The man dismounted his jet-black horse; it’s hoof pawing into the ash-covered dirt road, in what once was the main market. Stacks of smoke towered up into the already smoggy sky as he looked around the burning village. He put the sleeve of his coat up to his mouth and inhaled, trying not to cough. The flames had mostly died down and people could be seen, sitting in the remains of their homes clutching to what was left of them.
He slowly walked through the entire village looking at each person until he reached one of the only buildings that wasn’t completely demolished, The Messenger Inn. Inside it was as if the fire had never happened, the copper wallpaper was still intact, minus some soot in the corners, and all the lights still emitted their soft glow. The only difference was the destruction of some of the interior and the tables in the dining room were filled with, what now were, homeless people. Most of the heads lifted, revealing tear streaked faces, after hearing the sound of the mysterious man’s heavy footsteps. He slowly ran his eyes over the small crowd; a scowl formed on his face when he realized what he was looking for wasn’t here.
“Excuse me,” His gruff voice resonated throughout the tiny room, catching everyone’s attention. He pulled back the flap of his coat to reveal a Royal crest. “I would like to know what happened here.”
A young lady looked up at him, pushing her hair back away from her eyes, and spoke up in a raspy voice, “I-in the middle of the night a bunch of p-pirates came-“
A man, most likely her husband, cut her off. “They were urchins!”
“Y-yes,” she replied, tears building up in the corners of her eyes, “a bunch of urchins ‘n jest started settin' our crops on fire an' bombin' our homes. Soon they crawled down an' started lootin’ ev'rythin'; then, suddenly, they jest lef'…”
“Does anyone know why they left and which way they went?” A bunch of the younger people started to speak up all at the same time. The man tried to keep his voice calm. “One at a time, one at a time!”
A little girl raised her hand and started to speak, “I saw ‘em come in ‘ere right before they left!”
“Me too!” An elderly man in the back spoke up. “Af'er comin’ ‘ere they came out wit two yo'ng’ns, a fella n’ gal, an' lef' fo' their ship!”
“Did one of them look like this?” He pulled out a slip of paper from his coat and unfolded it to reveal a young man with white blonde hair and eerie silver eyes.
“Na’ th' fella had black hair an’ ah didn’t git a fine look at his eyes.” He shrugged his shoulders in apology. ”But, th' gal she had this long, deep red hair an’ ah reckon she had a metal arm?”
“ah saw th' arm an' it was completely metal !” A small boy piped up.
The boy next to him hit him on the back of the head. “Well no duh doofus they were in ‘ere weren’t they!”
“Boys stop talkin’!” A robust woman turned to the man. “So’ry about that. I think they went in that direction.”
The man nodded and headed upstairs, finding the room in which the two people stayed in; he inspected the wings hanging near the balcony along with the rest of the room. Soon after he walked outside, a scowl still pearched on his lips, grabbing the small device attached to his hip. Turning it on he tuned into a frequency.
“Hey.” He heard the static buzz of a man speak through the machine.
“Will,” the man stated, “I gotta job for you, come pick me up.”
He turned the machine off and mounted his horse, waiting for his ride to approach.
ΔΙΑΒΑΖΕΙΣ
Mechanical Heart
ΤυχαίοOn Alicia's 7th birthday her parents got into a terrible carriage accident, and died. She should've died as well but one of her father's friends, Harold Crane, saved her. But everything pays a price; for her to be able to live she has given up her h...
