Chapter 2: City of Fervor

  Max'Sall knew that being Dull was most likely the worst fate that any human could have. It wasn't the worst thing to have been born as; you could be half-born, and from everything he had heard about that, it meant it was much worse. Being a Dull meant many things, but its most important factor meant that you were lower than low. You had no mark on this world; you had no calling or gift granted to you by Creation itself, and worst of all... you stood out. A Dull's skin was always mixed with light or dark tints of grey made to almost give a sort of ash-like look. You could tell a Dull when you saw one, unless their skin was covered by a large piece of clothing.

  He always figured that life, no matter what, was going to be worse, that the things that happened to the people he had heard about in the stories were just that...stories. Humans didn't despise others like that, did they? Why was not having a specific calling a bad thing? Max'Sall didn't have enough education to understand why or even how a Dull happens; it just does. Like Creation itself choosing him and Dormion to suffer a cruel fate of living life as a stain on someone's wall. When someone didn't serve a purpose or couldn't work, you fired them, and that was that.

  So when he began to spring away with Dormion in the busy streets of Kursoon, as the chatter of others came to a stop as he busted through the alleyway, he figured that this would be a much worse day than he thought.

  His footsteps rapid as he let go of Dormion, both of them ran towards the way they came through the mercantile district and past the wandering eyes as they blazed past the bystanders that only watched. Max'Sall looked back to see that Rylander and his two cronies had begun to run through the same street as they were screaming something towards them. Max'Sall couldn't tell what he was truly saying; he was more worried about every single thing that could happen to them if they got caught.

  "Maybe there was just a mistake; we should—" Dormion said before Max'Sall, without looking at the smaller boy, Try to speak through hard breaths. "Are you crazy?! Did the Twin Sisters take your mind in the night?!" He and Dormion rounded the corner past a small tourist shop that began the large district as they headed towards the east side of Kursoon. Kursoon was a large place; if they could just get to Caelen before any guards started to chase, there wouldn't be an issue.

  "Stop those two Dull! They stole our money!" He could hear Rylander's voice behind him as he looked back to see all three of the men turn towards the darkened street the boys were running through. That was bad; saying someone stole your money would garner any attention, but they were Dulls, and that made the threat of them stealing even more problematic. He could see that ahead was a small, lined chain-link fence that was taller than both of them by at least a good three or four feet. Max'Sall looked forward to see past that gate, and two Kursoonian guards began to march towards them past the gate.

  Max'Sall was already having a tough time trying to process the entire scene before him; they had gotten in trouble before, but nothing this severe. It was supposed to be an easy request, just a simple delivery. Why had those men been so hostile? If they had missed something, why hadn't Caelen told them? The answer Max'Sall had in his mind already pointed to some kind of conscripted plan against them. You can't trust people like Caelen, but when you were in a situation where that kind of person was needed, you never really had a choice. That was the real problem; maybe there was no choice left.

  "There, up on the fence!" Dormion pointed towards the fence. There was a rusted pipe that went into the nearby building to their left. The fence was jagged at the top, pointed with sharp bits of iron to make sure nobody would jump it and either sit on the fence as well as make sure it was hard enough to climb over it. That would be difficult, but their choices were spread too thin. Max'Sall knew that this would be most likely his only option as he used what remained to burst forward ahead of Dormion. He had gone towards the fence and slammed his body into it, forcing a strong stop.

  The pain was almost nullified by the adrenaline flow into his body. He had leaned down into a kneel as he held both of his hands towards the way they came and stared at Dormion. The smaller boy made no attempt to argue as he had sped up as much as he could as they had reached the fence. In an instant, Max'Sall pushed both hands forward to catch Dormion's tan boots. With all the muscles he could muster, he hefted Dormion up into a strong launch that made him almost vault towards the top of the fence. Dormion already was almost all the way up the fence as he made a swift movement to climb up to the top. He leaned away from the metal barbs at the top and reached to the pipe as he grabbed on tight and began to climb up to the top of the building.

  Max'Sall looked back as the guards and the three other cronies were barreling down on him, yelling and screaming to stop as the other guards now went into a full sprint instead of their strong march. Max'Sall leaped off of his kneeling position as he began to climb the fence. Despite his thinness, Max'Sall had built up as much muscle as being underfed would get you; all the running, climbing, and dealing with idiotic requests meant that he had enough to work with. He trailed up the fence quickly as he looked towards Dormion, already at the top of the building. Max'Sall leaped off the fence, only being 3 feet away from the full height; he grabbed quickly onto the rusted pipe and used the rest of his strength to pull up towards the top.

