19695 The 1st Autumn

“I’m telling you, we should’ve turned right by the bakery.” My patience is running thin first thing in the morning.

“Shush! You promised I could lead the way remember?” Valka takes another random turn as we keep wandering the streets. “It’s not like we’re in a rush or anything and you don’t know where it is either.”

And I only agreed to something like this because it was late last night and I didn’t feel like arguing. Forget about visiting every second food stand, we went to like three different shops and bought enough clothes that we had to return back to our tavern twice just to deposit them. We watched street performers, listened to music, and made bets with each other on whether or not a street rat we spotted would succeed in stealing or not… We had some simple innocent fun.

Sure on our way home after even the nightlife died down we got almost robbed but that one was just sad. The kids were about our age if not younger, too weak to go after anyone older and so skinny I didn’t even dare knock them out in fear of killing them. So I threw them a few coins and they left.

Daily good deed I guess.

There was only one stop last night we postponed visiting because it didn’t belong in the entertainment category and it was a little too late for that type of shop to stay open. I just wanted to be in bed and even now I’d rather be cooped up under the blanket, even with Valka taking up most of the bed, rather than up before the lights are even out.

“See, I told you I’d find it.” I bump into Valka’s back as she comes to an abrupt halt.

I’ve been following her mindlessly for the past half an hour now, with little to no hope of ever reaching our destination. A promise is a promise and I had my smug face prepared for when she admits defeat.

But she actually did it, sort of.

Our goal was to find a blacksmith, one well-versed in the art of inscriptions and a bit more… open-minded. To be fair I’m not entirely convinced we’re at the right place.

A building slightly better maintained than the rest tucked away in a back alley without any signs, display window, heat gushing out the open door, or the sound of hammering… Although that’s just how I’d imagine it. And this is definitely not the street that shop clerk directed us toward yesterday.

“This doesn’t look like-”

“I can smell it.” Valka declares proudly, marching inside without a hint of doubt in her eyes.

Is this what walking your pet feels like?

As we push the slightly ajar door open and invite ourselves inside I finally feel the whiff Valka mentioned, the smell of ash and metal, however, the unimpressive sight still leaves me doubting.

Anvil, check, workbench, check, tools, check and… that’s about it. And of course a snoring beastkin. Scrawny, scruffy, and definitely not someone I’d entrust with my money to do something important. Something like removing Valka’s collar.

And that’s what makes him perfect.

Words aren’t my forte so I just grab a a pair of tongs and unceremoniously drop it to the ground. And oh it does its thing so wonderfully, making the man with rust-colored squirrel-like features fall out of his chair in a comical display of agility. Or rather the lack thereof.

[Artisan ???]

“T-thieves!” He shrieks the moment his eyes land on us.

“Customers!” I correct him, slightly enjoying the clear panic on his face.

“Who told you you can come in?” Isn’t he a little too quick to believe me?

“The door was open, it’s already past breakfast time and you didn’t seem too busy.” I’m having fun.

He takes a long glance outside but before we continue I make sure to kick the door shut, for privacy’s sake.

“So, can we get down to business?” I ask, cutesy and demure as it is proper.

The subtle threat and my aggressive approach seem to somehow wake the craftsman from his drowsy state but his attitude takes a turn I never expected.

“Out! I don’t take commissions.” He leans on his previous napping chair, pushing himself to his full height and grabbing his hammer from the anvil. “There’s only one thing hooligans like you can find in my shop.”

Hooli- Okay, we started off on the wrong foot, and I’m mostly to blame for that. Living in a city with a crime rate this sky-high likely didn’t help either and… Do I even need to bother with this guy? I mean, he might not even have the skills for the job and there’s no way he’s the only blacksmith around.

“Have it your way, we merely hoped for some privacy to discuss business.” I nod to my bloodhound who led us here, signaling that it’s time we leave. “Sorry for disturbing your nap.”

I open the door to de-escalate however Valka doesn’t seem as keen on leaving her find just like this. Sure we could try going full psycho and threaten his life but there are two major differences between healers and blacksmiths. Their temperament and how heavy they can swing.

In the end, she relents after a lengthy standoff and we exit the shabby workshop none the much wiser but at least without making a new enemy.

“What’s his problem?” She clearly doesn’t know how people of the crafts work. Especially their pride.

“Maybe he has a constipation or something, I don’t know.” I shrug, ready to look for someone else willing. “Let’s check that other shop, the one we were originally looking for, we might have more success.”

***

We didn’t have more success, as a matter of fact, our subsequent visit probably went even worse than with the squirrel.

