I found myself standing in the safety of the town's shadows once more, watching an inconspicuous wooden door across the street. Two days had passed since my conversation with Gundar the tavern keeper, and night had fallen again, leaving me with enough freedom to continue on my hunt. A cold wind blew through the streets tonight, rattling the window shutters around me as well as my bones. It was getting harder to keep myself from shivering: not just from the cold, but also from the deeply disconcerting craving for more of my favorite vice of crystals. I'd seriously have to figure out a way to get just one of them; surely a single one would get me through the week. I found myself spacing out again at the thought of finally ending this constant feeling of deep upset at missing the one substance my body desperately yearned for to survive.

I shook my head with vigor in order to steer my numb mind back to the present. The door. Following Gundar's reluctant hints, I'd tracked down a number of rather shady characters throughout the city. Most of them resided in the worse parts of town, but by far not all of them. It shouldn't have come as much of a surprise, that a large number of the more well-off merchants and nobles of the imperial capital dealt in less than legal side businesses. While trade outside of the empire had been heavily punished under the emperor's reign, he hadn't been as concerned with enforcing the trade with dangerous substances within the empire's borders. Unfortunately, none of them traded in the more expensive side of controlled magical substances and so I'd had to keep following the hierarchy of shady business people up and up until I'd found the worst of them. I had it on good authority that the particular character I was about to have a friendly business meeting with, had connections outside of the empire. If there was even a single crystal in this entire city, it would be hidden away inside the extravagant house before me.

The building in question was an expensive three storey house - not quite a manor - squeezed in between several other reputable local merchants' residences. Had I been in a better state of mind, surely I would be able to recount a number of details about the extravagant building. My entire focus was stuck on that particular wooden door, however: a small side entrance, conspicuously guarded by a cloaked heavy bruiser whose fine clothing didn't detract much from the obviously well used metal tipped cudgel in their hand. I'd only watched the entrance for a few minutes, barely restraining myself from walking up to the hired guard and attempting a quick entrance. I had no real plan, except the sure knowledge that I needed to get my hands on the hidden crystals this estate surely held. Additionally, I was in no state of mind to come up with a better solution than the tried and tested strategy of just barging in there and making up a plan as I went along. So, the minutes ticked by with no progress in the planning department, but a rather noticeable amount of progress in the number of body parts starting to freeze off.

When I couldn't keep myself standing still anymore, I threw all caution to the wind and quickly crossed the street to approach the building. When I passed the extravagant entrance of the estate and approached the unsuspecting side door, the stationed muscle raised the cudgel to their shoulder and gave me a menacing stare. They were probably about to come up with some rather flowery threats, but I had little time to indulge some random minion's aspirations of grandeur. I cut the threats short by snapping my fingers, and making a tiny flame appear above my raised hand.

"Yes, yes. You're very threatening, I'm sure. Your lordship is awaiting me, and I have no time to waste."

I'd used the same cheap trick to impress the last merchant I'd had a meeting with. He'd led me here, and I was pretty sure he'd warned the noble waiting inside of my impending arrival. Indeed, the bruiser before me showed a flicker of recognition in their stance, and with a long suffering grunt opened the door for me.

***

As I descended the narrow stairway before me, the door behind me closed with an ominously reverberating clang, sealing me inside, and locking my decision in place. I'd leave this place with the treasure I was looking for, or not at all.

I pulled the cloak more tightly over my face before I reached the end of the stairs. Candles, some magical, illuminated my surroundings and I would rather like to avoid being found out now that I was so close to my target. The stairs were replaced with a reflective, expensive looking floor of some kind of stone, and the narrow stairway made way for a large rectangular room. A table stood off to the side, groaning under the weight of the drinks and weapons of three people rolling dice and enjoying some sort of game. Two of them, one male, one female, could be twins of the ill-tempered goon outside, and apart from a disturbing amount of muscles, had little interesting qualities to note. The last however, was a smaller fellow in extravagant clothing, and with the hilt of an expensive looking sword peeking out from his side. He looked like he was around thirty, despite his youthful, shaved face, and had the distinct mannerisms of an imperial noble. He was the first to give me a once over and stand up from the table, interrupting the game. He whispered something to the other two before he made his way around the table to meet me.

"You're the one, then?" he asked with one hand on the hilt of his sword, giving my rumpled, dirty clothes a sharp scan.

I summoned the flame again with a flick of my wrist and tapped my foot impatiently, eliciting a sharp intake of breath from the noble before me.

