2407 Rab 21, Reshpe

Nyxis craned his neck, attempting to gauge the height of the buildings he passed through on his way from the Nobility region and out into the Commons. He had just given the Civil Guards a slip during their short trip to visit the head of the Duchy, Sontar Graynon. As the representative of the Royal family in the upcoming territory-wide assessment, Nyxis was expected to act like it.

If he saw another one of the musty inventory logs from the leading businesses controlled by the Duchy, he would snap. And not in a good way. He needed an out, a time for something that didn't involve skimming past lines upon lines of transactions of flour or textile. Besides, the Graynon household makes Cardina's worst cup of tea. It's a wonder the Queen hasn't still spat it out during all the meetings where they were forced to drink it out of courtesy.

The solution he presented himself was to surprise his friend in the Commons by just turning up at the door. It's been a while since he had seen Xalim and there wouldn't come another time like this for yet another set of months. He had to make the most of his being at the edge of the Nobility region.

So, early this morning, before anyone could see him creeping along the decorated halls of the Graynon estate, he saddled the first dagrine he could find in the stables and went on his way. He also might have paid a few servants to keep quiet the night before.

He left his ride when the border between the Nobility region and the Commons loomed in the distance. A kindly man with wrinkled skin, graying hair, and a hunched back maintaining a stable agreed to watch it until he comes back. Then, he proceeded on foot, tackling the dusty roads of the Commons with the prospect of his surprise and seeing Xalim's reaction keeping the bounce in his steps.

After a few hours, what seemed to be the busiest part of the Commons sorrounded him like he was in the eye of an Umazuran storm. Meaning, it wasn't good. Hundreds of merchant carts rumbled down the roads with worn-down cobble stones. Dust pricked his eyes at occassions more than once. Sweat dripped down at the side of his face, the cloak strapped on his shoulders catching the droplets.

He glanced down at his clothes, grateful for the tattered cloak he "borrowed" from one of the servants in the stables in the Graynon estate. It helped immensely in blending in with the crowd.

Women dressed in simple dresses strode past him, carrying things ranging from light baskets to bulky sacks of grains or rolls of textile and leather. Their sandals scratched against the ground without faltering.

Some men opted to walk around with bare torso, their tunics tied around their waists like a belt. Nyxis wrinkled his nose at the sight. That wasn't tunics were for. Others chose to dress sensibly, with tunics whose sleeves were chopped off at the shoulders, exposing beat muscles and tan skin. Most of them carried long planks of lumber in pairs of two while there were some who drove one or two animals around with the use of a long staff which came to a hook at the tip. Shepherds, most likely.

Where was he? It's not like he brought a map of the Commons with him or that there existed a map of the Commons in the first place. He turned back to the direction he last remembered going in before looking forward again. Two to three-story buildings shielded his view down most alleys, casting their shadows against the mid-morning sun, making the roads look more menacing than ever.

Also, would it kill them to make wider roads?

Nyxis lost count of how many times he had almost been dragged to the ground by passing dagrine-drawn carts or how much his shoulder ached after being jostled by the opposite current of people. And now, he's lost.

Where did Xalim say she lived again? Right. She only said she was from the Commons and left it at that. Nyxis sure did a good job in not asking her where exactly in the Commons. He just assumed he would get here and bam! Xalim's house was there.

He cursed, silent enough to not feel offensive but loud enough to have a few heads turning. He shook his head. Pick a road. Any road. Go from there. With his stomach twisting, he urged his legs to go north.

Xalim did say she and her father operate a bakery. That's a start, at least. He would just have to visit every single breadshop in this godsforsaken region. Or maybe..

An idea popped into his head. Maybe he should just wander around until he could catch a whiff of freshly-baked bread. Judging from the plumes of smoke he once had the pleasure of encountering in the palace kitchens, bread being baked emitted a smell one couldn't ignore.

So, off he went, keeping his nose in the air and gagging almost every time. Nobody told him the Commons had an air which smelled largely of sweat, dust, dried blood, rotten meat, and burning oil most of the time. There were some alleys he turned into and got smacked in the face with the death-defying scent of manure.

At some point, he had given that method up and gotten himself even more lost. The alleys he had been winded and twisted in his head. He was someone who prided himself for having a good sense of direction—better than his brother, at the least, since unlike him, Nyxis hadn't been lost in the palace since he was five—but now...he wasn't so sure. Was that alley the one he passed by earlier? It sure looked like it.

"Hey, lad," a gurgly voice spoke behind him. He turned to find a tall boy a few years older than him. Okay, what was it now? "You look lost."

Mostly because he was. Nyxis didn't have to say that though. Not to a stranger and a scruffy-looking one. He could smell trouble exuding from the boy, notches away. Then again, he hadn't even felt them approach so that might not be true.

