Dark Tarot (Dark Carpathians)

Sandu looked carefully around him before uncloaking his presence. The narrow pathway he was in was very dimly lit. His shoulders barely fit in places. It was the perfect location to ambush the unwary. Above him, anyone could walk along the rooftops and stalk their victims, dropping down quickly to rob them of fat wallets and then hastily disappear back onto the safety of the ridges and gables out of sight.

As he proceeded deeper into the labyrinth of alleyways, beneath his boots, the broken brick and dirt turned to much older cobblestone. He could tell this part of the city had been built over many times. The narrow passageways began to widen, revealing several spacious areas surrounded by small shops.

The sounds. The notes. Perhaps it wasn’t all the sounds or all the notes. He paused to listen, straining when he had such acute hearing, he could track a human miles away. He held his breath and forced his heart to slow to a crawl so he could better hear. Several voices blended together. He heard them clearly through the sounds of many others speaking as they bargained in the various shops or with the street vendors. It was all coming together in his mind now. The various alleys coming in from between buildings were leading to a central location. This had to be, by the smells and sounds, an outdoor alley market, an underground artists’ paradise.

People crowded this odd venue at night, squeezing through the dimly lit and narrow alleys to get to the wider spaces where the street artists displayed their wares. Small shops could be found in the intricate maze, and there were little markets scattered throughout where food and drink could be purchased. This was not a place one found law enforcement, or at least, it was rare to find an officer venturing inside.

Street vendors called out to those crowding around the steps of the shops, trying to entice them to buy from their carts or see their wares. As he came into sight, a small hush fell over the groups of people as they looked up, watching his progress. Anyone in his way quickly moved out of it.

Sandu was used to that reaction to his presence. Not only was he a big man, all flowing muscle, his face carved with angles and planes and harsh lines, but his eyes, so black they were ink, glowed with red flames, especially in the dark, like now. He looked feral. He looked exactly what he was—a predator. He could disguise what he was, but why bother?

He kept walking, not changing his pace, following the soft note buried deep in the sounds of so many others speaking. The closer he got to what he sought, the louder those around it broadcast. He registered everything as he moved along the alleyway that had suddenly opened up into a mini city.

The deeper he immersed himself into that small world, the more there were small shops and back porches and steps, with little markets set up in the wider spaces. It didn’t seem to matter that the narrower paths were dimly lit; the backstreets flourished with life. This was a far different world from the one the streets just beyond portrayed.

A few taverns blared live music from behind closed doors, adding to the chaotic sounds of swelling conversation as Sandu approached the very epicenter of the mini city. The round cobblestoned center held plants surrounding a few trees. Dispelling the darkness were colored, strung lights shining behind the trees, silhouetting twisted branches reaching upward toward the sky. The colors at first dazzled his eyes, even though he’d made every effort to fade the effect. It was difficult not to stare at the vivid red, blue and green shining so brightly. Even the silver was so much more beautiful than a dull gray.

The shops and bars were a little larger here, but not by very much. Artists had their paintings or pottery set up under bright canopies to protect them from weather. At first glance, the roundabout looked chaotic, but Sandu could see there was an order to the madness. Each of the street vendors had their own space and were careful to keep within the confines of that space. They didn’t block the steps leading to the stores directly behind them, allowing customers access to the taverns or shops in the buildings.

The roundabout held a much larger crowd than any of the wide market spaces had held. The smells of food were stronger. The music seemed loud enough to shake the buildings. Sandu had to tone his hearing down when he was trying to establish where the single note he was tracking was coming from. He ignored the effect he was having on the crowds as he moved in a circle facing the buildings, waiting to catch the soft note among the loud sounds of so many conversations and the cacophony of music pouring from two different bars.