Seeing the gracious and wonderful people who offered their 'protection' to the people of the slums, a feeling of anxiety started building up within Shandy.
He was unsure whether he had enough money to pay them, and what they would do if he was unable to pay.
When they finally encroached upon his residence, a tall dark skinned guy walked out and said,"You better pay this time you runt, or you know what's going to happen. 5 copper coins and no less."
Seeing the amount they desired, Shandy heaved a sigh or. relief, knowing that atleast he was capable of paying them for now.
He reached into his bag to take out some coins when the jingling sound it produced caused an evil glint to pass through the gangsters' eyes.
They suddenly grabbed him and said,"Boss, he failed to pay this time again."
The leader of the group knowingly said,"Beat him to an inch of his life and take everything he has."
They all pushed him to the floor while one of the men grabbed the bag of coins and handed it over to the boss, the remaining joint up to allow him access to a violent volley of kicks.
He screamed and screamed but no one seemed to listen, no one came to help;they were all too used to something like this.
The pain eventually overwhelmed his body and he couldn't think straight anymore, yet, before fainting he managed to do one thing.
'Identification', he said within his mind
Item: Grit Ristings
Occupation: Bandit-Level 4
And then he blacked out.
__________
He came back to consciousness, but he lay within a location he had no recollection of. Complete darkness surrounded him, with just a small beam of light infinitely far away.
At first, he waited, and then he waited, and he waited and waited and waited.
Until a long time later, he felt a warm touch stroke his forehead, and soon, he felt his body being dragged out of this space.
When he re-returned to consciousness, he felt a hand stroking his head. A tiny, wrinkled hand
traversed across his head and a trembling voice repeatedly said, "Poor child."
When he tried opening his mouth,a tinging pain struck through his body and the lady angrily stated,"Hushhhh, don't speak yet, you are not ready."
She slowly applied some warm ointments across his body and the pain slowly oozed out. The elderly lady brought him food, brought him water, and took care of him but throughout that entire process, she never let him utter a single word.
Soon, his body was capable of movement, but any large movement would bring about a large pain with it.
After that, the lady moved him out of her house and when he was pushed out the door, he turned around to ask her why she did all this to help him, but what shocked him was that he was at his old, wooden shack, and any trace of the old woman had disappeared.
He owed his life to that lady, a lady that he could no longer find.
Unable to see a trace of her anywhere, and being in a location where he nearly died, he decided to go away, and soon, walked towards that small beam of light that shone from the main streets onto this desolate, ruthless slum.