„More,“ Luhan commanded, slamming his now empty pint onto the mahogany bar. Drunken bluriness had already predominated his senses and the strange alcoholic warmth was making its way into his veins, spreading through his entire body, relaxing him.

He leaned back and closed his eyes, enjoying his now acquired state of carelesness, until one of the wild dancers crashed into him, almost pushing the man off of his stool. Luhan cursed and made a rude gesture at the offender, who shrugged it off in his frivolous drunken state and continued dancing wildly. Luhan signed and turned back to his beer, disgusted by the usual rabble at Laughing Gammer, the infamous inn in the heart of the Underbelly, a poor district spreading miles around and even under Ji, the capital of the country. Hundreds of thousands lived there in atrocious living conditions. Many had travelled to the capital in hopes of finding a good job and getting themselves great fortune. Nevertheless, there were too many. Fewer and fewer were let through the majestic iron gates of the city, until it was practically impossible to get inside. Underbelly was built to temportarily accomodate about twenty thousand people, but the number of people actually living there exceeded even the wildest expectations. Underbelly was infested with crime and poverty. It was a garbage dump with people living in it like ants live in a an anthill. And the worst of those ants had one place to meet up at after a long, tiring day. The Laughing Gammer. Luhan sighed again, disgusted by everything ranging from Underbelly and his job to the situation he currently found himself in.

„I must have you dance one of these days, Luhan,“ Zhang Yixing, one of his closest acquaintances slid on the stool next to him and immediately orderered bitter ale, a speciality of the tavern. The slim male‘s cheeks were flushed and his breath unsteady from the vigorous dancing and maybe, as Luhan deduced from the way one of the maidens was looking at his companion expectantly, a little more than that. The blush of joy on Yixing´s cheeks was however far from sufficient to convince Luhan to join the festivity.

„You know I don't care for dancing,“ he muttered, turning back to his refilled drink. Yixing was watching him with an amused expression on his flushed face framed by dishevelled brown locks.

„Are you kidding me, Luhan? You love to dance!“ he exclaimed and wrapped his right arm around Luhan´s shoulder in burst of joy, swinging the older man right and left a couple of times. Luhan shrugged him off and continued to stare at the honey color of his beer, watching little isles of foam gathering near the side of the glass.

„I'd rather dance with a sword in my hand, than a maiden in my arms. Or you,“ he let out finally, deciding to ignore Yixing from now on. His annoying friend, however, didn´t seem to catch the hostility in his fellow´s voice and, after finishing his ale in one sip and ordering another, continued pestering him.

„You'll never find a lass to have fun with if you'll keep making such a grim face,“ he imitated Luhan's scowl, laughed at his own joke and continued talking, not breaking a beat. Luhan was watching him wearing an unamused expression, wobbling in his chair slightly, the world around him blurry. The ale seemed to be stronger than usual.

„The ladies of the capital will run at the sight of you, just because they will know how much of a party killer you can be,“ Yixing kept nagging, a grin never leaving his face.

„Shut up, Yixing,“ was all Luhan could say in his tipsy state. He wasn´t sure what was happening to him anymore.

„Luhan, an old bachelor with no one to keep him company when he is near his grave and his limbs are weak,“ Yixing continued mocking the elder. His face seemed to turn into one of a deformed gargoyle, his abominable narrow mouth distorted into a vile grimace. Luhan blinked, confused at the change, but the alcohol he consumed prevented him from thinking clearly. At that moment, he only knew he longed to hurt the creature in front of him, the one who´d been clearly making fun of him. He swung his fist towards the odious face and watched in satisfaction how its expression turned from mocking to shocked, maybe even afraid. And most important of all, it shut up.

But that wasn't enough. Luhan felt angry, angrier than he´d ever felt his entire life. He wanted to show the creature just how angry he felt, how much its words hurt.

He hit it again and again, he started screaming somewhere in the middle of all this. He could hear someone calling his name, but he couldn´t match the voice to a speaker, he was too confused to do so.

He was almost relieved when two strong pairs of hands grabbed him from behind and prevented him from attacking his target again. He felt a sharp sting of pain and then nothing, losing his consciousness in a whirl of blackness.

