∞ Chapter 11.

Jak felt slightly bad for leaving behind Mina with her drunkard of a friend. She assured him that it was fine though, since they got a room at the tavern. As Jak strolled down the street, the flickering of street lamps on cold, hard cobblestone beneath his feet put him in a strange mood.

Although the town had quieted in the evening, most of the kids and elderly finding shelter in their homes, the night was still young. Jack frowned as a few men and women staggered past him, smelling of barf and piss.

This place, these people... they lacked discipline. In truth though, Jack knew he was among the rabble, not cultivated nobles. Making his way down the shadowy streets, he stayed in the shadows and explored the underbelly of this town. Jack dodged a pickpocket here and there, which wasn't anything unusual. In fact, he was surprised he hadn't been accosted by bandits, since that was the vibe he got from this part of town.

Rowdy tavern after rowdy tavern passed by as Jack investigated and learned about this place. He told himself he was scouting, but his mind was filled with more serious matters.

Dorwine, Sirion... The rebellion. The invasion. Armies. Empires and kingdoms. What of the Arachnae in the wyrdforest near the veil? What of his cursed kin and their counterparts of light? What of the mountain dwellers and their cousins the dwarves?

"Not another step." A young and clear voice said. Jack found himself in a dark alley, and smirked to himself. The nights entertainment had arrived. "I'm not moving, am I?" Jak asked, the amusement in his voice making the shadow on the far end of the alley hesitate.

"I'll let you know in advance. All I need's your purse then you can piss off back to your games, or whatever it is you nobles do." The figure stepped from the shadows, aiming a small crossbow at him. His eyebrows rose as he saw the contraption and the person wielding it. The figure was short and thin with mid length blonde hair poking out from a hooded cowl that hid the persons features.

At first Jak had thought it was a girl, but now he wasn't so sure any more. It could be a young boy too. Jak cocked his head sideways and said "Are you an assassin?"

The figure shook for a moment before steadily aiming the loaded weapon at him and hissing. "Purse now." Jack complied with a smile, slowly reaching down and grabbing the purse with his winnings from the betting on the road. He unstrapped the cord and let the purse fall to the ground with a clink and a thud.

"Here you go." Jak said, stepping back and motioning to the dropped purse with his head.

"O-off with you now." The young figure said, still shaking a little bit underneath the cowl.

"Careful or you'll hurt yourself with that thing." Jak said with a smirk. The figure hissed.

"Pi-piss off I said!"

"Alright, alright. May mother shade take you in her cool embrace." Jak said, turning from the crossbow wielding little figure and walking away casually. Atleast he made it a show to walk away like that. Of course, he was focused behind him the entire time, just in case.

Jak spotted a shadowy awning not far, and slipped under it to wait. As he listened, he heard the clink of his pouch being picked up and a small cute sound of satisfaction as the thief opened it to inspect their catch.

This place was really something else. A random kid using an assassins weapon to rob people with?

The black rose herself would surely frown on such a thing, were she still alive of course. Perhaps she and her guild had perished along with the others in Sirion.

Jaks heart clenched at the thought of home, so he busied himself with tailing the small hooded figure clearly hiding something in the folds of the cloak as it hurried down street after street heading outwards. Interesting. He thought it would go towards where ever the cities slum was, but perhaps he was already in it. Hard to know with this city, it was confusing.

As his little thief neared the wall, Jak paused. This little rascal... couldn't possibly be heading to the soldiers barracks, could it? Frowning, Jak continued to tail the thief until it stopped beside a building near one of the towers on the wall. Thankfully not the soldiers barracks, but why here?

The little thief quietly slipped a key into the keyhole and clicked the door open, tiptoeing inside. As for Jak, he decided to climb to the second story window he had seen as he approached the house.

It was of typical Dorwinian style, the brickwork making for easy hand and footholds. Jak quickly scaled the house and was happy to find the window unlocked. Chuckling to himself, he slipped in through the window and closed it soundlessly behind him.

The room was dark, but Jak could see pretty well in this murk, especially with the light coming from a crack under the door. It looked like a bedroom of sorts.

He heard someone climbing the stairs with small thud thud sounds, hopefully the thief.

As the sound neared, Jak smiled to himself and slipped behind the door just in case this was actually the rascals room.

Sure enough, after a click the door turned and the rascal threw itself into the darkness with a sigh. The candle his thief brought with was quickly abandoned on a table near the bed as the thief pulled the cloak and hood off and threw it on the bed. Not once, not even once did the person glance behind the door to find a grinning Jak observing them.

Released from the confines of the hood, curly blonde locks fell to around the persons shoulders and Jak frowned. A girl then? But as the thief turned and jumped onto the bed, Jak saw the outline of a face. A boys face.

He had those distinct Dorwinian dots on his pale white cheeks, a smattering of them to be exact. A cute little nose and lips with an arrogant curl to them. The boy just lay there for a time staring at the ceiling and not saying anything, completely oblivious to Jaks presence. He wondered if he should just leave, since revealing himself would probably give the poor boy a heart attack. Still... this was his entertainment. He couldn't skimp on his duties to himself any more than he could skimp on his revenge.

So he cleared his throat. Once, twice. Thrice. No answer, no movement. Had the boy really fallen asleep just like that? Chuckling to himself, he silently approached the bed. When he was near, the boy suddenly jumped up from the bed and kicked at him like a wild animal.

He didn't want to hurt this one, so he caught the kicking leg and moved forward, trapping the boy beneath him. He opened his mouth to shout, but Jak drew sigils in the air.

