The city shone like a beacon in the night. Easy for merchant ships to see and easy for pirates too. Orange brick roofs dotted the horizon before Tycon as he made his way down crowded streets, trying his best to be ignored. The common folk of Selenicar all seemed to be drunk and dressed formally in tight, clean suits as well as largely exaggerated dresses. He wondered what the occasion was. It wasn''t long before he found out.


    Observing the stone buildings above him, Tycon saw a large banner tied between them, hanging over the street below. The words on the banner read ''Sea of The Fallen Star Festival''. He raised an eyebrow and wondered what it meant. He assumed it was some sort of local festivity. The revelation came with deep-seeded worry. The streets were crowded and finding their targets would be somewhat more difficult. Not only that, there was a larger chance of collateral damage if things got out of hand. It came off as an unlucky coincidence that such a festivity would be happening now. He wasn''t sure how long it would last and certainly didn''t have time to wait it out.


    A sudden cold sea breeze blew Tycon''s blonde hair from his face, accompanied by a pleasant salty scent. He shivered and cupped his hands in his armpits. Music echoed through every street corner and became louder through each step. Soon he arrived at another city square, though this one was much smaller than the one near the tavern. Instead of a clocktower, there was a ballroom floor spread in the middle with a young couple pressed together, dancing slowly to the rhythm of a nearby band.


    Sitting on a bench and watching the couple intently was Balin, sipping at a bottle of beer. He was no longer dressed in his armor but instead wore a simple brown shirt and boots with navy-blue trousers. He wasn''t armed either. Clearly, he wanted to dabble in the festivities while he could. Tycon couldn''t blame him, they had a lot of work to do the following morning. Tycon approached him with a wave, Balin noticed and a smile crept on his wet lips.


    "Look at you, still dressed and ready for battle I see," He said, sarcastically.


    Tycon glanced down at himself and shrugged.


    "Didn''t bring an extra set of clothes."


    Balin laughed and gestured to the bench he sat on.


    "Take a seat with me?" He asked, sipping his beer.


    Tycon accepted his offer and sat next to the burly man. Balin reached down into a crate and removed a bottle.


    "Want a beer?" He asked.


    Tycon shook his head.


    "Fair enough... You don''t talk much do you?"


    "I talk more than Grey at least."


    Balin let out another short laugh and took another sip of his beer, still looking to the young couple dancing before them. They sat in silence for a moment watching. Occasionally other couples walking hand in hand would stop and watch too, the women looking to their suitors expectedly. Tycon decided to break the silence.


    "Where''s Evaline?" Tycon asked.


    Balin''s expression suddenly grew dark and he took another sip of beer.


    "She and I had a fight, so she''s back at the tavern doing god knows what."


    "A fight? What, are you guys a thing?"


    Balin nodded without a word. A few moments later he spoke.


    "She was going on about how this was too dangerous and that it''ll take forever and blah blah blah," He said, his voice low.


    "Well she is right," Tycon admitted.


    "I know, but the pay is good. We need it."


    "How did you guys meet?"


    Balin''s face lit up and he smiled suddenly.


    "Well, it''s a funny story actually," He paused to take another sip, "I was taking this bounty, right?."


    Tycon nodded.


    "And she had also taken the same one. I tracked him to this sewer in the capital, disgusting place. Then I found her vomiting by the entrance. I asked if she was okay and she gave me this funny look."


    Balin stopped and mimicked the look Evaline had given him. Tycon couldn''t help but laugh at the clearly exaggerated and silly face Balin made. He continued.


    "She said, and I quote ''I was beginning to feel better until I saw you''. Long story short, we decided to take the bounty together and we''ve traveled ever since. The rest is history."


    Tycon couldn''t help but smile. Personally, he couldn''t imagine traveling with another but it was good to learn first hand, the positive side to it. Though he would rather avoid internal conflict like the plague. Still, he respected Balin for doing something he couldn''t and to him, it sounded like a match made in heaven. A very small part of him was envious.


    "What are your plans once you make it big?" Tycon asked.


    "I want to settle down with Evaline, maybe start a family. We''ve spoken of it before and she seemed keen on the idea."


    Tycon reached for a beer in the crate by Balin''s feet and twisted the top off with a hiss. He couldn''t help but respect Balin''s aspirations and the best way he could show it was to drink something he hated. The two clanked the bottles together and Balin spoke.


    "Cheers to the future."The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.


    And without hesitation, they drank.


    * * * * * * * * * *


    The two men walked clumsily on the still-crowded streets, trying their best to weave through the traffic and not cause any problems. Most people ignored them, thankfully, whereas some would glance at them with a disapproving scowl. Tycon guessed it was because of how poorly they were dressed, he found it rather amusing.


    According to Balin, the festival was to celebrate the construction of the city because it was built over the site of a fallen star. It all seemed very fairytale-like to Tycon and likely not true. Though he kept that to himself, he didn''t want to bring too much attention to himself by speaking absolute blasphemy.


    As they walked through the city streets, the lights changed color. From blue to red and red to green. Each street seemed to have a distinctive color, a common choice for festivals and to Tycon it gave the city a little more flavor. Balin walked ahead, using his large frame to spread the crowd with Tycon sticking close. He was glad Balin was with him or getting through the crowds would have been a nightmare.


    From the corner of his eye, Tycon noticed a man peeking out from an alleyway. With his suspicions aroused, he decided to investigate. Suddenly drawn to the odd behavior he neglected to tell Balin and before long he was pressed against the wall just outside the dark alley. He hoped to drown out the sound of the crowds and eavesdrop but it proved to be impossible.


