The night was fast approaching Driftwood streets as the sun began to set. It was when the cries of children quieted, replaced by the sharp, boisterous laughter of women working in pubs and brothels.
Eight-year-old Rune couldn't care less of a single copper worth of coin if it was his body that would be next to hang lifeless beneath the great Driftwood tree occupying the Center Square of Alta City the following evening. He was late, the Madam's parcel clutched tightly within his arms.
Under the slim chance that he still had his head intact following his tardiness, which was nothing of his fault, he would doom his sister to a third day sleeping on an empty stomach. People may think such a situation would make a person dreary or in low spirits, but here he was, a late delivery in his arms and a sister who was happily poking at his neck from his back despite their circumstances.
Much to his plight, food was not scarce in their part of the city. With many travelers and merchants visiting the Driftwood area of Alta City, the capital of Eastern Nythos, there was an endless food supply. The only problem was that he was among those unable to earn coins from a job.
Many orphans littered the streets of Driftwood. Many of them were under the age of 10, with small, wiry bodies that could barely lift two kilograms of grain. The lack of mass and muscle prevented them from working. Work that would have a freshly baked loaf in their hands at the end of the day, but in their case, that would feed them for the next two days.
All refused to work with orphans, given the heavy distrust many carried, as many had ties with the local troublemakers. Reapers, they called themselves. No business was left untouched during the uprising they instigated five years back. An uprising commenced after they dared make a deal with the upper class. At least, that was what the rumors scattered in the lower class said.
Rune had tried his best to keep himself and his sister Elsie away from Reapers. He was fortunate to have the Madam's protection, which many did not possess; however, that safety could soon become invalid if he arrived late.
Rune picked up his pace, adjusting the satchel sling that held Elsie around his waist for comfort. He had been carrying Elsie on his back since the break of dawn, his back now in agony and pain over the prolonged additional weight he was supporting over his own. The parcel in his arms did nothing to ease the fatigue his body was currently facing.
As he turned left into an alley, Rune felt his body tilt to the right as someone's hip shoved his entire being. He scrambled to keep the heavy bag in his arms from tipping but could only do so little to balance the bottom portion of the parcel before reaching to hold onto what was at the top.
Just as Rune helplessly watched the bag tilt, Elsie's arms shot out from beneath his arms and grabbed either side of the top bag strings preventing a disaster that could have left Rune crippled. Securing the bag with his sister's help, he looked up at the person who would've been the cause of his potential missing limb.
"Look where you're-" Rune swallowed the rest of his words as he saw steel eyes peering down at him. He felt Elsie bury her head into the satchel's fabric secured to his back as he looked at the person who towered over him.
"Look what fate brought me this fine morning, ey Rune. I was just about to see your Madam."
Rune gulped and nodded his head.
"Cat got your tongue, boy? No mornin' Frendil?" Rune felt the blood leave his face as he quickly responded to the person in front of him. "Mornin' Frendil, ma'am."
Frendil was a big woman. It wasn't only her body that was large, but the size of her smuggling business was the next most profitable to the Reapers.
The Madam had started bartering with her two years ago after she realized Frendil had access to blue Rye crystals only found in the drylands of Western Nythos.
"How's business been for the Madam?"
Is she serious right now? The Madam's constant success was no secret to anyone in Alta, regardless of their class. The fact that Frendil was asking him ticked Rune off as it meant she was trying to get him into trouble. He knew she was asking about Madam's most recent partner from western Nythos, who had discussed supplying her with cheaper blue Rye crystals than the current deal she had with Frendil. Although none of his business, Rune had accidentally come across the conversation between the two when he had gone out to pick up the parcel early in the morning, which was an odd time for business meetings when it came to the Madam.
"I'm only an errand boy, ma'am. I wouldn't know a single droplet's worth of the Madama's dealings." Rune blatantly denied it despite knowing Frendil would smell the lie in his words.
He knew he had a slim chance of making it out alive if he spoke anything about the Madam. Although lying to the steel-eyed woman wasn't good, it was better than facing the wrath of his benefactor.
Frendil's gaze hardened as she looked at him for a long time. Rune tried not to shiver, battling his instincts to run, as he felt sweat trickle down the sides of his temple. Sweat that had nothing to do with the intense evening heat brought by the season's turns of summer.
Her steel eyes peered at his soul, sifting to see if a speck of lie coated his words. Frendil smirked, and he understood that his deceit wasn't left unnoticed, much to his dismay.
"She taught you well, boy. No wonder you've been alive for so long working with her. A sly tongue you've got there. I hear it's been six years since she took you under her wing."
Stop talking to me, you old bat! Leave me be!
Rune said nothing.
"Well, best be on your way now. Don't keep the Madam waiting on her delivery now, ay boy?"
He wanted to scoff at the woman.
Of course, I don't want to be late, but look who's talking to me! Rune wanted to strangle something as his left eye began to twitch slightly.
Agreeing with a nod, he hurriedly created space between himself and the bat-like woman after being dismissed.
"Heavy, isn't it?" Frendil called out to him, causing him to stop in his tracks.
He turned his head back to look at the woman, "Pardon Frendil, ma'am?"
