Under the sun's scorching gaze, Ezra reached the wall, close enough to make out bold ink writings.
Certainly not a language he knew beforehand, Ezra understood its meaning like he did.
Town of Strow it said, or better yet, Strow Town.
Five steps to the side was the gate.
Evident with the two Caucasian males posted on both sides, one with a spear, the other with fisted knuckles, both in long brown baggy breeches and sleeveless shirts that had them bare-chested.
"Ah, yes. Remonon is-
The conversation died the moment he came into view as the guards stood apart, avoiding him like a plague.
And while his eyes were fixed on the door, Ezra could feel their gaze burrowing into his back.
Pushing the gate open was a hearty task for the boy, but he dared not ask for help.
A gruelling two minutes later, the door moved enough for him to slip through, and the boy went through in haste.
Falling to the floor upon entering, he quickly picked himself up, eyes darting around with a quickened heartbeat, like prey avoiding predators.
Now inside, the full scenery lay exposed.
The ground was padded with grey soil. Huts were huddled together on two sides, with the constant movement of people made the roads seem wider than it was.
Rows of huts lay abound, separated between homes and workplaces.
The number of huts did not surpass fifty, it was the space held between the huts that substantially increased the town's width.
Walking along, he saw Tailor shops, and an abattoir, judging by the pieces of hanged flesh.
Residents walked by, both genders dressed in long robes, some had swords strapped, others did not.
One thing remained unchanged though.
All glances that landed on him promptly morphed into disgust.
Even walking at the street's edge to avoid collision didn't help.
Judging by the boy's reaction or the lack of one thereof, such looks had to be commonplace.
A few more steps and the boy went through into a corner, arriving at a stable.
Already there, was another child attending to the horses.
With thin bones, dirty clothes, and a dead gaze, he mirrored Ezra's host in both appearance and stature.
Ezra felt a foreign calmness overtake the boy.
And for the first time, the boy spoke clearly.
"Levin!"
Though neither loud nor silent, the other boy turned, and another miraculous event took place.
Levin's eyes lit up, he dropped the bucket in his hands and ferociously embraced Ezra's host, his voice ringing of joy.
"Ziltris!"
Ezra's mind spiralled.
'Ziltris, Ziltris, Ziltris...'
The name felt ever so familiar, yet Ezra failed to grasp the essence, his memories refusing him aid.
So while the name rang a bell, he didn't know which bell he was ringing.
Meanwhile, Ziltris and Levin were deep into friendly chatter, well, it was better said as a one sided conversation as Ziltris was digging into the bowl of food handed to him.
"What happened to your hand?" Levin inquired, seeing his friend eat with a single hand.
Ziltris paused, swallowed and simply said. "Him"
An awkward silence came about as both boys clearly knew who 'him' was.
"*cough*cough*" dispelling the awkward atmosphere. Levin shifted topic. "Ziltris, you've got learn how to smile once in a while"
Ziltris gave a comeback, his tone now friendly. "And you need to learn not to bother someone who's eating," he turned around. "Besides, sitting around is going to get you in trouble"
"Bah" he waved. "We both know the bastard's going to say something regardless of what I do-why care?"
Ziltris eyes widened. "What are you saying! What if someone hears you?"
"Bah, who'd come here this early?"
Ziltris nodded in confirmation, finishing the last of his food.
Right then...
"What is this?!"
The boys were frightened out of their wits by the all too familiar voice and got on their feet with haste.
The man had just come out from another alley, yet didn't fail to make his presence known.
Both boys unintentionally froze.
"Who said you could rest?" the man barked. "I paid a lot for you two, and you won't die until I've got my money's worth"
Ziltris exhaled in relief, thanking his stars nudging Levin to which both made eye contact.
It would've been their end had he heard their conversation, slaves had been executed for far less.
As for shouting, they'd long since gotten used to it, it would instead be unsettling if he didn't shout.
The man was always angry for whatever reason.
"Did you not hear me?"
The last bit shook them out of their frenzy and they scampered to clean the stables, hoping to avoid his grasp.
Their day had begun.
Mr. Alwin, which was their keepers name, decided to supervise them, making the day even worse.
There was no chatter, only squeaks of movement were heard.