***

Luhan slowly opened his eyes, trying to get accostumed to the darkness that he found himself surrounded in. He was lying on something hard and wet. Still dizzy, he ran his fingers over the unfamiliar surface only to feel some kind of moss stick to them. Grimacing, he retrieved his hand.

„You took your time to wake up.“

Luhan twitched and quickly sat up, reaching automatically for his knife, his fingers only gripping the thin, rough material of his linen tunic. That was strange, he remembered wearing his hooded cloak to the pub. Luhan furrowed his eyebrows, trying to think, but it was so, so difficult.

And then he realised.

His hood was missing!

He quickly reached up to his face. His fingers touching the bare skin of his jaw instead of the black piece of fabric, which was supposed to cover it.

„We took all your belongings.“

Luhan quickly turned towards the voice, finally seeing the man it belonged to. The owner of the voice had a rough, unshaven face, bald scalp and a fat stomach. He was sitting on a stool, next to the room Luhan found himself in. They were sparated by thick black bars and Luhan started to feel a bit uneasy.

„Am I... Am I in prison?“ Luhan´s voice cracked a bit, not having used his voice for a long time. Simultaneously, he tried to cover his face with at least his hands. He was however sure that the man had already seen him and the whole situation didn´t look very bright for him. He knew what prison guards did to imprisoned young boys whose jaws were shaved enough to resemble a woman. And Luhan knew quite a bit about people liking his face.

„Damn right you are, after what you´ve done at the Laughing Gammer. Did you really think you could attack Zhang Yixing and a couple of others without being punished? Guards value their talons.“

Luhan gulped and turned his gaze towards the ground. The man didn´t make any attempt at getting closer to him but he knew he had to remain on guard at all times. He quickly searched for anything he could use to defend himself, but his cell was bare. There was nothing. Not even a blanket he could strangle the man with. Not a shard he could cut him with. Luhan was surprised. He spent a fair amount of time in various jails and they were always so messy. To be fair, he was also used to having a cellmate. Multiple cellmates when it came to that. But he never spent too much time in prison. The leader of their guild always came, sooner or later, and paid his bail, usually even a bit more so next time the guards know who they are dealing with.

But this was an entirely new situation.

„Got nothing to say?“ the man´s voice interrupted Luhan’s train of thoughts. He took a shaky breath and faced the man again.

„What is going to happen to me?“ The guard laughed.

„You are one lucky brat. Me and the lads were already all excited, after all, it isn´t everyday that such a pretty face makes its way in here, when we got a visit from this weird bloke, who forbid us to harm you… In any way. Paid us quite a bit, too. So you better be grateful when he comes here again.“

Luhan was confused. Weird man paying them not to harm him? That didn´t sound like anyone he knew. If it was the leader, they´d know. He visited the prison way to often for them not to. The only person who would maybe help him was Yixing. But he almost broke the guy´s nose. Luhan was pretty sure Yixing didn´t want anything to do with him now. So who? Except for Yixing, Luhan did not have any friends. No true friends at least. His family did not care for where he was and what he was doing, they much prefered to pretend they did not even have a son named Luhan. The life in the Underbelly of Ji was not one for weaklings, or for making long lasting friendships. In fact, the only real friend he could think of was Minseok, but the thief had been out of the city for a couple months, doing bussiness in the south.

„Who was the man?“ Luhan voiced his query. The guard only shrugged and took out an apple and Luhan only then realised how hungry he was. He cleared his throat.

„Can I have some?“ The guard glared at him. Luhan shuddered and scouted off to the side of cell that was farthest from the man. He still did not trust the man completely, who knew what would win in a man, his greed or his lust. He hugged his knees and rested his chin on them, deciding to stay silent. After a while though, his curiosity won him over nevertheless.

„Is he coming back for me then?“

„Look, I have absolutely no idea and frankly, I don´t care at all,“ the guard growled, annoyance clearly audible in his voice. A long silence spread between the two and Luhan sighed, stretching his legs. The guard finished eating his apple and wiped his hands off in his leather vest. Luhan suddenly wished he had more clothes as the cell was quite chilly. Tiny goosebumps formed on his forearms and he shuddered involuntarily. The floor was hard and uncomfortable and little tufts of wet moss were growing out of the spaces between rough cobblestones.

