Re:Creation Book 1: Allegiance

Three

"Get back here!"

Telk pushed his way through the bustling Pontel marketplace, weaving through hundreds of patrons, merchants, and stalls. Dangling at his waist was a bag full of stolen food, as well as merchandise he'd planned to resell. At the last stall he'd taken his fill from, Telk had the misfortune of being spotted by a local officer who now chased him through the market.

Telk was surprised that the officer was able to keep up with him so well. The marketplace was rather busy that day so it wouldn't be easy for a man as large as the officer to get through all the people. Not only that, but Telk was much faster than an average person; however the amount of people he had to dodge also proved as a hindrance to him.

From up ahead, two more officers who had heard the commotion hurried in Telk's direction. Telk, however, was used to being in such desperate situations and knew exactly what to do. He ducked low to the ground, immediately blending in with the surrounding crowd, and began to slowly double back. Using his cover, he managed to sneak behind one of the merchants' stalls, and from there, past the first guard. A quick look behind him showed Telk that all of the officers were confused by his sudden "disappearance," much to Telk's own amusement. It would take much more than three simple guards to catch him.

Telk squeezed through a small opening in a nearby wooden fence, emerging in a narrow space between two buildings with a young sapling growing in the center of the patch of land. He sat down, leaning up against the fence next to the opening he entered and opened his leather bag. The bag was of a much higher quality than he could afford, and was one of the first things he ever stole. After years of use, it was now so worn down that it looked like something one would expect a street rat like Telk to own.

He pulled out a large piece of bread and eagerly wolfed it down, far too hungry to take the time to savor it. Next, he pulled out a pouch half filled with water and took a quick gulp - just enough to wash the dry bread down. Before placing the cap back on, Telk crawled over to the small tree and poured a little of the water at its base, giving it a drink as well. Safe drinking water wasn't easy for him to come by, so he didn't want to use too much, but he could tell the sapling needed a drink as much as he did. Securing the remainder of his water, Telk went back to sifting through his bag, accidentally pushing one of its contents out and onto the ground with all his digging.

The item that had fallen out was an average sized book with a solid, light gray cover. On the front was a silver marking in the shape of a spiral that nearly blended in with the cover itself. There was no title on the book, nor author, and all the words inside were in a strange language that Telk had no hope of reading, as he couldn't even read the common language. Telk had found the book among the ruins in his former village only a few days prior, so he held onto it as a memento of his former home, despite having no real use for the book itself. He also couldn't help but feel as if the book was special. Telk had no idea what it was, but he felt as though something was pulling him and the book together - like it was something he had to hold onto.

And so he did.

Scooping the book up off of the ground, Telk placed it back into his bag and pulled out a large orange in its stead. He was about to resume his eating when he was distracted by shouting from somewhere nearby.

"Another thief?!"

"Catch him and find his friend from before!"

Telk immediately recognized the voices as the officers that had chased him through the marketplace. Stricken by curiosity, Telk tucked the orange back into his bag and peered out of the gap in the fence to see a boy roughly his age hurtling down the road. Telk couldn't see the officers, but judging by the boy's slight limp, they were sure to catch him easily. The sight was more than enough to strike a pang of sympathy from within Telk. Surely against his better judgement, Telk leaned out of the opening of the fence and gestured towards the boy.