Before Maya or her crew could consider the Broker’s words, the man raised a hand. He stared at them for several moments before allowing his arm to drop.

“There is one more thing. I want to talk to Maya. Alone.”

“He’s almost certainly awakened his powers,” Cyll warned his captain. “You don’t have to do it.”

“Why can’t you talk to us?” Patty asked, tilting her head to the side.

“As fascinating as the two of you are, I’m afraid Maya is the one who has my attention. Don’t get me wrong – you’re both subjects that I would thoroughly love to investigate. But…Maya is the only one I’m willing to speak with. Either that or the deal is off,” the Broker said.

“Thanks for backing me up, guys,” Maya said. “But I think this is a risk I need to take. Besides, I’m sure our new friend wouldn’t try anything foolish when the two of you are waiting for our return.”

“I promise my intentions are strictly honorable. This is purely personal interest. I will not touch a hair on your captain’s head,” the Broker said. He dipped into a slight bow. Cyll didn’t seem amused, but he nodded at Maya.

“You’re the Cap. We’ll be waiting here,” he said.

Patty frowned. The wooden plates that made up her convincing human body shifted around as she visibly demonstrated her annoyance. The Broker cleared his throat and approached one of the tapestries on the wall. He brushed it to the side, revealing a thin passageway leading further into the depths of Bulsen.

“I’ll go first, if only to assuage your companions’ fears,” the Broker said, heading into the passage and letting the artwork fall back to its original place behind him.

“Stay here. Don’t worry, I’ll call if I need you,” Maya said before following the man into the darkness.

The Broker led her down the tunnel silently. It snaked along what must have been the bottom of Bulsen for several minutes. The walls grew damp and musty. Water dripped from thin cracks along the walls and ceiling.

“Don’t worry,” the Broker said. It was impossible to see in the dim light, but he’d clearly guessed Maya’s thoughts. “The walls aren’t going to collapse. They’ve been this way for hundreds of years, and they’ll stay that way for a hundred more.”

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Maya grunted but didn’t grace him with a response. Light returned to the tunnel after they turned a sharp bend. A short distance later, they arrived at a light stone door lit by a single torch placed in the hallway. The Broker lifted the torch and pushed the door open with his back. He stepped inside and waved for Maya to follow him in.

The door led into a small room, but this one was nothing like the Broker’s office. It was devoid of any decoration or color. Instead, shelves lined the walls. Scrolls and books were stuffed into every inch of free space.

The floor was bare stone, but fallen papers had obscured almost all of the dull grey. The Broker approached the small desk that sat in the middle of the room and sat down at one of the two chairs beside it. Maya took the hint and sat down in the other one.

“So, what did you want to talk about that we had to leave my crew?” Maya asked. She let her hand hang beside the hilt of her sickle.

The Broker leaned forward and put his hands on the table. His eyes were intent as he tried to pry Maya’s soul open with just his gaze.

“You. You fascinate me,” he said, drumming his fingers on the table.

“I’m not interested, sorry.”

“That’s not what I meant,” the Broker laughed. “Not romantically. I mean YOU. I make it a point to learn about everybody that enters Bulsen. When a small pirate crew rolls up sailing a boat stolen from the Ashwind family, I figured you might have an interesting background.”

Maya’s eyes narrowed. Before she could rise from her seat, the Broker lifted his hands into the air with his palms out.

“Don’t worry. I have no love for them, and they don’t know you’re here. Relax.”

Maya suspiciously waved for him to continue.

“Thank you. Now, imagine my surprise when the three of you are what shows up once I dig a little. Patty is interesting all right. An animated puppet of some sort. She’s ancient. I found records of her being the boss monster of a dungeon a short distance from town. So what is she doing with you?”

“I’m not going to ask how you know her name,” Maya replied, shrugging. “But she wanted to see the world. We just offered to let her tag along and she took us up on it.”

“I see,” the Broker said. “But Cyll is even more interesting. You know, I’ve never had nothing show up for a person’s background before. I’ve been warned off, attacked, betrayed, and countless other horrible things. But I find something. I always do. So why is it that your friend doesn’t exist?”

“No clue,” Maya replied promptly. “He’s part of my crew, not my kid. I only met him recently, but if you think I’m going to start spilling information about my men, you should guess again. Just because we’re a small crew doesn’t mean I’m a pushover.”

The Broker rose from his seat. He walked over to one of the cabinets and tugged a scroll out from it, sending dozens of other manuscripts to the floor in the process. He strode back to the desk and put it down before her.

Dust covered the scroll like a thin blanket. He brushed it off and unfurled it gingerly. The paper was covered with cracks and looked like it might crumble with just an iota of force.

“I don’t expect you to tell me anything about them. You see, I kept digging into your friend. Did you know there was a warlord by the name of Cyll, the Demon of the Depths? He lived ten thousand years ago.”