for a few minutes after Brack spoke (Viren got the feeling he had that kind of effect a lot), but it soon was filled with conversation. Viren ordered some dinner, and as he ate more people filled the inn, asking things like “have you heard?” and exchanging rumors and opinions. After he finished eating, Viren slipped back to his room, where he quickly fell asleep.

…

The next day found Viren at the job board once again. He sighed as he looked at the empty board. “There’s really nothing?” he asked the guard on duty. The guard shook his head.

“Sorry, kid. The captain had us take down any jobs that were taken. Bad luck that you’re looking for work with all these companies in town.” Viren nodded sadly. The guard looked around before leaning forward.

“Look, I know it’s no mercenary job, but my brother’s roof needs fixing, and he could always use an extra guy. You interested?” Viren pursed his lips but nodded.

‘Looks like I’m back to doing odd jobs.’

…

“It isn’t much, but here you go.” The guard’s brother dropped 5 coin into his hand.

“Thank you,” Viren said. Any little bit was appreciated. He hadn’t known how to fix a roof before today, but luckily, he was a fast learner, and he felt is if he had pulled his weight among the other workers and earned the 5 coin.

It was a few hours after midday, and as Viren walked through the city, he didn’t really know what to do for the rest of the day. After today, he still had four more days until he could leave (well, technically he could leave any time he wanted, but he wanted to get his money’s worth out of the inn), and unless something suddenly turned up at the guardhouse, he had nothing to do.

Viren paused when he heard a familiar voice. He stopped and tilted his head to the side, trying to place it. ‘I can’t remember…’ He cautiously followed the voice until it was just behind an empty market stall. Peeking around the stall, he looked to see who it belonged to. Three men were talking, and all three of them were wearing black jackets. ‘Oh. These guys.’ It was the leader of the Black Bear company, the man who had threatened him the other day, and one other guy he didn’t recognize. Viren ducked back behind the stall but stuck around to listen. It wasn’t like he had anywhere to be anyway. They seemed to be in the middle of discussing a recent job they had taken.

“… Jim and a couple other guys stayed behind to exchange goodbyes and whatnot with the client, but we got the coin. Bib took it back to the inn.” The leader nodded.

“And you went back to the guard house to see if there was anything else available?” he asked.

“Nothing new,” the man said. “But there was someone… outside the guardhouse.” He paused. The leader made a noise of impatience.

“What? I don’t have all day.”

“He offered this job.” There was a rustle as the man handed his boss a piece of paper, and silence as the leader read it.

“That’s a lot of money for a bounty,” the leader finally said.

“Mhm. One more thing. The person who gave it to me warned me that I should treat this job as illegal. Not in those exact words of course, but it was implied.”

“Odd.”

“What do you reckon it’s all about?” the other man asked. There was silence for a beat.

“If I had to guess,” the leader started slowly, “This kid belonged to some sort of criminal gang or something. He betrayed his boss, and now that boss is either out for revenge, or wants his asset back. I mean, a double affinity and good with a blade?” the leader chuckled, and Viren felt a chill go down his spine, and a sinking feeling fill his chest.

‘This doesn’t mean anything. Not for certain.’

“Its just a guess though,” the leader continued. “I’ll keep this in my room. Good work, men.” Viren heard the mercenaries walking toward where he was, so he darted away. He walked fast and silently, going farther away from them than he needed to.

He finally stopped behind a stone building, leaning against the cool wall and staring into the sky.

“I’ve got to see that bounty.”

…

Viren was no fool. No way was he going to seek out the man who had given the Black Bear the bounty and ask for his own copy. Rather, he would sneak into the leader’s room and look at that one. Luckily, he knew where the Black Bear company was staying. He returned to the inn early. No members of either company were there, and he settled in an out of the way chair to wait.

An hour before sunset, people started returning. At first, a few members of the Tiger Claw company entered the inn. Viren looked away, and they sat down without noticing him. Members of both companies continued to trickle into the inn after that, and Viren continued to go unnoticed. Finally, the leader of the Black Bear company arrived. He was in conversation with his mercenaries. “Save me a seat,” he said with a wave before starting for the stairs. Viren got up and subtly followed him, staying at least fifteen steps away at all times.

He followed the leader until he saw what room he went to. Then he slipped around the hallway and to his own room to grab his lockpicks. He stared at them in his hand. He hadn’t used these since he had set Kastra’s room on fire. Viren smirked a little at the memory, but it didn’t fill him with the vengeful glee it had months ago. ‘I guess I’ve changed a lot. It even feels like I think differently.’ He blinked and shook himself.

Getting up, he pocketed his lockpicks and snuck his way to the leader’s room. Before attempting to pick the lock he first tried the doorknob. If it was unlocked, that meant either the leader was still there, or he was an idiot. The doorknob jingled but didn’t turn. Locked.

Viren got started picking the lock, and after maybe two minutes he heard a click as the door unlocked. He carefully turned the doorknob, opening the door. He slipped inside, closing the door behind him. Viren’s eyes adjusted to the dimly lit room instantly, and he looked around. There was an unmade bed, a nightstand covered with various weapons, and an open window. A small wooden chest at the end of the bed.

The lid of the chest was opened, and Viren could see a messy pile of paper on top. He quietly walked to the chest and crouched to look at the papers. The top paper was a bounty offer for capturing some bandits. ‘Not that one.’ The next appeared to be some kind of contract. ‘Not that one either.’

