A few hours later, Strax walked through the streets of Athenion with Cassandra to his left and Daniela to his right, their pace too leisurely for those who clearly drew attention simply by existing. The sun had already passed its highest point, casting long shadows between the light stone buildings, and the city pulsed with that specific kind of life that only large, too-innocent comrcial centers could sustain. The sll of food, rust, sweat, and residual magic mingled in the air, creating a vibrant yet restless atmosphere.
Strax kept his hands in his coat pockets, observing everything with an attentive yet relaxed gaze, like soone who didn't need to rush to understand a place—the world always ended up revealing itself to him sooner or later. Still, there was genuine curiosity in his tone when he broke the silence.
"So," he said, turning his face slightly toward Cassandra, "how is Athenion really?"
Daniela gave a crooked half-smile before Cassandra could even answer. "Good and rotten," she said bluntly. "Like every city that grows too fast."
Cassandra nodded slowly, following Strax's gaze as he observed the movent on the main street. "The city is prosperous," she explained, "strong comrce, stable routes, money circulating. But that attracts all kinds of people." She made an almost imperceptible gesture with her chin.
Strax followed the indication without showing imdiate reaction. Near a fruit stand, a boy too thin for his age pretended to observe the apples with childlike curiosity, but his eyes moved quickly, calculating distances and distractions. In an agile movent, he slid a fruit into his torn sleeve before walking away without running.
Further on, two n were sprawled against the wall of an abandoned building, covered by dirty cloaks, appearing to be fast asleep. But Strax noticed the detail that gave everything away: their half-closed eyes, too attentive, their hands strategically positioned near hidden blades. Thugs waiting for the wrong victim.
"I understand," Strax murmured. "Survival disguised as routine."
Daniela shrugged. "So steal because they need to. Others because they want to. The city doesn't bother to differentiate."
Strax frowned slightly. "And the guards? Shouldn't they deal with this kind of problem?"
Cassandra let out a short, almost weary sigh. "They should."
Daniela laughed humorlessly. "But they don't."
Strax turned to Cassandra, waiting for the full explanation, and it didn't take long to co. "The guards exist," she said, "but they're selective. They patrol the upscale areas, protect the rchants who pay well, and, most importantly… protect the mayor."
"Only the mayor?" Strax asked, genuinely curious now.
"And everything around him," Cassandra replied. "His interests, his allies, his businesses."
Strax continued walking for a few seconds in silence, absorbing the information. Athenion, it seed, functioned less like a city and more like an opportunistic organism, where order and chaos coexisted not for balance, but for convenience. Eventually, he spoke again, his tone too casual for the weight of what he was saying.
"At so point," he comnted, "Athenion will beco part of Asgard's territory."
Daniela glanced at him sideways, a dangerous smile appearing at the corner of her lips. "You say that like you're going to buy bread."
"Long-term planning," he replied. "Nothing happens overnight."
Cassandra nodded slowly. "Then you'll want to know who's really in charge here."
"Exactly," said Strax. "This mayor… who is he?"
Cassandra took a deep breath before answering, as if ntally organizing too many layers of information. "His na is Helior Vance."
Daniela grimaced. "A well-dressed worm."
Strax raised an eyebrow. "That tells quite a bit, but go on."
Cassandra resud. "Helior wasn't born into nobility. He ca from a family of average rchants, nothing impressive. He rose too quickly after a series of political 'coincidences': dead competitors, hushed-up scandals, strange alliances with smaller guilds that disappeared shortly afterward."
"Classic," murmured Strax.
"He sells himself as a reforr," Cassandra continued. "Speeches about progress, security, economic growth. In practice, he's centralized everything. The guard answers to him directly. The judges are handpicked. Anyone who opposes him… loses contracts, disappears, or suffers accidents."
Daniela spat to the side, clearly irritated just rembering. "And he hates guilds he can't control."
"You," Strax concluded.
"Especially us," Cassandra confird. "Because we didn't ask for permission."
Strax paused for a mont, forcing the two to do the sa. He observed the street again, now with different eyes, seeing not only the flow of people, but the invisible gears that moved it all. "And the people?" he asked. "Do they know?"
Daniela let out a short laugh. "So know. Others pretend not to know. Most are too busy trying to survive."
Cassandra crossed her arms. "Helior is smart enough to never be openly hated. He keeps the city running. People associate stability with him, even if it's an unfair stability."
Strax tilted his head slightly. "An efficient tyrant."
"Exactly," said Cassandra.
They resud their walk, now passing a square where children played near a partially broken fountain. Strax observed the contrast with silent attention: children's laughter echoing a few ters from pockets of misery, rchants smiling as they negotiated inflated prices, beggars ignored as part of the landscape.
"He's going to be a problem," Strax said finally.
Daniela smiled, her eyes shining. "Problems are kind of our specialty."
Cassandra glanced sideways at Strax. "You don't usually bother with figures like that. What intrigued you this ti?"
Strax took a while to answer. When he did, his voice was low, almost reflective. "Because when I make Athenion part of Asgard, I want it to be… functional. I don't want a city that survives on the fear of one man alone."
Daniela let out a low whistle. "Then the mayor's days are numbered."
"Not necessarily," Strax replied. "Yet."
Cassandra raised an eyebrow. "You're considering options."
"I always consider them," he said. "Replace, absorb, break, reform. It all depends on how… flexible Helior is."
