Enyah never felt as alive. Countless weapons, sharper than glass, pointed directly at her with the intent to kill. The glares of their owners, similarly as sharp, boring holes into her being with warped, scathing hatred. Her life on the line, only a pistol in her hand to defend herself.

  She felt her skin tingle with excitement as her grin widened along her face. Her eyes darted back and forth, eying the menagerie of foes.

  Yet, she only felt confidence. Her mind churned with strategies, focused on protecting Rinne while outmaneuvering the mercenaries.

  Her eyes snaked back to the man held at the end of her gun, whose body shook in fear. She saw his futile attempts at calming himself, but he gave himself away too easily. Like a hunted rabbit, he was entirely at her mercy.

  Was he feeling regret? Regret over antagonizing her over nothing?

  A man his age should be able to hide his emotions easier. Especially when working as a mercenary.

  Enyah only felt one emotion to his reactions. To the reactions of every single mercenary in the inn. “Disappointing. Each and every one of them.”

  All of the mercenaries here, who came from all around the various countries within Lakreia, were just talk. Their constant whining filled her ears like the screaming of a child, but they made no attempt to free her captive. Their talk was cheap, backed by nothing but their idle blades, which hung in the air like decorations.

  “Let Walt go!”

  “If you don't let him go, we'll skewer you!”

  “As expected of scum!”

  “Do you want to die?!?”

  “You’re just like the rumors, aren’t you?”

  Their echoed thoughts passed through her in an instant, though her mind caught onto the last phrase she heard. It wrapped around her thoughts, constricting her emotions.

  “Rumors? There’s rumors about me already?” Her mind churned, coming up with possibilities that came and went in a flash, none seeming concrete. “The only one who lived was that four armed man. He wouldn’t let the Replian church know. Not willingly, at least.”

  She shook her head internally, “No, he can’t be faster than Zarts. Even sending a bird wouldn’t be this fast.”

  Jabbing the gun into the man’s face, she growled, “You’re coming with us.” before turning towards the crowd, who flinched at her glare. “Anyone want to disagree?”

  The roaring crowd showed no different reactions, but also made no attempt to stop her actions. She rolled her eyes with a snort. “Cowards.”

  Without moving her eyes off the crowd, she backed up towards the stairs with slow, tentative steps.

  The wood creaked under the combined weight of Enyah and her captive, interrupting the hollering of the mob.

  Their blabbering mouths trapped shut, leaving only the creaking of steps. A few of the mercenaries, the ones that looked the most terrified, left the building with haste, leaving behind only the echoed pounding of their footsteps.

  Rinne was huddled next to Enyah, keeping his hair hidden yet glaring back at the mob, fighting back with unsaid words.

  Many steps later and they reached the top. Enyah kept her gaze on the older man, who stopped trembling and accepted his situation.

  “Kid.” Enyah commanded, not turning her gaze. She felt him startle with a rabbit-like demeanor before moving to face her. “Find our room, I'll be keeping our friend here company.”

  “Yes ma'am!” Rinne saluted, trotting off with soft steps and looking around the walls for room signs.

  “Now. It's just us.” Enyah mumbled softly, poking him softly with her gun, feeling his leather shirt pushing against the barrel. “Turn around.”

  He turned without question, facing his back to her, but suddenly spoke, matching her softened voice. “Do what you'd like to me, but don't harm the kid.”

  She frowned at his statement, before shaking it off. Growling, she lowered her voice. “Demands are given between equals. Drop your sword on the floor.”

  With slow, steady hands, the man took out a sword from his sheath before crouching down, placing it without a sound. Yet he didn't rise again immediately, electing to continue talking. “There's limits to what one should do for coin.”

  “Ironic, coming from an Operite mercenary.” Enyah snarled, picking up his dropped sword and inspecting the make.

  No standoffish qualities, it simply looked like mass produced steel that could have been created anywhere.

  Was the man the same?

  He was a little more courageous than the others, but nothing else stood out to her.

