First Bloom - night walk

Hours later she found herself crossing the large gates together with her caravan. Her head twisted about looking from one side to the other. Not only were the sights incredible, the smells of the few stalls around the entrance offering spices from far off lands or the delicacies they pushed outward, hoping for a traveler too hungry to resist the abuse in prices, mingled with the dusty air of the city and gave a distinctive air of luxury to every breath. She peeked into the stalls with curiosity and asked dozens of questions until she noticed annoyance begin to show on the sellers when they realized she was not buying.

The caravan continued moving towards the inner market where they could better sell their wares and as they went she took advantage and wandered about the narrow streets and long passageways. Once in the marketplace she helped the merchants unload their wares before wandering off to continue her exploration of the city. It was aimless but wonderful to simply let er feet lead her anywhere knowing that no matter where she went she would always find something to marvel at.

She went into drinking houses and discovered the horrible smell that comes from men who have drunk too much mingled with sweat.There was the pleasant discovery of the smell that cam from old temples and the incense they burned as they worshipped their gods. She marveled at the beauty of the manors just beyond the castle moat and how their gardens filled with greenery the sand colored roads of the city.

Despite how marvelous a structure the city was, it was the mingling of people that seemed to catch her eyes the most. Hundreds of voices interlacing with one another in a large variety of languages, most of which she could barely make out. The colors and styles of their garments were also very different from one another causing a small parade of color and cloth in every street she wandered into. So the day went with her wandering around the streets and settling every now and then in small inns to grab a bite before continuing on her curiosity expedition.

As the sun set and the night fell, the lamp lighters began to wander the street lighting the large poles and torches set outside houses to ensure the main streets were lighted. The flow of the fire bathed the city in warmth and seemed to change it into something completely different.The streets that had been filled with trade and the bustling of errands now seemed far lonelier and were filled with a different kind of people. Inns and drinking holes seemed to be drawing the traffic, making the streets that hosted them the most traveled. The gardens and other plazas were almost devoid of any intrusion except for lovers who looked for the cover of trees and shadows to share themselves with one another.

As she walked the streets the slap of leather on the cobbles made her turn her head. A large man was walking towards her and his eyes were set intensely on her. She allowed her hand to settle on the pommel of her blade and waited. The man seemed to not have any intention of stopping soon. Before she could actually draw her blade a tug on her belt made her spin and see a thinner man yank her coin purse from her belt and make a run for it. As she was about to pursue the thief the larger man reached her and slammed her against the wall knocking the wind out of her and disappearing into the darkness. Dizzy with the lack of air and still reeling from the pain of the slam she had just received she ran into the night the way she had last seen the thief.

For several minutes she ran aimless amongst the darkness trying to run into some luck and perhaps get a glimpse of the criminal. As she felt herself loose hope she moved down a narrower street and as if favored by luck saw the man pass calmly walking by the other end of the street. He hefted the purse and had a contented smile on his face as if he had performed the best job of his life. She rushed silently to the other end of the street, running on the ball of her feet to avoid the slapping of her shoes on stone. Suddenly she sprung out of the corner and rested the tip of her blade against the base of the man’s neck. The man became stiff in an instant and lifted his hands to the air with the purse dangling by its string from one of his fingers. She reached for the purse and just as she was about to grab it something huge caught her on the side and left her windless.

With her vision still blurry she saw the thief run once again into the night and as she turned to see what had hit her another blow landed on her cheek smacking her face against the stone and causing her to further lose focus. As she turned she saw the larger man preparing to stomp her head and probably put an end to the fight. As the feet came down she rolled on the ground and away from her attacker. The man groaned and tried to kick her but she was already outside his reach. As the world seemed to come back into focus she shook her head and dodged another couple of strikes, picked her blade from the ground as she did and without hesitation sliced the man’s leg from thigh to knee. The man screamed and fell on his good knee gasping. She raised her blade and felt a hand grab her wrist staying her final blow.

She whirled and kicked the midsection of a woman in a single motion. The newcomer simply back stepped holding her stomach and raised a hand in defeat. She jumped away from both attackers and noticed that the larger thief was already limping into an alley. As she tried to pursue the woman blocked her path and raised both hands to show there was no intention to do harm. Wary she kept her eyes on the woman and was about to ask why was she helping the thief when a blow landed at the back of her head and slowly the world went dark.