"Lady Othius will wish to speak with you herself then, wise mage. I wish you fruitful negotiations." He gave me a quick bow and turned toward another door at the other end of the room. "I'll lead you right to her then, if you'll follow me."

This was going rather smoothly, and a lot more quickly than I would've liked. They'd clearly just been waiting for me, which gave me a rather uncomfortable feeling of having stepped into the den of a dangerous beast without preparation. I was just about to send my mind on a quick excursion through the nearby stoneworks to look for wards, when the nobleman before me made for the door already. There was little need to fret, considering the empire's apparent lack of aptitude for the magical arts, so I opted to not make my host wait and quickly followed behind. Secretly, there was some amount of relief involved as well, not having to tax my already strained mind. Trying to focus on keeping my grasp on reality, not to mention the odd fire spell was bad enough, I really wanted to avoid any complex magical feats.

As I entered the lady Othius' rooms, I could make out a slight noise of creaking from the table behind me, and quiet whispering between the guards that had been sitting there. That feeling of being in a monster's den became much worse then, and I had the sudden urge to turn around and come back later, better prepared. There was no way out now, however. Besides, if I waited even longer, I wasn't sure I'd be able to think straight at all anymore. My situation would only get worse if I let any more time pass before making my move.

I avoided stumbling over the threshold of the entrance door to what looked like a cross between a meeting room and a study. A large round table sat in the middle of the room, surrounded by a number of comfortable looking chairs. Beautiful paintings in expensive looking frames covered the walls, and a large magical light source in the ceiling lent the room enough light to read and write under. The largest of the chairs, almost resembling a throne, was taken up by a tall woman, looking up from a book that lay open before her. Her blonde hair was tied into a practical looking bun, revealing an aristocratic, angular face and observant green eyes behind expensive looking, ornamented glasses. She seemed to be wearing simpler clothes than the noble standing beside me, making up for with practicality what they sacrificed in ostentatiousness.

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When I entered, she slowly took off her glasses and closed the book before her. She gave the noble beside me a careful look that probably meant something, though I couldn't for the life of me figure out what they were communicating to each other. With a soft rustle of clothes, she stood up from the chair she'd been sitting at and gave me a friendly smile.

"You must be the lord wizard I've been waiting for then." She closed the book before her while she spoke, giving me her undivided attention. I was just about to raise my hand for another demonstration, when she interrupted me:

"No, no demonstration necessary. I see you've convinced Damian here already." She gave the noble beside me another glance, then gestured to one of the chairs. "Please, sit down so we can talk. Damian, please have one of the servants fetch us some refreshments if you'd be so kind."

"That's very gracious of you, your ladyship." I commented while I slid into one of the comfortable, cushioned chairs, facing my negotiating partner while Damian left the room, presumably to procure the requested drinks.

I could hardly keep my knees from bouncing and my eyes from darting around nervously, though I managed to keep my voice steady and sufficiently strong when I began speaking. "Let's cut right to the chase then, lady Othius: as you no doubt know by now, I've been running into various business partners of yours recently, trying to acquire a number of rather rare substances. It has come to my attention that you have some unique connections that might enable you to get ahold of some of those substances." I couldn't keep myself from tapping the table impatiently with one finger while I talked.

Lady Othius meanwhile seemed unsurprised, though she eyed the dirty cloak that still covered my face with a slight frown.

"If you can tell me the exact nature of... substance you're looking for, I am sure I can be of help. Though I would appreciate talking face to face. I promise, you are completely safe here, and your identity will not be revealed to anybody but me." She gave me another smile, though it seemed a bit more dangerous this time.

I shook my head quickly. "I would prefer to keep my face a secret for now."

She frowned again, but after a few seconds gave me a nod. "As you wish." She sighed. "What exactly are you looking for?"

I nodded as well when she seemed to give up on uncovering my identity, at least for now, and continued. "In a land far from here, beyond even our great empire's influence, it is said that a group of elven alchemists discovered a substance that carries an incredible amount of magical potential. They say that by crushing and inhaling the dust of a small blue stone, all manner of injuries and illnesses can be healed in an instant." I swallowed, thinking of the incredible feeling of the crystal dust entering my lungs and suffusing my mind, losing my grasp on reality for a good second.

I continued, when the lady Othius showed no outward reaction to this information. "I'm sure you can appreciate the value such a substance would have to a wizard such as myself. The untapped potential, you see." I continued tapping on the table, trying not to think about the very real potential of inhaling another dose of crystal dust very soon.

