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The streets of the old city were not what they once were. They were once clean and filled with people going about their day like nothing could happen to them. That was what Fredrick remembered about it, or he could see with what was left of his eyesight. But now, all he could see were the ruins of buildings and people that tried to take shelter from the rain going down. The streets paved with cobblestone were now loose of a break from the damage from the siege, with trash and filth now scattered about the palace. This was different for the whole city as the damage was scattered about here and there, but the southern part was hit the most. It was once a place of trade and commerce in the old days, but now the poor and downtrodden had made their home here to try and live any semblance of the life they could find. Most people stay away from the old capital now because of the conditions, both poor living and the abuse of the city’s new rulers that made the people here miserable. But those that lived here before the war decided to stay for any number of reasons, but he always assumed that it was because of were afraid to leave and find themselves in a worse palace than here. They would be partially correct, at least, as the whole of Ardania was now suffering from all the empire had done to them in the war they brought here.
But now, it was not the time to look back on terrible days that were already gone. It was more important to deal with the ones that were happening now, and he was already doing something about it to improve them. Walking down the filth-covered roads was more challenging than it looked, as he only had his walking staff help him find he was without falling into potholes. Slipping was another story as the muck that he hoped was mud was reaching many of the streets that he was walking on. He fell a few times on the way over as if he slipped on a soapy floor from his days back on cleaning duty. But rather than a clean soapy smell, it was unpleasant that he did not want to think of it all nor what it came from. It took him some time to get up as his bad leg was why he fell all those times. He tried his best to move it without falling into the puddles beneath him and go about his way, but it was so hard for him. Why did it have to rain on all days to have a meeting of all times? But he did have help from some of the people passing him by, most likely taking pity on a blind and crippled old man. He was glad that some kindness was left in the world after all. The clothing he found to match the look made it easier to get around without anyone suspecting a thing. But the blindfold makes it more convincing to anyone looking at him. While he was not completely blind, he could only see blurry shapes and used them to find his way from memory and the shapes he could make out from under the blindfold to find his way.
But his memory was the key to where he wanted to go, as he had done it so many times before it was beginning to be easier to know where he was now. He just had to keep moving and attract any attention to himself, and all would be fine. He just had to act like all of the other street urchins over the street, and no one would notice him, save for his darker skin, but he looked so dirty he didn't think anyone would care about that. The sound of metal boots began to walk closer and closer to him as he continued to walk as best he could. Two figures appeared from out of the rain and came towards him from what he could see, and he nearly tripped as he felt his leg give way from being distracted. But he held onto his staff as it felt like he was going to fall again. He regained his balance and noticed the person approaching him. He heard an unfamiliar voice that was in front of him, causing him to tense up. "You there, old man. Have you seen this man?" A middle-aged man wearing armor was now in from of him, but he could only see the metal plating on his boots. It was one of the White Watch guards; this was one of the last things he needed right now. He couldn't get arrested right now; at least they didn't know who he was at least. The guard was holding a piece of paper from the sound of it but didn't bother looking up and kept his head down. He wore a helmet that covered his face, so he couldn't see who it was, but he knew that he had to listen to him to avoid any trouble. "Oi, you hard of hearing or something." Said the guard with an annoyed voice. Fredrick shook his head as he tried to answer the best he could. There was a very high chance he'd get in trouble for not answering and would probably end up getting roughed up by the guard. "I'm sorry, I can't hear that well. Would you mind repeating your question?" As he said that he was preying that he would get out of this in one, hoping to hear the sounds better in all the rain.
