Valiant

The Needs of the Many

Systemar was a beautiful country, full of art, music, and writing. It also contained the largest market in Scivern, Roitan Cax, in the common tongue, meaning "Greatest One," because that's what it was. Roitan Cax itself might have been a city, but the people rathered that it remain a market. Roads led in and out to every city for trade and sightseeing. It was made out of marble and polished stone, making it stunning at sunset, and deadly at night.

Kora made her way nimbly through the slowly dimming streets. Eyes ahead, mind your own business; those were the rules of the street. She managed to get passed the fruit vender easily enough, but by the animal trainer it got more difficult.

A dozen or so tourists gawked openly at a so called, "Dragon." Fools, if you show interest in anything at Roitan Cax you'd be leaped on by another 100 venders trying to sell their awful product. Roitan Cax was like spoiled milk, good from the outside, terrible on the inside.

It was also a trap. Most people came here believing that they'd have a chance at a fresh start, and you did, in exchange for your life. When people were looking to grow a business, they came here, but when they saw the hopeless venders, they thought, oh, it's these people's faults that they are where they are, desperately selling to tourists. But in truth, they'd become just like them, desperate, hopeless, willing to spend their lives selling for copper, or turn to crime.

And then there were the problems. Roitan Cax was a market, not a city, meaning it had no city guard, meaning crime littered the street. Plague was also big, despite having med-men in the market. Roitan Cax was a beautiful, elaborate, death trap for the people who lived here.

Excepting those who knew how to exploit it. Kora was one of those people, able to scam and trick anyone who came her way. She was good on her toes, and was always looking poised. Mother said she was the best worker she had, and she sent her to do the hardest tasks.

Currently returning to one of those "hardest" tasks. Dodging and weaving between people in the slowly thinning crowd, she came ever closer to her destination. She'd learned, in her few years of experience, that people almost always suspected women of petty thievery, but never quite understood her true intentions.

To be fair to most people, she wasn't an average woman.

An extremely well concealed man followed her through the dark streets. She was aware of it of course; else she would be dead by now. Even so, she still lost him occasionally. He was good; even she had to admit that. Always staying away from the crowd, keeping her constantly in the worse position, if a fight happened to be imminent, he was a professional.

This meant Kora had to question who'd sent him. She quickly sifted through a mental list of gangs and mafias that had shares in their business, in case they'd forgotten to pay someone. It took a little bit. It was pretty long.

· The Ravens (Pretty shady people from Nottin)

· The Systemar Coalition (Sounds perfectly respectable...)

· The Border Revolution (Get out of politics!)