Sirius yawned as dawn brushed through the dust ridden glass window beside the uncomfortable bed. He took a moment to check around the room, his sword was still there, nothing seemed to be moved, and his throat wasn't slit open yet. Tightening the straps on his armour, he got up and stretched his arms upwards. The wood creaked underneath his feet as he slung his sword over his shoulder. He exited the room and hesitantly walked towards the door next to his.

Taking a short breath, Sirius knocked on the wood. The door creaked under his hand, opening slightly. Furrowing his brow, he entered the empty room. Everything was quiet and Lianne was nowhere in sight. He briskly walked down the hallway, checking each corner. Moving into the cramped lobby, he turned to the man at the counter.

"Excuse me, do you know where the woman went?"

"Oh yeah, she left an hour earlier, said something about a bar."

Sirius paused for a moment, considering the possibilities.

"Did she say anything else?"

"Nah, she didn't talk much."

Sirius nodded, heading for the exit.

"Thanks."

Dawn broke just a little while ago, and the streets were as lively as they could be in a town like this. Wet mud squashed beneath Sirius's boots as he walked quickly towards the bar. Did she get more info? Was she meeting with Alastor? He shook his head, everything would be clear when he got there. Hopefully.

The bar was quiet from the outside, flickering lights licking the insides of the broken windows. Sirius opened the door, taking a look around the room. Lianne sat at the counter, with a weary and tired bartender looking at her while she swung back a drink. Bewildered, Sirius approached her.

"Lianne? What are you doing?"

She turned her head slightly, showing the cloth wrapped side of her face.

"You're up, finally."

He took a seat next to her, looking at the multiple empty cups next to her.

"You're drinking this early?"

Lianne didn't respond as she set the mug on the counter. Sirius shook his head.

"Are you going to be alright?"

She pulled out 6 small coins from a pouch and placed them on the counter.

"Mind your own business."

"We're going to be walking for a bit, you're not going to fall over?"

"I'm not drunk yet." She got up from the table, continuing in a mutter. "Unfortunately."

Sirius took a look back at the cups she left. Apparently recovering from toxins with ether covered all types of poison. Lianne was already at the door as Sirius hastily apologized to the bartender.

"I hope she wasn't too much trouble, sorry."

The man just shook his head and took the coins, pointing for Sirius to leave. Lianne had made her way out of the bar and halfway across the street before Sirius caught up to her. It was good to see her not covered head to toe in blood, she looked a bit less unstable. Still, there was an aura to her with the way she always had her hand by her swords and constantly looked around. Sirius jogged up to her side, careful not to bump into her by accident.

"I didn't get a good look at the map, which town are we headed to?"

"Genstem."

Sirius's eyes widened.

"Genstem? We'll be searching for a needle in a haystack if the target's there."

"It'll be fine."

They neared the front gates of the town, which remained open and led to the main road. Sirius's mind raced as he thought about their next destination. Genstem was a huge town, some would even call it a city. It was primarily a trading post, but it evolved into more than that. If you needed something, somebody in Genstem had it, you just needed to look hard enough. Luckily, the walk from here was short, it shouldn't take too much longer than half a day to arrive. Although, Sirius had no idea what travelling with Lianne would entail.

They trudged out of the town and onto the dirt roads as the sun was shrouded behind clouds as they continued to walk. There were a few trees around them, but not enough to obscure the view. Little wicks of grass dripped from the morning dew on either side of the path.

Sirius took a look at Lianne, who still had her hand laying on the hilt of her sword. She wore the same clothes as yesterday underneath the ragged grey and brown cloak on her shoulders. The stains of blood were still visible as faded maroon splotches all over the coat. Sirius was curious about the coat itself, it folded over itself with straps connecting the sides over and under her arm. It was a peculiar design, most likely custom or handmade. There were stitches and patches of leather and fabric all over it, creating a somewhat quilted yet messy look to it.

"What?"

Sirius's focus was snapped away by Lianne's sharp voice.

"Nothing, I was just curious."

She turned back forwards, her dark hair messily flicking on her shoulders. Sirius took a look at her swords, the bright steel shining in the dim sunlight.

"I've never seen swords like that, where did you get them?"

"I made them."

Sirius raised his eyebrows.

"What are they made of?"

"Steel, leather, cloth, basilisk blood."