The guard let out another sigh of annoyance as he put the piece of paper closer to Fredrick's face, who still had his head down with his face covered by the hood of his cloak. " I said have you seen this, man? he's wanted for crimes against the empire." The words that the guard spoke sounded like a threat to the old man, as he started to feel nervous. He didn't want to be caught up in anything else. If he got sent to the Tower of Chains, he would never get out. " No, I haven't seen anyone like that, now, if you excuse me." he began to walk around the guard to try and get away from him as quickly as possible. But then he felt a hand on the back of his shoulder, which froze him up as the guard pulled him off his feet and to the ground. He barely had time to react when he saw a boot come down on top of him, knocking the wind out of him and making him gasp for air. "You don't get to leave until I tell you to leave you got that." The guard shouted at him. Then another voice chimed in coming from the other guard next to him. "Just leave him be he doesn't know anything, we might as well keep asking around." said the other guard, who seemed to be around the same age as the other one. "No, I want an answer out of him; we'll get nowhere if he's not talking. You know how it is." After a minute of trying to catch his breath, he finally found his voice and said, "Please, I haven't done anything wrong." he had to play his part as the poor old cripple to get out of this one. It was the only way he knew of to get out of this mess, but he had to do it quickly. "I told you that I haven't seen anyone," and Fredrick soon found himself pulled up by two strong hands tha gripped his shirt as he was lifted up to his fear. The sudden force caught him off guard as he tried to rebalance his feet as he was now standing. He felt wetness run down through the cloth of his clothes as he stood up. "Then look at it again, did you see him or not? I don't have time for games!" The guard yelled at him in a loud voice, and Fredrick's heart rate increased due to the pressure placed on him, he was in no condition to fight, not the way he was right now. And this was what he feared: being taken away and imprisoned. If he was younger and had his sight and leg back he would have had his way with this cold heart man in front of him, but now, he was older, weaker, and had only one good leg with little to no eyesight left. The other guard grabbed his hood, revealing his face to both of them. It was an old worn face that had seen many years of hardship over the years. Fredrick's black skin was now being pounded by the continuous rain. But what stood out more were the burn marks near his eyes that were not covered by his blindfold. Can't you see he's blind, you damn fool. said the other guard. The guard holding him then reached for his blindfold, and he yanked it from Fredrick's face, revealing the full extent of the injury that he had suffered all those years back at Whitewood. His eyes were mostly burned out, leaving him blind and unable to see almost anything out of them. He hadn't realized it until the other man did, but the man had also noticed it too. "Saint's, you are really blind aren't you?" The man exclaimed in shock at Frederick's injury. And Fredrick stared at the man blankly as he opened his mouth to speak, "please just leave me alone, I just want to be left in peace." he began to whimper. The man let go of his hood and lifted him up again, but this time putting him down gently as he looked at him. "What happened to you?" he asked him. "Can you tell us about it?"

The streets of the old city were not what they once were. They were once clean and filled with people going about their day like nothing could happen to them. That was what Fredrick remembered about it, or he could see with what was left of his eyesight. But now, all he could see were the ruins of buildings and people that tried to take shelter from the rain going down. The streets paved with cobblestone were now loose of a break from the damage from the siege, with trash and filth now scattered about the palace. This was different for the whole city as the damage was scattered about here and there, but the southern part was hit the most. It was once a place of trade and commerce in the old days, but now the poor and downtrodden had made their home here to try and live any semblance of the life they could find. Most people stay away from the old capital now because of the conditions, both poor living and the abuse of the city’s new rulers that made the people here miserable. But those that lived here before the war decided to stay for any number of reasons, but he always assumed that it was because of were afraid to leave and find themselves in a worse palace than here. They would be partially correct, at least, as the whole of Ardania was now suffering from all the empire had done to them in the war they brought here.
But now, it was not the time to look back on terrible days that were already gone. It was more important to deal with the ones that were happening now, and he was already doing something about it to improve them. Walking down the filth-covered roads was more challenging than it looked, as he only had his walking staff help him find he was without falling into potholes. Slipping was another story as the muck that he hoped was mud was reaching many of the streets that he was walking on. He fell a few times on the way over as if he slipped on a soapy floor from his days back on cleaning duty. But rather than a clean soapy smell, it was unpleasant that he did not want to think of it all nor what it came from. It took him some time to get up as his bad leg was why he fell all those times. He tried his best to move it without falling into the puddles beneath him and go about his way, but it was so hard for him. Why did it have to rain on all days to have a meeting of all times? But he did have help from some of the people passing him by, most likely taking pity on a blind and crippled old man. He was glad that some kindness was left in the world after all. The clothing he found to match the look made it easier to get around without anyone suspecting a thing. But the blindfold makes it more convincing to anyone looking at him. While he was not completely blind, he could only see blurry shapes and used them to find his way from memory and the shapes he could make out from under the blindfold to find his way. But his memory was the key to where he wanted to go, as he had done it so many times before it was beginning to be easier to know where he was now. He just had to keep moving and attract any attention to himself, and all would be fine. He just had to act like all of the other street urchins over the street, and no one would notice him, save for his darker skin, but he looked so dirty he didn't think anyone would care about that. The sound of metal boots began to walk closer and closer to him as he continued to walk as best he could.
