Prologue
The air hung with the fumes that poured from the factories. A dark world surrounded the people who hurried through the freezing city streets not looking anywhere but forward, hoping for the moment when they could enter their slightly warmer houses. In a barely lit corner off the main rode hid a cloaked figure. HIs face was not visible through the hood that shadowed the countenance of the shy visitor to the city. The figure seemed to be waiting for something, his eyes rarely moved from the spot directly across the street where a fat man sold vegetables from a wooden cart.
The Sun was setting when the event that the hooded stranger had been waiting for finally occurred. He had been waiting for over three hours and had received a number of glances in his direction, but luckily the majority of people simply passed by, too caught up in their own world. The blood red sky was beautiful despite the smog and funnels that penetrated the horizon. A signal to the cloaked man that no matter how powerful humans got, they would never defeat nature. The day had been a dry one and he had suffered for his constant waiting, he was parched and just wished for the job to be over. Suddenly the fat man at the vegetable store nodded, and the stranger raised his eyes to observe an attractive women walk down the street, her feet move in front of each other in the way that true ladies walked. She wore a red dress, which had been expertly tailored to show off her voluptuous curves and a fur throw, which was draped across her shoulders. She wore no coat and walked throw the poor streets with ease despite the fact that her wealth, so obvious to passers by, brought looks which would make any other feel ashamed.
The woman arrived at the fruit stall with a smile at the store holder, which was both patronizing and had the venom of a snake. Her eyes drilled into the vendor’s and the cloaked figure suddenly had the urge to defend his recent ally. The woman leaned forward and whispered into the ear of the vendor. The man blanched and stuttered something in reply. His eyes were wide with fear and, at the beck of the woman; he bent down and received a thin envelope. The woman leaned in once more, directly blocking the cloaked figures view of the vendor. He left hand took the envelope and the right patted the fat man on the stomach, she turned and walked away into the now black sky.
The cloaked figure went to follow her but was distracted by the fact that the pitiful shop keep he had so recently paid to be in his service was crouched on the ground clutching his chest where a small slice had been made. Not anywhere near a major organ and therefore not deadly. No one else had seen the unimportant fat man fallen to the floor. They moved past or stayed where they where lost in their own troubles. Unaware that the cloaked man who passes them was full of troubles that they could not imagine. Troubles the fat man no longer shared. The cloaked figure removed his hood; crouched and closed the dead mans eyes. Here once again was a man killed, from a wound that was most certainly not fatal.
Robert sighed and rose to his feet walking slowly into the crowd. Disappearing into the mix of wagons, people and cobbles.