It wasn't much of an answer, but it was obvious she wasn't in the conversational mood. If she really did make those, she was a talented smith. They looked sturdy enough, and they obviously worked well judging on last night's performance. It brought up a question though, if she could make something like that, why not make a living off making more of them? It would most certainly be safer than hunting. Sirius let out a sigh and decided to address the elephant in the room.

"Hey Lianne?"

"Hm?"

"About last night, are you-"

"I'm fine."

Sirius shook his head, the hastiness of her response told another story.

"You obviously weren't when you woke up."

Lianne quickened her pace.

"So what? I am now."

"I doubt that, how long were you trying to get drunk for?"

She whipped around, glaring at Sirius.

"Why the hell do you even care? I don't ask questions about you so what's the point of all of the probing?"

Sirius narrowed his eyes, folding his arms.

"I care because we're working together, and you don't trust me with anything. We can't rush into everything without communication."

"That has nothing to do with last night."

"I beg to differ."

She stared at him with visible frustration rising as he continued.

"You almost killed me-"

"You're still alive, aren't you?"

"Not the point, if you don't want to give me personal information that's fine, but you need to trust me enough to not kill me on a whim if this job is going to work."

Lianne snapped back at him, pointing her finger at his chest.

"You've given me no goddamn reason to trust you and I doubt you ever will."

"I saved your life."

"When?"

"Multiple times yesterday, and don’t tell me you were fine, you didn’t even notice."

She just stared at him and let out a sharp exhale. Sirius stepped forwards, closing the distance between them.

"If I wanted to harm you, I would've done it by now, so why do you keep acting like I'm going to stab you in the back?"

Lianne took a step back, her hand gripping onto the handle of her blade. Sirius let out a sigh and placed his hand on his forehead. A moment of silence followed as Lianne slowly put her hand down.

Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author's consent. Report any sightings.

"... Fine."

"What?"

She turned around and walked along the dirt path once again.

"I'll try not to kill you when we're working together."

Sirius walked up behind her as she continued sharply.

"Try and pry into me again and I might go back on that."

Lianne went back to her brisk pace as Sirius let out a small sigh.

"Alright."

It wasn't much, but it was a start. The only thing he could do now was hope she stayed true to her first statement. While it wasn't the smoothest conversation, it went better than Sirius thought it would. It dawned on him, that interaction was the longest conversation they had had so far. Despite what he just agreed to, he was still curious about her, but he would hold off on the questions for now.

The trees on either side of them became more and more sparse, clearing up as they entered a grassy field. The hills stretched outwards, rolling like an ocean's waves. Sirius hoped that Lianne knew where she was going as she continued along the road. The open fields could be both a blessing and a curse for anybody travelling them; monsters usually didn't live in them, but any gargoyle flying overhead would have easy prey to pick off.

They climbed a larger hill, getting a better view of the land around them. Sirius's eye wandered to a wagon further down the road. Upon a closer look, it wasn't moving and the driver was out of his seat, by the side of the carriage. Looking over to Lianne, Sirius started to move towards it.

"Let's see what's going on."

Lianne looked at the wagon, her eyebrow furrowed.

"We don't need to."

"We don't need to not either."

Sirius continued forwards, making his way down the path. He heard Lianne grumble behind him and fall in step. As they got closer, it was evident the driver was struggling with it. It was a lankier man who had a straw hat and ragged mud splattered clothes. There was a single horse at the front of the carriage who ate the grass next to it. Sirius approached the man, waving at him.

"Hello, do you need help?"

The man twirled around, startled, his greyed wispy hair draped over his eyes.

"Oh, er, yeah sure, thanks."

Sirius walked up beside the carriage and examined the situation. The back wheel was stuck in thick mud on the side of the path.

"How did this end up happening?"

"Ah, the horse decided to take a turn too wide, ended up jamming the whole thing."

Sirius nodded and moved behind the wagon, motioning to Lianne who stood a few meters away, watching hesitantly.

"My friend and I can push this while you lead the horse."

The man smiled and nodded as he went to the front of his wagon.

"Alright, thanks for the help."

Sirius took a glance back at Lianne who still wasn't helping.

"Come on, it'll take a few seconds."

