The Darkest Blade

Prologue

The looming shadows bathed Quinn in the chilling embrace of darkness. The wall his body was pressed against spread its cold tendrils through the holes in the tattered rags draped over his body. The building itself was crumbling mess that barely resembled its former greatness as a popular bakery. The silence of the cold winter's night was interrupted briefly by a growling noise emanating from Quinn's stomach. It was a stark reminder of what he'd came here to do.
Quinn slowly approached the front door of the building, it was made of multiple glass panes with a wooden exterior. 

No way I could force my way in quietly, he thought. 

He pulled a small piece of wire from his pocket, a shoddy lock-pick. Unlocking the door would be the only way he could make sure he wasn't heard.

Quinn jiggled the wire around, getting a feel for the mechanism inside. The wire itself was quite weak so he only had one shot getting in. He slowly worked on picking the lock. Keeping most of his focus on the task whilst still listening for any approaching footsteps. He couldn't risk being caught, the prisons were so full, the guard would kill anyone for petty crimes. Rats like Quinn wouldn't even get a trial.

Click

The lock released and the door creaked slightly as it opened. Quinn smiled but quickly recollected his focus, he couldn't afford to mess up now.

Quinn pushed the door open further, before he could lay his eyes upon the interior, his nose was met with the comforting aroma of bread and other baked goods. The shop was quite small, though it was closed, the smell hung in the air as if ghosts were still working the oven.

Ghosts... best to keep thoughts of spirits out of my head. Testing my luck is the last thing I need, Quinn thought to himself as he crept over the wooden floor. The people of the slums had warned him that thinking of the supernatural would invoke unwanted spirits and cause a curse to be placed on him.

He inched closer to the glass display cabinet, where there sat two loaves of bread and a small strawberry tart. Quinn salivated at the thought of eating them. He reached around and opened the latch. The slightly rusty hinge let out a slight cry as he moved it. 

He gingerly reached into the cabinet and snatched a tart. His eyes filled with glee as the sweet aroma hit his nostrils. He closed the cabinet and turned around.

The air turned cold, the sound of his chewing seemed to consume the shop. Quinn stared in disbelief, his chest tightened and his pulse quickened. The shadows in front of him began to morph and take form. A figure dressed in a leather trench coat stepped out from the smokey darkness. A speck of light glinted from the gold adorning the man's gauntlets, his face was hidden by the darkness of the hood he wore, Quinn couldn't make out anything apart from a single glowing red eye on the right side of the man's face. 

Quinn's mind ran rampant with fear, golden gauntlets? A red eye? Could it really be him?

Before Quinn could process what was happening, the man spoke. His voice carried a chill that froze Quinn in place. 

"It seems the rat ran straight into the trap."

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Andrius Mawn stared at the cowering child before him. Mawn's face was devoid of emotion. He gave nothing of his intentions away to the child.

Mawn regarded the boy with a look of distain. "Clumsy, much too clumsy".

He stepped forward and lifted the boy by the shirt, "However, your work was better than most of the other rats in this filth-ridden hole, I'll give you that much, but your greediness was your downfall. If the store's owner was still alive, he would have beat you to death when you opened that cabinet". Mawn's cold voice cut through the boy's confidence.