He shoved his thoughts to the back of his mind and tucked his hands inside his cloak. "I am just looking around," he said in the lamest accent he could muster. It was a crude attempt at replicating the typical Commons way of speaking Ylanenla. "Can I help you?"

The boy scoffed and whistled. Behind him, two more boys fanned out. All of them have sinister grins on their faces. This couldn't be good. Nyxis took an involuntary step back. It didn't go unnoticed. "Oh, look. He is scared," the tallest boy in the lead snickered. "Do not worry, Noble-head, we will not be rough. Just give us your possessions and you can go."

Nyxis blinked. Just his possessions? Too bad he left all of it in the Royalty region. He cleared his throat. "I am really sorry, uh...lads," he said. "But I do not have anything with me now. If you want, I can go back and bring you some when we see each other again. How does that sound?"

"That is the blandest excuse I have ever heard," the boy on the right said. Unlike the tall boy, he was stouter and hairier. His rumpled tunic also sported dark stains. Those couldn't be soup. "Deron, can we rush him? He seemed to be hiding something exquisite underneath that," he jerked his chin towards Nyxis's cloak.

The tall boy, Deron, tapped his chin. Nyxis's soles scratched against the dusty road once more. Something flashed in Deron's eyes and he nodded. "Yeah," he said. "Let us rush him."

Stars' blessings.

Nyxis turned fully and tore off the alley he was in. He just needed to make it to the main, busier road. There's got to be people who could help him there. Suddenly, his collar dug against his throat as he was pulled backward. The air was knocked out of his lungs as strong arms gripped his cloak in fistfuls and slammed him against a building's backwall.

"You got some nerve tryna run," Deron hissed. Up close, Nyxis could smell the boy's rancid breath and the dried sweat on his clothes. "You do have something and we are going to take it."

Nyxis gritted his teeth and summoned his magic. Heat crackled in his veins, a spell already building in his tongue. Then, he pursed his lips shut. Magic usage was heavily-regulated in this part of Cardina. Civil Guards were bound to check this place out at the first sight of a rogue trail casting magic. It would reflect badly on the Royal family if the second prince was found to be picking fights in dim alleys.

Deron drew his hand back, his fingers curled into a fist. Oh, he's going to hit Nyxis. "You are going down," he hissed.

"Hey! Stop that!" another masculine voice, albeit a little more on the shrill side, echoed from the alley's lip. Nyxis wrenched one eye open. He hadn't even realized he had shut them. His gaze landed on a boy not older than him, wielding a staff like the shepherds Nyxis saw earlier. "Leave him alone!"

As if hit by a spell, Deron obliged. "Tobin," he greeted, dusting his hands as if Nyxis was covered in flour. "What brought you to this part of town? DId you not know this is my turf?"

The boy, Tobin, hefted his staff despite his visible shaking. Even his orange curls quivered on his head. "I-I know that," he said. "But it is not right trying to extort a defenseless noble."

Deron threw his head back and laughed. "You should get a job as a court jester," he said. "It was not our fault this idiot did not bother taking guards or stepped into the Commons looking like that."

Tobin levelled his gaze at the other boy. "I will not repeat it a third time," he said. "Let that noble go."

The tall boy growled. "If you will not step aside, I will deal with you first," he said. "Bryn, Freeth, come on!"

Nyxis racked his head. What should he do? Tobin wouldn't stand a chance against just Deron. Someting...

"Hey!" Tobin called to Nyxis. The orange-haired boy winked. "Hug the walls!"

"Why, you—" Deron started but his words were drowned out by the sharp whistle Tobin gave when he put two fingers between his lips and blew. Everyone froze. For a while, nothing happened. Deron clicked his tongue. "You have got some nerve—"

The ground shook as the sound of hundreds of hooves thundered closer. Closer. Before Nyxis could open his mouth to shout, animals clad with white wool and curling horns rounded the corner. A loud curse erupted from Deron's mouth as he turned and started to run. The animals were faster. They surged down the alley in a chorus of bleats and bellows. Nyxis took Tobin's advice and flattened himself to the building's wall when the animals rushed past him.

Deron and his friends weren't so lucky. The animals rammed straight through them in their rampage. Soon, the boys disappeared in a tangle of hooves and limbs, their screams of pain drowned by the animals' calls. A loud whistle tore through the air once more and the animals stilled, turning as one to the source of the sound. From their huge, round eyes, Nyxis could glean recognition in them.

Huffing sounds floated above the silence. Nyxis turned to find Deron and his friends staggering up. Bruises already began forming in their faces, arms, and legs where the hooves hit them. "You..." the boy pointed an accusing finger at Tobin. "I will come back for you."

