The Alley of Fortune’s Cup

The streets in the eastern section of garder were completely dark. The only wisps of light were those from the insides of the house and some town watchmen walking around with torches keeping the peace. When the two siblings passed to the center district they saw a figure leaping towards them, completely hidden in the darkness.

Farn immediately punched the leaping person in the stomach and tackled them fiercely while Falco immediately took a few steps away. As Farn took a closer look he found that it was his friend Desmond.

"What the fuck man, why'd you jump out like that". Farn growled.

"Surprise". Desmond wheezed. "I thought it would be funny".

"You seriously come up with some of the worst ideas".

"It worked didn't it?".

"Well it is kinda funny seeing you get punched". Falco smirked

"Mission accomplished… Boss". Desmond exhaled, his body then drooped downward like he was a recently made corpse.

"Man, get your dumbass up". Farn said, extending a hand towards Desmond.

After Desmond took his hand and stood up he dusted off his clothes and proceeded to walk with them towards the west.

"So anyways,". Desmond Said. "What was the weird thing during your hunt?".

"Just drop it". Farn said. "It was nothing".

"Bullshit. If there's one thing everyone from the hells to the heavens know is that you're a terrible liar. So spit it out"

"Seriously it was nothing"

"SWEAR TO ME". Desmond growled with the deepest voice he could muster while grabbing Farn's clothes and getting uncomfortably close to his face.

Farn gave a noticeable stare to Falco. He wanted him to bail him out of this situation. Falco could only just stare in awe at his brother's stupidity.

'Why on earth would he do that. Fuck I know he's your friend but there has to be a limit on stupidity.'. Falco thought.

"My dumbass of a brother wanted to say that he thought he saw a unicorn, but was too embarrassed to say it"

Desmond could only look at Farn. Clearly he wasn't exactly convinced.

"I know your not as smart you little brother, but even this is too dumb for you"

"Screw you, I'm way smarter than you"

"Well at least i didn't, think I saw a unicorn"

"At least I don't think Lavender can turn people into frogs"

"Where's the proof against it? Magic can turn people into frogs. Lavender can do Magic. Therefore Lavender can turn people into frogs".

"That's a false premise". Falco said

"A what"

"Forget it, let's just go to the alley". Farn said.

Desmond clearly wanted to retort but when he saw the sky's darkness his response changed.

"Fine let's go"

The trio then resumed the walk towards their destination.

As the trio arrived at the western section, there was a distinct increase in lighting. They arrived at the district of vices. Gambling, whoring and anything that should be kept away from children can and will be found in this district.

When they finally saw the sign of the nearest whore house, they immediately went into the back alleys deep in the crevices of the district. Within these alleys was a smallish abandoned shack. This was their small base of operation for their excursions.

As they entered they found two people within. The first was a man of slightly lighter skin than usual and was shorter than Farn, but slightly taller than Desmond; This was Lock. He's the son of a prostitute and will resort to violence if someone brings it up. The second person was a girl about as old as Farn who was the tallest after Farn and definitely had muscles that were almost as prominent as Farn's. This was Gaila. She's the daughter of two Town watchmen and is one of the best fighters in town excluding knights.

"Oh you brought pigeon boy tonight". Gaila said. "Did he finally man up and get over what happened last time". She said while putting her arms behind Farn and Falco.

"No. My dad wanted him to join". Farn said. "Said he should man up".

"There's words of wisdom eh. Stop spending so much time in the archives and bring on the pain".

"I'm gonna hate it". Falco said.

"WHAT. What's there to hate about it? There's punching, kicking. At the end there's even some blood being spilled. I mean yea sure some it's yours, but that's what makes it awesome".

"That. All of that.That's what I hate"

"Oh you're no fun"

Falco could only sigh as a response.

'Please I know that you've never responded to my prayers, but please stop this madness'. Falco prayed inside. 'Aearniea, please grant peace to these idiots'.

"So who are we going to fight today". Asked Lock. "Is it the fucks up north, the red eyes, the steels".

