Chapter 1 - Denzil
Once upon a time… I think that’s how these cheesy stories usually start out. I wouldn’t know, though. I’ve never actually read one. But I’ve heard them, you know. Not the way you’ve heard them, I’m sure. My friends from my hometown told them all the time, but they didn’t seem like the girly princess stuff I’m hearing now. I suppose it can’t be helped really. No story is told the same way twice.
My life is sorta like a twisted fairy tail, in a good way, though. The way things are going, I might be on top in a few years… but a witch was never part of my plan…
The Rat’s Den is an old town. It’s loaded with criminals and scumbags. If you’re not either of the two, you obviously don’t live there. I happen to be the first, but not full time of course.
The Rat’s Den is my hometown, which I visit frequently. I’m actually a knight from the nearby kingdom of Umbrana. I don’t exactly live there either, but there’s a room in the castle with my name on it, so I guess you could say that I do.
I was walking through the Rat’s Den, my usual peppy aura residing around me. I received happy waves from those I knew, and even those I didn’t. However, the strangers’ waves looked more like rude hand gestures. They probably were, but it’s a little hard to tell with only one eye.
I was still on a sharp lookout, though. My weapon, a large axe titled Evangeline, was strapped to my back as usual. When in the Rat’s Den, you were likely to get jumped at a moment’s notice. A person without a hope for self defense was likely to die from the beating they received.
I continued walking, my cockiness beginning to take over. I was less on guard now, and focusing more on where the heck I was going. I still had no idea where I was headed. A few possibilities sifted through my mind, but I eventually settled on Notra Mirovich’s house.
Notra Mirovich was a mafia boss who essentially controlled the entire city through her organization called Zashchita Syndicate, or just the Syndicate for short. Basically, she was the boss of all the toughest and most deadly fighters in town, me among them. Her house was huge, and it was where most of her subordinates lived. She even had her own bar!
I shifted my path towards the road leading to Notra’s home. The road was usually crowded, but today it was nearly empty. The very few people I did see only ducked their heads and started walking faster, always away from Notra’s place. The only possibility that occurred in my mind was that there had been an attack on the Syndicate.
Attacks on the Syndicate weren’t as rare these days as they used to. Rumors were spreading constantly about new organizations popping up all over the Rat’s Den and teaming up to take down Notra. It was almost as if none of them realized that over half the city depended on the Syndicate for work, food and shelter. Even if we did do a few (okay, maybe more than a few) shady things, it was wrong to force Notra into disbanding the Rat’s Den’s biggest mafia.
I picked up my pace instantly and broke out into a run. I had to get to Notra’s as soon as I could. Even if there wasn’t an attack going on, it was almost five o’ clock.
The syndicate base soon loomed over the horizon, resting like always as the edge of the city. What caught my attention first was the smell of smoke and blood. Other familiar scents mingled in, mostly those of people, but the smell of blood was so overpowering, it was hard to focus on anything else.
To me, smelling is like seeing. If I suddenly lost my sense of smell, it would be like a normal person randomly going blind. I depend on my sense of smell more than I do eyesight, even. But it’d still suck if I lost my eye, don’t get me wrong.