She shook her head with a sigh as she slowly walked over and placed her hands on the back of the wagon. It took a moment to feel anything moving, but after a little Sirius felt the wheel move forwards. The horse let out a whiny as the wagon went free. The man laughed and came to the back of the wagon.

"Well, thanks a lot, I didn't catch your name."

"I'm Sirius, this is Lianne."

Lianne's head shot up at the mention of her name and then silently nodded at the man.

"James, nice to meet you, where are you headed?"

"Genstem, you?"

He let out a short laugh and rubbed his forehead.

"I'm actually on my way there right now, you want a ride?"

Sirius smiled and nodded.

"Sure, that would be great, thank you."

"No, thank you, I wouldn't be moving if you didn't show up."

The man moved to the front, hopping onto the driver seat.

"Let me know when you're on."

Sirius pulled himself up, looking at the contents of the wagon. There were a lot of boxes with tightly wound strings holding them shut stacked on top of each other. He took a look behind him to see Lianne standing at the base, her arms crossed.

"Lianne, come on."

He stretched his hand out, beckoning her onboard. She stood silent for a moment, shaking her head.

"I don't trust him."

"Why? We just helped him, he's returning the favour."

"Still..."

Sirius shook his head and held his hand out to her again.

"Look, it'll get us to Genstem a lot faster than on foot, giving us a better chance to catch the target."

She considered it for a moment, letting out a sigh. Lianne ignored Sirius's hand and pulled herself into the covered cabin as Sirius called up to the front.

"We're good back here."

James nodded in affirmation, flicking the reins with a snap. The horse let out a snort as it pulled the wagon forwards. The cabin rumbled slightly on the road as Sirius let himself relax as he took a seat. He watched Lianne carefully pick out the most open place to sit. There were so many boxes in here, most likely goods to be traded once they arrived.

"It's crawler oil if you're wondering."

Sirius took a look at James and returned his gaze to the boxes again.

"All of it?"

"Yup, there's been a lot of buyers recently."

It was true that crawler oil was practically a necessity for lights, but this much? He didn't doubt that there was oil in these boxes, but through the smell of wood there was a distinct scent: spices. It was probably best not to bring it up, especially if these were the more dangerous kind. Whether James was smuggling these Sirius didn't know, but either way it definitely wasn't under city jurisdiction. In the end, it was all going to Genstem, and things like that didn't matter in there.

Lianne sat close to the exit of the carriage. She fiddled with her hands, drumming her fingers back and forth. Sirius shifted himself closer to her so he could speak in a lower tone.

"You never mentioned a plan for when we got there."

"Neither did you."

He nodded as the dirt road rushed past behind them.

"Genstem is a maze, even on the top level, not to mention the fact there's a controlled monster that somehow managed to sneak into the city, that's a completely different problem."

Lianne looked away and down at her hand which lay on the hilt of her sword.

"He has ways of hiding that thing, certain paths of entry and exit, not to mention there's already a lot of monsters that are kept there."

Sirius paused for a moment, carefully playing back that statement in his head.

"... How do you know that?"

Lianne's fidgeting stopped as the sound of the creaking of the carriage filled the cramped space.

"Forget it."

"What?"

She flashed a glare in his direction, refusing to speak more. Sirius let out a sigh, realizing he was back to square one.

"Okay fine, keep that to yourself, but if you have a plan at least tell me that."

Lianne hesitated for a moment before she carefully picked out her words.

"They'll be in the east catacombs."

Sirius nodded, that was enough. He stole another glance at Lianne, watching her slowly clench her fist. The boxes rattled beside them as the carriage continued onwards. Sirius took a deep breath and closed his eyes. He didn't expect to visit Genstem any time soon, but here he was. If the situation wasn't so significant, he would've liked to look around the city for a bit, find something that interested him. A frivolous thought, but what was the harm in having those once in a while? Sirius smiled, he used to say things like that a lot a long time ago. He let the bumps in the road lull him into a false sense of relaxation as the carriage continued to move.

~

Lianne held herself still, resisting the urge to steal glances at Sirius. She said too much, more than too much. Dammit, he was going to just have more questions now on top of the absurd amount he had already. Well, to be fair the question he asked most were along the lines of 'are you okay', which was annoying as hell. Whether that was out of misplaced concern or just to probe her for the fun of it Lianne didn't know.

