Levi clan part 2

"I heard that this pit was filled with Eichi vermin," the leader sneered, looking around with disgust. "And what's this? A human, so far from home. Perhaps she's lost?"

Joan's grip on her greatsword tightened, her patience wearing thin. But Yosef placed a hand on her arm, urging her to remain calm.

A shorter, but stocky Sassan stepped forward, looking at Yosef and Joan. "The priests of the favored son told something about foreigners escaping? Could they b....."

"KEEP YOUR VOICE DOWN, YOU IDIOT. AND REMEMBER WHO IS IN CHARGE HERE!" the leader of the group yelled. 

The shorter Sassan flinched, his eyes darting nervously to the other patrons of the tavern. "Sorry, Commander," he muttered.

The elderly eichi then walked forward, holding a bag of gold. He gave it to the commander. 

"You eichi are ugly, but you aaaalwyas pay well and on time," the commander said. 

"With his, we are allowed to stay here, yes?" the eichi asked. 

The commander smirked, taking a moment to weigh the bag of gold in his hand. "Indeed, this should cover your... rent for the month. But make no mistake, you are tolerated here only because you pay. The moment that stops so does your place in Baalos."

The elderly Eichi, clearly swallowing his pride, nodded. "Understood, Commander. We have no intention of causing trouble."

"Good." The commander's gaze turned back to Joan and Yosef. "You two, however, are not of this vermin's clan. I've never seen your faces here before. State your business."

"They are just travelers from a neighboring clan, and we have business with them. Lucrative business that pays for this," the elderly eichi said and pointed at the gold," They for now are just getting some rest and will be on their way soon."

Joan and Yosef exchanged glances, silently communicating with each other. Joan nodded subtly, thankful for Eichi's intervention.

The commander scrutinized them both, his eyes lingering a bit too long on Joan. "A human and an Eichi traveling together? How...unusual. Make sure you don't overstay your welcome. Especially you vile human. Your kind are all barbarians and brutes. Not a blood of civility or goodness. Even demons shiver in disgust when they are near one of you."

Joan's eyes flared with anger, but she took a deep breath, trying to keep her temper in check, forcing herself to stay calm. The stakes were too high to let this man provoke her into a confrontation.

"Thank you for your... hospitality," Yosef said, his tone dripping with sarcasm. "We'll be sure to make our stay brief."

The commander sneered. "See that you do. And don't even think of causing trouble, or it'll be your last mistake."

The group of Xerxes's followers made their exit, leaving a tense atmosphere in their wake. The din of the tavern slowly resumed as patrons whispered among themselves, casting wary glances at the door.

"That was...unexpected," Joan remarked, taking a long sip of her drink. "Do they always come here to collect... rent?"

The elderly Eichi nodded. "Yes, ever since the rise of Xerxes and his followers, they have imposed their rule on this city, and we have to pay a price for our stay. It's a humiliating, but necessary price as nothing in this universe is free."

~~

Joan and Yosef ended their day by going to their room. There was one large bed, with hay and straws as cushions. 

Yosef then heard the commotion and looked outside from the window. He saw a group of locals, male sassans, writing with red paint on the wall of the building next to theirs. They tried not to be spotted and rushed with their painting. 

On the wall, they wrote, "Arslan will paint the skies red with the blood of Xerxes.!

Soon some city guards spotted them and the young sassan rushed away, as the guards rushed. Not long before the start of the chase, another group of guards surrounded them, blocking their escape. 

Joan came also to watch and saw the guards pinning the young locals to the ground. 

"Give the traitorous people to us!" yelled a group of sassans, who were not guards, but dressed in commoner's clothes, led by a priest. The priest was large and muscular and smiled constantly. 

The priest, draped in a red robe adorned with golden embroideries, stepped forward. The insignia of Xerxes gleamed ominously from his chest. He stared at the captured Sassans with a fiery intensity, his eyes revealing an unsettling blend of fervor and disdain.

"These are the rebels who have been vandalizing our city with these profanities? These children? Arslan has sullen so low, that only the foolish children, with no guidance of their parents, worship him" the priest spat out with contempt.

One of the young Sassans, barely in his late teens with a defiant glint in his eyes, retorted, "Only us children worship the one and only ruler of the sassan heaven, as you, you monsters killed our parents!"

The priest's eyes narrowed, and with a swift motion, he backhanded the young sassan across the face. The slap echoed in the silence of the night, causing a sharp intake of breath from the gathered crowd. Blood trickled down from the boy's lip, but his defiant gaze remained unbroken.

"Trechory will not be tolerated in the city of Baalos," the priest declared, voice dripping with venom. "The rise of Xerxes is clear as he is the heir to Cyrus, and any resistance to his rule will be dealt with harshly. Arslan will die and the grounds of the scethian plains will be fertilized with the bodies of his followers."

Another younger Sassan, a girl, probably the sister of the defiant one, started crying, her voice filled with raw pain and anger. "Our parents worshipped Arslan! You murdered them in cold blood, all because they refused to bow to Xerxes! And now you brand us rebels and heretics?"

The priest gave a sinister smile, "Your parents were traitors. They defied the will of Xerxes. They got what they deserved. And as for you..." He trailed off, signaling one of the guards.

The guard approached with a branding iron glowing red-hot. They were branded and chained and Yosef and Joan could smell the metallic scent of burning flesh in their window as well.

The guards chained the children and took them away, but then the priest stopped. He looked at the wall where the writing had been done. 

"We cannot have this here, can we...." the priest said, grabbing a random rebellious kid.

He placed him on the wall and not long after, the child exploded, his blood smeared over the text. The children as the guards as well looked in horror, as the priest coldly and without emotion killed a child. 

This insolence will not be tolerated!" the priest yelled. "We rule this city now! The worshippers of Arslan are nothing more than a dying breed."

Another young Sassan spoke up, his voice trembling but determined, "You may control the city, but you'll never control our faith. Arslan will return, and when he does, the false reign of Xerxes will crumble!"

The priest sneered, looking down on the boy. "Brave words for someone about to meet their end. Guards! Take these blasphemers to the square. We shall make a public example of them at dawn."

The guards forcefully dragged the young Sassans away, while the crowd watched in hushed silence. 

"Proooobably we should leave this city as soon as possible, and prooobably we should also avoid the big priest," Yosef said. 

"You think....."Joan said.