„How long am I supposed to stay here for, anyway?“ Luhan piped up after a while, wanting to know at least something about his current situation. He desperately wanted to get out of the cramped space already.

The guard looked amused at his question, chuckling from his chair by the door.

„If your patron comes to pick you up, days. If not… You did try to kill one of the king´s most prized servants. It could take years for you to get out, if at all.“

Luhan didn´t ask any more questions after that.

***

Luhan was left alone in the tiny cell for days. The guards would take turns watching him incessantly like hawks in twos instead of only one and Luhan could not understand why he was under such thorough supervision. Sure, he did horrible things in his life, it was his job after all, but he did not understand why he got into such a situation. He knew very well just how these cases worked. Yixing had to testify that Luhan did indeed try to kill him, but there was no court, no chance for Luhan to defend himself. And Yixing, after all, was his best friend, had always been since Luhan got to Underbelly, seeking a job after his parents threw him out. He was there to help him figure out a way to keep himself alive, train and eventually join The Spear, the most famous mercenary guild in the country. They grew up together, many adventures creating a bond between them, as strong as one between brothers. There was no way the younger boy would actually believe Luhan tried to murder him over something as trivial as mockery and alcohol infested mind. There had to be something else and Luhan was fairly sure the mysterious man who paid for his safety but not for his freedom had something to do with it. He tried asking the guards to tell him more about the patron, but they all refused to talk to him and he had not seen the bald, fat and talkative man again.

Luhan was slowly growing desperate. There was no way for him to influence what was happening to him and that was a completely new experience for the man. It frustrated him and he was growing impatient. He went through thousand of different scenarios of why did this happen to him, but he they all sounded way too far stretched. But the reality seemed too far stretched as well. Was he going to spend the rest of his days in a tiny, molded cell? That was not what he had imagined at all. Before the arrest, he´d been doing quite a living for himself, saving for a nice house in the city, far away from poor districts and wild robbers. He had no illusions about what had happened to his savings by now, probably split up between his former colleagues. Even if he was released, he would probably die from starvation anyway considering how hard it was to find work at the times of war. His guild would not accept him again, not without Yixing´s support in the matter, which had been the reason he was allowed to join at all in the first place.

Luhan buried his head inside of his arms, inhaling deeply. It had been eight days and he was slowly losing hope. The days were long and yet short, they were mixing together, leaving Luhan with a bitter aftertaste of wasted time and uncertain future on the tip of his tongue.

It was on the eight day at night when his saviour came to see him. There were no windows in the cell, yet Luhan knew it was night. The guards had just switched for the second part of their twelve hour shift and those who came in wore heavier clothing and their cheeks were flushed, signaling colder weather outside. The tips of their boots were covered in snow that even though it was almost spring still made an apperance at night in thin layers, reminding people that winter had not yet said its farewell.

The stranger was tall and broad and he requested Luhan´s presence in one of the private cells, without supervision. From the way everyone kept treating him extremely politely Luhan assumed he was a man of either great importance or great wealth. He wore a hood, still once they were alone and he removed it to reveal his unruly black hair, piercing eyes and wide nose, his face was not familiar to Luhan and he did not recognise the man. Compared to his cleaniness, however, Luhan became extremely aware of the fact he had not washed himself since he got in the prison. He suddenly felt vulnerable and slightly awkward compared to the clean, mighty man sitting in front of him. Nevertheless, the man was there to help him and Luhan shifted in anticipation, his curiosity overwhelming.

„Greetings,“ the man bent his head slightly in a bow, which Luhan reciprocated with a much deeper one, signaling his the deepest regard. The man´s face remained expressionless.

„I am here to set you free.“

Luhan almost jumped in joy. It was true then! He was free after all! And of course, he was not guilty, of course they would realise they had made a mistake!

