Chapter 1
Lands of Corruption
He could see nothing other than black in front of his eyes, as he was running. His feet were moving by themselves, the mind unable to control them anymore. Tree branches were whipping his skin, leaving red marks, impossible for him to feel. His breathing was heavy, his panting revealing at times how his voice sounded like, unable to keep it back. His lungs were hurting. He couldn't feel the rest of his body anymore, all he knew was that he had to escape.
As one foot of his met a root, he stumbled and fell with a loud bang, followed by a chain of loud curses. Kwon was exhausted. He had no idea how long he had been running. Had the guards lost his trail?! He stood for a bit, listening. Aside from the owls, it was quiet. It seemed he had some time to rest. He adjusted his body to a more confortable position, as he sighed. All this effort and he got nothing... He wasn't worthy of being called a thief.
It all started in the city of Bowerstone. Kwon was in one of his usual walks around towns in search for things to loot. He had set his eyes on a small, but elegant house near the town's gate. So, when nobody was home, he readied his pockets, broke into the house, and rushed upon the chest with goodies... only to be caught moments later by a middle-aged lady who happened to be the owner of the house. But, being quite the good-looking and neat lad, he managed to get away with the lamentable excuse of looking for food. The lady took that one step further though. The thief's appearance and youth brought joy to her eyes... she wanted to keep him for a tad more. Kwon saw in this a chance to fill his pockets with gold, so he decided to play the lady's game. But luck wasn't on his side, for the lady's husband appeared in a shiny town guard uniform. He raged at the sight set before his eyes. He took his sword out, shouting at the intruder, spitting while doing so, eyes ready to get out of their sockets. Kwon jumped swiftly, avoided two hits, reached for the door and away he went, with no loot and the guard after him. Soon, other guards joined their colleague with their sharp blades out. What followed was running and more running.
'Stupid...' Kwon muttered. 'So stupid!!' He clenched his teeth and punched the earth. 'What am I supposed to do now?' he whined. He was tired, hungry, penniless, and, to add to the problems, he had no idea where he was. And he surely didn't want to spend the night in that forest god-knows-where. After he rested for a bit more, he got up, made a pirouette and picked a random direction to head towards. And he started walking slowly, careful not to trip again, his attention focused on any sound he heard. But, after a while, another sense of his got activated: the smell. The scent of fried meat traveled to Kwon, seduced him, luring him to follow the trail it left. The hungry thief saw no other choice but to follow it, hoping he would be able to claim the scent's possessor and devour it, because his stomach was growling and pleading for that. His hopes jumped up when he sighted the fire where the meat was roasted.
He rushed to the fire and, without taking into account anything or anyone that could be nearby, he grabbed the stake and started munching on it. But, at his first bite, he felt something cold against his neck.
'Not so easy boy...' a greasy man threatened Kwon with his knife, slowly pushing the cold blade against his throat, sending shivers down his spine. 'That wasn't a nice thing to do... stealing peoples' food like that...' the man's face changed into an evil grin, his knife turning on Kwon's neck until the blade touched his skin...
'What is happening here?' The man had been interrupted by a lad's voice. With a grimace on his face, he turned around to face the voice's owner, a tall young man with fine features and dreadlocks. You could tell after his attitude, he was the leader.
'M-m-master, a-an intruder..'The man who was so fearless before had lost its attitude in front of the lad.
'What? ate your steak? When will you learn...' the leader glared at him. After a short pause, he added. 'Let me handle him, you stay here and eat.' And, grabbing Kwon by the wrist, he left. After a while, he let go of the intruder, so they ended up walking alongside each other.
'....Thank you.' Kwon muttered, looking at the ground before him.
'...hm? Yeah, no problem.'
An awkward pause followed.
'May I know why you're here?' the leader asked in the end. Kwon told him he had been chased by guards and ended up there. The other lad laughed.
'Oh, so you're that thief.'
Kwon's jaw dropped.
'I was there, you know... on the road. You surely ran in circles, haven't you!' he added, laughing. 'I had the time of my life watching you get me rid of all those guards. I have to thank you.'
'But... what were you...'
'I'd have to trust you first.'
'And how can I win your trust?' Kwon shot back.
The other lad looked at him and smirked. 'With or against the king?'
'I'd have to trust you first', Kwon returned the line, causing his discussion partner to laugh again.
'So I suppose you're against. You should stick around here. Who knows... maybe you'll win my trust.'
Kwon said nothing.
'Well... how about my trust and that steak that you wanted so much earlier?' the leader added with a smile. The thief laughed.
'You certainly know how to win people.'
'That's what I'm here for. I am Zico, by the way.'
'...Kwon. Nice to meet you.' replied the thief.
They shook hands and went back to claim the steak.
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