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The bazaar was bizarre.
Great place for pickpocketing. Loud. Colourful. Constant explosions.
I walked through the crowd, appearing to be in a rush, and "accidentally" bumped into passerby. That earned me a pocketwatch, a few gold coins, some bangles, and a compass. Good money.
Time for the stalls.
Each of the stalls were rickety, wooden things, shaded by huge peices of neon striped cloth. The stalls were crowded, braced against the slum walls, hordes of people surronding them.
One sold local desert produce. Nah, that wouldn't do.
Another sold spices. Hmmm…fragrant, expensive, I could get loads for the tumeric. I stopped, pretending to look through the endless tubs of cinnamon and cloves.
"Looking at something, miss?" The vendor spoke with a foreign accent. His clear voice was something I wasn't used to after hearing clumsy, raw voices my whole life. "My spices are fine, from across the sea."
"Nah. I'm just browsin'." The spices would be too difficult to steal, especially if I wanted to go unnoticed.
I slipped away into the crowd, hiding under the cover of loud voices, shouts and the hot sun. This bazaar was home to some of the strangest things in the Land of Deserts. Mutated animals. Fruits the size of small children. Books that could speak. Firecrackers and bombs.
I pickpocketed a bit more from the crowd, and then carefully entered some of the darker parts of the bazaar.
This alley was particularly infamous for selling cursed jewels, each illegally smuggled in. One of the cursed pieces was probably worth more than I could ever own.
I could never steal anything from this alley. I just liked to look sometimes; imagine what I could never have.
I slunk through the dark, keeping in the shadows and sticking to the slum walls. I had to be careful. There were people in this alley who would---
I gasped as I was pinned to the wall, my hands tied quickly and my mouth covered.
A pair of fierce hazel eyes met mine.
It was a girl about my age. She was wearing all black, blond-white highlights running through her caramel hair. Her moon-like skin was a sign that she was a foreigner. A pair of round, gold-wire glasses encircled her wily hazel eyes.
I'd take note of that. I struggled, thrashing around the girl's firm grip, frantically trying to think of an escape plan.
More shadows, all dressed in black, snuck out from the dark. They formed a circle around the girl.
A tall, lanky guy with grim dark eyes and thick black hair. Tufts of hair stuck out from his black coat hood, and a red bandanna covered his face. I could see that he was a local by his olive skin.
Next to him was a short guy with mousy brown hair cut in a sharp military style; he had pale skin, clearly a foreigner. His black square glasses gave him a smart look.
A tiny, lithe girl tied my hands with rope. She had silky black hair and hooded eyes; her golden-rimmed cat-eye glasses gave her the atmosphere of a slinking feline.
Finally, a stocky girl with faded cranberry dyed hair stood guard around the gang. A dagger was held aloft in her hands. She, too, wore glasses.
Lots of glasses. Lots of weaknesses.
I struggled to get out of the grip of the girl, who was probably the leader of the gang. She gestured to the mousy haired boy, pulling down her black bandanna.
"Bicanic. Tie her legs. Take off the gag."
"Sure thing, Maddi. And you can call me Niko even though she's around."
The tall, thick-haired boy rolled his eyes. He spoke with the heavy, raw accent of a local. "Yeah, she ain't gon' be alive by time we done with her."
Maddi, the girl, glared at them. "Bicanic. Dasalla. Shut up. And right now, I'm Ferguson, not Maddison."
The tall boy, Dasalla stuck a middle finger up at Maddi. Bicanic freed my mouth, and as soon as the gag was gone, I started shouting at the gang.
"Yo! Get me outta here!" This ain't no way to treat a girl, you---"
The tiny, silked hair girl backed away. "Put the gag back on, Ferguson!"
"NO!" I shouted.
Maddi let go of me. She raised a hand in the silked haired girl's direction. "Ascura. Back off."
"Tell me," Maddi prowled around, "where are you from?"
Dasalla huffed. "Aroun' here, by da look o' it."
"He correct!" I spat. I couldn't go anywhere; my limbs were bound. "He correct!"
The cranberry-headed girl sheathed the dagger. "You sure?"
"Buckberry, silence," Maddi said. "Julian, is she telling the truth?"
Even though a bandanna was covering his face, the crinkles around Dasalla's eyes betrayed that he was grinning. "Ha! Ya used ma' first name! She ain't lyin'. She a thief, prolly, but she from aroun' here. Listen to her accent!"
Maddi gave a suppressed smile. "Is it true? You're a thief?"
"How'd ya get the conclusion that Imma thief?" I said. "Dasalla was jus' tellin' ya that I'm from aroun' here! Even if I was a thief, how would ya know? You all foreigners, ain't from aroun' here."
Ascura smirked. "We may be foreigners, but Julian's from around here."
Dasalla grinned, his eyes crinkling. "Ya local expert."
