Voices filtered into his dreams. Feet pounding on the stone paths. The clanking of the Guard’s plate armour. The darkness consumed him. He had nowhere to go. He was trapped. More voices. Every time he almost got away, somebody else chased him. They found him. Fingers grabbing, prodding and stealing after him.

Jano sat bolt upright and sweat fell from his brow, he was exactly where he had fallen asleep. It was light outside, he could see it streaming under the door and through the singular glass window. A man in robes moved throughout the house silently. The Mage. Jano felt very weird about waking up on someone else’s floor.

“Morning.” Darrel’s voice brooked no panic. It calmed him in an odd way. “I hope the floor wasn’t too uncomfortable? I did have a bed spare…”

“No, no honestly, it was fine. Thank you…” Jano heard voices outside and he froze. “What’s going on?” Jano asked.

“You mean right now? You’re in the Middle after committing burglary. On my request of course.” He smiled at that. “But I assume you're referring to the events of last night.” He looked at Jano with a smile, but seeing his face remain serious, Darrel continued. “Well it seems Nara made it home safe. I’ve already been out and about and the Guards are definitely stirred up. They’ve caught nobody in connection with their little chase and the Mages are furious, so naturally that’s filtered down a little.”

Jano breathed a sigh of relief. In reality, if they had been worried about anybody getting caught. It was probably him.

“I’m going to go see her now. I’d let you accompany me, but you probably want to go home. See your wife. That sort of thing.” He looked to him, as if perhaps expecting a different response. When none came, the Mage continued.

“That little scythe of yours. The prize from yesterday’s events will have to stay here I’m afraid. They’ll recognise that in an instant. Plus I’m worried you’ll hurt yourself. But in time, I think that could be an interesting weapon of choice for you. Did you get to use it much?”

He shook his head in response. A little embarrassed to admit it.

“Well it certainly makes that little knife I asked you to bring somewhat redundant.” Darrel laughed.

Jano stood up, he was groggy but anxious to get home. He had told Alsace to expect that he might not be back last night, depending on what he needed to do. But she had no doubt heard that the Guard were all riled up, even though the reason why might not have quite filtered to the Slums.

“I feel bad asking. But would you be able to return here later tonight? I want to have a debrief of sorts.” Darrel asked.

“Couldn’t it wait until tomorrow?” Jano asked, surprising himself. Darrel paused as though he was weighing up every word, then his face softened and he smiled.

“Of course. You have earned a good rest. It’s probably for the best considering the Guard and everything.” He turned back to the table and Jano walked closer to the door. He was eager to leave, but quite worried about the route home. He looked at the robes he had worn last night, they were scattered on the floor and he suddenly felt as though he should tidy up after himself. He had used them as an extra blanket overnight. Strangely they were warmer draped over his feet than actually wearing them.

“Here, I have a proper change of clothes for you. And a bonus for last night’s work.” He said. “You can head into the next room to get changed. It’s probably for the best that there’s no chance at all of you getting recognised and caught — it certainly wouldn’t help me.

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He handed Jano a small pile of clothes, on the top had a small leather pouch, tightened at the top with a drawstring. It looked worth a halfcoin at least on its own.

“Thank you, but there’s no need for this. You’ve already paid me en—“ Jano started, but the Mage shook his head and pointed him to another room.

“Let me worry about that. Just go and get changed.”

He walked into the next room. There were three rooms down stairs and another story above. It was a common design in the Middle, on houses he had worked on multiple times before his appearance before the Lesser Court. He just hadn’t seen anything other than one room in this one. He felt weird walking around through Darrel’s belongings, though he almost certainly didn’t live here.

The room had a small bed in the corner, neatly dressed and a wooden dresser which hugged the wall. A small rug lay on the otherwise stone floor. Simple, but nicely furnished. He quickly changed into a simple fabric shirt and black trousers. Sure he wasn’t being watched, he looked in the leather pouch. He counted at least ten fullcoins inside. Is this to buy my silence? He thought. Well it’s certainly nicer than just killing me.

He felt a small pit of sadness as he thought that last night could have been the job he was needed for and that was the end of his involvement.

He walked back through to the main room to find Darrel inspecting the scythe once more. He stood up on hearing Jano. “One day, I can’t wait to describe to you what this actually is.” He said with a pretty large smile on his face. Whatever it was, he was pretty excited about it. “Now go on. Your wife will probably want to make sure you’re safe. Probably.”

Jano opened the thick door and began walking back to the Slums. His legs were heavy from all the running, and he was concentrating too much on walking as normal as possible. Concentrating so hard on it that he was sure he was walking strangely. He glanced over his shoulder, but the street looked as it did any other day. People milling around, some keeping to themselves, others chatting to friends or colleagues. The guildsmen were running around with their crafts and carting around goods. Then he heard more of the familiar clanking of armour, which set him on edge.

He tried to relax a little and tried to focus less on his legs. Soon he reached the entrance to the Slums. There was a higher presence of Guards than usual. “You. Stop.” A voice called.

Jano froze. Had they recognised him? He was totally changed. Had his hood slipped last night? He looked towards the voice and found a disinterested gaze looking back. He tried to ignore the pouch of coin in his pocket. It would certainly be unusual for a Slummer to have that much found on him the day after a robbery. His heart beat faster.

“Why are you returning from the Middle?” The Guard asked.

Jano certainly wouldn’t have called the man passionate about his work. “I was looking for work sir. Was none today.” He kept his eyes low and added just enough politeness expected from a Slummer like him, but deliberately not going overboard. He dialled up his accent.

The Guard eyed him a moment longer, then spoke in a dismissive tone. “Aye another one. In you go. Move on.” A plated glove slapped him on the back. He winced and muttered his thanks.

The clouds were thick once more. It was always grey in the city. Though there was something comforting about it as he made his way back. There were various types of grey, all moving along. Giant wisps of cloud, blocking the great blue sky. At least it wasn’t raining. He was glad to see the dusty brown streets of the Slums. They were comforting and soft underfoot. Dirty, but comforting.

He patted down his pockets, making sure the pouch was still there and he made his way back to his home. He had never been more glad to see the shack more in his life. He bundled into his house and shut the door.

“Alsace?” He called. There were two rooms and unless she had lost her job overnight, she would not still be in the bedroom. She wasn’t home, he knew that she wouldn’t be, but he still hoped. He felt a pang of disappointment and shuffled to the rope bed. He put his hands behind his head and thought about the night before. Wondering about what he would have said had he been recognised.