Role

Chapter 1

Keinte never knew his parents, his first memory was of the smell
of cooked bread fresh from the orphanage kitchens. He didn't know
how he ended up there, just another unwanted or otherwise abandoned
child.
The orphanage was a well enough place, the people there were friendly
enough and he certainly wasn't mistreated. But it wasn't exactly an
interesting place. Keinte was one of the youngest there, and he
really wasn't interested in the games they others played, so often
he snuck away into the city proper. All the noise, the sights, the
people all so different, there was always something interesting going
on.

It was on one such foray into the city that really set Keinte's path.
As he was walking through an alleyway, trying to keep to the shadows
and out of sight as he was still young and he had seen unsavoury
looking characters from time to time, rounding a corner he came
face to face with a grizzled, heavily scared old man. Keinte took
one look at the evil grin on his face and knew he was in trouble.
As he turned around to make a quick get away, a second figure appeared
looking at him with a similar grin.

Quick as he was Keinte couldn't escape the hand that grabbed his arm,
bending it back and forcing him to the ground. Panic set in as Keinte
struggled in vain to break free.
Then all of a sudden there was a loud screech and a thud on the ground
next to him as the arms holding him down released.
Daring to look up Keinte saw a figure detach from the shadows and leap
into the air with a graceful kick connecting with the second man,
breaking his neck with a loud snap.
As Keinte gasped to get his breath back, the man approached him and
Keinte wasn't sure if he had just been saved to suffer a worse fate.
But the man stepped past Keinte and reached to the corpse next to him,
pulling a dagger from one of its eye sockets.
Lowering his hood, a hard but kindly look face turned in Keinte's
direction.

'Sorry about waiting so long there boy, I had been stalking this one
a while and didn't want to miss the chance. Hope I didn't scare you
none. Slavers, one of the worst kind of wicked there are, and those
ones especially, always looking for youngsters.'
'Can't trust the law to deal with these monsters, too long they
remain free, breaking the spirit and taking the lives of those who
should remain innocent.'

Heavy footsteps could be heard come down the alleyway and as Keinte
looked to see who was approaching, the man slipped back into the shadows
and was gone. Keinte looked about for him for a moment, but he had
disappeared so fully. Rather than wait to see who would arrive, Keinte
dashed back down the alleyway in the opposite direction and carefully
made his way back home.