Niko (or Bicanic, whatever) held up a hand. "Hold up, hold up. So if you're not a thief, like you're saying," he raised an eyebrow at me and I glared at him, "what do you do for a living?"
"I drum," I said, "and play da flute. And beg at da corner of the streets. Good money, mighty fine. I got a fren', Ashley, she help me too."
Buckberry looked bemused. "I'm not from around here, but I do know that drumming at the corner of streets does not get you a lot of money."
I scowled.
"Wait," Maddi said, "you said that someone's helping you? Ashley?"
My mind blanked for a moment. Crap. I had somehow reeled Ash into this, and now we would be both busted.
"Why'd care about me, anyway?" I struggled to get out my bonds. "There a lot worse people out there who done badder things than me!"
"So you admit that you're a thief?"
"No, I do not!"
"Buckberry, empty her pockets!"
"NO!"
Buckberry did as Maddi said, and golden loot tumbled from the pockets of my tattered tunic.
Dasalla whistled. "Woo-oo. Drummin'ain't gon' get ya that type o' dough."
Maddi nudged the loot with her boot despite my loud protests. "Ascura, do your job."
Ascura's nimble fingers ran through the precious stolen metals. I cursed at her loudly, but she hardly looked up. "I'd say the gold alone is worth a hundred gold coins, the gemstones bringing it up to a hundred fifty. Semi-precious metals. Gives a beggar enough money to buy food for a month."
She looked directly at me. "Not a beggar. A thief."
Maddi stalked around me, hazel eyes dark and dangerous. The movements of her lithe body reminded me of a desert fox. "If you say that you're a thief, we'll let you go. Are you a thief?"
I sighed. I had no reason into trusting the gang into letting me go, but I knew when I was defeated. "Yeah, I'm a thief."
"Is this girl, Ashley, helping you pickpocket from innocent people?"
"Ash's bein' a good fren'," I said defensively.
"Is she?"
"…yeah, you stupid lil---"
Dasalla cut me off. "I was watchin' ya back there. Ya got wicked good thieven' skills. We got a good place to rest. Good food. Good weapons. If we release ya, would ya join our gang with ya fren' Ashley?"
I perked up at 'good food'. It had been…what? Four days since I had eaten? "Ashley won't wanna join no gang. She comfy with her life. I'll join."
"Great," said Maddi as Buckberry untied me, "what's your name?"
"Joanna," I said, "Persaud." I stepped out of the rope, shaking Maddi's hand. It was smooth and soft compared to my calloused one.
Dasalla stepped forward like a shadow. "Julian Dasalla. I'm here 'cos I murdered the Sultan's parents. Got locked up, then escaped. One 'o the most wanted assassins around da place."
I stared at him, jaws gaping. This guy? An assassin?
Ascura stepped forward, pressed two fingers to her lips, then gently touched my shoulder. It was a sign of greeting from people far away, a continent away.
"I'm Kinley Ascura. Former Treasurer for the Land of Cherry Blossoms. I tried to steal a million gold coins worth in gems from the treasury, but as you can see, that didn't work out. I ran away, and ended up here."
Niko clapped my shoulder.
"Yours truly, Niko Bicanic. I ran for government for the Land of Music. My party lost, and the leader of the opposing party, Giovanni di Antonio, has his guards chasing me with the intent to kill. Very nice guy, likes murdering his opponents brutally. I'm on the run. I like it here, but I wish I was in my home, mi bella."
Buckberry nodded in my direction.
"Lilly Buckberry. From the Land of Clovers. I was a squire for a knight, about to earn my knightship. Then my damn mentor told the king that I wasn't ready, and I got so mad that I might've killed him. I hopped on the nearest cargo ship to get here."
Maddi was the last to speak.
"Maddison Kaydence Ferguson. I lived up North, in the Land of Snow. I was on the Council, one of the leaders. Lets put it this way: I abused my position and got kicked out. A really hard way to start my life, but I'm trying to make a better one, eh?"
I wanted to say, leading a criminal gang of murderers in a dark alley is not a better way to start a new life, but this girl was dangerous.
"So," I said, rubbing the spots where the ropes had dug into my wrists,"you all foreigners except Dasalla. What your mission as a gang? Oh, and how old are ya?"
Maddi began walking down the alley, gesturing for the others to follow her. I followed them too. "We're 26." Same age as me.
"You know Sultan Concepcion?" Lilly asked.
"His Majesty the Sultan Ethan Concepcion, the mighty one of the Land of Deserts?"
"Yeah, him," Lilly twisted a curl of her faded pink dyed hair, "he rules here, the Land of Deserts. This place is a monarchy government."
Maddi looked at me. "Where I come from, we have a democracy. We're trying to get the government the same way here. A democracy, not a monarchy."
"How ya gon' do that?"
"Well, girl," Dasalla said, "first step to kill Sultan Concepcion."