Two figures appeared from out of the rain and came towards him from what he could see, and he nearly tripped as he felt his leg give way from being distracted. But he held onto his staff as it felt like he was going to fall again. He regained his balance and noticed the person approaching him. He heard an unfamiliar voice that was in front of him, causing him to tense up. "You there, old man. Have you seen this man?" A middle-aged man wearing armor was now in from of him, but he could only see the metal plating on his boots. It was one of the White Watch guards; this was one of the last things he needed right now. He couldn't get arrested right now; at least they didn't know who he was at least. The guard was holding a piece of paper from the sound of it but didn't bother looking up and kept his head down. He wore a helmet that covered his face, so he couldn't see who it was, but he knew that he had to listen to him to avoid any trouble. "Oi, you hard of hearing or something." Said the guard with an annoyed voice. Fredrick shook his head as he tried to answer the best he could. There was a very high chance he'd get in trouble for not answering and would probably end up getting roughed up by the guard. "I'm sorry, I can't hear that well. Would you mind repeating your question?" As he said that he was preying that he would get out of this in one, hoping to hear the sounds better in all the rain. The guard let out another sigh of annoyance as he put the piece of paper closer to Fredrick's face, who still had his head down with his face covered by the hood of his cloak. " I said have you seen this, man? he's wanted for crimes against the empire." The words that the guard spoke sounded like a threat to the old man, as he started to feel nervous. He didn't want to be caught up in anything else. If he got sent to the Tower of Chains, he would never get out. " No, I haven't seen anyone like that, now, if you excuse me." he began to walk around the guard to try and get away from him as quickly as possible. But then he felt a hand on the back of his shoulder, which froze him up as the guard pulled him off his feet and to the ground. He barely had time to react when he saw a boot come down on top of him, knocking the wind out of him and making him gasp for air. "You don't get to leave until I tell you to leave you got that." The guard shouted at him. Then another voice chimed in coming from the other guard next to him. "Just leave him be he doesn't know anything, we might as well keep asking around." said the other guard, who seemed to be around the same age as the other one. "No, I want an answer out of him; we'll get nowhere if he's not talking. You know how it is." After a minute of trying to catch his breath, he finally found his voice and said, "Please, I haven't done anything wrong." he had to play his part as the poor old cripple to get out of this one. It was the only way he knew of to get out of this mess, but he had to do it quickly. "I told you that I haven't seen anyone," and Fredrick soon found himself pulled up by two strong hands tha gripped his shirt as he was lifted up to his fear. The sudden force caught him off guard as he tried to rebalance his feet as he was now standing. He felt wetness run down through the cloth of his clothes as he stood up. "Then look at it again, did you see him or not? I don't have time for games!" The guard yelled at him in a loud voice, and Fredrick's heart rate increased due to the pressure placed on him. He was in no condition to fight, not the way he was right now. And this was what he feared: being taken away and imprisoned. If he was younger and had his sight and leg back he would have had his way with this cold heart man in front of him, but now, he was older, weaker, and had only one good leg with little to no eyesight left. The other guard grabbed his hood, revealing his face to both of them. It was an old worn face that had seen many years of hardship over the years. Fredrick's black skin was now being pounded by the continuous rain. But what stood out more were the burn marks near his eyes that were not covered by his blindfold. "Can't you see he's blind, you damn fool?" Said the other guard. The guard holding him then reached for his blindfold, and he yanked it from Fredrick's face, revealing the full extent of the injury that he had suffered all those years back at Whitewood. His eyes were mostly burned out, leaving him blind and unable to see almost anything out of them. He hadn't realized it until the other man did, but the man had also noticed it too. "Saint’s Mercy, you really are blind, aren't you?" The man exclaimed in shock at Frederick's injury. And Fredrick stared at the man blankly as he opened his mouth to speak, "please just leave me alone, I just want to be left in peace." he began to whimper. The man let go of his shirt but this time, putting him down gently as he looked at him. "What happened to you?" he asked him. Fredrick slowly shook his head to clear his mind as he spoke, "I don't remember much. It was during the siege right before the war ended. I was just trying to stay alive as the city came crashing down around me." He was obviously lying, but they didn't have to know that. "It was a hellish night. The city was burning. Everyone was screaming and crying, trying to hide from the fighting. The fire was everywhere, and it was almost pitch black outside as all I could do was