"I see." She said, following the tapping of my finger with another frown. "But surely you must be aware that the trade of wares beyond the empire's borders is prohibited under threat of death? What makes you think I would risk such a terrible fate to further your... scientific discovery?" She glanced at my bouncing finger again as she said the last part.

I forced myself to stop fidgeting and answered: "I have means, even beyond simple gold, lady Othius." I really hoped she would go for that, because frankly, I had very little else apart from my talents to offer, and even those were at a premium until I could scrounge up a damned crystal. "While we could deal in coin, I assume you would prefer to make use of my unique talents. I could create you a ward to store away your treasures so that only you can have access to them. Or perhaps you'd like a room that not even imperial siege equipment can breach. Though, of course I would have to see proof you can acquire the stones I need first."

She took a little time to think about my words, staring me down all the while, not even reacting as one of the guards entered and served a goblet of some translucent, probably expensive drink to each of us. It became increasingly difficult not to think about indulging in a more potent drug than alcohol. I was so close to stilling my craving for a deep inhale of that incredible blue dust.

"Very tempting." she replied, "but no." She waved at somebody behind me, and suddenly my cloak was pulled away from my face.

When my ears were revealed to the magical light above, she gave me a predatory grin. I was slow to react, meanwhile, still lost to the craving of what was very obviously some rather major withdrawal symptoms. When I looked around, I saw that not only lord Damian, but also the two guards from before had positioned themselves behind me. Damian sported a nasty smile and an even nastier, sharp looking sword. The goons both carried short but brutal looking axes, and all three of them looked ready to attack. Damian raised his blade and pointed it at my face.

***

Instinctively, I tried to send the blade back at the noble's face with a quick application of magic, but the result was naught but a headache, and a surge of magical energy leaving me for a place somewhere beneath the table. I really should've taken the time to look for wards before entering this room.

Lady Othius gave me a sad smile, when she saw realization dawn in my face. "I heard the rumors of an elf attacking the palace, of course, but I had my doubts..." lady Othius continued. "No amount of magical wards, not even from an elf, could be worth more than what they'll pay me for your head." She looked at me sadly, seeming genuinely apologetic. "I'm sorry for the decision I must make, but you're worth more to me dead than alive. Besides: the risk of working with you is impossible right now; the emperor will turn this country upside down to find you, and evading his spies is already hard enough without any of this mess you've brought to my doorstep."

I could only blink while the noble before me so casually sentenced me to death. "I can assure you..." I started, when lady Othius waved at the sword wielding man behind me. "Make it quick and painless, Damian."

I'd been sitting sideways in my chair, looking from lady Othius back to my executioner, whose blade was now swishing through the air, aimed directly at my neck. With no time to come up with a better plan yet again, I grabbed the goblet of drink to my right and with elven accuracy aimed directly for the sword approaching me. Well, it would've been elven accuracy any other time, except right now it was very much impaired. I managed to hit the blade before it could behead me, though while it missed my neck, it still scored a painful hit across my left clavicle. The surprised Damian meanwhile was hit in the face with the goblet's contents, and reared back in shock.

Suddenly, everything was chaos. The clang of metal on metal, my groan of pain, Damians scream of panic and the shouts of anger from the two remaining goons made for a terribly confusing symphony. I grabbed the chair I still half sat in, and with a groan of pain caused by my probably fractured collarbone, flung the entire thing at the retreating sword wielder.

The intended target managed to evade the projectile with a practiced side step, though the axe-wielding guard behind him didn't fare as well and stumbled against the wall beside the door. I tried to make a jump for Damian, though the other guard intercepted my lunge with a slash of her axe. It was only instinct that allowed me to evade the axe and quickly kick it out of the guard's hand. With a quick jump, I managed to follow the axe and grab it before anybody could react. When I turned around with the axe raised to strike, I just about managed to deflect Damian's blade once, twice, then three times. I didn't even notice the cuts I received to my face and upper body in the struggle. When the third blow hammered down on me, I struck the blade from below with such force, the young lord's arm went wide and left him completely open. It only took a single strike of the axe to his neck to end his life in a cascade of blood and violence.

The guards posed little challenge after that. With the fear of death in their eyes, their movements became frantic and unprecise, and soon one and then both guards fell.

I was about to turn to lady Othius, which was an example of fortuitous timing on my part. Her sword, aimed between my ribs from behind, missed my heart and instead added a huge, bleeding gash to my side. She was screaming at me with fear, anger and loss visible clearly on her face while her sword flew wide and slipped from her hand, leaving her only with a long dagger in her other hand.

I turned around and managed to bury the blade of the axe in her upper body, missing her neck, though not before she could sink the dagger fully in my side.