She gave into the temptation and quickly shifted her gaze to Sirius. He sat beside her, his eyes closed, head leaned back. He didn't even have his hand near his sword, anybody could kill him right there and then. Maybe this was a test? To see if she would betray him? Lianne shook her head, maybe he was just stupid.

It was way too cramped, there was nowhere to move. She calmed her breathing as her throat started to tighten. Tingling itches crawled up her arm as she started to shift, grabbing onto her knees and pulling them close. At least it was bright enough to see her surroundings. Sirius sitting beside her didn't make the situation any better, even if he was oblivious to her unease.

Lianne let out a sigh, resting her chin on her forearm. This was all happening so fast, they were on their way to Genstem of all places. She never wanted to step foot back in there ever again, but it would be worth it if she could kill those pieces of shit, although killing that thing wouldn't be simple. How long had it been since she had visited? Two years? Three? She really didn't know the city well and barely explored any of it, but the places she did explore showed the true side of the disgusting place, at least a part of the depraved and corrupt abyss.

The carriage rattled again as it went over a patch of rocks. She took a look at the boxes which supposedly contained crawler oil. The thought of taking a vial crossed her mind. If she wasn't going to use it in the shattered lantern she had, it could be mixed with some flint and manganese dust for an incendiary bomb.

However, the boxes were tightly wound shut, and it would be almost impossible to sneak one vial out with her. If this really was all crawler oil, where did the man transporting it get it all? Crawlers weren't the easiest to kill, and even harder to harvest from if kept alive. Their thin reptilian bodies produced the oil naturally, and they loved to spit it at people. They were only capable of producing small sparks with ether, but that was more than enough to set the oil ablaze.

Lianne had only hunted crawlers once, usually that was left to specialists. The man driving this carriage, however, didn't look like a hunter, and certainly not one who would be hunting crawlers. Did he have a partner? Was he just the transporter? If so, why was he alone all the way out here? Lianne let out a sigh, it didn't matter, she would never see him again after this.

Attempting to calm her mind, she took a deep breath in. There was so much to think about, it was overwhelming. Lianne fiddled with the hair clip on her head, making sure it was secure along the unkempt strands. Letting her mind go for a second, she started to hum under her breath, the same familiar tune, the only one she really knew. It was slow, the melody dull yet filled with emotion, not that she had the capability to put any emotion into it. It would change whenever she recalled it, the harmonies constantly shifting like the sea. Lianne wasn't even sure it was the same song that was sung to her so many years ago.

She stopped short and let her head fall down into her arms. There was no point in remembering the song, and yet it stayed; no matter how many times she tried to forget, it remained in her mind. Her hand drifted to her hair clip once again, brushing the surface of it. She felt the texture of the simple engravings on the silver, her fingers tracing the tiny lines absently. All the blood was washed off of it, she had made sure of that last night.

Cursing herself, Lianne pulled her head upwards. Letting her guard down here was unacceptable. She took a look around the cabin, noticing that nothing had changed. Sirius was still sitting with his eyes closed, his breathing steady. Was he sleeping? No, his body posture was too rigid to be sleeping, although maybe that was how he slept, who knew. At any rate, he wouldn't be of much use if they were attacked. She groaned, wishing she had brought something to go from the bar. Sure, she probably couldn't get drunk quick enough, but it would be something.

After what felt like an eternity of silence and too many bumps to count, a voice came from the front of the carriage.

"Hey, we've arrived!"

Sirius spoke up next to her, causing her to jump slightly.

"Alright, thank you again for the ride."

She looked over at him as he sat up straight as the sound of the dirt underneath turned to that of stone and the whole carriage came to a stop. Sirius got up and hopped out the back, standing on the cobbled road and looking back at Lianne.

"You coming?"

She cautiously got up, slowly stepping foot out of the shade. Bright sunlight hit her eyes as her feet hit the streets. Sounds of horses and people filled the air as she took a look at her surroundings. It was Genstem alright, countless stalls lined the towering stone buildings as people pushed past each other. This was the part of Genstem they wanted you to see, the lively city with giant walls with multiple guards and ballista to keep you safe. Sirius walked to Lianne's side as she scanned the cramped area.

"So, where are we going?"

She took in a deep breath and adjusted her swords.

"Underground."

The thought of it sent a shiver up her spine as she shook her head and focused her vision. It was finally time.