1Author's note: This story is fantasy, and it takes place in a time other than the present and a place other than here. I just wanted to make that clear to you before you got confused.
PART I: THE EXPOSITION
Chapter I: The City of Dust
Dust.
Dust covered the ground and people's clothes; it filled the air and the mouth. It surrounded the little boy and the cage he was in. His dark brown hair and fair, freckled skin both looked to be the color of dust.
Even Grana, that despicable peddler of living goods, had a coating of dust over his rich robes, bought with money derived from the market of flesh and blood.
The little boy curled up, exhausted from the long trek he had made through the desert to reach this City of Dust. He preferred the dust to the sand. Keeping one eye open he kept watch on the crowd to see if anyone would come and try to make a purchase from Grana. He kept his fist tightly around the old, dull brown stone he wore on a piece of string around his neck. Grana had given it to him and taught him how to use it; it was a magical stone that could open any lock, and it was usually necessary when the boy made his escape during the night and came back to Grana to be sold again.
Suddenly, a flash of blue caught the boy's eye. A man wearing traveler's clothes was walking down the street; however, his clothes did not look traveled in. The deep blue color shone richly over the street of dingy clothes, colors muted by dust. The young man was wearing the vibrant robes looked to be around twenty-five. His clean-shaven face was pale and his hair was black. It hung down his back glistened in the unmitigated sunlight. He held in his hand an ornate walking stick with carvings the boy could not make out and blue stones that shone and sparkled.
And then he saw the boy.
Beneath heavy, dark eyebrows blue eyes like pale water pierced the cage and enveloped the boy appraisingly. The boy remained still; he was used to being looked over by prospective buyers. Soon the man would come over and asked to see his teeth and eyes and maybe ask him to perform tasks like lifting his heavy bag or something. Then gold would be exchanged and the boy would go off with his new owner only to return to Grana in the night, sometimes laden with gold he had taken from his master's house. The dogs and horses Grana sold would do the same, but they were not as smart or reliable as the boy, and they could not carry gold. When the boy came home they would eat whatever rich food he they could afford, then they would live like paupers until someone bought the boy again.
The man came over. The boy could now see that the carving on his staff was a Company Crest; however, the boy did not recognize it. It consisted of winding vines or snakes or something surrounding a round, clear stone. It did not look anything like the crests of the Companies of Merchants, Robbers, or Shopkeepers (these were the only Companies he was most familiar with). He knew that there were several more companies, but he wasn't sure what they were.
To the boy's surprise, while he had been pondering this point the transaction had been made. The cage door was opened and the chain attached to his collar was handed to the man in blue. There had been no closer examination of the merchandise; not even haggling. The man had paid Grana's ridiculously high price.
As the man led the boy away, he turned slightly to look back. Grana was pale and looked frightened; something this man had said had made him fall to pieces. This worried the boy only slightly; Grana was a coward.
The boy wondered where this rich man's attendants were waiting just as the first of a series of unusual things happened. First, when they reached the edge of town, the man looked to see if anyone was around. Upon seeing they were alone he put his arms around the boy and muttered something unintelligible. The dust swirled around them and the boy noticed that a blue light surrounded them. This unnerved the usually fearless boy quite a bit. The next thing he noticed was that the city of dust had fallen away from them and instead the cold, stony walls of an unfamiliar castle surrounded them.
"Great," the boy wondered silently. "Now how will I get home?"
-End Chapter I-
Random extra!
Tentative list of the twelve Companies:
Merchants/traders
Shopkeepers
Robbers
Wizards
Heroes
Bankers
Craftsmen
Farmers (plants)
Boatmen
Pirates
Priests
Herders (animals)