The Horseman of Calamity

Chapter 18 - House of Cards

Daki awoke early in the morning in her dark alleyway, the smell of rotting garbage consisting of food, clothes, and general waste being the only lingering presence in the air. The stench was incredibly unpleasant but it was a smell she had grown well accustomed to at this point. She lived in the poorer section of Illutia, being homeless means not being allowed to stay within the luxurious inner parts during the nights. That was a rule that all of the lower class citizens knew, they were unable to contribute to the wealth of the city in a major way and thus had no use. She wiped her face before slowly getting up and grabbing her sack of belongings before walking towards the further outskirts closer to the wilderness. It had been about two weeks since she last bathed and now her own body odor was getting too strong. She knew she wouldn't be able to attract any well-paying customers if she didn't maintain a semblance of her former beauty to a degree. She made her way away from the inner city traveling on the smaller and less popular streets, despite being in constant need of money, she couldn't afford to make money constantly anymore. Her stomach was now swollen to a decent degree, being clearly visible as it poked through her clothing. Her pregnancy often turned away many men but that didn't matter to her much, she'd still make money one way or another. After a peaceful hour of walking, she was out in the wilderness, the local guard nodded to her as she passed him to which she waved back. Soon enough, the noxious fumes emitted from the city were pushed back by the smell of damp soil and sweet succulent vegetation as she found herself surrounded by nothing by the presence of the earth. As she approached the water's edge, she peered into the still and surprisingly clear water, the body of water itself was a small pond being filtered in from by a nearby creek. The sound of the water gently trickling down and into the pond was incredibly soothing to the ears, creating a tranquil secluded zone. Her own face was then reflected back to her, showing a slightly tired and decently beautiful woman. Her sharp eyes were still baggy and her short bleached hair still in a jumbled mess, she tried smiling to cheer herself up but looking at her several missing teeth made her retract the smile pretty quickly. After undressing herself, she slowly waded into water whilst holding her stomach.

"I'm sorry I can't get anything for you right now, but just wait, I'll work to get you more food." She gently whispered as she rubbed her stomach.

She managed to clean herself for a few minutes before her pangs began hitting, her body was craving once again. Her body began shaking as she quickly left the water, throwing her clothes back on before she was even fully dry as she ran back to Illutia.

Mahmoud, Delly, and Goray had gone in an opposite direction from where their friends had gone. Not that it mattered much to them, Meo and Nacara dashed way ahead of them with Hung and disappeared from sight the moment they had reached the city. Going to a different section of Illutia, the three made their way to the merchant's sector, a part of the city full to the brim of all manner related to wares and goods. Strangely enough, the majority of the guilds also seemed to have set up their shops here. Of course there were several different merchant's guilds but also craftsmen guilds as well as mercenary guilds. At one point, they passed an especially popular building, with hundreds of people trying to get in or at least get a peep inside. The big sign above the building made it clear what it was, it was one of the big three hunter guilds, Tarakona.

As they walked though, they drew a lot of unwanted attention from the other shoppers and shop owners. Delly's presence seemed to unease most of the shopkeepers and shoppers alike while Goray's disfigured body freaked everyone out. The fact that Bob continually lingered on Mahmoud's shoulders didn't help to ease their strange appearance either. The group of three stuck out very brightly against the rest of the dull and average looking people.    

"I wanted to go with Nacara, man..." Mahmoud whined as he tossed around a sack with some valuables he had collected.

"Oh relax, man, I'll bet you she's probably gotten herself into a fight already." Delly chuckled, he carried most of their bulk goods in his backpack.