Perytos’ feet hit the cobbled road with a dull Clank. He regained his balance. After looking around the dark alley, he cursed silently.

  The dead-end located behind the inn wasn’t empty; Young thugs stood there, warming themselves from a small fire. They held wooden pipes, filled with dried berries. The cinders shone slightly in the dark. The smoke coming from the devices made Perytos slightly woozy; he felt more focused, but his vision dimmed at the edges.

  Usually that wouldn’t be a problem; usually they would have just gone their own way. But when two teenagers fell into a dark alley, with a hardened criminal shouting behind them about money, the group clung to opportunity like a fly to dung.

  Callum and Mercel, who jumped from the window first, already begun slowly backing off. They shimmied slightly back, step after step, while they eyed the thugs with suspicion. If the group decided to catch them, they couldn’t do anything about it.

  On average, most people reached tier two easily; the more talented and dedicated ones got to tier three with a bit more effort. This meant that against adults, they stood no chance. The only reason they got away from the den of criminals at the inn was because they were already drunk, and because they had the element of surprise.

  As it was meant to be, one of the men warming up at the campfire moved. One moment his hands rubbed against each other, his mouth breathing in caustic smoke, the next he stood a few steps away from Perytos.

  The man was young, but life took a heavy toll on him. It added him years; his beard was jagged, his dark hair clung together in dirty clumps. The only thing decent about him was his coat; the heavy piece of fabric looked clean and well kept.

  “Oi, whelp. What are you doin’ here in our spot? This is our square.” The man said, stoking the embers in his pipe.

  “Sorry, we were just passing by. Don’t mind us.” Perytos quickly responded, shutting Callum up with his hand before the teen could say something stupid.

  This didn’t sit well with the stranger. He inhaled from his pipe again and began coughing. The sound was a wretched thing. Half-alive wheezes filled the alley. Just as Perytos thought the man would keel over and die, he did something else.

  A soft light bloomed, crimson in color. The light washed the man’s throat from the inside- Just like that, the coughing stopped. As if nothing happened, the man continued.

  “Sure, I get that whelp, but you know, I have my gang to feed. Those still-mind droplets won’t buy themselves, right? So, you understand, I’m gonna need your money. It’s nothing personal, just business.” He flashed a quick, twitchy smile.

  Underneath the smiling facade, Perytos saw something else. Instead of triumph, he saw a deep sadness. Buried so far in the back of the mind, even the gang leader didn’t notice. He saw a man pushed to the brink, trying to provide for his only family, while dealing with an addiction. Perytos let it be.

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  His head slumped halfway in shame, halfway in pity for the man in front of him. This was on him; he had chosen the inn, he had decided it would be okay to stay there. Now he would pay for it. With slightly trembling fingers from the cold, he pulled out the leather pouch. When he untied the knot, the gang leader’s eyes glinted in greed and hunger.

  Just as he was handing the man two medium-sized coins, a light flashed. The light of a lantern. It came from the entrance to the alleyway. Metal clinked and grounded on hard leather. It was a beacon of hope- The city guard.

  “Show yourself! Wilson, you right bastard, what did I tell you! I’ll break you in half!”

  The gang leader in front of him flinched in fear; his eyes widened in terror. The weight of broken bones and bruises carried him as he scrambled back. He looked like a cornered animal. His friends didn’t wait a second. In a feat of athleticism, they jumped over the wall blocking the alley. Only the sound of a flapping cloak in the night was left.

  That just left the guard. Callum trembled in fear, while Mercel was nowhere to be seen. Probably camouflaged, not that it would help.

  The guard was tall, not much taller than Perytos but still imposing. He donned full-body armor, his chest and legs covered by silver-colored plates. Perytos' eyes widened when he saw what the man was wielding in his hand. A claymore, and he holds it with one hand. It was a mark of formidable strength.

  In his inspection, he didn't hear what the guard said. After a moment the guard repeated himself.

  "Are you in need of protection, citizens? Those scoundrels snuck up on you, didn't they?" He asked in a low voice.

  "Yes thank you, we were beginning to get worried. Do you believe they tried to rob us, just like that?" Callum quickly jumped in to answer.

  Before the guard formed a response, he pointed at the empty street, where just a lonely campfire flickered out. “Yeah, the gangs have been getting more and more daring. That man in the cloak is well known to us.”

  With a nod from Perytos, their savior continued. "It truly is a shame that this has happened to you. Our duty as guards requires us to patrol the streets. Even then, we cannot see everything." He shook his head as if ashamed. For some reason Perytos begun having doubts about the man, his Survival instinct thrumming lowly. It was saying- Be wary.

  "If someone would... I don't know, maybe give a donation to the brave defenders of, Netcore, than we could avoid situations like these." His voice was now firm, holding the weight of a sword behind it.

  He gave his giant sword an absentminded swirl, almost as if it didn’t exist.

  “We can either do this the easy way, or the hard way. The second ends with you in jail, nursing crushed bones.”

  The bastard just saved us to take the money for himself! Perytos wanted to confront the man, but looking at the claymore, he reigned in his righteous fury.

  Mercel didn’t have such dilemmas. His bestial growls surprised the scummy guard. The Lykani shook visibly from fury. As a being bound by honor, it was only natural. The guard chuckled nervously and gave another twirl. Perytos had to hold down Mercel so the wolf wouldn’t get himself killed.

  Perytos sighed; he was too tired to deal with all of this. He gave in. As the guard eyed the money in his hand with glee, they quickly left the alley.

  Perytos’ exhaustion mixed in with disappointment. He expected people to be more decent. Especially in these hard times- They just held back a siege for god’s sake! Too bad, he was mistaken. In the end, everyone would walk over them the first chance they got. The only true salvation was strength.

  Their walk of shame took them to a cleaner part of town. The inns and taverns didn’t look filthy anymore, just grieving. It was also more expensive. After hearing another exorbitant price, Perytos just handed the last of his hard-earned money without a word.

  When they got to their joint room, they all just collapsed. The adrenaline and fear left them; what remained was just real, bone-deep exhaustion.

  That night, Perytos slept dreamless, with Mercel coiled up beside him.