"The bag. It's quite heavy, isn't it?"
Rune's face twisted in confusion. The conversation was steering in a direction he did not train for. Not wanting to be caught dealing out a second lie, Rune nodded.
"Yes, ma'am."
"You be careful with it, you hear? Don't want to have the bag drop to the ground, else the Madam's goods go to waste." Frendil's laughter cackled as she watched Rune's face pale. Realization dawned upon him as he connected the dots. The package he held was Frendil's, and she had inevitably just tried to sabotage Rune by purposely bumping into him.
"You be careful now, Rune, and tell the Madam her items were safely delivered. Oh, and that she has a wonderful delivery boy."
Rune did not stick around. Picking up his pace, he blended into the ongoing traffic as each step he took distanced himself and Elsie from the crazy lady.
"Is she gone?" Elsie mumbled, poking out her head from the satchel.
"Yeah, she's gone."
"Ru, what was Bat lady talking about?"
"It was nothing, Elsie. She was telling me to send her greetings to Madam."
Along with threats. Rune thought.
"But then why was she laughing at Ru?"
Rune shook his head, "I said it was nothing, Elsie."
Elsie's feet kicked his upper leg as she started to whine, "You always say it's nothing."
"That's because it is nothing." Rune had constantly tried to keep Elsie from understanding the happenings of Driftwood, but strapped to his back, inseparable for most of the day, it proved challenging to shield her from the evil nature of the place. He tried to keep her invisible for the most part, given that her very existence would come as a shock to most due to her disabled legs. He tried to keep her interaction with others to a minimum. It was the only way to keep her safe. To keep them safe, for if something happened to Rune, Elsie couldn't live.
Navigating the alleyways and buildings of Driftwood was challenging for most. It was a poorly designed area of Alta City, the capital of Eastern Nythos. The area had run-down buildings and streets constructed arbitrarily, lacking structural organization and materials, quite contrary to anything beyond Central Square, where those of the upper class dwelled.
It was an accepted societal division that both classes steer clear of one another. A distinction that initiated the hate of classes that plagued every resident of Alta.
Families of the upper class advised their children to stay clear of the low-class area of Alta, Driftwood, but many did nothing of the sort. Most who had disregarded the dangers and warnings often fell victim to collapsed buildings, unsteady roads, and twisting streets. Driftwood did not take kindly to non-locals.
Upper-class younglings were not the only ones to fall victim to the dwellings of low-class Driftwood residents. Many travelers and unseasoned merchants failed to navigate the poorly designed area, often finding themselves at the mercy of street thieves and corrupt patrols, but Rune was no traveler. He was no stranger to Driftwood streets. He had grown up in the desolate place with Elsie from the moment he could recall his first memory.
Although Driftwood did not treat children kindly, it was still the only home he, his sister, and many others had come to know. They competed for survival and ran alongside the future generation of thieves and criminals.
On his back, Rune felt Elsie squirm as she shifted to release her arms from the satchel. Tugging his hair, she pulled back his black tangled mess of curls, causing him to yelp in pain.
"Ow, ah, ow," Rune grabbed Elsie's hand, nearly about to rip out the rest of his thinned-out hair from his scalp.
"Elsie, let go!" He struggled to keep the pain away by tilting his head back into Elsie's hand, but at his demand, she only strengthened her grip on his hair, a grip that was too strong for a six-year-old girl who rarely ate her fill.
"Ru, you said you would take me to see the lights in the sky today."
"Ay, I know what I said, but the Madam, ow, is expecting her delivery, but if she, ow, does not get her parcel by the seventh hour, we are doomed, Elsie."
Elsie whined, letting his hair go, but started to pound his back with her fists.
"But you promised. Ru, you promised!" Her yelling brought several curious eyes, and Rune halted his steps.
"Be quiet, Elsie. People are looking." Despite his pleas, his sister continued her wailing, ignoring his attempts to shush her.
Rune signed. "After this delivery."
He felt her perk up from his back. "You swear it on Terra?"
"Yes, yes, Eslie, I swear," he grumbled. As she settled back down, Rune continued to move.
The winding paths and narrow alleys finally brought Rune to the front door of a red-brick building. Instead of entering through the main door, he followed the cobbled path to the back, where he entered an arch that gave way to a quiet courtyard. A small door was angled to the right, which Rune gave a slight push to enter.
A long hallway greeted him, with faint smells of burnt blue Rye crystals filling the air. He walked to the end of the hall, stopping when he reached a wall blocking his path forward. There, he stood face-to-face with a painting. Twelve ethereal-looking figures were drawn across the canvas, each with a gaze fixed in a different direction from the others, their features delicately drawn with striking details of their clothing and facial features.
Pushing the small indent beneath the left side of the painting slightly into the wall, a click sounded as gears started to lock into place, and the wall opened, giving him entry to what lay beyond.
A voice from the darkest part of the room sounded, causing Rune to halt his steps. He felt Elsie shiver and shrink back into the satchel's fabric on his back. The fine hairs on his arms stood high as he heard the voice belonging to the other person within the room speak.
"What did I say about being late, boy?"