The paper underneath that one advertised a bounty. Viren skimmed it, before stopping with a start and going back to read it again.

Wanted:

Boy of about fifteen. Black hair, blueish-green eyes.

The individual posses a double affinity of shadow and water and is proficient with a blade.

Wanted alive. If found and captured, bring to Cronie Inn in the city of Edgedale.

Reward: 500 coin

Below the description was a drawing of Viren’s face. His hair was shorter, his face looked thinner, and even though it was not a color picture the boy in the picture looked paler than Viren did now. Perhaps someone who met him in the street might struggle to match him to the boy in the picture unless they were held side by side, but Viren knew his own face.

He let out a slow breath. ‘So, he wants me back. I wonder if he actually needs me or if it’s just his pride.’ Viren would have to be extra careful from now on. He couldn’t go back to any of the cities near Kastra’s land. Couldn’t spend too much time in one place. He briefly squeezed his eyes shut and clenched his fists. ‘I’m fine. Totally fine.’

He started breathing faster, and he could feel his heart beginning to pound. He clenched his fists tighter. ‘I can’t go back there. I can’t.’ His hands started to tremble. Then a cool wind breezed through the open window. It flowed around him, feeling cool against his skin, like a river of sky. The air in the room didn’t feel as heavy, and there seemed to be light where before there was none. Viren took a deep breath.

‘You’re ok. You’re safe.’

The breeze stopped, and all was quiet. Viren blinked. Though his surroundings and situation remained the same, he felt different. ‘So Kastra is hunting me. What else is new? I can deal with this.’ There was a pause. ‘I should probably leave this room now.’

After putting everything back where it was Viren left the room, locking the door behind him. As he walked down the stairs to the main room, Viren sighed. ‘No work and a bounty on my head. Might be better to just cut my losses in this city and leave tomorrow.’

Once he reached the main room, Viren went straight to the front desk. “Hello,” he said. The front desk person turned their attention to him. “Is it possible for me to get a refund? I paid for a week, but it turns out I need to leave earlier than expected.” The person winced.

“Sorry,” he said. “But we cant. It’s cheaper to pay for a week at once rather than all seven days separately, so with the way the money works out we can’t give you a refund.”

“Yeah, I thought so,” Viren said. “Thanks anyway.” The person nodded.

“We… we can give you a free meal though. Its not a lot, but hopefully it makes up for it a little.” Viren smiled.

“Really? Thanks. The food here is amazing.” The man smirked.

“That would be my wife, and she’ll be delighted to hear that. I’ll get you a plate, alright?”

…

Five minutes later Viren was sitting down with a hot plate of soup with fresh buttered bread and some kind of berry that reminded him of pine trees. He sighed in contentment as he took his first bite. “Viren.” He looked up to see Rickson seating himself across from him. Viren nodded in greeting. Rickson nodded back to him. “How has your past few days been?” Dozens of words ran through Viren’s head. Productive, exhausting, exhilarating, frustrating, disappointing…

“Busy,” he settled on before taking another bite. Rickson nodded with a hum. Viren watched him as he ate. ‘He looks like he’s up to something.’

“What have you been up to?” he asked. ‘Oh, you know, exploring the city, fixing a roof, defeating an evil crime lord…’

“Just… hanging out, I guess.” Rickson raised an eyebrow. Viren wondered if he should be concerned. ‘Nah,’ he decided. ‘I’m leaving tomorrow anyway.’ Viren and Rickson ate in silence for a few minutes. Soon Viren felt like people were watching him. He glanced around discreetly before twisting in his chair to look behind him. He saw many of the Tiger Claw mercenaries giving him glances. They all quickly looked down at their food when they saw him watching. He turned back to Rickson.

“Ok, what is this about?” Rickson looked down. Then he sighed and looked Viren straight in the eye.

“Alright, give it to me straight. Were you the mercenary who helped defeat the Hawk?”

“…” Rickson stared at him. “…maayyybee?”

“Seriously?!” Rickson hissed. “What in the jolly farmer’s barn is someone your age doing as a mercenary?!” Viren shrugged and took another bite of soup. “This is a dangerous profession!” Viren stared at him.

“Yeah, I noticed that.” Rickson made a scoffing noise. He was silent for a moment.

“You’re better off getting an apprenticeship and settling down in some city. We can even help you do that. We know some people.”

“Thanks for the offer,” Viren said, “but that’s not gonna happen.” He felt the stares again and twisted around to look at the Tiger Claws. They stared back at him. As he watched, Brack stood up and walked over to them.

“Did you talk to him?” he asked Rickson. Rickson nodded. “I’m guessing you didn’t listen to his advice,” he said to Viren.

“Perhaps I would if I could. I don’t know. But I can’t, so it’s not worth thinking about.” Brack nodded thoughtfully.

“There is another option,” he said slowly. Both Viren and Rickson looked at him curiously. “You could join us.” ‘Join the Tiger Claw company?’ “It wouldn’t be easy,” Brack continued. “You’d have to follow our rules, and you’d have to learn how to work and live in a team.”

“But there are good parts,” Rickson said eagerly. “There’s safety in numbers, and we’re as close as a family.” Brack looked at Viren expectantly. Viren thought. He weighed the pros and cons carefully, thinking through each implication of the decision.

“Alright,” he said finally. “I’ll join your company.”