Two straight-up threatened to call the guards the moment I went into details about our request, another two were simply incapable of working with inscriptions and the last one… Let’s just say the muscle making sure the business runs smooth quickly recognized us and not in a good way.

It’s zero out of six and now, upon Valka’s request or rather pestering we’re back where we started.

“And why would it go any differently this time?” I’m pretty sceptical but it’s only fair we give her ideas a chance as well. We’re partners, not master and servant.

“He’s the only one who didn’t say no,” Was driving us off wasn’t a firm enough refusal to her? “And this time we arrived with bribes.”

It’s food. A lot of food.

I’ve never heard of squirrels eating meat so went for variety above all else but Dad told me they devour eggs at any given chance. Eggs are basically just failed baby chick juice so I’m pretty curious to find out.

Unlike the first time we came to visit this humble abode I wouldn’t even call a proper workshop the door is now firmly closed. And unlike me, Valka actually knocks instead of barging in. An interesting approach.

For quite a while nobody answers but instead of moving on or trying again we just wait, and wait and quite a few seconds later the handle actually turns. The door slides open through a crack and closes just as quickly as the eye on the other side realizes it’s us.

The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

“C’mon, don’t be like that.” Valka knocks again, as if the man didn’t already know we’re here. “Can we at least talk? We’re not in any gang and you’re the only one who hasn’t said no yet.”

“No!” Comes the firm shout from inside the building.

I guess that settles it.

“You can’t say no when you hear what-”

“NO!” The reply remains the same.

“Can we break in now?” I whisper, somewhat salty about his attitude but not in a criminal way.

It’s not like we don’t have any other choice but if forcefully squeezing our money into his hands is what it needs to remove Valka’s stigma then so be it.

The girl in question sighs in defeat before finally giving me a nod of approval. “Be gentle.”

“Finally.”

Smashing the door obviously doesn’t count as gentle and to my surprise the lock mechanism is reinforced with mana, as one would expect from a proper blacksmith. The hinges however just ruin everything.

With a simple thought and a twirl of my finger, the metal unclips the door from the wall and slides the entrance to the side allowing for an epic entrance. Before our friend, who hasn’t realized his role yet, can react or Gods forbid call for help I put the door back where it belongs, repairing all the damage and unlocking it with the key left in its hole.

“You will hear us out!” Valka finally turns serious and I start munching on the food we brought, enjoying the show. “We’re not with any gang, not with the hag who runs the other shop by the market nor with that bastard Hector. We just simply want to pay you and be on our way.”

“What can’t you understand about ‘No’?” He raises his voice right away, rightfully so.

“Because I’m desperate, okay?” She tries a different approach, something I’ve never considered. The truth. “Because I’m tired of people looking at me like a freak. Do you know how many times I tried tearing this chuck of cursed metal off my neck while it shocked me till I passed out?” She takes a few steps towards the man, her face a mask of anger yet her voice quiet like a mouse. “Take it off me, please.”

For the first time the squirrel smith doesn’t immediately retort. His ears twitch from side to side and his posture is still very much hostile but his eyes are somewhere else.

On me, or rather the small feast I’m cradling in my arms.

At least we’re getting somewhere.

“I’m not a criminal and I won’t do anything if you refuse but I’ll come back and try again and keep coming back until you agree to free me.” Valka threatens him with something that sounds just as bad as straight-up violence.

“I’m not helping criminals.” He finally tears his eyes away from me, still standing his ground but visibly weakening.

“I’m not a criminal.”

“That’s what all the criminals say!”

Right? This is the normal reaction. I’m not the weird one for not trusting Valka right away.

To be honest I’m still not one hundred percent sure she is innocent even now. If she’s faking it and managed to earn my trust only to betray me in the end then I can accept that because she’s very fucking convincing.

“She really isn’t.” I chime in. “Closer to a vigilante really.” Because that’s what I consider ourselves after the first mission. Bad guys down and… profit.

To prove my point I hold out a skewer with an assortment of good stuff, still slightly warm and really damn tasty. I already ate one while they were talking.

The moment the squirrel smith takes it, I know we already have him on the hook, but we’re still not quite there yet.

“I still can’t do it.” He admits, after taking the bribe.

“Why not?” Valka gives me a thumbs-up behind her back.

“Do you have a void glass? Governmental approval? And at least five gold?” He lists those things like a grocery list.

“What if we don’t?” I ask carefully.

“Then I can’t help you. I need the first to start working on a collar, the second to not break the law and the third because I’m one of two people who can do what you ask in the entire city.” It really is a grocery list.

We don’t have any of those. Sure we can secure the money, although we spent pretty generously yesterday, and maybe even that material he mentioned but not the paper.