Daniela laughed. "Good luck with that."
They turned a narrower corner, where comrce dwindled and buildings beca more cramped, older. Strax felt the imdiate shift in the atmosphere, a silent tension that couldn't be explained solely by the architecture.
"Athenion has potential," he said. "But soone is strangling it."
Cassandra nodded. "That's why we're here. We maintain the balance by force, when we can."
Strax looked at the two of them, a small smile appearing on his face. "You did a good job."
Daniela smiled proudly. "I know."
Cassandra simply inclined her head, accepting the complint without fanfare.
They continued on, the city opening up before them like a chessboard too complex to be solved with a single move. Strax felt this clearly now: Athenion would not be conquered with a battle, but with surgical decisions, invisible pressure, and inevitably, confrontation with those who believed themselves untouchable.
And, sowhere above all this, Mayor Helior Vance was probably smiling, unaware that he had already attracted the wrong attention.
They continued walking for a few more minutes, the tense atmosphere of the previous conversation beginning to dissipate as the street beca busier. Stalls lined both sides, vendors shouted exaggerated offers, and the sound of clanging tal, loud laughter, and hurried footsteps created that vibrant chaos that only big city markets could sustain. Strax walked between the two stalls as if it were the safest place in the world, completely at ease, while Cassandra and Daniela kept their attention scattered, accustod to identifying problems before they actually beca problems.
Then sothing… small happened.
Literally.
A boy, no more than ten or eleven years old, appeared out of nowhere between two stalls. Thin, with worn-out clothes, disheveled hair, and eyes as attentive as those of an animal accustod to living on the run. He moved with surprising skill, taking advantage of the flow of people, elbows, shopping bags, the casual pushing and shoving. His steps were light, calculated, almost professional.
He chose Strax.
Perhaps because Strax seed too relaxed. Perhaps because he walked without visible armor. Perhaps because that carefree air scread "easy target" to soone who didn't know exactly what they were looking at.
The boy approached from the left, sliding between Cassandra and a distracted rchant. His small, quick fingers stretched toward Strax's coat pocket, in a movent so smooth that, to anyone else, it would have gone completely unnoticed.
Almost.
Strax felt it.
Not because the touch was strong, but because there was intention there. An intention as clear as it was innocent, as obvious as it was tragic. He didn't react imdiately. He didn't turn his face, he didn't change his pace. He just… let it happen for a second longer than necessary.
The boy's fingers went into the pocket.
And stopped.
As if they had encountered an invisible wall.
The boy frowned, confused, and tried to pull.
Nothing.
He tried again, now with more force, and his expression slowly shifted from concentration to pure panic when he realized… his hand wouldn't co out.
Strax finally stopped walking.
Cassandra and Daniela took two more steps before realizing he was no longer between them. When they turned around, the scene was… too strange not to attract attention.
Strax stood in the middle of the street, calmly looking ahead.
A boy was clinging to him, his arm tucked into his coat pocket, his face frozen in a grimace of utter terror, as if he had just realized he had made the biggest mistake of his life.
"Strax…?" Cassandra murmured.
Daniela's eyes widened. "He… is he in jail?"
Strax sighed slightly, like soone dealing with an everyday inconvenience. He then slowly turned his face, looking down directly at the boy.
"You usually steal from people alive," he said calmly, "or is this a new attempt?"
The boy swallowed hard. His eyes instantly began to water. "I… I just—"
Strax tilted his head slightly. "Relax. If I were going to kill you, you'd already be dead."
That didn't help at all.
The boy began to tremble.
Cassandra brought her hand to her face, trying to stifle a laugh. Daniela was already laughing openly, leaning against a nearby tent.
"Please," the boy stamred, his voice faltering. "I promise I'll give everything back, I swear, I—"
"You didn't steal anything," Strax replied, in an almost bored tone. "You just got trapped."
He then took his hand out of his coat pocket, revealing that he was holding the boy's wrist with two fingers. There was no apparent force. There was no aggression. But the boy felt as if his arm were trapped in an ancient snare.
Strax let go.
The boy fell to the ground with a dry thud, pulling his arm close to his chest as if he had just escaped death. He looked at Strax with wide eyes, breathing too rapidly.
Strax crouched down in front of him, his face too serious for the situation.
"Where are your parents?" he asked.
The boy hesitated. "I-I don't have any."
Strax sighed again, now with sothing different in his gaze—not pity, but recognition. He reached into his pocket, the sa one the boy had tried to steal, and pulled out a few coins. Not many. Just enough.
He placed them in the boy's hand.
"Stealing from people like ," he said calmly, "will kill you one day."
The boy looked at the coins, then at Strax, completely lost.
"But…" he began.
"Go work at the smaller stalls," Strax continued. "The rchants on the east side pay poorly, but they won't break your fingers." The boy nodded too quickly, jumping up. "T-thank you, sir!"
And he ran off, disappearing into the crowd.
Strax got up and continued walking as if nothing had happened.
Cassandra shook her head, chuckling softly. "You just traumatized a child."
"I gave him money," he replied. "It evens things out."
Daniela was still laughing. "It got stuck in the wrong man's pocket."
Strax gave a half-smile. "Athenion has hidden talents."
They continued walking, the atmosphere now lighter, while Cassandra murmured, amused, "The mayor is going to hate you."
Strax replied without looking back. "Great."
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