It was suicidal madness, Essine knew, to go creeping about in the dark in this Bleak-forsaken town. But she couldn't simply ignore what her keen senses were telling her. Someone, or something, was skulking about here. Wild animals avoided Charnyll like the plague, so it had to be something humanoid.

Maybe it was that woman, Leona? She had tracked them once already, and the kobold doubted the fear of this place would keep her away. Certainly, if it was Fatty Broadfellow's men, they would have come in larger numbers.

The kobold flitted silently through the shadows, making regular use of cover to further obscure her motions. Her clawed fingers rested on the hilt of her knife all the while, set to draw it in an instant. Kobolds could see well in the dark, fortunately, but she still felt uncertain as she crept under the awnings of long-abandoned structures.

Those soft footsteps continued to shuffle about somewhere ahead of her, echoing off the ancient walls. Just one person, Essine noticed. That should have made her feel somewhat at ease. Instead it made her stomach churn anxiously. Someone who braved such an imposing landscape alone, especially with the echo of the portal looming high over even the tallest buildings, was either a lunatic or a very dangerous person.

And with the day she'd been having, where she'd barely snatched a few hours of sleep in fleeting naps, she really wasn't in a mood for loonies of any sort.

She came to a halt at the corner of a tight alley, watching silently at the lantern light that shone against the stone wall ahead of her. A humanoid silhouette became visible against the flickering lantern glow, creeping forward. Something like an elongated limb protruded from the central mass, tipped by something long and sharp.

Essine swallowed hard. A monster? Or some creature from the Bleak, who had lurked in the ruins of the town this whole time? The thought sent a shudder racing through her lithe body.

Against a person, she could win if she had the element of surprise on her side. But if it was some kind of monster...

The silhouette moved forward, bit by bit, the sight of it driving Essine to grip her dagger tighter. She knew how to creep and skulk. It was a necessary skill for any kobold who lived past their childhood years, where it was oft better to sneak around humans than to be in their line of sight. As far as she could tell, she was beyond silent.

Yet the figure ahead came to an abrupt halt. "I know you're there. I'd rather not fight, but I will defend myself if I have to." A humanoid voice, Essine noted, with an accent that seemed to slowly chew upon his syllables.

Essine swallowed harshly. "Who... are you?" she warily called back.

"An explorer, that's all. Wasn't expecting anyone else to come here," he replied. "I wish you no harm."

"This one has no reason to believe you," Essine replied.

"Yes and being sneaky and secretive gives me little reason to believe you either. Best to lay eyes on each other, rather than continue scuttling about and run the risk of a violent misunderstanding."

Essine paused. Whoever she was dealing with had strong senses to be able too detect her. Or, perhaps, had some magic at his fingertips. Either way, he was dangerous.

"You may be trying to lure this one out into the open to do harm to her!"

The silhouette made an exaggerated shrugging motion. "Yes well if you're going to be lurking out of sight it makes me paranoid, which runs the risk of me doing something foolish!"

Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more.

Essine considered this. "This one... supposes there is some logic in what you say," she replied. "V-very well. On three, we emerge into view at the same time with our arms raised," she replied.

"Very well." They did so.

Essine found herself looking at an elf with deeply tanned skin and a short crop of auburn hair. He was adorned in flowing lavender robes with black trim on the sleeves and hem, leather riding boots covering his feet. A symbol like an eye was stitched onto his chest. In his hands he held a finely sculpted oak staff with a sharp shard of promethium embedded in the gnarled material.

He regarded her warily with his sharp golden eyes. "A kobold? This is unexpected."

"Meeting anyone in this cursed place should be unexpected."

"Mm. True enough, I take it you're the source of those lights I've seen moving about in that inn?" the elf asked.

Essine blushed beneath her fur, feeling foolish. She supposed they were just shy of setting off fireworks to announce their presence, such was the silence of Charnyll.

