Shattered Sanity

The next day, as yard time approached, Riven slowly walked out of his cell and searched for Boss Pei.

Something about his demeanour had changed considerably within the span of a single day, as unlike yesterday, he did not immediately retreat towards some distant corner of the prison yard, nor did he stare at the criminals surrounding him with the same uncomfortable judgement that had filled his eyes when he had initially entered this place.

After everything that had happened with Diddy, Riven finally understood what displaying weakness inside the Castle Gallows invited, and hence, although the four wounds across his back continued burning beneath their fresh stitches, he walked through the yard with his shoulders straight and his expression cold, carrying the same predatory look within his eyes that most veteran prisoners possessed.

It was a look that silently warned everyone around him that if they messed with him or even looked at him the wrong way, he would come after them.

Thankfully, after yesterday’s incident, very few prisoners seemed interested in testing whether that warning was genuine.

News regarding the newcomer who had been stabbed four times before killing his attacker had already spread throughout the prison, as wherever Riven walked, conversations briefly quietened and curious eyes followed him, yet nobody blocked his path or shouted crude remarks regarding his age anymore.

Eventually, Riven spotted Boss Pei sitting in roughly the same portion of the yard as yesterday, surrounded by nearly a dozen members of his gang.

Without hesitating, Riven walked directly towards them.

Boss Pei noticed him approaching almost immediately, as after studying the boy for several seconds, the old criminal leaned backwards and folded his arms across his chest.

"What are you here for, kid? I already told you yesterday that I don’t want a youngling like you joining my gang."

Boss Pei muttered, as Riven calmly shook his head.

"I’m not here to join your gang. I just want to learn from you."

Those words immediately earned several confused looks from the prisoners sitting nearby.

Riven continued before any of them could interrupt.

"What you told me yesterday taught me the error of my ways, and after thinking about it throughout the night, I realized that I still don’t understand this place or the sort of people who live within it.

So, while I’m here, I was hoping you could teach me how to survive prison life, alongside whatever wisdom you possess regarding the world outside these walls, because I feel like there are things someone with your experience understands that I don’t.

So, If you allow me to remain around you during yard time, perhaps I can pick up some of that elderly wisdom before I eventually leave."

For several seconds, Boss Pei simply stared at him.

Then one of the prisoners beside him snorted.

"Hahaha! Get a load of this fucking guy. He wants some of Boss’s elderly wisdom."

Another prisoner immediately joined him.

"What do you think Boss Pei is, little man? Some sort of life coach? You gonna sit on his knee every afternoon while he teaches you the meaning of life?"

"Careful, Boss," another added through his laughter. "Kid’ll have you growing a white beard and speaking in riddles by the end of the month."

The entire group burst into laughter, as even Boss Pei struggled to suppress the amused smile spreading across his face.

Riven, however, remained completely serious.

Perhaps it was precisely that seriousness which eventually caused Pei’s amusement to soften.

The old criminal studied Riven for several moments longer before his expression gradually became more thoughtful.

"My son was around your age when he died."

Boss Pei eventually said, causing much of the laughter surrounding him to disappear.

"My brother killed him alongside my wife, so I never really got the opportunity to be much of a father to the boy. Never got to watch him grow into a man, never got to teach him anything useful, and certainly never got to hear him come asking for my elderly wisdom."

He chuckled softly at the final words before scratching the scar running across his face.

"So alright, kid. You can hang around me if that’s what you want, although I should probably warn you that there isn’t nearly as much wisdom inside this old head as you seem to imagine.

If you want to know the ideal way to plan a robbery, I can teach you that. If you want to learn sleight of hand, how to pick a pocket without someone noticing, how to identify an easy mark or how to move stolen goods without attracting attention, then I’ve probably got more knowledge than most people you’ll ever meet.

But don’t expect some profound lesson about life every afternoon, because I’m a criminal, kid, not a fucking philosopher."

A few chuckles followed from the surrounding gang members, while Riven nodded in understanding.

"That’s acceptable."

He replied.

Boss Pei raised an eyebrow at how seriously the boy answered before shaking his head in amusement.

"Then you can stay around us during yard time, and while you’re here, my boys will make sure nobody bothers you either. I already spoke with the warden this morning and found out that you’re apparently not going to be here for very long, so I don’t see much harm in keeping you around until whatever mysterious business brought you here is finished."

Riven immediately bowed his head respectfully.

"Thank you, Boss Pei. I appreciate it."

The old man’s eyes narrowed.

For several seconds, he said nothing, as his gaze travelled from Riven’s carefully maintained posture towards the controlled manner in which he stood before finally settling upon his face.

"You’re a noble boy, aren’t you?"

Riven’s eyes widened slightly.

Boss Pei immediately smiled.

"There it is."

He muttered, pointing towards him.

"The way you carry yourself, the way you walk, the way you speak, even that little bow you just gave me. You’re definitely some noble’s brat."

He leaned forward slightly.

"You stick out like a sore thumb amongst the rest of us, kid. Even dressed in those filthy prison rags, you somehow manage to do everything a little too elegantly."

Riven quickly regained control over his expression.

Instead of answering the accusation, he merely shrugged his shoulders.

Boss Pei stared at him for another moment before giving an approving nod.

"Smart choice."

He said, as he gestured towards the empty space beside him.

"Never tell another prisoner anything about yourself that they don’t already know. Information is worth more than silver inside places like this, and once you give something away, you don’t get to decide how it’s used against you."

Riven quietly took the offered seat, as Boss Pei shifted his attention towards the various men surrounding them.

"Since you want to learn something, I suppose we can start with my boys."

He pointed towards a thickset man sitting several places away.

"That ugly bastard over there is Torren. Used to rob merchant caravans travelling between Feybridge and the southern trade roads. He got caught after his idiot partner spent half their earnings inside the same tavern they had robbed the owner of three weeks earlier."

"Fuck you, Boss," Torren complained, causing several men to laugh.

Pei ignored him before pointing towards another prisoner whose fingers were covered in faded tattoos.

"That’s Needle. Best pickpocket I’ve ever employed. He can remove a purse from your belt while looking you directly in the eyes, and the only reason he’s sitting inside this prison is because he became arrogant enough to try stealing from an Imperial officer."

Needle raised two fingers in greeting.

"Almost got away with it too."

"No, you didn’t, the officer was a flame-rank Ascendant" Pei replied. "He caught you ten steps later."

More laughter followed.

Boss Pei continued moving from one gang member to another, explaining their crimes, their particular talents and, more importantly, the reasons he had once considered those talents valuable enough to bring them into his organization.

Some were thieves.

Others had been smugglers, enforcers, counterfeiters, burglars or men who specialized in moving illegal goods between territories without attracting the attention of Imperial authorities.

As Riven quietly listened, he gradually began seeing them differently.

Until now, criminals had existed within his mind as little more than immoral people who broke laws for personal benefit, yet Boss Pei viewed them through an entirely different lens.

He cared about what each person could accomplish, what weaknesses made them unreliable, which personalities could work together and which combinations would inevitably create conflict.

To Boss Pei, even a collection of thieves and murderers could become an organization if the person commanding them understood where every individual belonged.

And although Riven had entered the yard hoping to learn something about surviving prison life, he soon found himself listening with considerably greater interest than he had expected.

Because beneath all the crude jokes, scars and criminal histories surrounding him, Boss Pei was slowly showing Riven something he had never encountered before.

The world as understood by a crime lord.