  One of the guards took out a small cudgel and threw it towards the two. He had missed Max'Sall by a hair as the club slammed against the pipe. The pipe began to slowly fall towards the ground, the cudgel doing enough to wear down what the rust had already eaten away. Max'Sall's instincts kicked in as he pushed off the building wall into a strong surging leap. He wasn't close enough to reach the top of the building, but as soon as he reached the apex of the jump, Dormion dove down as he grabbed Max'Sall's hand and heaved with all his might.

  Max'Sall used that sudden pull to then be able to push himself off the wall as the force made it easier for Dormion to pull. He grabbed the ledge as Dormion pulled him up to the top as both were panting hard. The rusted pipe landed with a loud clang on the ground as the other guards and Rylander were screaming towards them. Max'Sall looked at Dormion in a quick glance.

  "Told you, you wouldn't fall," Dormion had said with a small smile that was shown through the panting. Max'Sall simply smiled in amusement; he had always had a way of getting back. The guards began to run out towards the alleyway, most likely trying to find themselves a way towards the two. Max'Sall checked and felt the receipt from the deal and gestured towards the way they came.

  "I hope Caelen has a good reason for all this, for Creation's sake." Max'Sall was already roaring to go and meet with the man, no matter how much of a hassle he could be. Dormion nodded in agreement as the two of them began to run and jump towards the buildings. Heading towards Caelen.

  ***

  Max'Sall didn't want to head into The Mix. The building was shaped like a Hearthberry itself. It was a rounded building like a big sphere; its bottom was the color of fire orange, while about halfway through it faded into a subtle blue with the top mimicking that of the stem of the fruit, which stemmed the sunlight through the small windows up top. Dormion was already heading inside the Hikoma double door as Max'Sall sighed and walked with him inside.

  The inside was cozy; it smelled like sweet juice, and the inside had a warm interior with smooth and warm maroon colors that almost made the building itself seem like what it was supposed to be. There were tables and chairs of deep amber color, also made of Hikoma wood, where customers sat inside.

  Restaurants in the city were not rare, but they were not for the common folk. Creationism, the belief that Creation was the true God that ruled over the rest of Fala'Mor, the arts were said to be devout and holy in their work. Artists, sculptors, even the people that cook food for others, are seen as artists more than anything else. Kursoon was the only city Max'Sall knew that treated Creationism as devoutly as they did. This meant that restaurants were treated less like a place to get food, like he had heard the Luong treat their restaurants from far-off travelers, and more as a luxury to taste and engross yourself in the chef and their creations they bring for other holidays.

  Max'Sall just simply walked through the rounded serving tables as the other more lavish guests began looking towards him and Dormion. He didn't wear the heavy concealing clothes like Dormion; they were too uncomfortable, and it made him look like he was ashamed of who he was. Was he ashamed? Sure, he didn't like being dull, but nothing much would change that, and so you could only live the life you put yourself into. Dormion went up to the front of the bar; he took a small seat on the third set in the row of eight at the bar. Toran walked up to him and gave both Max'Sall and Dormion a strong glance as he washed a small glass.

  "Is there...something you'd like today, gentleman?" Toran was a large man, taller than any man Max'Sall had seen. He had fancy dress clothes that merged between a light orange and a cascading red that looked like a spicy vegetable he had seen in the mercantile district a few weeks back. Toran adjusted his glasses on his clad, amber-colored skin as he waited for the words. There was only one way to see The Mix for what it really was: every person who worked for Caelen knew them. Dormion spoke up as Max'Sall simply waited.

  "I'd like a shot of Hearthberry, shaken with honey and three cubes of Indigonar sugar, and an extra shot of cream." Toran simply nodded as he reached for something underneath the bar and gave it to Dormion, a small key meant for the balcony of the building, which was towards the back. Dormion nodded as he got off the chair and headed to the balcony. Max'Sall walked towards the door towards the balcony before Toran spoke up.

  "Heard there was a chase over by the mercantile district." He said in a tone that meant that he knew what was going on, but trying to pry without further information could look bad. Max'Sall paused for a second before turning towards the tall man.

  "Just a bit of a scuffle, that's all." Max'Sall said, waiting for Toran to reply with some remark.

