01- Family, Friends, and Fiends

“Haa…ha… Someone catch that little bastard,” the shopkeeper roared, the sound of sandals clapping on stone fading further into the distance as it blended into the noises of the bustling public. Fearing that the thief would get away, the shopkeeper bulldozed his way through the crowd faster, hoping he could catch the kid before he ran off somewhere dangerous. However, as the shopkeeper pushed a group of people aside, he was blinded by sunlight, which had seemed to come out of nowhere. Reflexively, he turned his head away, causing him to completely lose any track of the pest. Realizing that any further pursuit would be futile, he stopped in his tracks, causing his hands to fall to his knees.

“Dammit,” cursed the shopkeeper. “Where the hell are the astynomias when you actually need them?! Ugh… they’re all over the damn place when they check my stock for weapons, but when actual crime happens they’re off doing gods know what.”

The shopkeeper, now up on his feet, looked around with an irritated look on his face. “Man… they’ve been coming around less and less, but to think there isn’t even one here today… did something happen? Oh well, all I need to do is file a complaint. I saw the little bastard’s face after all, so finding him shouldn’t be too hard. Honestly though, in all my days I’ve never seen a kid with such bright hair. Welp, just makes it easier to find him I guess.”

The shopkeeper heavily sighed in annoyance before briskly returning to his business.

…

Knock, knock. Creeeeak

“Oh, Fíle, you’re home. Come in, come in!” A woman’s voice filled the room as a pasty, brown lady peeked her head around the corner of the doorway: her white cloak flew behind her along with her jet black hair.

“Hey aunt Gyn! Guess what?! I got paid extra today! The boss gave me six eggs because of how hard I was working,” the rambunctious boy stated. His olive colored face practically sparkled in the sunlight and, when combined with his dark brown eyes and hair which somehow carried a shimmer and his unusually white teeth, made him seem as if he was actually glowing.

Fíle entered the somewhat small abode before placing the food down on the counter next to the damp ice tray before wordlessly rummaging around the kitchen along with aunt Gyn.

“Ah Fíle, could you light the fire,” aunt Gyn asked while rubbing a pan with a rag. Nodding, Fíle plucked a tiny box off of the counter before removing a tiny stick from it. “We’re on our last match,” Fíle said as he quickly ran the head of the stick along the rough, light grey counter, causing the tip to ignite. “Hm… could you and your brother grab some more on your way home from the bath house? Just go sell one of the dolls I finished today, buy a box, and come back with whatever’s left.”

Fíle turned his head toward aunt Gyn. “Is he back already,” he asked, a hint of surprise manifesting in his voice. “Not yet, and if he doesn’t come back soon, I’ll need you to find him. He’s probably in the marketplace,” aunt Gyn sighed. Fíle’s eyebrows furrowed. “Is he buying anything?”

“From what I heard, he just goes there to window shop with his friends,” aunt Gyn replied, brandishing her barely-rusted frying pan. “What does he see that he hasn’t seen already? Well, maybe going to school will make him come back earlier,” Fíle sighed as a sudden white-hot pain stung his fingers.

“Ah, damn,” Fíle cried, his hand reflexively dropped the burnt match as it recoiled. Hearing his cry of pain, aunt Gyn dropped her frying pan and sped over to Fíle. “Are you okay,” she asked while hovering over him more than a hungry seagull. “Yeah, the heat just scared me a little. I’m fine,” Fíle shakily replied, his fist clenched tightly around his finger. “Should I go grab Naz now or later?”

“Hm… let’s give him another thirty minutes. When you go, make sure not to stay out too late, okay,” aunt Gyn responded as she picked her pan up off of the floor. “I won’t,” Fíle groaned. “Can I eat before I go? I really want to try these eggs.”

Aunt Gyn sighed. “I suppose. Just make sure to leave some for your brother, okay?” Fíle was happy to oblige. After all, a single bite counted as ‘some’ in his book.

…

‘It’s getting late, so I should probably start heading back,’ Nazarius thought, his sandals clapping on the sidewalk as he walked in between the street lanterns that barely illuminated the wooden and rocky jungle he called home. Usually, if he stayed out past around this time, Fíle would come drag him home where Aunt Gyn would scold him for staying out too late. He was seven years old for crying out loud, he wasn’t going to get lost in the middle of the night and get kidnapped. However, any time he tried to tell this to aunt Gyn, she would always tell him, “Until you get into school, you follow my rules.” ‘It’ll only be a month until I get in anyways, so why does it matter,’ he thought.

“Hey Nazarius, isn’t it about time you head home,” a light, childish voice shouted, almost reading his mind. Nonchalantly looking over his shoulder, Nazarius saw his two friends, Kakó and Korítsi. Looking at Kakó — the one who just talked—Nazarius sighed and realized he was right. “Ok, see you guys later,” he said. Right as he started walking away, he heard a faint snicker behind him, but pretended not to hear it.

