Intro

The market in Duradda thronged with activity that afternoon. Intricately woven tapestry, lustrous jewels, and finely crafted silk lined the shelves, surrounded by more average, day-to-day good. There seemed to be a particular surplus of green apples too, likely thanks to the Azherian merchants who were only just shaking the sand from their boots. These richly dressed merchants, among many others, bartered at each stall, while hundreds of onlookers shuffled through, gawking at any foreign trinket that happened to catch there eye. Any conflict of words was lost in the overbearing murmur, while standing out amongst the crowd would be nearly impossible. Through this crowd walked two individuals, dressed in brown cloaks so as to blend in further.

“You understand what we’re doing, right?” Question the shorter of the two, who had to stand on their tiptoes just to shout into the ear of the other.

“Of course I do!” Replied the taller one, whose speaking voice was naturally loud enough to be heard over the crowd.

The shorter one grabbed the taller one by the cloak, and dragged him down to their level.  

“Darius. Look me in the eye and give me your absolute fucking guarantee that you know what we’re doing.”

Darius pulled away from her grip, and put his right hand forward.

“I swear that I understand what we’re doing.” After they’d said that, the tall one lowered his hand and rubbed the shorter one’s head. The shorter one quickly pulled away, and punched the tall one in the gut. The tall one doubled over.

“Asshole…”

Once Darius had regained himself, they went their separate ways; disappearing from each other in the crowd. They both knew their target; a man called Ali, whose real name was Silaas Aan Swaad. Killing him would pay for their food and lodging for a whole week. Supposedly, Silaas was a lanky man, with a long scar along his forearm, an ornately designed sheath whose trim was golden, and had a slightly nervous disposition. Someone of his sort should have been easy to find, but he had, up till then, avoided detection. Taking the direct approach, Darius hoped the market goers could change that.

“Have you seen a man fitting that description?” He asked of anyone who would listen. Alas, few had seen their target, and even fewer could tell him anything more than what he already knew. At the very least, he was assured the target was somewhere in the city.

Darius kept forward, doing his best to wade through the crowd as he made for the grand bazaar at its center. Serving as the be-all end-all for eastern markets, the grand bazaar of Duradda dominated what skyline that the shoppers and merchants didn’t. Its distinctly curved shape, and arched entryway marked a mixture of northern and eastern style architecture, which made it a focal point for gawkers and those who appreciated art. A giant warehouse sat just beyond the bazaar, which was were goods coming along the Safrem were unloaded and stored. Most of said goods went outside to the market, but the highest quality items always found a place on the bazaar shelves, with only the most respected of merchants standing around to sell them.

“Have you seen a man fitting this description?” Darius asked again, but with similar results as before. That was of no matter, however, for Darius had completed the first part of his mission. Wherever he went, Darius now heard talk of their target. Now, though it pained him to do so, Darius could switch from talking to looking. A difficult task, but certainly not one that was beyond him. Still, walking around on his tiptoes was not an enjoyable prospect by any means, so he was quite relieved to hear a loud whistling when he got back outside.

The whistling, which sounded like a bird native to the region, attracted to attention of most of the market. For just a moment, it grew quieter, and the market goers looked around to find the source. The whistle departed just as quickly as it came, however, and the slightly bewildered merchants returned to their business. While meaningless to them, Darius knew that whistle well, and he immediately began to wade left. He’d spotted an alleyway on his way to the bazaar; several, in fact, but he made for the one closest to whistle.

Closing in on the alley in question, he found it pleasantly devoid of people, save for the occional group of wanderers and merchants conducting unsavory trade. A perfect place for a man to escape unnoticed, but such would not be the case while Darius was on the case. But where could the target have gone? He thought better of asking the unscrupulous fellows who populated the alleyway, and instead awaited the instruction of his companion. Sure enough, as he wandered the streets, his companion appeared behind him.

“Darius.” Announced the short one.

Darius turned to address the short one.

“Ah, Shai. Did you find him?” He asked.

“I Did.” Answered Shai,

“Glorious!” Darius exclaimed.

“God dammit, keep your voice down.” Shai scolded.

“Ha! No one can dim the voice of the great D-”

Shai stepped on Darius’ foot. Darius yelped, and fell back.

“He’s heading towards the central water basin. Cut him off.” Explained Shai before Darius could recover himself.

Darius looked at her, while still holding his foot, and gave a teary eyed thumbs up.