KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK!

My fist pounded on the sturdy, wooden door. It was early, with the sun barely over the horizon. Last night, I found a bath at the inn, and a staff member willing to clean my clothes in a hurry. They washed away the ashes of my past life and threw the dirty water into the canal.

KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK!

I was a new man, and it was a new day, which meant two things: Rugar's thugs would be looking for me, and I needed to leave the capital. I shivered, feeling naked without my red coat.

I’d given the rest of my coin purse to the innkeeper’s son, making him run to the North Gate with my coat on while I took care of some business. If everything went as planned, he would take off the coat once he passed the North Gate and meet me at the West Gate, creating rumours that I fled North.

KNOCK! KNOCK! KNO-

My third rap on the door stopped as it cracked open. A groggy-eyed Elmer squinted at me through the narrow sliver.

"Jacob? I’m closed."

I smiled and barged into the store, pushing back the short man and making him fumble the lantern in his hands.

I swept my gaze over the poorly lit shop.

Sin, where are you?

Nudging the door closed, I turned to the befuddled craftsman.

“Did you know?”

My face was flat and expressionless, hiding the anger bubbling below the surface.

Lie to me, Elmer. Make this easy.

My left hand walked across my belt sash to the cane on my hip.

“No… No, I didn’t. No one tells me anything, anything,” he said, examining the lantern for damage.

The tension in my shoulders eased; I believed him.

Elmer walked back around the counter, tinkering with the lantern before setting it down on the countertop.

OK. Plan B.

"You’re her supplier, aren't you?”

I set my face in a wolfish grin, stalking across the room to lean against the counter.

“You get her all the illegal merchandise she uses for her crimes."

It was a guess. I didn't know if Elmer sold anything illegal, but, c'mon, he worked for Sin.

Elmer looked up at me, his face blanching white in the lantern light.

"W-what do you want?"

I cocked my head.

"Illegal merchandise."

"Oh… O-OK, what can I do you for?"

I had considered what type of equipment I would need for my first adventure outside the capital. Castille is looking after provisions which let me focus on my more roguish pursuits.

"Rope, a couple of flasks of oil, and anything explosive."

Elmer raised his eyebrows.

"Someone’s having a party."

"The kind that's starting soon."

He snorted, waddling behind the curtain and returning a few moments later with full hands. He laid a bundle of thin hemp rope, a flask of oil in a flat brown container and a wooden box with a skull stamped on its side.

Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

"I only have one flask of oil. Will that do?"

"It will. What's in the box?"

Elmer flashed me a conspiratorial smile.

"Hand bombs that our soldiers have been chucking at our Dahlgeshi friends on the Southern border."

He lifted the lid and pushed away the packing straw to reveal three metal balls the size of apples. Short string fuses poked out of them like stems.

My grin widened.

Oh, these were very illegal.

"I'll take it!"

Elmer nodded.

"And how will you be paying?"

I held my breath. Now came the tricky part.

"On credit."

Elmer recoiled, blinking at me through the bottom row of his glasses.

"Are you sure?"

"Dead sure."

He sighed, sulking as he disappeared behind the curtain. A moment later, he returned with two glass inkwells, two quills, a small knife, and a contract prewritten in High Elvish.

Like most established merchants, Elmer kept a small stock of credit contracts. These contracts allowed him to secure more risky transactions with collateral from their buyer. If the signee was unable to make a payment by a predefined date, the merchant could bring their contract to a Sanctifier Guildhall within ninety days and be paid out of the buyer's belongings.

Elmer laid out the inkwells and contract with a grimace. He pulled out a regular inkwell and quill from below his counter. Dipping the quill into the inkwell, he looked at me.

"I need collateral and a payment date."

I nodded. My plan was coming together.

"If I don't pay you back eleven months from now, you can have all my land."

Elmer’s face went white; his mouth slacked open as he looked at me in disbelief.

"I-I couldn't possibly… Jacob, the value of the collateral is too high."

I raised a correcting finger.

"A merchant is entitled to request proportionate collateral based on the risk of repayment.”

Thank you, Mr. Reeves.

“And Elmer… I'm risking everything."

He gulped.

I sighed and put on my most disarming smile.

"If it makes you feel any better, I’ll lose the land anyway if things don’t work out. I’d rather you have it than the Sanctifiers."

He blushed, the corners of his mouth bending upward in a hesitant smile.

"I-I see. I see."

He scribbled our names, the collateral description, and the payment date into the blank placeholders in the contract.

Alden was a fool. Did he really think I would sacrifice my freedom for property? I wasn’t like these nobles or merchants. If I wanted something, I would take it through trickery or force—just as Sin taught me. Now, no matter what happened, Alden would lose, and with enough luck, I would be alive to see the look on his face.

Elmer ran the small knife along the palm of his hand, letting the blood fill the inkwell and signing his side of the contract. I unwrapped my bandaged hand, stretching it until the wound reopened and filled my inkwell. With my left hand, I signed my side of the contract.

"It's done," I said, yawning as I rewrapped the bandage around my hand.

Elmer gave me a grave nod, fanning the contract dry and retreating behind his shop's curtain.

I turned to the supplies I bought with the contract, sliding the flask of oil into my pants pocket and slinging the rope over my shoulder. The bombs presented a unique problem. I put one in my other pants pocket and tucked another into the folds of my belt sash. As I weighed the last explosive in my hand, Elmer reappeared from behind the curtain.

"Don’t worry, the fuse needs to be lit to explode the bomb."

"And how would I do that?"

From below the counter, Elmer pulled out a brass metal tube the length of my pinky finger. At the end of the tube, the metal stretched around the axle of a small stone wheel.

"I call this a spark wheel. There’s flint in the tube. When you spin the wheel, sparks come out.

I picked up the tool, appreciating the simple yet ingenious design.

"Elmer, this is incredible…"

“Thank you!”

The man smiled ear to ear, pleased with himself.

I slapped the counter, jolting him out of his expression.

"Well, I’m off. Wish me luck."

I tucked the spark wheel next to the lockpick in my hair, stuffed the last bomb into the folds of my belt sash, and loped to the shop’s entrance.

"Alright, be safe. Your… Um, Sin would want that."

I stopped at the closed door and turned back at Elmer.

“Sin. Where is she?”

“I told you before… in the wind.”

Elmer tilted his head up.

“Always above us… always watching.”

Always watching? Good.

I would show her what it meant to be a weapon.

# # #

As Jacob left the store, Elmer slouched on his stool and wiped the sweat from his forehead.

“Sin. It’s done.”

“I have ears, Elmer.”

Sin slipped through the curtains, holding the freshly signed contract in one gloved hand. Her head was bowed, reading the text in the lantern light. For the hundredth time, Elmer wondered what enchantment was put on the blood-red fabric that allowed Sin to see. He would give half of his inventory to get his hands on the material but knew he would lose his hands in the process.

“He’s become Landbound,” Sin said, her voice dripping with disdain.

“I-I’m Landbound, Sin.”

“I know. And it’s the Claw to you.”

“Right, right. But that’s not all. Did you see his last name?”

Sin paused to read the contract and groaned. Elmer snickered to himself. He’d never seen her like this. It was amusing… and terrifying. His eyes darted to the items on his shelves. If she threw a tantrum, the damage to his collection would be catastrophic. Maybe he shouldn’t have egged her on.

“It's like he invents new ways to embarrass me. I should have killed him when I had the chance.”

“What will you do?”

“For now, I’ll watch. Elmer, I need you to call in a favour.”

“Of course, of course. What’s the favour?”

“I need Jacob to leave the city in one piece.”

“That… might be a challenge.”

“I know.”