hide myself in the rubble, not knowing what to do. he paused for a moment as he thought about that night. The night that actually happened when he and his comrades were betrayed and how it cost him his eyes and leg as fire and falling debris to them and soo much more. "I ran to the side of the road, looking for safety since I couldn't see anything. All I could hear was the screams and cries of people dying all around me. I was so scared that I thought I was going to die but I kept on running as fast I could, but then I heard something above me breaking with the last thing I ever saw was fire consuming my vision." " All I remember after that was pain that wouldn't end and wanting do die just for it to be over." "Now all I have now is darkness that keeps me company." After losing his sight and his leg he felt so useless that he did ever want to go on living for a long time. Frederick was quiet for a few moments, and then he went silent as he stared at the man in front of him. Both of the guards said nothing to say and only the rain starting to hitting the stone around them as it started to lighten up a little. " Lets go." said one of the guards as seeming to be satisfied with his answer and both of them started to walk away. He was finally getting what he wanted as the guards left, but something in him told that he wasn't done with them yet. "Given them back." he said loudly. The two guards stopped in their tracks with one of responding, "What?" with a confused look. The commotion caught them attention of some of the people around them mainly the begger and the poor that were hiding under anything to stay out of the rain. "I said give them back you, imperial scum." He tried his best to turn since he only had one leg to use now as he had let to retrieve his staff, he was relying his strength now to keep him up something he still had. The other guard insulted by his comment started to reply " Watch your tong-" He was interrupted. "Give me back my life!" Fredrick began to yell. It took the guard aback at the sudden change in the the blind old man in front of him. The other one began to look around as well as he saw several pair of eyes from the people on the street staring right at them. " Give me back my leg!" He touch his lame leg with his hand. "Give me back my eyes!" He placed is oolw worn hand over his ruined eyes. More people started to stop and wathc them and a few on them starting to join in starting the shout and cheer him on. " Me back my nephew!" Fredrick new that this not what he wanted to happed right now, but he just didn't care the memories of that day were rushing to him and he couldn't just hold it in anymore. More people began to join in yell and shouting saying with some of them shouting "scum" and "traitors" as they began to gather around the guards and standing next to Fredrick. One of them picks up his staff, handing it, and another, his blindfold he ties it around his face. " Give me back, my beloved." He raised his staff and with a loud thud an loud from the butt of it made a loud crack when hitting a cobblestone street. This seemed to have riled up the crowd that had gather as the once empty street started to become filled with more and more coming to see what was going on and joining in with the ever-growing mob. Their cries of anger and hatred blocked out the sound of pouring rain that continued to hit them. "Give me back my home!" He shouted at the top of his lungs. The guards were now were now on edge with all the attention that was now gather around them, with one of them reaching for the hilt of his sword, but had yet to draw it from it scabbard. "Disperse at once; you are all a part of an illegal gathering." The other guard said as he tried to get the crowd to disperse, trying his best to show his authority over them. Only to have what looked street trash thrown at him as it hit his chest, the filth spattering over the metal breastplate with a loud splat. So enough more things were being thrown at them ranging from rock
The crowd only grew louder, with even more people joining in, yelling, cheering, and jeering as Fredrick continued to make a commotion in the middle of the street, using every ounce of his remaining strength. But by the time he had vented out all of his anger that he realized that he had created an angry mob, people who all suffered at the hands of the empire and their war; they just needed someone to remind them of the truth, and now they were out for blood. He needed to get out of here. He thought to himself he just needed to get out of the crowd first. And that's exactly what he did; as soon as he broke free from his trance, he took a deep breath and made his way into the crowd behind. But he was struggling to get by as the crowd was bunched together like bundles of hay. Only the hay was able to push him back at this point. The sound of the crowd was the only thing that he heard as he tried to get by the people that surrounded him. Until suddenly he felt a hand in front of him that grabbed his arm that was pulling him forward. He didn't now who it was but he didn't fight it, as the person pull him was getting him though the crowd much faster than he could. Fredrick was pulled through the throng of people with his hands held high, trying his best not to fall onto any of the people below him, or get hit by anything that might fall from above. Fredrick finally managed to break out from the crowd and