"Dad help! An intruder!" The boy shouted, still struggling against Jak, his eyes wide with fear and desperation. "No matter how much you shout, none will hear you boy. Now settle down." Jak said as he let the boy go and stepped back. "Name?" Jak asked, but got no reply. The boy just lay there on the bed breathing heavily. "I'm Jak, the guy you robbed earlier. What's your name?" Jak asked, trying to sound friendly.

After a long and awkward silence in which neither of them spoke, the boy moved. He slowly sat up and looked at Jak with tears in his eyes, tears quietly rolling down his cheeks. "I felt it. Are you going to kill me, mage?" His little thief asked with a whimper.

"No, of course not." Jak said. "I didn't track you all the way here to kill you, I was merely curious about the crossbow and the person wielding it, nothing more." The boy opened his mouth, but Jak held up a hand. "Name?" He asked again, and got no reply. He sighed and moved closer to the boy, who shrank back with wide, fear filled eyes.

"Wh-wha whaddoyou want? I can give you back your pouch just please don't hurt dad, he's already hurt and on the mend and he..." The boy trailed off as Jak stood before him. Slowly, he raised a hand and placed it on the boys head, ruffling his unusually long, blonde hair.

"Sorry for sneaking in and surprising you. Maybe I should've just let you off, but I was curious. Now for sands sake, what's your name?" Jak asked, finishing with his headpat, he sat down beside the boy whose hair was now a tangled mess. Jak smiled reassuringly over at the boy. "Alex. My name's Alex." Jak did not reply, he merely continued looking at Alex until the boy spoke up again with a sigh. "Alexander Bedlam." The boy said, an expectant look in his eyes. Jak nodded. "My name is Jakaliel Arahan." He said, offering a hand to Alex.

Alex hesitated for a moment before his soft, small hand grasped Jaks hand and they shook. Alex did his best to squeeze, the handshake surprisingly firm coming from a child.

"Tell me Alex, how old are you?"

"Twelve summers." The boy said, averting his gaze. "I see. And does your father approve of you running around at night robbing people with a crossbow?" Jak asked, his tone teasing but firm. Alex shook his head and quietly said. "He doesn't know."

"It's his crossbow?" Jak asked, and the boy nodded. "If you don't mind me asking, why does your father have an assassins weapon?" At this, the boys green eyes widened. Then he surprised Jak by jumping from the bed, his fists clenched.

"My Da is NOT an assassin!" Alex shouted, his face red and his eyes puffy from the tears.

"I'm sorry, that's not what I meant." Jak said trying to appease the volatile boy. "Why does your father own one of those weapons, is what I meant to ask." The boy fidgeted with his shirt and looked down at his feet, clearly hesitating to talk freely. That was understandable.

"Where I'm from, "Jak said, making the boy look up at him. "None other than assassins use crossbows. But I come from a land far away, that's why I was curious. I'm guessing your father is not an assassin?"

Alex shook his head. "No, he's not."

"What is he then? He must be something special to have a crossbow, right? Or are these lands rife with people wielding crossbows now?" Jak asked, frowning. If so, he had to adjust his plans a little bit.

This was the second time he had come across a crossbow since he had been in Dorwine, and it was slightly worrying. The first time was from the assassin trying to kill the princess, and now here was a 12 year old boy using one to rob people on the street.

"Tell me about him?" Jak asked. He did not want to force the boy. Alex hesitated for a moment, before seeming to come to some sort of decision. He walked back to the bed and sat down beside Jak.

"Dad's amazing." The boy said simply. Jak waited patiently. His patience was rewarded with a tale of an epic adventure and a battle ending with his dad becoming the captain of the guard in a remote place so he could live out the rest of his life in peace.

When Alex got to the present, he quieted down considerably and his eyes once again became moist. "Dad... isn't the captain of the guard no more. He.. he got hurt on a mission, and the new lord dismissed him. We've been living off of our savings but..." Alex said, his voice trembling as much as his body did.

Jak placed a hand on Alex' shaking shoulders, which made him jump. "But now you're running out of savings?" Jak finished, and Alex simply nodded, sniffling quietly. "I'll give you back the money, just please don't hurt da. He can't move well now and his arm..." Alex said, choking up.

Jak closed his eyes for a moment, then sighed. This was not exactly what he would describe as a cheerful night of entertainment... "Keep it. It's not much, just a few coins I won from some rowdy explorer friends." Jak was surprised when he heard himself call them friends, but he realized that thats what they were. Torkan, Keith, Morgan... even those had become his friends. Though of course the egghead was not his friend and probably never would be.

"There's alot of silver in there..." Alex said uncertainly, biting his lower lip. He actually looked kind of cute. "Surely you're not contemplating sharing with me? You were the one who ruthlessly robbed a man in an alley with your fathers crossbow after all!" Jak said with a smile, hoping the boy would cheer up and give him a smile in return.

Instead, Alex crumpled to his knees before Jak and let out a long wail, sobbing into his hands.

"For fucks sake, what am I getting myself into now." Jak muttered to himself in Sirionean as he knelt down before the sobbing Alex. Jak hugged Alex, and the boy froze for a moment before softly whimpering to himself and shaking in Jaks arms. "There there." Jak whispered in Sirionean. "There there."

He stayed like that with Alex until the sobs subsided and the boy quieted down. And still Jak held him, pressing the boy to his chest and rocking him gently, a memory from his own childhood invading his tranquility. His mother rocking him just like he was now rocking this boy, singing one of her dökkalfr rhymes quietly, her own special and unique lullaly for him when he was young and distressed and frustrated and hurting.

Smiling, Jak began a low and sonorous song in the most ancient language he knew.