As the sleeper of the Dark City left the throne room. Faraam looked at Gunlung with a smirk underneath his helmet.
'How devilish of him. To raise the hope of his subjects and then instantly crush it. That is nothing but a work of a tyrant.'
But he could see why Gunlung did that. By crushing their hope, he made them more dependent on him, thus gaining their loyalty.
A forced one, but loyalty nonetheless.
Noticing Gunlung stood up from his seat. Faraam bowed a little.
"You've done a good job, Sleeper Faraam. I hope you continue serving me like this.
"It would be an honor, my lord."
Nodding his head. Gunlung left the throne room with Harus, leaving Marcus and Faraam alone.
After a minute of silence, Faraam heard Marcus cursing under his breath.
Looking at Faraam, Marcus sighed and spoke, "It was nice meeting you, Faraam, really. But I need to go back to the walls and search for any survivors."
As Marcus was about to leave, he heard Faraam speaking.
"Marcus, may I ask something from you?"
Puzzled Marcus nodded his head.
"Can you teach me the streets of the Dark City? I want to be a pathfinder like you."
Raising his eyebrows, Marcus spoke, "I thought you would join the castle guards or the hunters."
"Unfortunately, I'm not the best fighter."
Of course Faraam was lying. Thanks to Caelia's memories, he is one of the best fighters in the Dark City. But being the best fighter doesn't mean being one of the strongest. This is where aspects come in, and Faraam aspect... well, it's not for fighting at all.
"Look who is speaking! The one who survived a death zone and the west."
"I survived because I found the best path to my survival. I haven't fought a lot."
Marcus looked at him for a few seconds, then sighed.
"Fine, come."
"Thank you, teacher."
"Stop calling me that!"
Faraam laughed as he followed Marcus.
***
As Faraam followed Marcus, who led him to multiple places in the bright castle. Like the gambling den owned by a small girl named Aiko. A memory market, which is owned by Gunlung and managed by a fat guy named Stev.
Leaving the bright castle, they headed to a village where some sleepers lived unprotected from the guards, as they couldn't pay the tributes to enter the castle.
'If I played it right I might be able to use them.'
Leaving the village, Faraam glanced at Marcus.
It would have been way easier if he could kill Marcus and get his memory. Unfortunately, until he finds a solution for the side effects, he can't use it.
Though that doesn't mean he wouldn't kill Marcus. That was his whole plan.
By learning from Marcus, plus his own experience, he would easily be the best pathfinder in the city.
Faraam's plan is to dominate the pathfinder market, and to do that he needs to be the best.
But since Marcus is still kicking, he wouldn't be. That is why Marcus's death is a must for his plan.
He would dry every bit of knowledge from him and then throw him away.
And naturally, by being the best, the hunters would come for him; to guide them, no matter his price, they will come to him, as they fear for their lives.
By doing this he will build a reputation that even Gunlung will hear all the time.
Which will result in him rising in ranks!
"Hey, are you listening to me?!"
Faraam nodded his head at Marcus.
Sighing, knowing Faraam clearly wasn't listening, he continued.
"As I said, there are three places where you shouldn't ever go! The Ruined Cathedral, the Colosseum, and the Catacombs."
Faraam tried to ask why, but before he did that, Marcus started explaining.
"The Ruined Cathedral is a building full of True Darkness. There lives a Fallen Devil that looks like a knight. Entering the cathedral would mean death, and you wouldn't even know from where that dark knight comes. Simply in that cathedral, the dark knight is unstoppable and unkillable."
Faraam nodded his head. Even though Marcus extracted a bit at the end, he understood what he meant.
"The Colosseum... is a nest. A nest full of Awakened and Fallen nightmare creatures from the same species, leading them is a Fallen Tyrant. The Catacombs... just don't go there unless you want to fight an unlimited number of nightmare creatures."
As Marcus started explaining the structure of the Dark City and how to get around it. They reached the wall.
Climbing one of the towers, reaching the top. Faraam looked at Marcus as he lit a large fire, and after a few minutes, he extinguished it.
Noticing the silence between them, Faraam asked Marcus.
"What do you think about Gunlung?"
"He is pathetic! He clings to his authority like a child clinging to his mother. He would do anything to keep it, even if it means dying in this hellhole."
"Have you thought that he did what he did today for the safety of the sleepers?"
"Safety?! What does that have to do with safety?"
Faraam sighed.
"Most sleepers in the Dark City want to leave and reach the gateway to go to the Wakening World. But as you know... the gateway is in the Crimson Spire, and any attempts to reach it will only mean death. The second lord is a prime example. Countless died that day, and the Bright Castle lost a lot of strong warriors in vain."
Faraam stopped for a second, glancing at Marcus face, which changed at the mention of the second lord.
"Gunlung simply doesn't want this massacre to happen again. By crushing every hope of leaving this city."
Marcus remained silent for a second, then spoke, "Do you think he will succeed?"
Faraam laughed.
"Of course not. Desire isn't something you can easily crush. It's just a matter of time until someone rebels, either from within the castle or maybe someone from outside; only fate knows. In the end it's in human nature to seek freedom."
"You seem to know a lot about these things..."
Faraam remained silent, not responding.
Silence fell between them as they watched the sun slowly rise.