Chapter 102: The Pit (1)

It was late afternoon, or probably early evening. Half of the fiery orange globe has already dove below the horizon. The last orange rays created a romantic tinge to the otherwise grey and dark brown muddy landscape. 

A group of four, 2 boys with similar physique, a feminine dark clothed masked figure, and an elderly lady wrapped in tattered ragged red clothes were making their way towards a run-down shack close to the city walls. While the shack itself wouldn't garner any attention, the two sturdy, mountain-looking bald men that stood guard sure would.

They donned black scaled leather armor and black padded leggings. Both had a short sword attached to their side hanging just below their belts. Under the scaled leather chest plates, they wore similarly colored black sleeveless shirts that did nothing to hide their intimidating muscles. On their right upper arms both had a tattoo of their organization's insignia; The white snake that was devouring a human skull.

Both men stood tall and motionless regardless of the weather, sometimes rather harsh conditions. 

They were the guards of a famous or better to say, notorious underworld group, that ran by the name: Vyklade. 

This wasn't their full name, however. It was merely a shortened version of the full. The full name of the group was a phrase that all full ranked members knew by heart, and swore their life on it:

Vyklade Soneic Ikliss, which could be somewhat rudely translated to the common as "Snake eats Eagle. 

The full story and the meaning behind the name were lost to many but the higher-ranked members. While there were some theories as the eagle most likely represented the royal household, the snake itself was unknown what it meant.

Stopping in front of the two sturdy black-clothed guards, one of the boys in the front, spoke to them in a demanding tone.

"Bring out your master. It's time to make good on our deal."

The guard on the left scanned the group of four pokily before finally, he rested his eyes on the hooded boy in front of him. The silver ends of his hair peeped out from the linen cloth. 

"The deal was only for you. The others are not part of it." He said with a voice full of disdain.

"Who are you to talk back? Go fetch your master, gargoyle." Drake answered to the disdainful voice with his own conceited one.

The guard didn't talk back, but his grunting could be heard as he turned around and entered the wooden door behind him. The other guard didn't react to anything that played out in front of him, he looked at the distance with unwavering discipline. 

A few minutes after the guard on the right vanished at the other side of the door, it slowly creaked open, and he came back with an ugly frog-like man in tow, who had a large scar on his face.

As soon as he saw the prince his ugly face morphed into a horrendous smile that probably meant to be a polite one, and as he bowed with the same respect as one should in front of a member of the royalty, he spoke with his toad-like creaky voice.

"Welcome back, young prince. I see you have come with friends this time. May I know the reason for the increased headcount? You may not be aware but the sudden change in the plan could cause unwarranted…" he looked up at the prince, and the polite-looking smile subtly changed into a more honest, greedier one. "...complications. The price may need to be adjusted…"

"That is fine. What do you suggest then?" Drake asked.

"Nothing much. Luckily, we have prepared a few extra passes that your friends could use, but they didn't come cheap. My request is that you and your friends will have to do a tiny task for me later, once the current matter is resolved. If you and your friends can agree to that, I'm more than happy to provide you with four passes instead of the one."

Although he was facing the ground, the smug smile that worked its way up to his face was seen by the group.

"This man… Who does he think he is? I'll sho-" Drake raged, but was cut short when Aiden raised his arm in front of him and stopped him in his tracks. Under his faceless mask, he silently muttered to him.

"Just go with it, it is fine."

"Are you sure? This toad will ask something outrageous, I'm sure of it…" Drake whispered back. It's not like he was actually concerned about the safety of this hastily-made patchy party, but he didn't want to owe anything to a group like the notorious Vyklade.

"It's fine. Remember what the goal is." Aiden reminded him.

Growling in response, he faced the toad, and after a few short breaths' time to calm himself, he forced the words that made the man's smug smile grow even wider in satisfaction. 

"Fine. We agree to your deal. Now give us the passes. It's already late, we have to get going."

"Perfect! I knew you would come around, young prince! Also, don't worry, the favor I will be asking of you and your revered company will not be anything atrocious! We are a proper business after all."

"Sure, proper business, my ass…." Drake grumbled under his breath but still just loud enough for the toad and his goonies to hear.

"What did you say?! Even if you are some fancy prince, you have to show respect to us, you brat!" The guard on the right immediately flew into a rage and quickly backed-up his words by swinging his right fist towards Drake's hooded face.

"Kiss my fist you brat! LEARN SOME RESPECT!" he bellowed. The guard on the left didn't reach and the toad-like man just watched it with an amused smile.

Before his fist could connect, however, it was effortlessly caught by the masked boy on the left. 

"You! Let go of my…" The guard tried to set his hands free, but unexpectedly the boy's grip was vice-like and it just didn't budge.

"What the… AAAAARGH!" He tried to force it, but as Aiden increased the force, he quickly fell onto his knees and cried out in pain. The toad-like man's face morphed into surprise then into a frown and eventually, he forced a polite smile, before he spoke up.

"Dear sirs and madams, please excuse us for this uneducated swine. You see it is very hard to find proper employees nowadays. Could you please, excuse my employee for his rude behavior and let him go?"

Aiden decreased the force in his grip but didn't let go. Instead, he looked at Drake, and when he nodded did he remove his grip and free the guards obviously crushed hand.

As the guards whimpered behind his master and the still emotionless guard on the left, the toad looked at the masked youth. For a brief moment, he could swear he saw a flash of golden light shine through the tiny eye holes of his faceless white mask.

Hidden behind the boys, both Number and Granny were smiling under the respective covers. Seeing Aiden dominate that gorilla was strangely satisfying for them. It made them proud.

Looking at the whimpering guard in the back, Drake spoke with the same disdainful tone the guard greeted them just a few moments ago. 

"Teach your men better then. If this is how you handle business, I will not be able to support your endeavors in the future. Your group can't leave a stain on the royal family's reputation."

Bowing deeply the toad hurriedly replied. As he spoke, he looked at the man on the ground behind him. As the guard caught a glimpse of his master's cruel expression, he shivered in fright.

"Rest assured, young prince, I will PERSONALLY make sure such misconduct will not happen ever again."

"Master, please let me explain, they were speaking ill-" The guard immediately begged as he understood the obvious meaning behind his master's words.

"Silence! I will deal with you later! You!" He switched to the guard on the left with a stern voice

he commanded. "Go and fetch the passes!"

The guard on the left emotionlessly nodded, and with hurried steps, he went inside the shack. A few minutes later he came back with four wooden slabs. The wooden slabs had the letter 'V' painted on them in white, and on their backs, they all had the logo of a red-eagle carefully printed.

The guard silently presented them to the group, while his master spoke.

"Here they are, these will get you in without raising any problems. The rest…" He looked at the group with the same mischievous grin he had before, as he continued. "... is up to you."

As the group took the passes, he bowed deeply once again. The smile still on her face, he forced the respectful tone back.

"I hope that the young prince will be successful, and he can be reunited with his sister. Once you get her out, please come back to us and we can handle the administration so you will be able to legally free her."

"About that..." Drake raised his hand with his index finger pointing towards the sky. "There is one more girl that we will rescue and will need her papers fixed."