  "Calling it a scuffle is a stretch. Those three had been searching around here as well, just a few minutes earlier." Why were they searching around here? Did Rylander and his cronies know? More missions and deals have been struck as of recently; there was always the possibility that they had been getting too sloppy.

  "They said that our "merchandise" wasn't enough for what they ordered. But Caelen didn't give us anything else..." Toran said nothing, as he simply just nodded towards Max'Sall. He could never tell what was going through that man's head, and maybe that was a good thing. Max'Sall simply walked through the open door with the key as he walked out onto the balcony.

  The balcony was a wide-open space in the fresh air of the midday light. There were other men and women, probably important to someone, as they sat on the same Hikoma furniture, but its actual color resembled more that of a gold color, lined from the intricate carvings into it with silver dust, which gave it a luster unlike anything else.

  The light of Lutana made the city of Kursoon only appear to be more beautiful than it was. Kursoon's vivid colors and almost bombastic noise of the constant city life made it an almost perfect cover for what was hidden beneath all that color. Max'Sall watched as Dormion was already sitting with Caelen at the very end, towards a lavish table with all kinds of food draped across the white cloth that covered the table.

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  Caelen was an odd man, even more than others that Max'Sall knew. Caelen dressed a lot like more Kursoonian men did, in lavish, almost flowing, tunic-like clothes that were draped and dressed in gems and jewels that he didn't know any names of. He was a thin man, almost to the point that any more weight loss he would experience would most likely make him look like he hadn't eaten in days. His eyes were a stark, noble blue that gleamed in the light of the day. He had been sampling a small platter of something that looked spicy before he noted Max'Sall walk towards the table.

  "Max, you and Dor are just in time. I heard about the task, though a little more eye-catching than I was hoping, but mostly a fine job well done," Caelen had said in sort of a laugh. His voice was very deep despite his appearance, which made it sound a lot more menacing than he looked.

  Max'Sall hated being called Max. Most Kursoonians didn't mind nicknames, but he felt especially abhorrent to the idea of having his name shortened, as if his appearance didn't mean anything to others already....he didn't want his mother's chosen name for him sullied any longer.

  "It's Max'Sall, and yes, we did what you asked." Max'Sall spent no time at all pulling out the small slip of paper. The receipt flashed in Caelen's eyes as he took the small slip of paper and inspected it. When he raised his arm, Max'Sall could see his Embody streaking across his arm. A long serpentine design where an eel-like creature stretched across most of his forearm. The color was a strong burgundy that mixed in with his tan skin. Caelen looked seamlessly across the slip as he smiled in satisfaction and pushed the slip into his trouser pockets.

  "Very good, you boys never cease to impress." Max'Sall could never tell much about Caelen; maybe it was because of his voice. So deep and strange, it made everything he said seem like it could be the truth or a lie, and yet he would never know. Dormion straightened himself towards Caelen, ready to speak on the matter before.

  "Caelen, sir... those men towards the mercantile district..." Dormion got even more nervous around Caelen; it had always been this way. Max'Sall didn't blame him; their boss could choose to let them go whenever he felt like it, and getting on his bad side was less than ideal.

  "I heard before, ruffians and scoundrels. Though, they pay too much to ever heed a direct call to order, I suppose." He had begun snacking on small portions of that spicy food as Dormion continued.

  "I just mean, sir, they attacked us, and they talked about not having enough of what was promised. I didn't know if we forgot something or..." Caelen looked up from his meal. Max'Sall saw the look in his eye, like he was confused as to what he was hearing. That was always bad. Dormion was panicking; you could tell by the way he pulled down on his hood to shade his eyes. Max'Sall sat nearby, tired of standing, and put his arms down on the table. It was rude, but it pushed a small amount of confidence into his chest, and he hoped it would help Dormion.

  "He only means to ask if we left something behind. We aren't sure why else they would chase after us." Max'Sall could actually name a few reasons as to why they would chase, besides being dull, of course. Bland, drab, and dull, the names could be changed from person to person, but the effect was the same... he had no place in the world. How many people were said to be Dull in the world? He didn't know, and there was a small part of Max'Sall that said that maybe he didn't want to know.

  "Rylander had personally asked if I could procure him a couple of Jewel fruits; that was a difficult ask, you know. It's not every day when someone is willing to pay so much for shorthand material. Besides, it's weird that he wanted the fruit, though the Blot would have been so much more, not that there is much to go around nowadays." Caelen had said as he looked towards one of the serving men. "The usual." He said to the man as he brought out a wine bottle.

