Snippet #2391163

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The standard day-time sounds of Resmyrd had long since receded from Takeuchi’s hearing, seemingly gobbled up by the ever-encroaching darkness that was brought with the onslaught that was nighttime, they were replaced with a strange assortment of silence and hushed-goings on, undoubtedly much the more so given the current state of affairs in the world. His foot’s drag sounded something akin to rocky soil being torn by a rusty plow in comparison now, rather startling considering just how much he attempted to stifle the noise whilst walking, and it started bringing upon him the attention of people whom he would rather not take notice of him. It was not like he would meet their gaze directly at this time in the evening though, for a multitude of reasons, but the most daunting of which happened to be due to his affliction, despite the darkness smothering whatever light it could grasp there were still a fair amount of street-lamps, personal lanterns, and domicile lighting to be had, and the flickering flames could prove rather dangerous at the moment. So he contented himself with staring upon the cobbled-streets littering this area, proving very useful to the gimp as this particular road was littered with a plethora of pot-holes and puddles which could prove disastrous to his current trek, much more akin to a constitutional now.

In all honesty the poor, stuttering Meister was most assuredly lost at this point in time, currently having no clue as to either where he was wondering or which direction he was heading, the necessity of keeping his head down meant he could only see the majority of buildings he passed below their first-floor window, much less look up to those street signs so unfortunately placed beneath the street-lamps. Takeuchi knew as soon as he had stepped out of the carriage and saw the rapidly receding sun set over the horizon that this would happen, despite having lived in Resmyrd for quite some time he was very unfamiliar with the town, and all the much more so at nighttime, especially considering his lack of directional-sense compounded this problem exponentially. If he did not know any better, which he felt he did not at this particular moment, he could swear the stars were aligned against him on this oh so muggy of evenings, of course many would claim his afflictions were evidence enough of his fate in this world. Every limping step he took down the street instigated a more ragged intake of breath as his luggage began weighing his frail, distorted body down, and every labored breath seemed to trigger and equally disastrous increase in the burning pain his problematic leg experienced.

“‘ey cripple! Yea, you there, stumblin’ through the road like some lost li’l puppy-dog lookin’ fer yer master. I best advise you to be getting’ off my block ya ken?”

The grizzled voice startled Takeuchi from his silent fixation upon the fiery needles burying themselves even deeper into is bad leg at the moment just enough to turn his head far enough so that he could eye the figure quietly. His accoster seemed much like the thuggish type which roamed the streets after dark who always preached their devotion to protecting their neighborhood, but who never seemed to desire more than to steal and harass up-standing citizens, both inhabiting the area and passing-by. By the looks of it there was a small group of them loitering about, no doubt looking for trouble to either find or stir-up in hopes of filling their petty lives with what they considered entertainment. Takeuchi tried to return once again to his ever-lengthening expedition, but the hood must have taken a disliking to the Meister’s presumption of making visual contact with the individual threatening him.

“Wot in the bloody-blue ‘ell you be starin’ at cripple? I ought to thrash you a good one right about that cripple-head o’ yours to teach ye a lesson.”

“Yea, your bad-luck ain’t welcome ‘round these parts ye hear? We ought just put ‘im outta his misery and let the pigs et him, ya ken?”

“Right you are there, why don’t we just remedy this little situation we got on our hands.”

“Now that ye mention it boys, we might just hef’ta relieve this ‘un of our belongings he’s right draggin’ about with ‘im . . .”

“You trash best be leavin’ that boy alone, ya ken? That one’s an Exorcist, and ain’t a one of ya gonna be harmin’ him.”

The last voice boomed out from behind Takeuchi, causing him to swing around hurriedly to try and glimpse his defender. It turned out to be a mountain of a man who had to crouch and scrunch to fit through the door to, what seemed to be, the Inn behind him. The Meister was a bit too stunned by the sight of the giant standing in front of him to turn around again, but by the sounds of it the hoods were scrambling away quickly from the scene. All Takeuchi could think to do was bow deeply at the moment, a gesture made extremely awkward considering his luggage and extreme pain still pulsating through his leg. Before he had a chance to even open his mouth and stutter a response he could feel the weight of his luggage leaving his worn-out body, and afterwards another hand came out to slap him reassuringly upon his left shoulder.

“Now best you be comin’ inside boy. That trash ain’t gonna be leavin’ far from here, and if they catch you walkin’ any farther tonight ya won’t be knowin’ their comin’ before they strike. ‘Urry on now, you look like you need the rest and I need to be gettin’ asleep ‘fore the wife wakes up an wallops the both of us.”

With that the giant hurried back inside the establishment now looming in front of the young Meister, carrying his luggage inside as Takeuchi might his special charms, and there was not much to do but follow inside to leave the unfamiliar street, all-engulfing night, and vicious hoods behind him.