„They realised I wasn´t trying to kill Yixing, right? That it was all a mistake?“

„I am afraid there is no evidence on the matter. There is only aftermath. Three members of The Spear killed and Zhang Yixing badly injured.“

Luhan gaped at the man, confused. He tried to recall the events of the night but failed miserably. He could only remember hitting Yixing and then being dragged away screaming. He certainly did not recall killing anyone, much less members of his own guild.

„That is ridiculous!“ he exclaimed, rubbing his temples, „Why would I do that? What do you even mean there is no evidence?“

In contrast to Luhan´s squirming, the stranger retained his perfect composture.

„That means, that you could have either done it, or not,“ he explained calmly.

„I did not kill anyone!“ exclaimed Luhan and the man only shrugged.

„That is not up to me to decide. THe evidence and our eye witnesses suggest you had indeed commited the crime.“

Luhan buried his head in his palms.

„There is a strict punishment for killing within a trade. You´re quite lucky though, your guild had not excluded you from their circle. Not yet at least. Even though Zhang Yixing insists you deserve to be.“

Luhan stared at the man disbelievingly. His best friend surely would not?

„Your leader and… My trade have decided to carry out an ordeal. Your reputation at the moment is at high risk and there are not many people who could employ you right now. However, we decided you could be useful to us.“ The man cracked a faint smile at that and Luhan could not help but shudder a bit at the sight. It did not suit the man. His lips were too thin.

There was too much information at once. First Yixing turning against him, now his guild did not want him anymore? Luhan´s head was swirling and the man started talking in a soothing, persuasive voice.

„Luhan, you are known across the country as one of the finest mercenaries. There is a great future in front of you, I can feel it. But you need a little push. You help us with your problem, we will help you with yours. It is entirely up to you if you accept, you will be released anyway. But,“ the man raised his index finger, „if you do help us, you will get so much gold that you will never have to be worried about money again. Needless to say,“ the man smiled bitterly, „not much remains of your savings. If you decide not to take up on my offer, you will perhaps have to rely on a less… Adventurous craft. With lesser earnings.“

Luhan was sitting on the edge of his seat now. Now his future was starting look bright again in a positive turn of events after all that time. It was a known fact that if anything could catch a mercenary´s attention, it was gold. Realising the man was waiting for his answer, Luhan immediately nodded, maybe a bit too greedily.

„I´ll gladly listen to your offer.“

„I am glad we are on the same page,“ the man smiled and leaned back in his chair, „You, Luhan, are regarded as one of the most promising employees of The Spear. My request though, might be a bit different to what you are accostumed to.“

Seeing Luhan shift in his seat, the man changed his tone immediately.

„But what am I to talk about customs! Tell me, Luhan, would you like to know what the reward is?“

Luhan nodded again eagerly, leaning a bit forward.

„It is only ten million golden kings.“

Luhan had to stop himself from gasping and it was very clear now what was he going to do. Ten million! That was enough to buy a whole city full of kings and soldiers, mercenaries and women and still have enough to pay other kings to destroy it. It was enough to buy a mountain full of dragons. Not even the king himself had that much money.

„What kind of job offers such a pay?“ Luhan asked in a shaky voice, trying to hide his excitement and failing miserably. This was something that could wake him up.

„Many people wanted someone dead for a long time.“ And of course it would be this kind of job, Luhan thought.

„And now, he is injured and weak somewhere in the mountains. The only thing needed to do is to track him down and end his life. And his dragon´s.“

Luhan blinked. The man was a dragon rider then. He had not heard of any of them missing, but he had also been in an absolute isolation for a little over a week. And a lot could happen in a week.

„Many mercenaries and private hires are tasked with finding and killing him. Find him first, bring me his head and you´ll be richer than kings and more powerful than healers and sorcerers. Find and kill the Head Rider and you will live like only few people in this world do.“

There was no way out for Luhan now. The temptation was too strong and he could not say no now.

„Think about it well. You can always say no.“

Luhan took a deep breath and answered in a confident manner.

„I accept your proposal. I will find Kai and I will bring you his head.“

Hi there!

Thanks so much to new subscribers, hope you enjoy the third chapter!

Onion