  “We've changed.” The man replied weakly, not even believing his own words. “We duel for contracts now.”

  “Maybe some, but not all of you.” Enyah replied.

  A town's way of living can't change this fast. Especially not mercenary living. Mercenaries are people who love their way of life too much to change for something like reason.

  “Still.” He continued, lowering his voice as it became more firm. “Our one rule is to never harm a child. So you better watch yourself.”

  “What makes you so sure I harmed this child?” Enyah inquired, hiding her perplexed face behind his back.

  “S'all over town.” He spoke confidently, as if thinking her question was fear. “Everybody knows it. A kidnapped child and their captor riding into town. And here you are.”

  “Is-Is that a rumor? Are you believing a rumor?” Enyah paused in disbelief. “The whole town’s acting against me based on nothing but hearsay?”

  “Found our room!” Rinne called from the hallway to the left of the staircase. The room was near the end of the hallway, requiring a small walk to reach the room.

  “Whatever.” Enyah muttered, turning to Rinne and calling, “Coming!”

  A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

  She turned to the man, motioning him forwards and following after him.

  They walked onwards, the only noise within the hallway was their boots against wood and the flickering candles that followed along them, perched onto the walls and pasting their shadows onto the wall.

  The door they stopped at was the same as every other. Handing the key to Rinne, he opened the door and leapt inside with his childlike vigor.

  They didn’t purposely give them a subpar room. At least from what she could tell from the door. Two beds lay against The wall and a couch situated on one side. On the other end of the wall, a small pot lay. Within, a small sapling grew and engulfed the room in the smell of nature.

  Enyah nodded, satisfied, before pushing the man inside and closing the door behind her.

  With a click, the door locked, encapsulating the three in their own world. She also let her shoulders fall, tension leaving her body.

  An army of mercenaries might be troublesome, but just this man?

  “I can relax a bit” she mused, turning her back to the man and falling to the bed. The bed itself also smelled of wood, giving the room its own, unique charm.

  Feeling the bed below her, she let out a soft groan in comfort, resting her body on the mattress. Still, her arm remained outstretched, flintlock aimed at the man’s skull.

  The man wasn’t tensed up, rather relaxing in the room. Maybe he realized that she wasn’t intending on hurting him. It didn’t stop his wandering eyes, however. his eyes gazed around warily, looking for some means of escape, yet the only exits were the window in the back and the now locked door. From Enyah's position, she could easily subdue him whichever choice he made.

  Rinne also seemed to relax within the locked room, his wary eyes shifting to curiosity as he looked at the stranger in their room. “Hello! What's your name?”

  He frowned, deciding whether to humor the child before shrugging, his turmoil showing on his face. “I'm Walt, a mercenary. Worked in Operite for over twenty years.”

  Enyah stared at him from the corner of her eyes, letting Rinne talk.

  “Ooh! That's older than I am!” Rinne sang, hopping onto the other bed. “If you've been here so long, you must love it here, right?”

  “No.” Walt shook his head, lowering himself, after a few tentative glances at Enyah, onto a chair opposing the beds. “But it's home.”

  “You’re a mercenary though.” Rinne swung his feet, speaking his thoughts as they appeared in his mind. Tilting his head, he asked the man, “Can’t your home be wherever you want it to be?”

  “Read the tales of Warren, the Great Adventurer? We aren’t the same as him.” The man sighed. A weary sigh of resignation. Of a life full of regrets and lack of fulfillment. “Kid. We travel for work, but it's to live. We ran around, doing tasks from village to village, but it only made me realize one thing. We all need a home. And I found mine here.”

  “That's sweet and all.” Enyah cut in, leaning up and sharpening her gaze, “But that doesn't excuse you for the disrespect.”

  “The disrespect? Bah. Gnungdung.” The man snorted, his wariness lost through their conversation. “No mercenary worth their weight in coin would get fussy over a little bit of name calling.”

  “True.” Enyah smirked in response, easing her glare a small amount. “You know what I want, right?”

