60th of Summer, 518 A.V.
Kelski set off early that morning. She wasn’t planning on opening the shop until later that day because Ebon had a day off and Kelski had just finished a major commissioned piece. Because she’d spent long hours in the shop working on it, the Kelvic needed a long walk and a way to clear her head and be out in the sunshine. Summer was beautiful. It almost made Sunberth seem like it wasn’t such a shithole. Grass grew green among the rubble and the mud had dried up to hard packed dirt. Walking was easy and the air was mostly clear because the smoke from the slag heap was trailing out to sea. Plots of more robust weeds sprouted towards the sky. Kelski assumed it was where bodies were buried and the slowly decaying flesh nourished the soil. At least the fluff of dandelions and scent of corpse daisies trumped the smell of death. The scene relaxed Kelski. The sunshine warmed her skin and she felt amazing with all of her injuries from the past season healed.
The Kelvic moved unencumbered by broken ribs, bruises or strains. She felt stronger because the Sea Eagle had fed herself better, with only fresh foods and clean water, and rested comfortably and deeply. The nutritious food and quality rest showed on her frame, with her muscles and flesh having filled in all the sickly hollows and filled out all the limbs. Her pale skin had a luminous glow to it that matched the keen intelligence in her sharp gaze. The Jeweler was on her way to The Seaside Market to do a bit of browsing. Ebon’s birthday was coming up in a few short days and she wanted to buy him some new things… clothing, a new warm blanket for winter, and maybe some catnip because someone had told her if she planted it around The Gem that the cats would love it and often relax when ingesting it in times they would otherwise be nervous. So with her short list and the need to get away from work a while, Kelski had set out.
She made it all the way to the market, started wandering through the vendors, and began to browse. Kelski hadn’t decided if she liked shopping or not. It was handy to have the place when she needed something, but the crowds were not to her taste. Especially on hot days, it seemed as though Sunberth’s denizens spilled out and all gathered together. The Seaside Market was a rough place, where cutthroats and pickpockets melted together with decent folk just trying to make a living all the while pretending they didn’t live where they did – in the heart of the biggest slum in Mizahar. Kelski disliked how the crowds flowed, elbowing each other, with people jostling and crowding around more popular booths and food sellers.
The scents alone were overwhelming unless you got downwind from someone baking bread or pies. Then those lovelier scents often covered over the unwashed bodies and the smell of fresh feces and urine that were everywhere. Kelski loved the city in the morning. The smells were fresher, new, and the crowds hadn’t had a chance to gather as thickly. However, since the day promised to be hot, the Kelvic was disappointed to see people out early. They too, evidently, knew the heat of the day would bake up the smells and make city living hard as the sun climbed into the sky.
Kelski approached a booth selling men’s’ clothing and began browsing the wares. She touched everything she was interested in, fingering the material for softness and sturdiness, trying to decide which kinds of britches and tunics Ebon would like. The kelvic unfolded a few, held them up, and compared the garment size with her knowledge of Ebon’s width and girth. Two she set aside and as she was reaching in her beltpouch for a coin or two to pay with, something whizzed by her ear. It was a startling sound, not like an insect, but something fiercer like a weapon but tiny. Kelski jerked up her head, looked around, and felt the bite of something on her neck.
Her hand immediately came up to look for a wound and instead found a dart. The Kelvic swayed, dropping the garments and clutching at the table as the vendor gasped and tried to shoo the woman away assuming she was drunk. Kelski managed to pull the dart free even though the world around her was already starting to swim. She staggered, lost her balance, and fell pulling some of the vendor’s stock from his table. He yelled at her even as she fought to regain her feet, only managing to make it up to her hands and knees. Kelski immediately tried to crawl under the table but big strong arms caught her around the waist and hauled her upright.
“Sorry sir… this little lady has had too much to drink obviously…” A familiar voice said in a friendly almost embarrassed tone. Kelski tried to shriek, animalistic, but it was as if her mouth was full of cotton. Her hand clutched the dart and she balled her fist up and drove it behind her. Had her aim been to the left or right, it would have sunk deep into the thigh of the man holding her firm. Instead, it drove into the sheath where he stored one of his daggers.
“Easy now, little bird…. easy easy….” Darvin whispered, his arm an iron vice around her thin waist. “Time for you to come back to the roost for good.” He whispered, reaching out and tossing her over his shoulder. Her hand released the dart, unable to hold the weapon any longer, as her vision faded and she lost consciousness. Kelski wondered, almost in a detached way, how many times Darvin had hauled her off somewhere like this.
