{You can call on every god you've ever known}
{But I warn you, The lost gods are lost for a reason}
For Ashan, there was no greater temptation than holding a box full of silver coins as he passed through the main market of the City Of Drago, assailed by different aromas from countless food stalls he passed by on the way to his destination, his empty stomach rumbling in protest to be fed.
"Hey, I have the best magic books in the whole city and whatever it is you might require, " someone again shouted at him, a few steps beside him, feeling the need to yell with the loud noise at the market, having recognized his uniform, which was only known by a few people,
"Thank you, but I'm fine," Ashan replied, as he hastened his pace, drawing his wrapped box closer to his waist and tapping his left trouser pocket to make sure that as he talked, he also wasn't being robbed,
"I might not look like it but I can help you with whatever you need," the young man adamantly continued, going as far as to jump into Ashan's way, smiling broadly regardless of the fact that he was missing a few front teeth and the rest looked like they were on the edge of falling off,
Looking up to meet eyes with the young man that stood in front of him and blocked his way, taking in his dirty outfit and torn shirt and a smile that could be mistaken for a threat, Ashen stared for a few seconds before replying, curiosity slightly getting the better of him,
"Fine. What exactly do you sell?" Ashan asked, fiddling with the box in his hand, a little uncomfortable to be talking to a stranger on the street,
"Whatever it is you want to buy," was the immediate answer he got from the man, as he spoke with utmost confidence going as far as to place his hand over his chest,
A few seconds, again went by as Ashan stood there, weighing his options in his head as he looked at the man wondering if it was right to trust him,
"Thanks but I already have a place," Ashan replied with a nod, sidestepping past the man, in order to continue going his way, only for him to suddenly hear a loud chuckle from behind him,
"I hope you made the right choice, boy. Cause if not, then you'll definitely regret it," the man shouted right after him shaking his head as he did, before turning around to look for another potential customer,
Meanwhile, Ashen breathed a sigh of relief the moment he noticed that he was no longer being followed, going as far as to check that all his belongings were still with him and he wasn't robbed,
Walking as far as he could, Ashen finally made it to the edge of the market, immediately entering the last alley he saw, obeying the instructions he overheard at the academy to the letter,
Ignoring the smell of piss and urine, he kept on walking down, and taking turns left, right and centre and had just taken another one when he suddenly saw an old man on the poorly lit and deserted street, with what seemed to be his goods on the floor as he struggled to bend over and pick them up,
In a hurry, especially because of how uncomfortable the environment was, Ashan had already unconsciously walked past, only for the sound of a painful groan to make him halt in his steps,
"Ahh…," groaned the old man again, kneeling on both knees as he tried his best not to bend his back while reaching for the plastic and metal eggs in the huge basket that was already on the ground,
"Here, let me help," Ashan offered quickly, bending down as he carefully began to pick up the eggs scattered on the ground, including the ones that had cracks in them,
A minute had scarcely gone by when he stood up carrying the basket with all the eggs safely packed into it, before helping the old man he was helping off the ground,
"You sell eggs ?" Ashen asked the moment he pulled him up, sad that almost half of the eggs he had picked up were cracked and mostly broken which meant that almost no one would be willing to buy it,
As fast as he could, Ashen dug into the wrapped box in his hand, opening it and closing it mere seconds, as he plucked out a few coins from it,
"Here," he said, taking the old man's hand and dropping a few silver coins in his hands.
"It's not much, but it should help," he said handing the basket of eggs to the old man who hadn't said a single word since Ashen helped him and Ashen barely noticed,
Done, Ashen was about to turn around and be in his way when he suddenly heard the old man speak,
"Thank you," he said bowing a little as he did, as if his facial hair and the poorly lit street didn't already make it hard enough for Ashen to see his face, before going ahead to stretch out his hand with what seemed like a green metal egg on it,
"From me to you," the man continued and Ashen was already opening his mouth to reject it when he suddenly felt the old man bent over in front of him regardless of the fact that he was standing, suddenly raise his head to look at him with pained and pleading eyes,
"Thanks," was all Ashen could mutter as he quickly collected the egg before helping the old man place the basket of eggs on his head, before waving goodbye as he began following the already memorized path of the alleyway in his head,
"Youths of nowadays," the old man murmured to himself, dropping the bag of eggs on his head as he suddenly raised his body to its full length until he stood taller than Ashen was,
Straightening his back with a crack, and stretching from side to side, the old man slowly began to transform as even his smelly dirty clothes became a light shade of overflowing red garment and in an instant, every bit of facial hair was gone,
"May the lost gods be with you kid," The newly transformed man went ahead to say with a small smile on his lips, smacking them together and rubbing his stomach as of in hunger before snapping his fingers twice, slowly fading away until nothing but a basket of broken eggs remained on the dirt floor of the alleyway.