"This one and her friends," Essine replied. An unspoken warning followed that remark: 'That's right bucko, this one has friends with her so don't think of doing anything strange.'

"I see. Well I won't pry too much. If you're not here for mere academic curiosity as I am, then some true desperation caused you to shelter in this cursed place." He inclined his head toward her. "I am Igrei of Clan Vizgra, here on behalf of the Sanctum."

The kobold had no bloody idea what those terms meant, but she could hazard a guess from what she knew of the elves of Thallborea. Some sort of wizard consortium, investigating magic in all its shapes and forms. And, generally speaking, it was a poor idea for anyone to get involved in wizard business.

"Are you here for the..." she motioned toward the distant ghostly silhouette of the portal's echo. If there was anything else here to draw a wizard's attention, it would be prudent to know about it. Solely to better avoid it.

"Partially. Researching the Bleak is something of an interest of mine, though my cohorts think me a madman for that," the elf admitted.

Essine gave him a flat look. Too bloody right they did.

"We are here for shelter. That is all," Essine said. He did not need to know more than that. He already knew the location of her allies, and if he meant to harm her he could have done so by now. Still, Essine wasn't too keen on trusting him.

Igrei nodded. "I won't ask for details, then. But, perchance, have you seen any strange items in the ruins of this town?"

"Strange how? This place is just dust and silence. The remnants of people long dead."

A faint smile crossed his face. "Aye, well, I am not really looking for any remnants of the human residents. Rather I seek anything that the demons of the Bleak may have left behind." He paced around, and Essine gripped her knife tighter.

A futile gesture. She wasn't much good in a straight fight, least of all against anyone armed with magic. Still, when she pondered that fact, an idea came into her head. If she could persuade him to come along, and if he meant no harm, it would be some extra protection until Coin was in fighting shape again.

Igrei continued speaking. "I have reason to believe that the demons of yore left some weapon or other behind in the past. Naturally, with people being so terrified to attempt scavenging anywhere near here, there's a strong possibility that said weapon would still be here. If it exists, at least."

She gave him a curious look. "To take such a weapon for yourself?"

The elf scoffed. "Of course not. Using Bleak-forged weapons carries... risks." He let that statement hang in the air for several moments, the dark corners of Essine's mind imagining what kind of 'risks' he was talking about. "I study the Bleak, its inhabitants and their weapons, so that we may better understand how to counter them in the future. And when I am finished studying a Bleak weapon, it is destroyed."

Essine spent several moments regarding him, reading his intentions from his expression. Any kobold who lived past a certain age managed to develop a 'sixth sense' of sorts when it came to reading the intentions of the 'civil' races. To know when one was being honest, to catch the glint of malicious intent in their eyes.

And Igrei was either sincere, or he was a better liar than any man she'd encountered in her life.

"We have not explored this city in great depth. Nor do we wish to. This place... it makes this one's very soul squirm in discomfort."

"The reaction of a sane woman," said Igrei. He leaned against the wall of the alley, gloved fingers lazily gripping the heft of his staff. "And if you should happen to see anything that looks like a weapon, you-" His stomach rumbled, and in the silence of Charnyll it was like the snarling of a horrid beast.

The two fell silent, Igrei deflating like a balloon. It was hard to look like an enigmatic, wise wizard when your tummy was rumbling.

Indeed, even the grim atmosphere of Charnyll came undone after that little incident.

Essine breathed a tiny sigh of relief. She hesitated, awkwardly scratching her cheek as she stared over at the elf. "We... have leftover pottage, if you are hungry." For kobolds, it was generally seen as a grave sin to not feed the hungry if you had the means to do so.

The elf stood upright and rolled his shoulders a few times to try and recover some of his prior dignity. "Yes, er, that would be lovely."

It was an awkward, silent trip back toward the inn. But at least they had an extra pair of hands available, in case anyone tried to follow their trail. And, if nothing else, Igrei did not disdain walking around with a kobold.