The tavern lay deserted. Patrons had fled like startled rats after Cesara's departure, unwilling to linger near potential fallout. Only Thomas's groaning form being half-dragged out had broken the silence, leaving a faint indentation in the wooden floor where he'd landed. The lanterns were extinguished, plunging The Leaky Hull into a deep, uneasy gloom.
Cesara descended the stairs, a shadow melting into the night outside. Corvus followed, stopping just inside the doorway as she vanished into the rain-slicked streets. Silence pressed down.
Only then did Melissa cautiously peer out from behind the bar, her eyes wide and darting. "She's gone?" she whispered, the words sharp in the stillness.
Corvus let out a short chuckle, the sound echoing slightly in the empty room. "Yeah. Gone for good." He pulled out a stool and slumped onto it at the bar.
Melissa sagged against the counter, releasing a shaky breath. "So? What did the ice queen want?"
A smug grin tugged at Corvus's lips. He shrugged, feigning nonchalance. "Can't say. Confidential. But... I'm gonna be away for a while."
"Away?" Melissa froze, her gaze snapping to his. "Where?"
"Like I said," Corvus scratched his chin, avoiding her eyes. "Can't say. Gotta leave tomorrow, though."
Bang!
Melissa slammed both palms down on the bar, making the remaining mugs rattle and Corvus jerk back. Her eyes blazed, pupils narrowed to furious slits. "What do you mean you can't tell me? Where are you vanishing off to on some mysterious errand with her?"
A dry, humorless laugh escaped her. "Oh, I see how it is. First rich bitch who sails into port flashing gold, and you just trot off like a trained hound! After all this time..."
"Whoa, calm down!" Corvus held up his hands, genuine surprise on his face. "It's just a job, Mel. A damn strange one, yeah, but a job. And I don't know much more than you do right now."
Melissa leaned forward, her voice dropping to a low, dangerous hiss. "Don't insult me, Corv. I know you. You don't take risks unless the odds are stacked your way, or the pay is insane. You never jump blind. So what aren't you telling me?"
Corvus sighed, the bravado fading. He glanced around the empty tavern, ensuring they were truly alone. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a small, heavy cloth bag. He loosened the drawstring and carefully tipped its contents onto the worn bar top.
Clink. Clink. Clink.
Ten golden full-moons gleamed dully in the faint light filtering through the boarded windows.
Melissa gasped, stumbling back a step. She stared, mouth slightly open, struggling to process the small fortune glittering before her. "Gods above..."
"That's why," Corvus said softly, his voice losing its earlier lightness. He turned his head, gazing towards the broken window, towards the city and the sea beyond. "I'm tired of scraping by in this hole, Mel. Tired of the fish guts and the leaky roof. An opportunity like this..." He turned back, meeting her stunned eyes. Reaching forward, he deliberately slid two of the heavy gold coins across the wood towards her. "...doesn't come twice. Here. Won't be much use to me out there anyway."
He slid off the stool, the coins left gleaming between them. "Gotta go. Need to get my gear."
Melissa remained frozen, staring at the gold, then at Corvus as he headed for the door. "W-wait!" she finally blurted, scrambling out from behind the bar. She caught up to him in the center of the silent tavern floor. "Where are you going? It's the middle of the damned night!"
Corvus paused, scratching the back of his head sheepishly. "Yeah. Stashed my good stuff well outside the city. Safer that way. Need to dig it up before light. See you later." He offered a half-smile, turning to leave. Goodbyes felt pointless; he would be back.
Before he could take another step, Melissa crashed into his back, her arms wrapping tightly around his waist in a fierce embrace. Her voice was muffled against his damp shirt. "You come back alive, Corv. You hear me? I'll be waiting."
He smiled, a genuine warmth touching his eyes as he glanced back. "That's the plan, Mel. Can't spend that gold if I'm dead, right?"
She shoved him away with a sound of annoyed affection, managing a shaky smile of her own. "Idiot."
Corvus flashed her a final grin and pushed out into the night. The rain had stopped, leaving the streets a treacherous river of mud. He took a deep breath of the cool, damp air and began the long trudge out of Thalara. Two velmora remained in his pocket. The gold was tempting, but survival was paramount. He needed supplies, proper gear... and first, he needed the tools he'd buried long ago. Tools he'd... acquired... under circumstances best kept quiet. He hadn't stolen them. Not exactly. More like... safeguarding lost property.
Dawn painted the sky in streaks of pale pink and orange. Outside Thalara's crumbling walls, near a gnarled olive tree, Corvus was knee-deep in a hole he'd clawed into the earth. Mud caked his hands and forearms, his fingernails packed with gritty soil. Sweat stung his eyes.
"Damn it all," he muttered, digging with renewed desperation. "Where is it?" His haste last night – forgetting a shovel – was now a lesson in painful regret. His knuckles scraped against something hard. Not rock. Wood.
A grin split his grimy face. He attacked the soil around the object with frantic energy, finally wrenching a small, heavy chest free from the earth. He stumbled back, almost landing on his backside, the chest clutched to his muddy chest. Once a faded red, it was now uniformly coated in dirt, indistinguishable from the ground.
Heart pounding, Corvus wiped mud from the latch and heaved the lid open.
Inside, nestled in oiled cloth, lay a pair of blades. They were slightly curved, their steel a cold, non-reflective grey. The hilts were wrapped in worn, dark leather, but his eyes instantly locked onto the inky black gemstones set into the base of each blade, just above the guard.
Aether stones. Pure, solidified essence. Worth more than the gold in his pocket. More than he could ever earn gutting fish. Even the lowest quality black stones, lacking elemental affinity, imbued the blades they adorned with unnatural sharpness and durability. For someone not walking the Ascendant path, they were a lifeline.
Corvus snapped his head up, scanning the empty field and distant tree line. Satisfied he was alone, he closed the chest with a soft thud and hefted it onto his shoulder. The familiar weight was reassuring.
"One thing down," he muttered, looking down at himself. His shirt and pants were soaked through with mud and sweat, plastered to his skin. He grimaced. "Now for some clothes that aren't... this. And maybe something between me and whatever's beyond that Wall