“Uh. B-bye Nazarius,” a voice whispered. “Yeah, bye,” Nazarius replied, somehow hearing what Korítsi said. Nazarius looked forward and started running home.

…

“Man… who’da thought it’d get so bad that they’d have to send us,” a gruff, angry voice in the darkness sighed. “Why can’t any of these damn beggar cities just behave? Do they know how much of a pain in the ass it is to have to travel ‘round the clock to one slum after another? You get what I mean, right Ándras?”

“I don’t know what you’re complaining for. All you have to do is search the places I tell you to. It’s knowing where to look that's hard part, and finding that out just so happens to be my job,” the man known as Ándras replied. His medium length, dirty blond hair flew in all directions. His face was a little flushed, likely due to the bottle of wine that sat in his satchel.

“Oh come on, you’re no fun. Besides, the astynomias already cleared this next place out before they ran to the side lines, so neither of us’ll have to do a thing,” the brutish voice said. Ándras sighed at the man’s lack of responsibility before slumping over as he leaned on the wooden wall of his temporary quarters, tired.“Whatever you say, Megálo. What’s this next city called, anyway?”

“Let’s see…” The man known as Megálo pulled out a piece of papyrus that had some words enscribed on it. However, the lack of any natural light besides that from the bright, visible stars in the sky made it near impossible to read.

“… I think it’s… Ftochòs?”

Ándras’ head, which was drooping lazily, shot up and stared at Megálo. “Are you sure you read that right,” he asked a little too fast.

“Hmm? Yeah, pretty sure. Take a look.” Megálo handed the paper to him and pointed to the next city on the list. Ándras looked at the paper with a shocked expression for a second before smirking.

“Well, I guess it has been a while since I’ve visited home.”

…

Nazarius’s day started out normal: he woke up, shoved as many calories into his mouth as he could in ten minutes, and ran outside to meet his friends. However, the usual crowd that roamed the not-so-clean streets seemed a bit more hushed than usual.

“Is it true,” one asked. “I think so,” replied another. “But why would a lord come here?” “I think it’s rubbish,” “But my son saw him. He told me.”

A lord? As in those stuck up rich asses Fíle told him about? Why would one be here? Didn’t Fíle say that they were too busy eating gold to go outside? ‘Oh well,’ he thought. ‘I’ll just stay as far away from it as po’—

“Hear ye, hear ye, people of this poor village! I, the great and noble…” a voice in the distance gleefully yelled. However, the voice was getting quieter so Nazarius wandered over to see what was happening.

There was a plump man standing atop a carriage. Besides the fat, the only feature Nazarius noticed about the man was his big, goofy smile filled with yellow teeth. The man obviously wasn’t very smart since standing on a vehicle with wheels tended to be a bad idea.

As he grew closer, Nazarius could start to hear the words the man was spouting again. Aside from the man, there were a handful of guards surrounding the carriage as well as a servant whose face was beaded with sweat as he looked down in shame.

“…sed you with my presence! Therefore, you shall listen closely! I have decided to open a pharmacy in this tiny, poor town in which only the finest remedies will be sold! Made from an Apostle of Asclepius, the god of medical remedies, you will find no other medicines in this province— nay, in the entirety of Greece with this quality! I expect to see each and every one of you in there…”

As the speech went on and the sun rose into the sky, Nazarius couldn’t help but notice that the servant’s eyes kept burning into the gravel below his own feet until his head suddenly shot up, a bead of sweat falling down his face.

“Ehem… my lord, perhaps some of the plebeians have questions that they’d like to ask you.”

“Hm? But I had yet to finish the speech you gav—“

“Yes, that is correct, however I don’t think the intellect of these commoners is high enough to understand the rest of your speech, my lord,” the servant said, cutting the lord off while also causing a small stir to spread throughout the crowd.

“Fair enough,” the lord reasoned. “Do any of you puny plebeians have any questions for your all-knowing lord?”

Most people in the area looked at the man, shellshocked. ‘Is this man sane,’ most people’s gazes seemed to be saying. Finally, someone spoke.

“…Um, my lord,” an old man piped up, “how much are these miracle remedies of yours exactly?”

“Ah yes! Thank you for reminding me Mr. Pruny Plebeian,” the lord huffed. “You can buy most of our premium remedies for a mere one hundred drachma! Of course, there are some exceptions, as of everything,” the lord stated proudly.

The crowd was stunned at the lord's revelation. Some looked as if they wanted to laugh, however they thought the lord might do something rash if they did. The lord had proved he wasn’t exactly of sound mind, after all.

The servant next to the carriage seemed abnormally interested in watching ants on the ground.