I

There was a time when the tall, criminally handsome man, named John Harrison, wished he was present in a specific place. And why is that so? John was the first-born son of a large family of merchants that trade spices all the way to the Eastern shores of the Adamil half-island. From a very young age, he was prepared to inherit the family business as was more than a common thing in the region.

There were times when he wished that things were different, that he had a choice in saying what will happen with his future. He had no other option.

Morning of that day came, shiny and warm after the cold winter. The snows are almost gone now. That only meant one thing - the river is flowing again- trade has returned. His family didn't waste time, they had everything prepared. Now, it's the right time to strike the stock market.

John had a habit of going outside in the morning. There weren't that many people outside. He passed them by, not paying much attention to them, everyone had their own problem to tend to.

The beautiful girl stood at the corner of the street, her job was to sell flowers. He looked at her, passed, stopped, turned and waited for her to leave her stall. He heard certain rumors that he wanted to find out, more than anything at the moment.

The girl opened the box that contained notes. Her small hand searched through them, until she found the one she was looking for. The note was written in a ornate handwriting.

He knew what the note said: "I will be back soon." The stall had metal walls that could be placed on the outside.

When she finished her usual routine, she went down the street. John followed her, hidden among the shadows of the tall wooden houses.

She entered the single-floored house that had ornate windows. He knew this house. If he remembered correctly in there lived a woman that neighborhood called a witch. He didn't believe in those stories, but he was more than interested to see why is thin girl entering her house. If was more than clear that she wanted something from the woman. The answer was what? She didn't look like the type that wanted to do witchcraft. And, yet who he was to think about something like that. He was no expert, he did learn much at the academy, but nothing about witchcraft was ever spoken in the noisy halls of the academy.