Open Repaying A Favor

[Syd Yssarin]

1st of Summer 515 The day was hot, not unlike most summer days. The air was cool with a breeze coming from off the ocean. Standing on the dock, a young man gazed out into the distance, as though waiting for something to occur. His name is Syd, a man of 20, and most morning s started out like this. He would stare out into the open sea, wanting something more than what he had. “This life…” he said softly, “is unfulfilling.” He turned around, walking away from the cerulean waters and into a dark alleyway. Syd was in an odd mood. Though he was always brooding, rarely did he speak, even to himself. Several days prior, Syd had run into some bad characters. An older man and presumably his wife were demanding money from one of his neighbors, an elderly man named Pathos Rodan. Pathos was both Syd’s employer and neighbor. The man and his wife were angered that Pathos had supposedly tricked them out of money for a wood carving of one of the Gods. Apparently the figurine broke and the couple saw that as a sign the figurine was evil. Pathos was a wood carver, and Syd, who needed a job to hide his thievery, felt it was acceptable employment. Today, however, he was not working. Rather, he was looking for the couple. They had beat Pathos to pulp and left him in the street the prior night. Syd, though not normally one to go out of his way to help others, could not stand aside at such appalling behavior. He planned on finding the couple, following them, and stealing the money they pilfered off of Pathos’ bleeding body. The main problem, Syd had no idea where the couple lived, or what their names were. He owed it to Pathos to get the money back. Walking down the dark alleyway, Syd whistled to himself a little ditty, trying to keep calm. At the end of the alleyway, a small door was open ajar. The door itself was damaged and was in need of some repair. “These people…” Syd thought to himself, “They need to be careful.” Coming to the door, Syd poked his head in the opening. The room was small, maybe a single person lived there. It was hardly decorated, though that was unsurprising in this area of town. A wooden table was in the middle of the room, a chair on two opposite sides. Curious, Syd pushed the door open a little more. He knew this was, or would be considered trespassing, but he had no intention of stealing from this place. For Syd, stealing from those in similar situations or in worse off circumstances was an awful thing to do. Taking from the rich and wicked, that was acceptable. Inside the room, Syd could see that it was in fact a small dwelling. On the right, next to the wooden table, a painting hung on the wall. It was probably the most expensive thing in the whole room. The painting was of the sea, with a small vessel in the center. Nothing extraordinary or extravagant. Syd had finished looking around the room when he heard a yell outside. He swiftly darted out of the room and into the alleyway. As he looked around, to his left he saw what he wanted: the couple. The man was large, with meaty hands and a stone face. His eyes were a deep brown and were bloodshot. He was sweating profusely and his clothes reeked of sweat and alcohol. His wife was small, but just as brutish. The two of them were clearly inebriated. “Isn’t it a bit early for this kind of thing?” Syd thought to himself. The man lifted his bulbous finger and pointed at Syd. “Hey you, pretty boy!” He yelled in a drunken holler. “What’re you doin’ round here!?” He attempted to run forward at Syd, immediately falling over on his face in the process. His wife wasn’t any help. “Blonde, what’re you doin’ to my husban’?!” She hollered in a loud screechy voice. “I have no intention of fighting these buffoons,” Syd thought to himself while snickering aloud. “They are not worth it. But if I can snag some trinkets or money off ‘em…” He liked the thought of it all. This was easy. He didn’t have to search for them, they came right to him. It was like a sign of the Gods. Something wanted Syd to take from these drunken oafs. And he decided he would do just that. The two fools were too busy muttering to each other on the ground to notice that Syd had walked up upon them. Without any worry, Syd reached his hand into the pocket of the man who had fallen over. Quickly, he pulled his hand out holding several coins. With a smile, Syd left the two oafs to themselves and never saw them again. Or so he imagined. From behind him, the woman yelled “You thief, scum, bastard!” Hearing this, Syd turned around to see the tiny woman charging forward with a small knife. Although the woman was drunk, she was somehow able to stay balanced enough to charge with her knife. But before Syd could dodge or grab the knife, something hit him from behind, knocking him out cold. Everything went black.