    He decided to move on in and reluctantly slipped into the alley, sticking close to the shadows. He crouched and hid behind a stack of barrels. Straining his eyes, he saw silhouettes of three figures standing close to one another further in the alley. Obscured by the shadows, they appeared to be in deep conversation but Their body language gave off the impression it was more of a low argument than a conversation. He couldn''t quite hear what they were saying but occasionally a few words were discernable. Duchess and assassin were the only words of note, he could make out.


    Duchess. Assassin.


    Suddenly an intense cold dread rushed through him, from his head to his feet as he pieced together what he heard. He feared he had just stumbled into a conspiracy plot to assassinate the Duchess of Selenicar. He poked his head back out from behind the barrels once more and to his horror, all three of the silhouettes were now facing him. One of them pointing in his direction. A rush of adrenaline burst through him as he quickly sprung back toward the exit of the alley but was stopped in his tracks by another man that had been standing behind him.


    Tycon slowly locked eyes with him and a menacing grin spread upon the man''s face. His eyes were shaded black and that was all he needed to see to figure out the identity of the man before him.


    Jinx.


    Tycon backed away slowly, hearing the muddled footsteps of the men behind him. He reached for his daggers but was suddenly pulled back and his arms became locked in place behind him. He wriggled and struggled but was met with a sharp blow to the head. He could feel the warm wet blood seep down the side of his skull, the pain ringing in his ears.


    "Fuck!"


    Jinx approached him, walking slowly. His head tilting side to side as he observed Tycon.


    "Well, well, well. If it isn''t a bounty hunter," Jinx said, his voice and tone didn''t suit the man, sounding more high class than he appeared.


    Tycon spat at him but Jinx didn''t react, he simply reached up and wiped the saliva from his face. Not breaking his gaze on him.


    "Disgusting. Did your mother not teach you any manners?"


    Jinx grabbed him by the chin, smiling and peered at him, his amber eyes were intense and he didn''t shift his gaze or blink.


    "Did you think, I didn''t know who you were?" Jinx asked.


    "I don''t give a shit," Tycon replied.


    Jinx let out a cackle, as did the men behind Tycon. Jinx''s expression quickly shifted and his eyebrows arched. A sharp intense pain suddenly smacked Tycon''s jaw as his head moved to one side. Tycon panted and spat blood. He knew that he was in a very bad situation. He tried his best to subtly glance around for a means of escape but nothing caught his eye.


    What a way to die, murdered by thugs in a fucking alley.


    Another punch connected with his face followed by a surge of pain, more intense than the last.


    Tycon looked up, to see Jinx shaking his fist.


    "Got a hard face, don''t you?" He said, with a laugh, "Now," He looked to the men behind Tycon, "Kill him."


    Jinx swiped his daggers and studied them closely then nodded. Slipping them into his belt, he left silently, his steps slowly fading from the alleyway. Another man holding a wooden bat in his black, gloved hands shortly came into Tycon''s line of sight. He knew what was coming next, though he didn''t get a chance to finish the thought as darkness crept into his eyes with a snap.


    * * * * * * * * * * *


    "Tycon? Are you okay? What the fuck did you do?"


    A sharp intense pain spread through his temples as he tried desperately to clear his vision. Amidst the blur he could make out the shape of Balin, he was hard to miss, even when practically blind. He saw Balin standing over him, not facing toward him but to something out of his line of sight. He was holding a bat, Tycon wasn''t sure if it was the same one that knocked him out cold or not. Regardless he found comfort knowing that he had backup.


    Tycon tried to rise to his feet, leaning on the alley wall for support but stumbled. Balin glanced over at him and reached a hand down, Tycon gratefully took it and let Balin pull him to his feet. His vision hadn''t quite cleared yet but he shifted his gaze toward where Balin was facing and saw the three thugs with their wooden bats in hand. Tycon concluded he hadn''t been out for too long, five minutes at least.


    Immediately he searched anxiously for his daggers then remembered they had been taken by Jinx.


    Shit!


    He was unarmed and in a daze. He had no choice but to rely on Balin to get out of this safely. Tycon felt like an idiot, he should''ve just stuck with him instead of wandering off on his own. Now he was dragged into a bad situation along with Tycon. Luckily for him though, Balin was a big guy and could probably take these guys on without breaking a sweat.


    The three thugs stood side by side, trembling as Balin stepped over to them. Tycon watched as their heads rose to look him in the eyes. One of the thugs dropped his weapon and ran the other way, while the other two stood their ground. That soon proved to be a big mistake as one of the thugs suddenly lunged at Balin. He didn''t dodge but instead grabbed the thugs bat and pulled it from his hand. The other thug jumped in to help his friend but Balin simply put a hand over his face and slammed it into the nearby wall. The now-unarmed thug fell on his backside, looking to his unconscious friend and shaking.


    "Leave your friend and get the fuck out of here!" Balin shouted.


    the thug quickly got to his feet and ran the other way. Balin turned back to Tycon, frowning.


    "You okay? What happened?"


    "You''ll never guess," Tycon panted, wincing at his throbbing head, "But I just had a run in with Jinx."


    Balin''s eyes widened.


    "You''re kidding!" He shot a glance over to the other side of the alley, then sighed, "Fucker got away."


    "I overheard something that you''re gonna wanna hear."


    "What?" Balin asked.


    "How about I tell you back at the tavern. That way I can tell Evaline too."


    Balin nodded and grabbed Tycon''s arm, helping him walk.


    The walk back was slow, yet, uneventful. The streets were still littered, the music still echoed throughout them and the two still got dirty looks from the locals. Now it was up to Tycon to recover and the three to figure out their next move and uncover the conspiracy before tragedy struck.