I snorted. "Ya ain't gon' kill Sultan Concepcion. The fella got an army, a kingdom, and a heir who will take his place even if ya kill 'im."
Niko spoke. "Those are all valid points. His heir is his younger brother, right? Prince Troy Concepcion? Well, what if we kill both of them? What will happen? There'll be no one to take the throne, since Sultan Concepcion is unmarried."
"True, true, man," I mused, "but yo, how ya gon' turn that inta a democracy?"
"We gon' preach," Dasalla said, "turn this place's peo'ple against they own government. We ain't fully have da plans yet, but they in progress."
Lilly smiled from under her bandanna. "We have plenty of reasons why the Land of Governments should be a democracy. Kinley and Maddi are quite good with their words."
"An' da army part?" Dasalla said. "Lilly's a trained fighter, I one o' da best assassins aroun'. We can sneak inta da palace and murder Sultan Concepcion and Prince Troy in their sleep. Nobody ain't gon' knows who did it. Easy. Peasy." He snapped his long fingers; the sound echoed eerily through the dark.
We walked in silence a bit. Beggars called out to us. We ignored them. Feral cats hissed at us. We ignored them. Shady-looking vendors tried to sell us amulets. We ignored them.
"So," I broke the uneasy silence, "say ya fellas, a gang of five convicts, manage to kill the Sultan and his heir, and turn the monarchy into a democracy. What'd ya get from it?"
Maddi stared at me. "Oh, well, we'd be the ones leading the democracy, of course."
Niko clenched his fist. "Imagine all that power."
"Oh, so ya doin' this for ya self, not da peo'ple?" I asked.
Kinley laughed loudly (and was quickly hushed by Dasalla.) "Since when have criminals thought of anyone but themselves?"
"True, man."
The gang showed me their hideaway, a nook underneath two collapsed slums. They gave me a black tunic, baggy black pants and boots, a black bandanna and a cloak of the same color. They also gave me a dagger. ("I'm a pickpocket, not a fighter," I had said disdainfully. "Don't worry," Niko had said. "Julian and Lilly will be doing the main fighting for us. The dagger's just for self-defense.")
We shared a meal together. Bread, cheese, fish and dried fruit---a feast.
"You're part of the gang now," said Kinley.
"Yeah, right," I replied.
"Yeah, right?" Maddi asked suspiciously.
"Lemme get dis straight," I said, "ya gon' murder Sultan Concepcion and Prince Troy, an' then change da system o' government inta a democracy. An' ya gon' lead dis democracy."
"That's our plan," said Lilly.
"And by joining da gang," Dasalla said, "ya agreein' to be part o' da plan."
"Ok," I replied. I contemplated my next move, sitting up straighter. I turned to Maddi. "Say, girl, how much ya need them glasses?"
"As blind as an exiled wolf without them. Why're you asking?"
"I tricked ya fools. I'm like my fren' Ash, I don't need no stinkin' gang. Been thinking of an escape plan since I got here," I grinned, and then punched Maddi in the face and swept her glasses into my pocket. She screamed. I banged Niko's head against a wall, knocking him unconscious, and stole his glasses for good measure. I pinned Kinley underneath a wooden beam, plucking her glasses right from her face, and stabbed Lilly with the dagger.
I turned and dashed out of the hideaway, glasses clacking in my pocket. I stared in delight at the scene behind me: Maddi blindly stumbling around; Niko unconscious; Kinley trying in a vain attempt to get out from under the wood; Lilly screaming in pain.
I ran and ran. I looked back. Crap. Dasalla was following me, quickly catching up. He had two big advantages:
His legs were long, and his was skinny and light despite his height, giving him the advantage of speed.
Plus, he didn't have glasses, and could see perfectly well.
"GET BACK HERE!" His deep voice echoed off of the walls.
I threw off the black cloak, shedding the heavy cloth so that I could run faster. I needed to throw off Dasalla too. I took a running leap, and started climbing one of the slum walls. I scaled up the bricks like a monkey, quickly reaching the roof. I did this all the time; I climbed buildings to escape angry vendors who had caught me stealing from them.
Dasalla stared up at me in bewilderment. "Oi, ya betrayin' lil---" he started cursing like a sailor.
"Seeya, loser!" I called as I jumped from roof to roof, until I was out of the dark alley. "Thanks for da food an' clothes! An' the information!"
I laughed wildly at the expression of fury on his face as I leaped away.
I finally landed on a familiar roof. A tent was pitched in the corner, and a small girl came creeping out. It was Ashley, my friend.
"Hey, Jo," she said. "Nice clothes. Stole anythin' good?"
"Found out some good information," I panted as we climbed down the building. I grabbed her hand, leading her through the crowded bazaar.
"Joanna, where're ya takin' me?"
I smirked. "We're gon' to the royal palace to warn Sultan Concepcion of an assassination plot."