“What would it cost us to let’s say… skip one of those requirements?” I ask not so subtly.

“Twenty.” He huffs without any time to think.

“Are you out of your damn mind?” It’s Val who’s outraged by the price named even though she still barely understands the cost of things.

Twenty is too much. I don’t think there even are twenty gold coins circulating in the underworld per week. Our request is outrageous but so is the price.

“Fifteen.” I try to bargain. You never know until you try.

“Twenty.” He repeats himself. “You’re asking for freedom and so do I. That’s the cost to start a life somewhere else and the price you need to pay.”

“But we can’t-”

“That’s not my problem. Pretend this conversation didn’t happen. Leave the food and see yourselves out!” He crosses his arms as negotiations crumble.

I do as he said to keep the door that is this man open before making my way to the door.

“Do you have no heart?” My question breaks the silence just before Val can open the door.

For a few moments I feel like I’ve messed up and offended him beyond repair but in the end, I get my answer. “I used to. That’s how I ended up like this.”

It’s a shallow victory, or rather an alternative hardly better than the deal we made with Hector. Embracing the criminal world might get us the money in a few weeks or maybe months but I’m not selfish enough to do that.

Hector’s timetable is uncertain but at least free while this offer is a road long and arduous. Two shitty options both with their own merit and risks. The longer we stay here and the more active we become, completing tasks and pocketing some extra here and there, the higher the risk of getting exposed.

“I guess we’re not getting a bigger room.” Valka mutters dejectedly as we make our way home.

“Yeah, but I refuse to cut back on meals.” We might need the money but I won’t give up on comfort while wasting my time here.

It did go through my mind as the price was named to just leave Valka here and maybe come back with help. Or to not come back at all… I could just walk away, wake up in the middle of the night while she’s sleeping and walk right through the gate without an issue. Heck, I even have her contract with me in my bag…

I quickly murdered those ideas though. Even if it was a simple agreement between strangers that’s keeping me here I’d still stay. A little discomfort is not enough to give up who I am, which is definitely not a fucking traitor.

“Hey, you kids. I recognize you.” Someone calls out to us from the side of the street as we’re walking down a busy road without bothering anyone.

I prepare to run or fight, a reaction as basic as breathing at this point but to my surprise, the next words prove my intuition wrong.

“Good job yesterday. I heard you even patched up the houses.” Instead of threatening, the six burly men sitting outside a restaurant lift their mugs toward us with wide smiles. “Come, join us.”

I don’t want to. I can feel the smell surrounding that table just by looking at them.

“No thank you, we’re in a hurry.” I politely decline because from the corner of my eye I can already see Val inching towards the feast they have for only the six of them.

“No need to be shy, the boss told us to treat you well since now-” Then their eyes turn towards something down the street in unison. “Come here quick, you need to hide!”

“What? I’m not gonna-”

“A patrol is coming!” One of them finally clarifies.

A few moments later my eyes confirm their words, turning the comfortable walk home into something much more troublesome. We could try blending into the crowd or making a run for one of the sidestreets but that’s exactly what I’d keep an eye out for if I were a guard.

Without a better idea, we rush over to the six grown, unsightly men urging young girls to come closer while looking slightly tipsy even though Solaire is still up. Yup, it feels just as bad as it sounds.

They shuffle over slightly and their idea of a hiding spot almost makes me want to risk instead of… hiding under the table. Val has no such reservation so I swallow my pride and disgust and dive down there.

The men let their cloaks touch the ground, covering us like curtains as the tension grows. Seconds tick by and soon the sound of armored boots striking the ground grows louder. Commotion follows in their wake and from the murmurs, it’s clear criminals are not the only thing they’re looking for. This a show of force, a small parade to intimidate the people.

Our stinking helpers respectfully greet the brave protectors of the law but otherwise tone down their merry chatter as trouble passes by. Even without observing, I can see people looking away, holding their tongues, and just generally hoping to avoid the tyrannical gazes.

This makes it three. Hector, the hag she stood up against and the guards. These three are the forces slowly strangling this city and everyone living in it.

But fixing it is not our responsibility.

“You can come out now.” I emerge the moment we receive the signal.

“Thanks.” My parents raised me well and thus I know when to show my gratitude.

“Don’t mention it.” They drink like someone’s holding a knife to their throat. “So, care to join us at the table now?”

‘No, still not really.’ is what I’d like to say. Valka’s eyes and our thin coin purse on the other hand would like to differ.

“Ah, fuck it, why not.” I give in and sit down among our benefactors who I’ll likely have to fight in the not-so-distant future.

What a fucked up place this is…