Tenberis Mundus (The Dark World)

Chapter Four: The City

Alli had gotten to the city, it had a dirt road,and a few old wood buildings.Alli was looking for his friend, a cati by the name of jas radan. Cati are another race that you won't find in a typical village, except for in the Serid empire. They are smaller than most, About

five and a half feet tall. Skin is covered in fur, they also have a cat-like face.

They have typical cat ears, and razor sharp claws. And yes, they purr.

So they seem like they wouldn't be any problem in a normal village, but they tend to be very susceptible to addiction, usually certain kinds of mint leaves , but also other things like alcohol. They are also very quiet if they don't want to be found, they won't be.

Alli silently walked through town, he was still working through the loss of his family.

He would need to live with his friend, jas for a while.

Alli walked up to the house, it was also an old beat down shack. A few holes rotted into the floor, vines growing up the front.This is a common theme in the Serid empire.

They tax their people so harshly, mixed with the poor weather and soil, that they don't have anything to maintain their homes.

Alli knocked on the door, And said "Jas! Jas are you there?".

Jas walked to the door and opened it,he saw that it was Alli and let him in.

"Alli! What are you doing here?"Jas said.

"The Orks, The Damn orks!" Alli said in a sorrowful tone.

"No, don't tell me they-"Jas was cut off by Alli.

"There dead the damn Orks! Killed them!"Alli said, his voice was showing anger now.

"Come inside Alli, then we can talk."Jas said.

Alli walked inside, and sat down on one of the chairs in the house. "So why'd you come here?" Jas asked.

"You were the only person i know, the only one left!"Alli said, trying not to cry.

"I'm sorry for your loss."Jas said in an empathetic tone.

"Thank you Jas."Alli said. "You can stay here as long as you need Alli."Jas said

Alli walked out of sight into a dark room off to the left.

Jas said to himself"Poor kid, I know how it feels to lose a loved one. but this is different."

"He just needs time. This kind of loss damages not only the mind, but also the soul."

Jas got back to work, the tax collectors would be there in a few weeks.

The next morning Alli felt a little bit better, even though he didn't get any sleep.

He got up off of the straw bed, and went to find Jas. Alli walked to the stables, because that was where Jas worked. He found Jas in a room milking a Seriti Python.

If you haven't seen them, seritius pythons are a large snake, almost six feet long. and highly venomous.In Fact, it is so deadly that with one drop it can kill multiple orks. The snakes are also very smart, almost as smart as dogs.

Alli walked up to him and said "Jas, what are you doing?"

"Working." Jas responded, as he guided the serpent to the bottle

"But what are you doing?"Alli asked.

"I'm milking the Python for her venom."Jas said, as if he wanted the conversation to end. "But why Jas?" Alli persisted.

"This is my Seritius python, its venom is extremely toxic. So toxic that one drop can kill five Orks, Making it extremely valuable."Jas explained.

"But aren't Orks immune to poison?"Alli asked.

"Not this poison." Jas said.

Jas looked up at Alli, his best friend.Alli had just suffered the loss of his family, and he could do nothing but watch, he was broken, his soul was damaged. Jas knew this kind of pain, a wound that no magic can heal. "He just needs time."Jas thought to himself.

"Do you need help with anything?"Alli asked.

Alli wanted to help, or do something to take his mind off of his tragedy.

"You don't need to do anything Alli, what you need is rest."Jas said.

"Alright."Alli said. Then walked back inside to rest.

The next three days were Painfully Boring, to sum it up, Alli sunk deeper into depression, as Jas worked to meet the taxes Alli contemplated his choices.

The next day Jas had everything ready, there was a loud Banging noise coming from the door.Jas let out an annoyed sigh." There here."he said under his breath.

Jas walked over to the door, and opened it .Three armed Guards wearing the standard military uniforms, Steel plate armor, and a Blue cloak, with a golden crown painted on it.

"Jas Rodan! You are due for your monthly tax!" the guard demanded.

Jas turned around, and walked to the table, and grabbed the bottle of venom.

He then walked back to the door, and handed the venom to the guard.

"What is this?" the guard asked, his voice muffled by his helmet.

"This is Seriti venom."Jas said in an unenthusiastic tone.

The guard, seemingly the captain opened his helm, and uncorked the bottle.

He raised it to his face, and sniffed it.

The guard repulsed at the strong odor, immediately put the cork back on.

He handed it to the other guard, and said

"Yeah, that's real! Our business is do-" he stopped mid sentence, and looked into the house.he spotted Alli. "You will need to double for that one."he said, pointing at Alli.

"But that was all I had."Jas said.

"So you can't pay?"the guard asked.

"No... that was all." Jas replied.

"This is your house... Correct?" the guard asked.

"Yes."Jas replied in a confused tone.

The guard stepped into the house, and locked eyes onto Alli.

He walked to him, and said "Peasant! You failed to pay your Contribute to the King!"

With that the guard grabbed Alli and started taking him to the door.

Alli gave little resistance to this, and was soon out the door and in the cart.

Jas knew there was nothing he could do, he had to watch as his only friend was dragged away, Jas's parents are dead, the last memory of them was them being taken by the Guard. After that day he was alone, Alli was the closest thing to family he had left. Alli was still trying to get over his loss, and was silent in the back of the cart.