The four adventurers ran through the streets of the capital. They passed down side streets and through alleys. Through twists and turns, Maximus led the way, seeming to know always where to go. They continued to head in a generally westward direction. Gwen started to become disoriented. She was unsure whether she would be able to get back to where they started if she were left to her own devices.
Suddenly Maximus slowed down and then stopped. He turned to his companions.
"Mari told me that the girl has stopped running, she went into a worn-down building which seems to be an orphanage of sorts. When Mari followed her in, she saw that it is full of young children. Since the girl has stopped moving, we can slow down our pace," Maximus told his companions. "We will be reaching the slum district soon and we will want to be on alert there."
"I'd be interested to know how you can communicate with Marigold at such a distance, Max. Please tell me when this is resolved," Gwen asked.
The companions continued forward at a brisk pace, but no longer running. As Gwen walked, she observed that the streets were getting worse. There were holes in the street and the stones were cracked. The street was also filthy, covered in mud and muck. The air itself stank of human and animal waste and disease. The putrid smell was almost too much for Gwen to handle.
"Gwen, stay extremely close to us, we are entering the slum district. It can be dangerous here," Tristan said as they passed increasingly poorly built and decaying structures.
The district seemed deserted with few people on the street. It would seem abandoned if not for the movement in the dark alleyways and the eyes watching from behind boarded windows. There was also the occasional beggar sitting on the side of the road. The majority of the beggars had some form of major injury. Many were missing hands or even entire arms or legs.
None of the residents tried to impede or stop them. Gwen had believed that they would be approached by some sketchy men who would extort or threaten them for money. This pattern was a common occurrence in the movies she had watched and books she had read. This did not appear to be the case here. It appeared that similar to how large predators rarely actively hunted humans in her own world due to the risks to their own safety, the seedier residents of this district viewed three well-armed individuals as too much of a risk. Gwen was certain that if she were alone, this would not be the case.
Walking further the companions passed a rundown house. Even on the approach, Gwen could smell the strong aroma of burning herbs and floral scents. Standing outside this house were women. These women were dressed revealingly and posing provocatively to anyone who looked their way. What was surprising to Gwen was the fact that many of these women were wearing veils to cover their faces. Gwen thought that covering their faces when the rest of their bodies were so exposed was odd.
A slight breeze blew and gave Gwen her answer. The breeze blew one of the women's veils up enough for Gwen to see her nose, or rather where her nose would have been. Instead of having a normal nose, the woman had a piece of wood in the rough shape of a nose tied to her head. Gwen was taken aback in shock. Looking more closely, all of the women wearing veils had some form of fake nose.
"Come 'ere boys, we'll show you a good time," one of the women called to the group.
All three of the boys just ignored the woman and kept walking.
"Ya don't have to be so cold; we can warm you right up," another shouted.
Without quickening their pace, the friends simply kept walking, ignoring the cat calling.
After a few more minutes of walking, the group reached the location of the young thief. The companions stood in front of what appeared to have at one time been a church. The building was in a severe state of disrepair, multiple sections of the roof were caved in. While the building was two stories, the second floor looked to be uninhabitable due to the collapse of the roof. The other buildings in the slums district were all in poor shape, but this building went a step beyond the rest. This building was structurally unstable. Gwen could not imagine having to live there.
Tristan was the first to take action, walking up to the door of the dilapidated building and knocking on it. It took about a minute before the door was opened.
"Can I help you?" A thin elderly woman tentatively peeked her head out of the door.
"Yes, we followed a young girl here, she stole a coin purse from us," Gabriel stated from behind Tristan. Broken planks of wood and fallen stone made it only possible to reach the door walking single file.
"If you are trying to rob us, you don't need to make up an excuse for it," the old woman told them. "We barely have enough food to go around, let alone money, so I question your choice of target."
"Mam, I can assure you that we are not trying to rob you, if you could let us in, we can talk this over," Maximus chimed in.
"You are all young and dressed far too nicely to be from this place. I will trust you, but you must first tell me what you plan to do with the child if you find the money. I will not let you in if you plan to harm any of the children. I will fight you to my last breath, if necessary." The conviction in the old woman's words was evident, her knuckles white as she gripped the door. She would indeed give her life defending this place.
"We do not plan to harm the girl, or any of the children, we simply wish to have our money returned to us," Gabriel assured the elderly woman.
Relief washed over the woman's face as she loosened her grip on the door. She stepped back from the door and opened it wide enough for them to get inside.
"Then you may come in," the old woman said.
Walking inside, Gwen noticed how gaunt the old woman truly was. Her skin seemed almost translucent and clung to her bones. The elderly woman brought them into the main room of the building. This room appeared to be functioning as both a kitchen and common space.
"I have no seats, so make yourself comfortable however you'd like," the old matron said apologetically.
"So, what did the girl who you say stole your coins look like?" the old woman asked.
"She had straight brown hair, brown eyes, and appeared to be around twelve years old, although she may be older than that given the ... circumstances," Maximus told the woman.
Gwen assumed that he was getting this information from Marigold. Gwen herself did not get a chance to get a good look at the girl and she did not think anyone else did either.
"Amara come out," the old woman commanded gently but forcefully. "Did steal something from these young people? I thought I had taught you that no matter how bad it gets, we cannot steal."
A young girl came out from a door in the back of the abandoned church turned orphanage. The girl did match the description Maximus had given the elderly woman. The girl's eyes were fixed downwards, trying to avoid eye contact with everyone in the room.
"Amara, did you steal a coin purse from these young people?" the matron asked.
"Yes, I did, but we need money! We would barely make do with the food that the Temple provides, but then we have to give a quarter of it away as protection money!" The girl was visibly upset. Tears streamed from her eyes. "Last time I didn't get caught and I was able to buy the medicine that Tommy needed."
"So that was where that came from. You told me that the apothecary gave it to you because it was of poor quality," the old woman said to the young girl. "Return their coin purse to them."
The little girl pulled the coin pouch out of the pocket of her dress and handed it to Tristan.
The immediate issue solved, Gwen asked the elderly woman a question that had been bothering her since they had arrived, "How many children are you taking care of here?"
"I am taking care of fifteen children between the ages of four and ten. Amara is my assistant, she is thirteen years old," the old woman replied.
Tristan reached into his bag and pulled out fifteen silver coins and handed them to the old woman.
"I hope this can help you and the children get back on your feet," Tristan said smiling.
Still, one issue remained on everyone's mind. What would the orphanage do going forward?