  “Information.” The man confirmed. He looked down with a frown, before looking at Enyah directly in her eyes. “However, I… I apologize for my words. By the time I was aware, the whole town believed in the rumor. I thought it was the truth.”

  She remained silent, letting him continue.

  “But the child isn't acting kidnapped. Could be deceived, sure, but you don’t… look the sort.” He gave her an appraising eye, looking her up and down.

  “What’s that supposed to mean?” She frowned, questioning him with her head leaning on her arm.

  “It's…” The man paused, closing his mouth, yet opening it repeatedly, trying to find the right words to say.

  “The scars, right?” Enyah asked, rolling her eyes. People were always touchy when asking about her scars. They existed and she couldn't change that, so why avoid them? Did they really scare these people so much?

  “Told you you're scary!” Rinne interrupted, a sly grin on his face from the man's silent confirmation.

  “Shut it, kid. I like it that way.” She replied, anger rising up at the sight of his grin. He was getting too comfortable around her. Soon enough she wouldn't be able to control him.

  “You like everybody hating you, like this town?” Rinne asked lightly, tilting his head in wonder. He couldn’t hide his smirk that threatened to grow every second he talked, however.

  “You know it’s not my looks that’s the issue.” Enyah rolled her eyes, letting out a sigh at the boy’s amusement.

  Kids.

  Nothing but infuriating.

  “Maybe the rumors sprouted because of your looks.” Rinne continued, unknowing or uncaring of Enyah’s worsening mood. His eyes were full of lighthearted teasing, but his mouth only spouted venom.

  “Whatever, kid.” She grumbled, looking away and turning to the man, who watched their interactions as if watching a puppet show. “And you… No matter. Tell me more about the rumor.”

  Walt snorted, all fear lost. He looked at her with something similar to pity. She furrowed her brows at the stare, feeling revulsion rise up from his… look.

  “Well…” He turned away from her after a moment, stroking his beard in thought. “I came home from working in the jungle a few days ago and I heard a rumor from one of my drinking buddies.”

  “Well, I call it a rumor, but he spoke as if it were a fact. Someone kidnapped a child in Pallor's Port, and was coming through Operite on their way to sell the child.” He concluded, turning to stare at her, as if waiting for her thoughts.

  “So you were going to gang up on any adult and child pair that crossed through the jungles?” Enyah asked, disbelief caking her tone. She felt her disappointment in these people sink lower the more she heard.

  Operite… she should avoid it in the future, lest they infect her with their stupidity.

  “Well… the rumors got worse as time went on.” He continued, lowering his head in shame. She noticed his face redden in embarrassment, barely visible through his facial hair. “I’ll admit… I helped spread them too. A massive, scarred man, who kept children on leashes… Even using them to relieve stress.”

  “How would he relieve stress with kids? Beating them?” Rinne asked from the side, hearing his emphasized tone. He seemed to shiver at the thought of being beaten. Was it in general, or was it being beaten by her specifically?

  Useless thoughts.

  “You’ll know when you’re older.” She responded to Rinne absentmindedly, looking back to the man, and speaking with a noticeable increase in hardness in her voice. “Continue, please.”

  “Right! … Right.” The man jumped in place, startled for a moment, yet he calmed down in a few moments, narrowing his eyes in thought before continuing his words. “Well, what else is there to say? You came into town, wearing scars and with a cloaked child in tow. That was enough for everybody, I assume.”

  Enyah frowned, lacking key information. His explanation hadn't satisfied most of her queries. Sure, they were against her because of rumors, but it was suspicious. Her mind churned. The fact that rumors of a kidnapped child appeared in the one town required to leave Pallor's Port, knowing that Rinne, the silver haired child, was hiding there…

  Enyah felt anger rise up. A trap. Using the people of Operite against her. And it worked. Now the perpetrator knows she's here. What she looks like. How she reacted to this.

  Her mind turned towards the Replian church, hidden within the town. They knew she was in the port, attacking her directly on the way to Rinne. They were the most likely culprits.