  The bottle was beautiful in design with ornate glass meant to keep the Blot inside cold, it reminded Max'Sall of a wine bottle, but instead of a cork, the top was covered in a small flat lock of sorts with a keyhole at the top. It swirled with color because of its transparency as the Blot spun in the glass it kept changing color, like it spun into different hues. Caelen had took the glass and pulled out a small golden key, he pushed the key into the bottle's top as the flat top piece popped open. The man took the bottle and poured it into a bejeweled brass goblet which he handed to Caelen and he sipped the liquid inside. Max'Sall just watched as the color of Caelen's skin almost glowed as he sipped the magic liquid, it was a property he had seen many times when Caelen drank from his "imported collection".

  "I had told him I can get what he wants as long as he could pay. He gave me quite a hefty sum for at least three, he told me, but that was a lot harder than anticipated." Caelen sipped more of the flowing liquid as Dormion began to calm down in his chair.

  "So I did what I could and gave him what he asked for. I don't understand people like them, junkies that get a single taste of Blot and then think they can just grow their own. When they realize the little you can do with that piece of fruit...I don't know what they will do." Max'Sall eyed Caelen as the color of his eyes began to sparkle and gleam more in the light on the balcony. That last statement Caelen made didn't sound like he was worried, more just contemplative of the whole ordeal. Maybe he didn't care about what they did, and he most likely shouldn't.

  The door to the balcony opened wide to a trio of Kursoonian guards. The other patrons of The Mix looked curious but simply went back to their food and drink. The three guards moved closer to Caelen as he simply looked towards them with a smile, most likely forced to some degree.

  "Gentlemen, is there something the matter?" The smile was definitely forced. The first of the guards, a man with a golden sash of some kind, which meant that he was the section leader of one of Kursoon's districts, pushed forward and removed the helm on his head. The man looked towards Max'Sall and Dormion with a generous scowl as he eyed Caelen.

  "I would like to speak with you privately, if you don't mind, Mister Fullon." Max'Sall knew that this was going to be bad. He didn't recognize the face, but if Max'Sall knew anything, it most likely would have been that this man was the first captain of the mercantile district.

  "Creation's end," Max'Sall thought to himself. He liked cursing, at least enough in his own head; there he had the freedom to do what he wanted. Though he did not completely agree with Creationism, there was something about the phrases that the followers didn't want you to say that almost gave him a sense of power in it all.

  "Now, now, gentlemen. I am just having a conversation with my employees, and I think whatever it is you might say wouldn't be something so bad they can't hear it," Caelen said with a slight smirk on his face. He knew what those guards would say, but almost like he wanted them to say it anyway.

  "Fine. Those two employees you have are causing a big ruckus in the mercantile district, ran away from at least a good portion of my men, and made a mockery of our guard. I ask that we hold them accountable for their actions."

  "And we didn't do anything illegal." Max'Sall had said in a quick rebuttal towards the man. One of the other guards walked up to Max'Sall and grabbed him by the collar. He was taller than him, but not by much, but the strength lifted his body up from the seat. Max'Sall shifted uncomfortably as the man held him.

  "Quiet, Dull, you're lucky nothing happened during that. Caught stealing something, and we would have--

  "THAT'S ENOUGH!" The leader spoke up towards the guard as he looked towards him with a frightening stare. The other guard hesitated before putting down Max'Sall in a haste. Max'Sall stared at him with a glare and fixed his collar.

  "You have to understand, Caelen, we get that this business of yours is keeping certain others very... stocked. But you must understand what I have to do as part of this. You're putting Jewel fruit in the hands of people who have too much money. For Light's sake, how can you do that when we're having a shortage of Blot already? The first captain had said in a rush. He was trying to keep his voice down, but it was hard when he was most likely worked up this way.

  "I do what must be done, what people want. I thought we had an agreement on this enough that you wouldn't get in my way?" Caelen had said with a curious look on his face. He wasn't looking at the captain, but in a way that spoke more about the distance than maybe he thought.

  "An agreement?" Max'Sall thought to himself before the captain of the guard sighed to the question.

  "We do, but more and more people are asking questions, and when they ask questions, they begin to think more and more about the way things are." The captain responded in earnest.