Tobin frowned. He threatened to blow out another whistle, making the boys flinch and turn on their tails. Within a few seconds, they disappeared into a connecting alley which was even darker than the one Nyxis and Tobin were in.

Nyxis peeled away from the wall and turned to his savior. Even though he was scrawny and had skin burned by the harsh sun, Tobin managed to drive off those boys. With the help of his friends, of course. "Thank you," Nyxis plucked tufts of wool stuck to his cloak. "I will make sure you are rewarded greatly."

Surprise colored Tobin's face as his eyes widened. "Wow, you really are a noble," he said.

Granted, he was more than that but Nyxis decided to not shatter the boy's belief. "Yeah," he scratched the back of his neck. "What gave that away?"

Tobin gave a soft whistle and some of the animals cantered towards him. He rested a hand on the head of one. The animal closed its eyes in comfort as he began scratching. "For one, no one in their right mind would wear a cloak in this heat," the boy said. "Second, you just look like it."

Nyxis knitted his eyebrows. How did one look like a noble beside the clothes and the air of importance? He made sure he didn't stare down Commons on his way here and kept his eyes on the ground and on the houses.

"Look, do not think about that now," Tobin mussed his orange curls. "What are you doing in the Commons? Why are you lost?"

Nyxis's ears perked up. "Oh," he said. "I was hoping to visit my friend who lived here. Her name is Xalim. She and her father owns a bakery."

Tobin's eyes flashed with familiarity. He snapped his fingers in the air, earning the attention of the nearest animals who had started grazing the dust. "The Resthens!" he bobbed his head vigorously. "Yeah, I can take you there. Come on."

Relief flooded Nyxis's system. "Thank you," he said.

"Do not mention it," Tobin waved a hand in the air. "The Resthens sell the most delicious pastries around these parts. It is hard to miss them! I am a little jealous, though."

Nyxis blinked, keeping away from the crowd of animals who began crowding around Tobin's legs. What were these called again? "For what?"

The shepherd shrugged. "Xalim has managed to befriend a noble," he said. "One even willing to get mugged just to visit her. Must be a pretty good friendship, no?"

Nyxis chuckled. "Oh, that," he said. "Xalim and I go way back."

The memory of a girl in tight, parted hair and messy dress shouting vulgar words at a Civil Guard flashed in Nyxis's mind. They had been way too small back then. Xalim had gotten into trouble with a Civil Guard for not showing respect. Nyxis, who had snuck out of a royal parade at the time, deescalated the situation and gave the Civil Guard a verbal beating. At five years old.

Since then, they had been inseparable especially after Nyxis had a taste of her father's special delicacy which Xalim had given him in thanks for his help.

He recounted that memory to Tobin, omitting details which would reveal him to be a member of the Royal family as they walked. "And that's what happened," he spread his arms as he finished. "Seems silly now, right?"

Tobin shook his head. "I think that's a good friendship," he said. "Well, here we are."

Nyxis hadn't even realized it but apparently, they were standing in front of a building shorter than the rest of the structures in this lane. A bright red awning shielded the glass windows and a single door in the middle of the facade. Faded beige paint peeled from the walls' bricks. As expected, the smell of freshly-baked bread wafted in the air, masking the musk of the city.

"Mm," Tobin took a deep breath with his eyes closed. "Makes me want to go inside and but some. But nah. I need to get the flock back to Father or else they will miss their afternoon washing. See ya."

"Oh, yeah," Nyxis didn't get the disappointment marring his insides. He had just found a friend and now it's time to part ways. "What is your family name?"

Tobin snorted. "I do not have one," he said, giving Nyxis a quick salute. "Or at least, I do not want to tell you. Hey, tell you what, I have a little game for you."

Nyxis knitted his eyebrows. "What?"

"If you guess my family name by the next time we meet," Tobin said. "I will give you a ring of lemper cheese. I am not kidding when I say it is to die for."

A laugh—the first real one from him in a long time—tore off Nyxis's lips. "I will look forward to that."

Tobin gave him another wink before whistling softly once again and tackling the road past the Resthens' bakery. A sea of black, brown, and offf-white wool followed him, the lemper brushing against each other in fits of bleats and hooves clopping against the cobbled road.

The door to the bakery creaked open, the bell attached to the door frame ringing when the wood hit it. "Nyxis!" Xalim's familiar voice greeted him. "What are you doing here?"

As an answer, Nyxis spread his arms with a silly grin. "I guess..." he said. "Surprise?"

Xalim threw an empty sack of flour in his head as an answer. That's surely no way to treat a member of the royal family but Nyxis let her be. "Nice to see you too, Xalim."