was pulled towards an alleyway. He leaned against the wall to lean on and take a brief rest as he caught his breath. His head began to spin, and he felt dizzy. He could smell the stench of urine mixed with human excrement in the air. "Where am I?" He said aloud as he put a hand to his face and rubbed it. It felt as if someone was watching him, "who are you." he called out, yet there was no response. He then heard a scream coming from where the crowd was, it seemed that they had fianlly decided to rush the two guards as they were now being swarmed by the mob. They would most likely not survive. Then heard another sound, that of more footsteps. He felt his body feel tense and forced himself to continue on through the dark alley. Not knowing where he was going but rather not stay when more guards arrived. He turned a corner that had led him down a narrow alleyway and was about to go further into it when he felt someone grab his shoulder. As soon as he turned around, a man's voice called out to him. "You should really be more careful old timer, its not healthy for someone your age to go and get into trouble." Fredrick then recognized the voice that he was hearing. "Dante?" he said quietly while still leaning on a wall for support. Dante nodded slightly as he stood up straight and took off his hood, letting his black hair fall freely about his shoulders. "I'm surprised you're even still alive after what happened at Whitewood." Dante had been an old friend of his back in the guard long before the guard, but rather than being a ranger, he was one of Banor Uther's men. He was surprised that he was even alive, considering that all the Banors were dead and supposedly all their soldiers died with them out of loyalty to their liege lords. But he could ask him later, he knew him to be a man he could trust. "If you call this being alive, that is," Fredrick answered in a weak voice as Dante looked at him closely at his condition for a long time until finally nodding. "Same here." Dante sighed deeply, shaking his head, "you know I can't let you just wander around." He replied as he looked over at the crowd. There were more guards, at least thirty of them, as they were now in a standoff with the angry crowd. It wouldn't be wise to stick around when the bloodshed started. "I mean I'd be happy to help you get out of here, but I think we should go right now." Fredrick moved off of the wall and stood up with his staff once more. Dante then wrapped his arm under Fredrick's shoulder and started to walk down the alleyway with Fredrick holding him closely as he walked farther into the alley as the sounds of the crow became more distant the farther they moved away from it. The two of them passed many narrow passages until they reached a small opening between two buildings that lead to the main road which Dante guided him toward.

He had been walking for a while now, and he figured he was close to his destination. He slowed his pace and reached out his hand to feel for the door knob. His fingers brushed against the cold metal, and he turned it, pushing the door open. He took a step inside and let the door close behind him. He lifted his blindfold revealing id partially good eye, and took in his surroundings. He was in an old, warn dining room. It had a long table with a few chairs near it. However, no one lived here for a long time, not since the war, he assumed, and no one cared if he was in there. He walked over to the window and made sure that its wooden doors were locked shut. The sun had yet to come out today with all of the rain coming down, and he couldn't admire the view, so it didn't matter. All he could enjoy now was how wet he was now, but he was used to it by now, considering his time in the wilderness and the uncomfortable condition he was accustomed to. He sat down on one of the chairs and waited. He thought about the hidden message he received this morning and began to wonder what was so urgent about it. He had been to this place several times to meet informants, but he abandoned it just like all of the other places, not wanting to look suspicious and get the attention of the city guards just like all the other places that came before. He only came here because this was the closest place to meet, and he ensured he wasn't followed or caused suspicion. As he continued to think about any possible chance that he was spotted, he heard a sudden squeaking sound of wooden planks of the floor that was only made by someone who was walking on them. This startled him as he jumped ups from his chair, his walking staff holding him up as a sudden rush of pain almost made him fall. " Calm down, it was only me." said a female voice. Looking to see who it was with his good eye, he saw a young woman, maybe in her early twenties, with long brown hair and deep brown eyes. She was wearing a simple brown dress and had a startled look on her face. " Forgive me for startling you, sir; I didn't mean to," she said in a gentle voice. The man calmed down a bit and took a deep breath, setting his staff down and sitting down before replying. " It's quite alright. I should have been more aware of my surroundings," he said with a smile of his own. " Now, what so important that you had to see me, Terresa?" The woman replied. " I have vital information for the brotherhood." He leaned back in his chair. "Information about what?" " A possible attack." Fredrick's smile vanished. " Do tell."