2 Norma Street

He was lost in thought. He knew how everyone else felt about the night. But he didn't feel afraid when he thought about it. The night was when he was most at peace with himself. He always felt calm when the sun went down, comforted almost. That didn't mean he was going to ignore the advice of his elders and family. He wasn't suicidal. The night was feared by others for a reason.

Nevi took out his phone to check if he got any messages while he was in class. Just a couple of messages from his dorm mates. He could ignore those for now. He didn't really feel like going back as of yet.

'Guess I'll just hit the town.'

Nevi enrolled in a university famed for its Seeker and Hunter programs. The University of Dyrnem. Professional hunters are people who put their lives on the line to whittle down the monster population and protect the cities. It's a profession that Nevi held the utmost respect for. But what he wanted to be was a seeker. Seekers are ones responsible for exploring dangerous places and gathering intel on certain locations. This coincided with what he wanted to do with his life. Explore.

Which is what he was about to do. There were still many places in Dyrnem city that he had not yet seen. Today he was going to take a walk down Norma Street.

'First things first, let's grab some food. I'm starving.'

He made his way to a noodle stall he spotted across the way. When he got there he spotted a middle aged man working the stall.

"Hey kid, what'll it be?"

"Uhh, surprise me."

He wasn't too familiar with the types of food sold at a noodle shop. He was just looking to try something new.

"Alright kid, I've got a new recipe I've been wanting try out."

"Lay it on me old man!" Nevi grinned.

"Hey kid I'm not that old. Anyway, you a native to Dyrnem?"

"No, I'm here for Dyrnem University."

"Oh? What are you hoping to do?"

"Become a Seeker."

The man was a little startled. Not many people wanted to become a seeker after all. It was dangerous work.

"Well I wish you good luck with that."

"Thanks old man."

The man gave Nevi his food. They were curly noodles with a blue shade to them. They were odd to say the least.

"So kid, what are you doing wandering around Norma street?"

"Just relaxing. I like to look for new and interesting things to do. Speaking of which, do you know any must see stops around here?"

The noodle man put his hand on his chin. There were a few places he could think of, but there was one interesting rumor going around.

"I definitely recommend the old weapon shop around the corner. They have some interesting things for sale. There's also this rumor about a fortune teller around these parts. I've never seen her, but hey, you might be lucky enough to spot her."

Nevi finished his noodles, thanked the man and left a nice tip.

'An old weapons shop? Might as well take a look.'

Nevi maneuvered his way through the street until he arrived at Rocko's Weapons and Antiques. The store looked slightly dilapidated with an old wooden sign. He walked in and spotted a young man with dark hair who seemed to be in his early twenties.

"Are you Rocko?"

"No, that name belongs to my grandfather. He isn't around right now. My name is Ravis. What can I do for you?"

"I was told that this is a good place if I'm looking for anything interesting." Nevi said this as his eyes started to wander.

"As interesting as old antiques and cold weapons can be."

"Mind if I take a look around?"

"Please do, I haven't had much to do the past couple of days, so by all means if you have any questions..." Ravis gestured towards himself.

"Alright, thanks." Nevi now went to look around the shop. He turned down a small isle with some blunt weapons. He spotted an old polished wooden club. Picking up the club, he was surprised at how heavy it was. A hit hard enough with this thing would knock somebody out cold.

Putting down the club, he turned to another section of the store. This section had mostly sharp weapons, like swords, knives, spears, and the like. Nevi was about to leave but he spotted a pair of long daggers. They were simple iron daggers with black handles. He picked up them up to give them a feel.

They weren't light like he was expecting. The daggers had a weight distribution that felt kind of odd. It wasn't perfectly balanced, but it was overall pretty even. Most people would think an evenly balanced weapon to be decent, but Nevi didn't feel like these daggers should be like this. But he still couldn't shake the feeling they gave him.

He simply really liked the daggers.

"Hey Ravis? How much for these daggers?"

"Those things? They're about $15 dollars individually, I'll sell them both to you for $28."

"You sir, have yourself a deal."

He walked up to the counter with the swords in each hand. Nevi reached into his jeans' back pocket for his wallet. He had about 30 dollars left after his meal at the noodle stand.

Nevi walked out of the shop with the two weapons wrapped up and slung around his arm. He walked towards the direction of the university. He wasn't really attracting any eyes as carrying weapons wasn't that odd after the merging of the two societies.

Nevi walked for about another twenty minutes before he realized that he had gotten lost.

'Good thing we don't have a curfew. I probably won't make it back any time soon.'

He took a look around. There were a few shops he hadn't really heard of before. He decided to make his way towards one of the shops to ask for directions, when he heard a voice call out.

"Young one... Over here."

Nevi looked around and saw an old lady disappear into an alley. He thought about it for a second then decided to go check things out. He had enough confidence to defend himself if it was some muggers or something.

'I also have these two daggers, so that's a plus.'

He approached the alley and saw the old lady sitting behind a small stall. She beckoned him closer with what seemed to be her only hand.

He looked around and saw no one else around, so he decided to see what this was all about. H sat down in front of her and spoke.

"Are you the fortune teller I've heard about?"

"Fortune teller is not quite what I'd call myself, but I'd say it gets the point across."

The old lady chuckled.

"Now give me your hand."

Nevi did as she asked and extended his hand to her. He had never had his fortune told before, so this should be interesting.

To Nevi's shock, the old lady pulled out a knife. He quickly retracted his hand.

"Oh none of that. What could I possibly do to you? I only need a drop of your blood."

"I don't know maybe stab me?! Besides, what possible use could you have for my blood?"

"My fortune telling is special. It is actual magic that was originally developed in Atheria. Now come on just one drop."

Nevi thought for a second. As much as he would hate to admit it, he was genuinely intrigued about the magic the old woman just spoke of. So against his better judgement, he gave his hand back to her.

"That's more like it. Not just anyone can find me you know."

"Why not?"

"Let's just say that there are certain conditions that need to be met."

As she was saying this to him, she made a small incision on his index finger. She then brought his hand to a crystal looking object she had on her stall. She gently pressed his finger against the object and let him go. After which, she put her hand on the crystal. To Nevi's amazement, it started to glow. To be more accurate, it started to darken. The entire thing soon turned pitch black, as did the woman's eyes.

"Well? What do you see?"

Nevi had a bit of excitement in his voice. This was something new to him. He had never heard of such a type of magic in school before.

Shortly after, the woman's eyes stopped glowing. She looked back at the bright eyed youth with a look of disbelief.

"Ahem. You must watch out. Great danger approaches. Um, you must be strong enough to deal with it."

Nevi frowned. That was a little anti climactic. Not to mention that fortune seemed kind of... generic?

"Is that really all? You didn't see anything interesting?"

"Yes, that is all. Now off with you!"

The woman seemed a little upset at his comment.

"Alright, I'll go."

Nevi left the alley to go find someone who could give him directions, but when he looked around he realized he was back on Norma street. He turned around because he forgot to tip the old lady. But she was gone.

"Oh well, at least I know where I am now."

Nevi turned to go home and left Norma street.

In another alley an old woman with one hand had packed her stuff up into a pack on her back. She sat down for a second and looked at her hand.

It was trembling.