  “Do you know who started the rumor?” Enyah asked, hiding her thoughts from Walt.

  “Hmm… Not for sure.” Walt mumbled after thinking for a few moments. “There's Pat, The ‘Leader’ of the mercenaries, who most of us have heard the rumor from. Though I also heard that the mayor’s also keeping an eye open for these rumors. Maybe even Pat's wife, who's got an ear in every hole in town.”

  “Are any of them religious?” Enyah asked with a frown. Any glaringly religious folks would easily give away the culprit. Though, with the church as hidden as it was, who knows.

  “Religious? Why would that matter?” He asked quizzically, But Enyah's glare kept him from asking further. “None of them seem too religious. I mean, it's not like I ask who they pray to.”

  “Of course, who would?” Enyah agreed, “But have you seen any of them coming and going from the church?”

  “The…church?” He furrowed his brows in confusion, looking at her with a frown. “This town doesn't have a church.”

  “Sure it does.” Enyah responded, “The Replian church in the middle of the town. Stands out.”

  “Miss, I've lived here for twenty years and I have never seen a church here.” Walt denied, shaking his head in firm refusal. “Unless it's hiding, but I know most of the folk here. Don't act like cultists to me.”

  “Big, tall building. White bricks. Tall spire in the middle. Ring a bell?” Enyah asked him, struggling to recall its faded features from her memories. The thoughts were attempting to escape her long after they left the area.

  Strange. Its hold on the town was much stronger than she thought. Much more dangerous too.

  How many other churches hide in towns? Their followers watching unknowing citizens like livestock, controlling the town from within.

  Distasteful. Enyah grimaced.

  “Ooh! That building!” Walt recalled, as if a mental block had been removed. Memories seemed to rush into him as his confusion turned into recognition. “I always thought it was a prison! Like a voice in my head saying ‘Dangerous folks in there Walt, stay away.’ So I just… left it alone. It does look suspicious, huh?”

  Walt stroked his beard in confusion, his mind clearly lost in thought. A frown formed on his face. Realization that his thoughts had been tampered with for who knows how long.

  “Yeah, that one.” Enyah spoke up after a few moments, letting the older man get his mind sorted, “Now, can you recall who came and went from there?”

  “Hmm…” He strained to remember, adding wrinkles to his already wrinkled face. “Well, the mayor definitely visited. He came and went multiple times throughout the day. The others… I can't tell.”

  “That's enough. Thank you.” Enyah nodded in appreciation, jotting the mayor into her mind. If he wasn't the culprit, he was certainly associated.

  Still, they were only going to stay a single night. She wouldn't go out of her way to solve these problems. Not while on a contract, at least.

  The mayor, among other figures, probably knows that too. They'll attack Enyah while she sleeps or before she leaves.

  Her mind clasped onto the notion of another sleepless night, letting out a deep sigh in frustration.

  “Are you alright!?” Rinne's voice rose in panic. Before, he listened to their conversation in silent wonder, but her groan startled him into a worried fuss.

  “Yeah. I'm fine.” She frowned, pushing him away gently while internally coaxing her emotions into calmness.

  Walt lowered his face, hiding his thoughts under the veil of the flickering dim light. His voice deepened, hardening into a single thought, “Were the rumors also a trick of the mind?”

  “I couldn't tell you. I'm no expert.” Enyah shrugged. “But it wouldn't surprise me. No religious nuts are trustworthy.”

  “I see…” He murmured, pausing in thought. “Are we done here?”

  “Yeah. Free to go.” She got up from the bed, unlocking the door with a deft turn of the key.

  “Thank you.” He growled, and with the fury of Pallor's storms, he left the room and slammed the door behind him, leaving only his radiating anger to fester within the bedroom.

  Their room fell into a quiet, serene peace after he left. Enyah sauntered to the bed, laying down once again on the gentle, comforting mattress.

  “Oh gods.” Enyah thought, pausing her moment of relaxation. “I forgot to ask what the mayor looked like!”