"I'm thinking of the Gambers". Farn said.

"Them?". said Lock. "We would be outnumbered by a decent amount".

"And those guys are fucking crazy". Desmond said.

"I don't care, we could easily take them on". Gaila said.

'What the hell is he thinking. We can't fight against them'. Falco inwardly panicked. 'Wait a minute. Farn's not the best with anything outside of fighting, but this man is a fighting genius. Oh please have a plan'.

"First of all, I understand that you guys may have some reservations about this, especially my baby brother". Farn said while looking at his panicking brother. "But, we have to do it. Those guys have been getting a little bit too aggressive. They are harassing some of the younger kids and even robbing some of them. And to top it all off, their encroaching on others' turf"'.

"But what are we going to do about the numbers problem". Falco said.

"I'm getting to it. The largest amount of turf that they leach off is on the far west side".

As Farn said those last words Falco immediately understood the plan.

"So we should join hands with the choppers and beat their ass".

As Farn finished those words the eyes of both Desmond and Lock lit up. Gaila didn't really care, she just wanted to fight.

"Ok so here's how it's gonna go. Desmond, Gaila and I will go convince them while Falco and Lock do some scouting on their turf".

"Why can't I go with you". Falco said. "We know that I can convince people if need be".

"Well bird boy". Gaila Interrupted before Farn could say a word. "You may be good with numbers and words, but the moment those guys see your tiny ass they will laugh you out. Farn and I on the other hand will never be laughed at when speaking. Why, you ask? Because while you were in the dust filled archives, we were training and fighting. We have a reputation around here. Even the adults would think twice before fighting us even in the most drunken of states".

"Then what about Desmond?".

"Well, everyone likes Desmond". Gaila said

And with those last words the new trio started walking out the door. But before leaving Desmond said with a grin "Well, she has a point" While smiling and exiting the shack. Falco was left with Lock.

After a few moments Lock stood up, sighed and waved at Falco to follow him. Both of them then proceeded to exit the shack and started walking to the northwestern portion of the vice district.

While walking towards the Gambers' territory Lock started giving Falco the basic tips on their job.

"First off". Lock Said. "Don't make noise, we want to ambush them. Second of all we mostly just want a head count and whether they have weapons or not. We don't want someone to get stabbed".

"Anything else?". Falco asked.

"Not particularly". Lock responded. "However in your case you could look around and see if there's anything we could use". He said. "We gotta use your head for something".

With those last words they stayed silent until they arrived at the doorsteps of their territory.

"Follow me". Lock whispered. "They usually loiter around the alleys of Fortune's Cup. But we have to stay hidden just in case".

With those words Lock crouched down and avoided the lights going from shadow to shadow. Falco would follow Lock with some difficulty, but not bad enough to get caught. They moved from shadow to shadow until they finally saw the sign of Fortune's Cup.

As they saw the sign Lock stopped and waited until falco caught up. He then pointed towards Falco towards the nearest alley, where Lock then proceeded to give him thumbs up and started making his way towards the left side.

Falco was left alone. With his newfound solitude his heart started beating faster and his legs started shaking. He was paralyzed.

'Please I really don't want to do this'. Falco thought

He waited for a few moments just for the slightest hope that Lock would come back.

'Maybe I can just say it was too dark or I thought someone spotted me or something like'. Falco thought. 'No one would even know'.

But as he finished a thought the only thing he could remember was Lock saying "We don't want someone to get stabbed". This filled his head with the image of his brother getting stabbed and he was the one holding the knife.

"Why" Farn said. "Why did you do it?".

Falco would see the image of him covered in blood just standing there pathetically.

'Even though this is stupid and idiotic'. Falco thought. 'Even though this goes against my very being. We don't abandon family'

Falco took a large deep breath and exhaled. He did that a few times to the point where his heart was beating at a normal pace. He eventually stopped shaking. He was able to move again.

Falco then proceeded to do a few stretches before crouching down and heading towards the dark alley of Fortunes Cup.