Nino huffed as he stared at his map. He could have sworn he was on the correct street. His horse, Wayzz was getting tired of walking, backtracking, and retracing steps all day and was ready to lay down for a much needed rest. Each time he thought he was going to get to rest, Nino would pull him down another street.

"I leave for a few years and the entire layout of this town changes," Nino grumbled as he turned down another street that he had been down before, or maybe this one was new? They all looked the same at this point.

Nino stopped suddenly when he heard the sound of a pair of soldiers talking. They were chatting as they walked the other direction and completely ignored Nino's request for help.

"Can you tell me where the Palace of Justice is?" Nino asked as they passed, "Ah, yes," he laughed to Wayzz, "Much too busy for us."

The sound of music echoed down the streets as Nino wandered. He stopped to watch a musician, dancer, and little red dog perform in the street.

The dancer caught his eye immediately. Her black hair contrasted with her cream skin. But her blue eyes caught his own, causing the heat to rise in his cheeks. He grinned stupidly at her as she danced to the music. He jumped when the voices of the soldiers from before called out suddenly from down the road.

"Hey, you! Gypsy girl! Get out of here or be arrested!" They called out. The three ran down the road, the dog carrying the bag of money they had earned in his mouth. Coins began to drop out of the bag as it ran.

"Tikki," the girl gasped as she ran back to the fallen coins.

"Stop right there," the soldier said angrily as he grabbed at the bag in the girl's hands, "This is stolen money, no doubt."

"For your information," the woman said through gritted teeth, "I earned this. Now if you don't mind," she began to growl. Nino saw as the dog began to near the soldiers. This was not going to end well.

The girl jerked the bag out of the soldier's hands as the dog ran forward and hit the soldier with its body weight. The two took their chance to run away, leaving the soldiers behind to make chase. Nino pulled Wayzz into their path suddenly, causing the men to stop.

"You let them get away!" on soldier said angrily.

"We will need to arrest you for this," the other agreed as he pulled his sword from its sheath.

Nino pulled his cloak back to reveal the emblem on his breastplate. He had a large cross of gold which indicated his high rank as Captain in the army. He pulled his sword from his own sheath and prepared to engage in a fight, "You were saying, Captain?"

The two soldiers spluttered as they processed what had just happened, "G-G-Captain Nino?!"

Nino lowered his sword and smirked, "The Palace of Justice, please."

The two soldiers led the way toward the Palace of Justice with a very smug Nino behind them. He stopped momentarily when he saw a few stray coins on the road. He took the chance to pick them up and drop them into the hat of a beggar nearby.

As he walked away, the beggar lowered their hood to reveal the dancing girl's blue eyes following him.

Within the Palace of Justice, Nino was met by Judge Papillion.

"Welcome back from the Crusades," Papillion welcomed as the two walked about the building.

"It's good to be home," Nino replied as he followed. The sound of people's moaning and cries of pain stung his ears. "If you do not mind me asking, why was I requested to come here?"

"I am in need of someone of your skill to aid me in a quest," Papillion said with a smile that made Nino uncomfortable.

"And that would be?" Nino asked as they continued their walk to an outside corridor.

"Gypsies," he said plainly.

"Dancers and palm readers?" Nino questioned as he looked out toward the town square where various gypsies were setting up tents for the festival.

"The very basis of their lifestyle is contrary to that of God," Papillion said.

"And you need a military man to…" Nino trailed.

"The only way to weed out the sinful influence of the Church is to uproot the source of their heathen ways."

"Do you mean killing them, sir?" Nino pieced together.

"Precisely," Papillion agreed, "They are sinners who constantly drag the most holy of men into sin. Therefore, they must be destroyed. They cannot be reasoned with, they cannot be changed."

Nino shifted his weight uncomfortably.

"No matter what I try, those vile people continuously grow in numbers. I cannot complete this task the way I am now, one by one," he continued.

"What is your plan?" Nino asked quietly, his eyes still fixed on the people below.

"I intend to find their breeding grounds," Papillion said as he looked out over the entire city, "my sources say that there is a hidden refuge within the city where Gypsies hide from the law."

"Sources?" Nino prodded.

In the distance, the sound of screams of pain echoed down the halls. Judge Papillion smirked as he looked down toward the source of the sound and then back at the Captain, allowing the agonized sound answer his question.

"I see," Nino responded as he gripped his sword hilt tightly.

"I intend to rid this city of these gypsy scum within the month," Papillion smiled as he made his way toward the main entrance of the Palace of Justice. "Tell me, Captain," he stopped to look back at Nino who was still following, "have you ever been to a peasant festival?"

"Not recently," Nino answered as he fell into step behind the man, "no."

"It's a horrid affair," Papillion drolled, "But a perfect example of the type of people we will be weeding from the flock."

Nino nodded as he climbed onto his horse to follow along the Judge's carriage. The pair headed toward the town square, the lively sounds of joy and frivolity dancing on the air.