Ziltris had it worse using only one arm with his fractured arm still recovering, but his keeper's whims could have him lose the very little he had, and his life soon after. So he chalked up the pain and kept on.
An hour before noon, they had their first customer.
Rather rent a horse, this man was here to buy one, so negotiations ensued.
Haggling turned to heated arguments, before finally they reached an agreement, and the horses were given, the buyer caught sight of the two boys.
Pointing to them he asked. "How old are they?"
Alwin looked at them. "Tell him your ages"
"14" Levin replied.
"13" Ziltris replied.
The man's eyes lit up. "How much for them?"
"How much are you willing to pay?"
"Fifty silver"
"Deal!" Mr. Alwin hurriedly agreed.
Just like that they changed owners.
A few minutes passed with both men exchanging pleasantries, and then it was time to leave.
Slaves they were, trailing after their new master, Mr. Owen while pulling the horses as well.
With their master five steps in front, Ziltris and Levin conversed in whispers.
"Where do you think he's taking us?" Ziltris inquired.
Levin rubbed Ziltris' hair giving a wide smile. "Somewhere better than here" he whispered to himself. "...hopefully"
Ezra was able to gain some information from the two men's conversation.
The currency and name drops helped him identify his location.
The Ruwain Dynasty.
He was relieved to know that he was still in familiar territory but apprehensive about being so far away from home.
But he couldn't recall where 'home' was.
Walking straight down, they came out from the farthest exit.
Exiting, Owen strapped the two horses onto his cart and set off.
The sea of pedestrians parted ways to give them passage and the cart sped up, only to stop in front of a large hut, the biggest Ziltris ever saw.
Right in front were fresh garden patches that had the boys mesmerized.
Like a Mini-orchid it was already bearing fruit.
"Well, get off" Owen's voice shook them out of their reverie.
A few knocks later and a voice was heard.
"State your business" was said in a strict yet tone.
'Definitely not a man' Ezra conjectured.
"I bring gifts for Sir Larson" Mr. Owen replied and the door creaked, opening from within to reveal a petite female, one of short stature.
Her frozen gaze rivalled that of a dead fish, and judging by the attire, she was both unfriendly and a maid.
Sir Owen enters and the boys follow.
The boys behold neatly arranged gorgeous artistic frames hung on both sides.
But that was just the start. Lowering their gazes had them amazed multiple times over.
The walls were covered with a sort of thin carpet of light brown colour.
On this carpet was a black ink depicting the most random shapes yet coming together to prove as fantastic artistry-at least for the boys.
With only a single pair of table and chair, the boys were to stay on their feet, and apparently, Mr. Owens too.
A creak saw the door close.
The maid faced them. "Master will be here soon" before walking away.
While waiting, Ziltris tapped the floorboards incessantly.
A cough from Levin broke his concentration.
The house owner had appeared.
Walking ever slowly with his crutch and a hunched back, the old man had a brown cloak on, and on his face was a short white beard.
Mr. Owen curtly bowed. "Greetings, sir Larson"
"Ah, Mr. Owens. To what do we owe such pleasure?"
Raising himself, Owen replied. "I came to express gratitude so I brought slaves"
"Oh" Larson muttered, taking looks at Ziltris and Levin, before nodding. "Then I'm very much thankful. I was about to get new slaves myself"
His hands were so skinny they seemed to have wilted, yet when he grabbed Ziltris' face, it revealed considerable strength.
Shifting it from side to side, Larson inspected it with a serious gaze before releasing him.
"Oh, these would do nicely" Larson smiled after checking Levin.
'This man isn't normal'
Unlike the naive duo, Ezra was alarmed.
His instincts have been ringing ever since they stepped into the house.
The articulated framework was there to deceive, the house held something sinister within.
Owens' fidgeting fingers suggested he knew something of it too.
Alas, Ezra was powerless to do anything.
On cue, Owen gave his last comments and left.
Overly nice.
Larson was overly nice, providing them exquisite food, and a room.
The day's events seemed all good to be true, each passing minute only proved Ezra's intuition.
The maids moved like mindless slaves, giving neither a smile nor a wink and shunning all attempts at idle chatter.
Everything about this place was wrong and by the time the duo caught on, it was already too late.