  "Isn't that what I pay you for? To make sure that they don't ask questions?"

  "Yes, but when you're... employees are going around causing more and more trouble through your jobs, then they ask questions anyway." The captain then eyes Max'Sall and Dormion in a sort of blame and ignorance that his eyes beat into his heart and mind.

  Caelen looked towards the both of them as well with a heavy sigh that meant that the guard was speaking some kind of truth. Caelen took out a small pouch, opened it up, and took a small bunch of enamel in his hand. Enamel, the rounded metallic bits that acted as Kursoon's money, denoted value based on the color of the Kursoonian color theory, where red was the least, and violet was the most; everything else was based on the colors that came in between.

  He handed the man a few more of some orange enamel; those could buy you cattle and riding lizards. The captain looked to the enamel in his hand as he simply sighed once more.

  "I ask that you simply take that money and make sure no more questions are asked. There are things in Kursoon that must be kept secret. I hope you understand, first captain, or else others will also have to ask how you got that position as well." That was a threat if Max'Sall had heard one.

  The first captain simply took the money and placed his helm back before speaking once more, "I'll do my best, sir." That final sir sounded forced, like something he needed to say, but he was pushing more of his will to not say it. The three guards left through the door as Caelen threw the rest of the enamel in the bag towards Dormion. Dormion took out the small bag of enamel; they were red. Max'Sall could both count, but Dormion was usually better with money than he was.

  Max'Sall looked as Dormion took out most of the money and placed it into his right hand... It wasn't nearly enough for a job; it wasn't enough for any job.

  "That's it?" Max'Sall said with a slight annoyance. Caelan looked at him as he sipped more of the Blot in his glass.

  "Is there a problem, Max?" He stressed out his name; he knew what he was doing. He always did.

  "18 reds, that's barely enough for the two of us to eat today." Max'Sall was trying to keep his anger from boiling as Dormion was putting the bits into the bag.

  "Max, you have to understand what you did today. Any more instances like that, I will have to keep docking for each job." Caelen said with no emotion in his voice; he figured that would end the conversation. Max'Sall didn't think it did.

  "So we put on a chase, and we don't get to eat today? You handed those guards oranges; what's the problem with giving us what we're owed?!" Max'Sall knew that this would end badly, but if he had done things that only meant good, he would have never had this job.

  Caelen looked back through as he got closer to him. Caelen might not have been very tall, his face might have looked ordinary, and his tan skin didn't give him any edge towards anyone else, but there was a menacing look to his eyes that Max'Sall didn't like.

  "You act like what you did was justified. As if I owe you more than what you are worth. We have had this conversation before, and I do not want to have it again, but tell me, Max. Why do you think I even give you money in the first place?" This was bad. Max'Sall said nothing as Dormion only watched as he stood up and walked back.

  "That fire in your stomach, nothing else. You are not stronger than anyone, not faster, not smarter. You can't even read; you are as much a liability as you are a thief and a Dull." He hated being called Dull, but mostly from Caelen, because he meant it more than anyone else.

  "Did you forget? I hope you didn't. I hope that for every single day you wake, every single minute or second that you stay awake, you remember who you are... a Dull. You serve very little purpose to me other than being expendable, and that's only because I don't call you useless. I pay you because I'm nothing if not polite, and right now, I don't like being impolite. You and Dor are just as much to me as a Kurona is to some rich, Creti, because you serve a small, insignificant purpose. I hope you understand where you stand, because I could replace you faster than an arrow to the throat."Caelen leaned back in his chair; the conversation was now over.

  Max'Sall simply said nothing, his anger boiling, making his fists grip in tight balls that almost let loose into a punch, but that would make Dormion part of the problem, and he didn't want that. Max'Sall simply stood up and gave a small bow. It took everything in his power to do it, but without that small gesture, he would have a chance of losing the job he needed.

  "I apologize, sir, for my misconduct. I hope there is no longer a problem, and I will do my very best to not risk our endeavors." Max'Sall gritted his teeth after that fraudulent claim. Caelen simply smiled as Dormion bowed similarly.

  "I apologize as well, Caelen. I should have been more accurate and careful towards our request." Caelen raised his glass and sipped the Blot as he waved his hand away, which meant that he would talk no longer.

  Max'Sall and Dormion walked away from the balcony as they quickly exited The Mix and made their way towards the edge of the city.

  It had been a long day, and they needed to lie down.