*Date: 33,480 Third Quarter — Chalice Theocracy* - A month ago
"We have no money left to stay at the inn," Aris said.
They stood outside the alchemist shop, the Fae woman's dismissal still ringing in his ears. The morning sun did nothing to warm the cold that had settled in his bones.
"Should we—"
"No."
"I wasn't going to say turn back." Fox's tail swished with irritation. "I was going to say look for a job."
Aris sighed, the sound carrying all the weight of his exhaustion. "That is the only option while we're looking for Marduk."
They started touring the city again, but this time searching for work instead of alchemists. Aris grew angrier with each step. Every shop they passed, every merchant who shook their head, every guard who eyed them suspiciously.
"If they hadn't commandeered my setup, I could have made potions..."
Fox gave him a side eye.
"...the regular kind," Aris finished. "Well. What happened is happened."
---
As they strolled through the streets, darkness crept across the sky. The artificial sun of Aethyros had completed its arc, and now most of the townfolk retreated to their homes. The cobblestones grew slick with evening dew. Lanterns flickered to life in windows, casting long shadows that seemed to reach for Aris and Fox like grasping fingers.
The wind picked up. It came from the harbor, carrying the smell of salt and fish and something deeper, something ancient. Aris pulled his thin shirt tighter around himself, but it did nothing. The cold seeped through the fabric, through his skin, settling into his very bones.
Fox pressed closer to his ankle, seeking warmth. Neither of them spoke.
The streets emptied. Where there had been merchants and travelers, now there were only drunkards stumbling from tavern to tavern and fishermen heading toward the docks for their nightly hunts. The laughter from distant bars felt like mockery. The warmth spilling from doorways was not meant for them.
Aris's stomach cramped. He couldn't remember the last time he had eaten properly. The soup from the innkeeper felt like a lifetime ago. His hands shook, and not just from the cold. The potion he had drunk during the dungeon trial had long worn off, and his body was paying the price for pushing it so far beyond its limits.
*This is what it means to have nothing*, Aris thought. No money. No shelter. No friends except a fox who couldn't even hunt in a city. No family to return to.
He thought of his father. Altos Orvellis, who was somewhere on the other side of an uncrossable void. Did he know his son was alive? Did he think Aris was dead? Did he lie awake at night, wondering?
*If only Demir was here*, Aris thought. The memory of his childhood friend surfaced unbidden. Demir wasn't the smartest. Not by a long shot. But he was braver than Aris. He always stuck to his plans, no matter how stupid they seemed. He would have known what to do. He would have made some ridiculous suggestion, and somehow it would have worked.
But Demir wasn't here. No one was.
---
The fishermen were returning from their nightly hunt when Aris and Fox approached the docks. Boats rocked gently against the wooden piers, their hulls heavy with the night's catch. The smell of fish was overwhelming, but Aris didn't care anymore. His pride had been left somewhere between the academy gates and the third alchemist shop.
He asked around for daily work. Most ignored him. Some laughed. One spat at his feet.
Then a Seafolk fisherman, his scales gleaming blue-green in the lamplight, stopped and squinted at Aris. His eyes were large and amber, set in a face that was more eel than human. Gills fluttered at the sides of his neck.
"I know you," the fisherman said slowly. "You are the young one. Master Nebu's apprentice, yes?"
Aris blinked. "You know Master Nebu?"
"All Seafolk know Master Nebu. He saved my grandmother's life when the fever took our village." The fisherman's lips curved into something that might have been a smile. "What brings you to the docks, young healer?"
"I need work. Anything."
The fisherman studied him for a long moment. Then he nodded toward the crates of fish being unloaded from his boat.
"Ten copper if you clean guts for the customer restaurants. All night. No breaks."
A sleepless night for ten copper. It wasn't much. But ten copper was the difference between eating and starving.
"I'll do it."
---
The work was brutal.
Fox pushed wooden crates across the dock while Aris sat hunched over a table, knife in hand, gutting fish after fish after fish. The pile seemed endless. For every fish he cleaned, two more appeared.
He cut his hand. Once. Twice. A dozen times. The knife was dull, and his grip was weak from hunger and exhaustion. Each time, he paused just long enough to channel a whisper of healing magic into the wound. The cuts closed, but nothing could heal his exhaustion.
*I survived worse*, Aris told himself. The dungeon. Clones attacks. The cave-in that killed Fyndar. This was nothing. Cold and sleepless was nothing he couldn't handle.
But the cold seeped in anyway. And the sleeplessness weighed on him like chains.
As the sun rose, painting the sky in shades of gold and pink, the Seafolk fisherman returned. He carried a plate of grilled fish and a chunk of fresh bread, steam rising from both.
"You can always find this job here, Aris." He bent down and offered Fox one of the gutted fish, still raw. "Now take this. You earned it."
Aris took the plate. The fish was simple. The bread was plain. But when he bit into it, the flavors exploded across his tongue. It was the most delicious meal he had eaten in years.
And then, without warning, he was crying.
Tears streamed down his face as he chewed. He couldn't stop them. Couldn't control them. They just kept coming, mixing with the salt of the fish.
"What is going on, Aris?" Fox raised his head from his own meal, concern flashing in his dark eyes. "Are you okay? Why are you crying?"
"I don't know." Aris wiped at his face with his sleeve, but the tears kept flowing. "I feel lost. Maybe we should go back to Master Nebu until we get on our feet."
"If you want." Fox's eyes turned sad. "I... I don't like her very much, but..."
"I know. I know." Aris sniffled, trying to compose himself. "Lyra. We can't be sure they won't harm her. Come on. Let's rent that room again and sleep."
---
When they reached the inn, the innkeeper welcomed them with a warm smile. But his expression shifted when he noticed their haggard faces and the fish scales still clinging to Aris's clothes.
"Where were you two yesterday? I was worried."
"We didn't have money." Aris fished out three copper coins from the small pouch the fisherman had given him. "So we worked."
The innkeeper looked at the coins in Aris's outstretched palm. Then he shook his head and pushed Aris's hand back.
"Come on, kids. I'm not soulless." He paused, cocked his head, and stared at the ceiling. "Maybe I am. I honestly don't know. But you can always stay here, and I can write it as debt. It's three copper. You can always earn that." He smiled. "In fact, today is free for you."
"Thank you so much." Aris's voice cracked.
"Especially when your friend spent nearly a silver on our food."
Aris froze. "Our friend?"
"Yeah. You know. Tall, jolly man with a beard." The innkeeper was wiping the counter as he spoke, casual as could be.
Aris looked at Fox, then back at the innkeeper. "I don't know anyone like that."
"He said he was looking for you. Gave your name and mentioned the fox. Said he was worried when you left the academy in a hurry."
"Was he my age?"
"No, no. Nearly forty."
Aris's mind raced. *It can't be Marduk. Marduk is an NPC. An ancient one. Who would be looking for me?*
"Who?" Aris asked himself aloud.
He thanked the innkeeper and, with questions and tiredness weighing on his shoulders, walked up to his room. The moment his head hit the pillow, he was unconscious.
---
The door burst open with a force that rattled the walls.
To Aris, it felt like he had only slept for a minute. But outside the window, the sky was dark again. A full day had passed.
He looked at the door, squinting against the light from the hallway.
And he understood who had been looking for him.